Biblical Hebrew Forum

[JimStinehart AT aol.com]

The Word “’Eylam” at Genesis 14: 1:  A Hebrew Linguistic Analysis
 
We have seen in prior posts on this thread that the Hebrew word 
ayin-yod-lamed-mem/(YLM/’Eylam at Genesis 14: 1 does not match any historical 
non-west 
Semitic word for the predecessor of Persia.  In particular, the Hebrew word “’
Eylam” does not match pre-Persian “Hatamti”, the sumerogram “NIM”, or 
Babylonian Akkadian “KUR elammatum”.
 
What about a Hebrew etymology then for the Hebrew word ’Eylam?  I myself 
agree with Strong’s and others that ayin-yod-lamed-mem/(YLM/’Eylam in Hebrew 
is a 
noun that comes from the root Hebrew verb ayin-lamed-mem/(LM/’elam.  That 
root Hebrew verb means “to hide, conceal or dissemble”.  The only difference 
in 
spelling is that the root Hebrew word ayin-lamed-mem/(LM/’elam does not have 
a 
yod.  As we will see, however, there are other cases like this where a root 
Hebrew verb begins with an ayin but does not have a yod, but the Hebrew noun 
that is derived from that root Hebrew verb has a yod in addition to the ayin.
 
I view the meaning of ‘Eylam as having a significantly different emphasis, 
however, than the innocuous meaning proposed by Strong’s and others.  I view ’
Eylam as meaning “Dissembler” (not as meaning “hidden” and hence “distant”).
 
1.  For starters, we should note that many virgin pure Hebrew words start 
with ayin-yod, and indicate nothing foreign.  Thus HALOT lists 45 Hebrew 
words 
that start with ayin-yod, and with the possible exception of 
ayin-yod-lamed-mem/(YLM/’Eylam itself, none of those words derives from, or 
has anything to do 
with, anything outside of the west Semitic world of greater Canaan.  The word 
ayin-yod-lamed-mem/(YLM/’Eylam does not look like an ultra-exotic non-Semitic 
foreign loanword from the predecessor of Persia, by way of Sumer or Babylonia 
or 
otherwise.  Rather, the word ayin-yod-lamed-mem/(YLM/’Eylam looks like a 
run-of-the-mill virgin pure Hebrew word of Hebrew/west Semitic derivation.  
No one 
can make any sense in Hebrew out of a truly foreign (that is, non-west 
Semitic) word or name like “pharaoh” or “Phicol” or “Arioch” or “Tidal”.  But 
as 
we will see, ayin-yod-lamed-mem/(YLM/’Eylam makes perfect sense in Hebrew.
 
2.  A Hebrew noun that starts with ayin-yod can have as its root a Hebrew 
verb which has only the ayin, not the yod.  Thus the Hebrew noun “nakedness” 
starts with ayin-yod, being ayin-yod-resh-mem.  Its Hebrew root, however, the 
Hebrew verb meaning “to lay bare”, has no yod, being simply ayin-resh-heh.  
“A 
Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of 
English”, Ernest Klein, MacMillan Publishing company, New York (1987).
 
3.  Note how easily and effortlessly the Hebrew word ’Eylam can be viewed as 
being derived from the Hebrew root verb ’elam.  The yod is added to the root 
Hebrew verb to produce the Hebrew noun.  It’s a very natural west 
Semitic/Hebrew etymology.  
 
Everyone agrees that without the yod, ’elam has no foreign connections, and 
means “to hide or conceal or dissemble”, almost always in a negative 
connotation.  Thus ’Eylam as a noun, adding the yod, could easily be viewed 
as meaning “
The Dissembler”.  The first Hebrews viewed west Semitic-speaking Ugarit, on 
the west coast of Syria, as being a terrible “Dissembler”.  The princeling 
ruler of Ugarit wrote a nice letter to pharaoh asking for medical advice, and 
implying loyalty to Egypt and Canaan.  But the princeling ruler of Ugarit was 
dissembling, because all the while he was busy selling out the west coast of 
Syria to the great enemy of Egypt and Canaan:  the dreaded Hittites.
 
Chedorlaomer is portrayed negatively in chapter 14 of Genesis, and the name “
Chedorlaomer” can be viewed as being composed of 3 Ugaritic words.  The early 
Hebrews viewed Ugarit as being the Great Dissembler.  So as a pejorative 
nickname applied by the northern pre-Hebrew author of the Patriarchal 
narratives, ’
Eylam/“The Dissembler” works beautifully as a name of disliked, dissembling 
Ugarit.  
 
4.  Moreover, with a little work, both of the strange concepts in the name “
Chedorlaomer” can be seen in ‘Eylam.  
 
(a)  The AoMR/ayin-mem-resh/(MR at the end of “Chedorlaomer” has the 
peculiar meaning of “a wasted heap” or “ashes”.  The Hebrew word ayin-yod/(Y 
means “
ruin” or “a heap of ruins”.  (See Job 30: 24, where BDB sees the word 
ayin-yod, meaning “ruin, heap of ruins”.)  Ayin-yod appears at the beginning 
of the 
Hebrew word ’Eylam, so that element of ’Eylam matches up beautifully with 
the -AoMR at the end of Chedorlaomer.  Each means “a wasted heap” or “ashes” 
or “ruin” or “a heap of ruins”. 
 
