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אֱלִישָׁה

𐤀𐤋𐤉𐤔𐤄

Elishah

H473 noun

SILEX Entry

Root uncertain uncertain (personal or place name of foreign origin)

Definition

Elishah — a proper noun designating a personal and possibly geographic name. In the Hebrew Bible, refers primarily to a descendant of Javan (son of Japheth), and by extension to a people or region associated with him. The name sometimes indicates a maritime or coastal land in the far west of the ancient Near Eastern world, significant in biblical ethnographic lists. The lexical context is almost exclusively referential, identifying an individual and/or a region/people.

Semantic Range

personal name (descendant of Javan), ethnonym for a maritime people or region, possible toponym for a western or Mediterranean land or people group

Root / Etymology

Uncertain. The name may be of non-Semitic (possibly Aegean or Anatolian) origin, adopted into the Hebrew genealogical tradition. It does not transparently derive from a common Hebrew verbal root. Some have suggested connections with the root אֵל ('el, god) or יָשַׁה (y-sh-h, to save), but these are speculative and not lexically supported. Most scholars consider the etymology foreign and unattested in other Semitic or Northwest Semitic corpora.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, 'Elishah' is mentioned in Genesis 10:4 and 1 Chronicles 1:7 as a descendant of Javan, placing him among the genealogical lists traditionally understood to describe the origins of the peoples of the Mediterranean and Aegean. Ezekiel 27:7 refers to 'blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah', suggesting a connection with a region noted for dye production and maritime trade. Ancient interpreters (e.g., Josephus) linked Elishah with various locations in the Mediterranean (such as Cyprus or Greece), but these attributions reflect later traditions and not contemporary Israelite geography. English translations sometimes treat Elishah as a personal name and other times as a toponym; both usages reflect the ambiguity in the biblical text between eponymous ancestor and regional identity. There is no evidence of the term developing broader or theological meanings; it remains anchored in genealogical and geographic contexts. Later translation traditions may render it as a region or people, occasionally using the term 'Alisah' or similar forms.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

probably of foreign derivation; Elishah, a son of Javan; Elishah.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

uncertain (uncertain) — foreign personal or place name

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1085 בִּלְדַּד Bildad
H1095 בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּר Belteshatsar
H1114 בִּלְשָׁן Bilshan
H1150 בִּנְעָא Bin'a
H116 אֱדַיִן and then

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H473-01 אֱלִישָׁ֣ה elishah HNp Elishah Elishah 3

Occurrences in Scripture

3 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H473-01 Genesis 10:4 אֱלִישָׁ֣ה elishah HNp Elishah Elishah
H473-01 Ezekiel 27:7 אֱלִישָׁ֖ה elishah HNp Elishah Elishah
H473-01 1 Chronicles 1:7 אֱלִישָׁ֣ה elishah HNp Elishah Elishah
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