Word Study for H495 (אֶלָּסָר)

ʼEllâçâr /el-law-sawr'/ Ask about this word

Rootprobably of foreign derivation

MeaningEllasar, an early country of Asia

KJV usageEllasar.

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of ʼEllâçâr — the range of meaning it carries, how Scripture actually uses it, and where it points. Written for readers who don’t know the original language.

Core Meaning & Semantic Range

The Hebrew word ʼEllâçâr, represented by H495, refers to Ellasar, an early country of Asia. The term is noted as being probably of foreign derivation. It appears only 2 times in 2 unique verses, placing it in a very specific historical context within the book of Genesis.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

In the biblical narrative, H495 is introduced as the kingdom ruled by Arioch. Its sole appearances are in the account of the battle of the four kings against five. Ellasar is listed as part of the northern confederation led by Chedorlaomer, king of Elam. The text identifies Arioch as the king of Ellasar alongside Amraphel king of Shinar and Tidal king of nations Genesis 14:1. The name is mentioned again when the four kings are listed as preparing for battle Genesis 14:9.

Related Words & Concepts

The primary term associated with Ellasar in the text is:

H4428 melek (a king): This word for a monarch is used to identify Ellasar's ruler, Arioch. Both biblical mentions of Ellasar explicitly state that Arioch was the king of that land (Genesis 14:1, Genesis 14:9).

Theological Significance

The significance of H495 is rooted in its role within the historical narrative of Genesis.

Geopolitical Marker: Ellasar's inclusion in the alliance of kings helps establish the political landscape of the time, grounding the events of Genesis 14 in a specific setting involving multiple kingdoms Genesis 14:1.
Identifying a Belligerent: The name serves to identify one of the specific political entities involved in the conflict against Sodom and the other cities of the plain Genesis 14:9.

Summary

In summary, H495 is a proper noun for a location, the country of Ellasar. Its presence in scripture is confined to the account of the war of the kings in Genesis 14. It functions not as a theological concept, but as a historical and geographical anchor, identifying the kingdom ruled by king Arioch and his place within a significant military coalition.

How the KJV Renders It

Translation

Strong’s lists the renderings but not their weight. These are counted from the King James text of the tagged verses — the bar under each is how often the translators actually reached for it. Select one to filter the occurrences below.

Grammatical Forms

Morphology

In the Hebrew Old Testament, this word appears as a noun across 2 occurrences, inflected in 1 grammatical form — each row is one form, and the bar is how often it is that form. Select any form to read what each part of its name means, and to filter the occurrence list to it.

אֶלָּסָר

Theographic Context

Context

The people, places, and span of history the verses containing this word touch on — drawn from the theographic tagging of Scripture. Select any name to isolate its verses in the occurrence list.

Biblical Distribution

Distribution

2 verses, all in Genesis — and none of the other 38 Old Testament books.

Every Occurrence

Concordance

Every verse where the word is tagged in the King James text. Filter by book, by the English word the translators chose, by grammatical form, or search within the verses.

Sources. Definition and numbering: James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890). Morphology: STEPBible / Tyndale House (CC BY). Verse tagging: the King James text keyed to Strong’s numbers. Every count on this page is computed from the tagged corpus, not estimated.