(b)  Moving now to the first part of the name “Chedorlaomer”, KDR has the 
unforgettable imagery of “(a conqueror) swooping down like a bird of prey or 
a 
vulture”.  Per HALOT, ayin-yod-tet-mem, which has three of the four Hebrew 
letters ayin-yod-lamed-mem in ‘Eylam and in exactly the same order, means 
“where 
the birds of prey are”.  Though one consonant is different, ayin-yod-tet-mem 
may have been perceived as rhyming, and/or recalling, ayin-yod-lamed-mem/’
Eylam.  The word ayin-yod-tet, which as a noun means “bird of prey”, and as a 
verb 
means “to dart greedily like a bird of prey” (per BDB), appears only 8 times 
in the Bible, and only once in the Patriarchal narratives.  It’s one 
appearance in Genesis is only a few verses after chapter 14 of Genesis, at 
Genesis 15: 
11, where it appears as a noun meaning “bird of prey or vulture”.  Robert 
Alter specifically states in his footnote to Genesis 15: 11 that in the 
specific 
context, the birds are “vultures”, recalling that one meaning of kdr in 
Ugaritic is “vulture”.  
 
So with a little stretching, the peculiar KDR element in “Chedorlaomer” can 
be seen in ’Eylam.  And for certain, the peculiar AoMR element in “
Chedorlaomer” can be seen in ‘Eylam.  Not many Hebrew words mean “a wasted 
heap” or “a 
heap of ruins”, yet such words are found both in “Chedorlaomer” 
(ayin-mem-resh) and “’Eylam” (ayin-yod).  Not many Hebrew words mean 
“swooping down like 
a bird of prey or vulture” or “place where the birds of prey are”, yet the 
first such word is found in “Chedorlaomer” (kaf-dalet-resh), and arguably a 
rhyming or similar sounding word is found in “’Eylam” (ayin-yod-tet-mem, 
which 
has 3 of the 4 same Hebrew letters, in the same order, as ayin-yod-lamed-mem/’
Eylam).
 
5.  There is one more possible pejorative Hebrew meaning of the Hebrew 
nickname “’Eylam” for Ugarit at Genesis 14: 1.  We have seen that the first 
two 
Hebrew letters in ’Eylam, namely ayin-yod, mean “a heap of ruins”.  It is 
possible that the last two Hebrew letters in ’Eylam, namely lamed-mem, might 
imply 
lamed-aleph-mem, a 3-letter word that means “people” or “nation”.  This word 
lamed-aleph-mem appears in the Patriarchal narratives at Genesis 25: 23 and 
Genesis 27: 29.  The lamed-mem at the end of ayin-yod-lamed-mem could 
possibly 
be viewed as being either a shortened form of, or a pun on, lamed-aleph-mem.  
If so, then ayin-yod + lamed-mem would mean “a heap of ruins”/ayin-yod, “a 
people or a nation”/lamed-mem (as a shortened form of lamed-aleph-mem).  That 
is, 
if Ugarit persists in its iniquitous course of selling out to the dreaded 
Hittites, then the early Hebrew author of Genesis 14: 1 asserts that Ugarit 
itself will become “a people or nation” (lamed-mem, short for 
lamed-aleph-mem) 
that is “a heap of ruins” (ayin-yod).
 
6.  It is important to note that there is no word in the Bible for Ugarit, 
despite the fact that the Hebrews seem to have been influenced somewhat by 
the 
religious imagery of Ugarit.  The only possible word that could mean Ugarit 
in 
the Bible is ’Eylam, as that word is used at Genesis 14: 1, at a time when 
the 
short-lived state of Ugarit was in existence.
 
In the eyes of the first Hebrews, the fundamental characteristic of Ugarit 
was dissembling.  While pretending to be friendly to Egypt and Canaan, the 
princeling ruler of Ugarit in fact sold out Ugarit to the dreaded Hittites, 
in Year 
14 of Akhenaten’s 17-year reign.  Without a fight, Ugarit overnight became a 
Hittite vassal state, and the Hittites were then staunchly ensconced on the 
west coast of Syria, immediately north of Lebanon/northern Canaan.  The rest 
of 
Syria was conquered at swordpoint by the ruthless Hittites.  Only Ugarit 
dissembled and sold out to the dreaded Hittites without a fight.  From the 
viewpoint of the first Hebrews, Ugarit was “The Great Dissembler” par 
excellence.
 
7.  In the beginning, at Genesis 14: 1, ’Eylam was a pejorative Hebrew 
nickname for Ugarit meaning “Ugarit, The Great Dissembler”.  At Genesis 14: 
1, the 
Hebrew word ’Eylam has nothing to do with Persia, or with any predecessor to 
Persia, or with any non-west Semitic word referencing the predecessor of 
Persia.  Rather, ’Eylam is a perfectly good west Semitic Hebrew word, which 
means “
dissembler”, coming from the Hebrew verb “to dissemble”.  This was a very 
appropriate Hebrew nickname for Ugarit, because dissembling was the key 
historical characteristic of Ugarit to the first Hebrews.
 
Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois




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