It \B tempting to identify E., on the phonetic Bide, with the Greek Helhus. We might assume that the Egyptian form of the name, Alsa, was taken from the cuneiform Alasia, in which the initial aspirate of the Greek would not be expres-sed. But the Homeric poems seem to show that the name of Hellas could not have migrated from its original home in northern Greece to the eastern basin of the Mediterranean so early as the age of the Tel el-Amarna tablets. Moreover, as late as the reign of the Assyrian Sargon, Cyprus was still known to the inhabitants of Asia as ' the country of the lonians,' not of the Hellenes, while a Yivana or ' Ionian ' is mentioned in two of the Tel el- Amarna letters. The termination of Alasia im- plies a Greek adjective in -<rios, and it is possible that Crete, rather than Cyprus, is intended by the name. LiTBUTCKi.— Skyoe, BCM 130 ; Oonder, BMe and the Eatt.
A. H. Sayce.
ELISHAMA {V!;v*!K 'God ha« heard').— 1. A prince of the tribe of Ephraim at the census in the wilderness, son of Ammihud, and grandfather of Joshua (Nu l'» 2'«, 1 Ch T*). 2. One of David's sons, born in Jerusalem (2 S 5", 1 Ch 3' 14'). 3. In 1 Ch 3" by mistake for Elishua (which see) of 2 S 6", 1 Ch 14'. 4. A descendant of Judah, son of Jekamiah (1 Ch 2*'). 5. The father of Nethaniah, eind grandfather of Ishmael, ' of the seed royal,' who killed Gedaliah at the time of the Exile (2 Iv 25'*, Jer 41'). Jerome, following Jewish tradition, identities him with No. 4. See Sayce HUM 3SU f.
6. A scribe or secretary to Jehoiakim (Jer 36'^ '■"■ "').
7. A priest sent by Jehoslmphat to teach the law in the cities of Judah (2 Ch 17"). li. M. BOVD.
ELISHAPHAT (D;r^!< 'God hath judged').— One of the c<iptains who helped Jehoiada to inatal king Joash (2 Ch 23').
ELISHEBA [vzth^ 'God is an oath'), LXX, EXfLadiieO 15. •EXicraySfr AJ (cf. Lk 1'), daughter of Amrainadab, sister of Nahshon, a prince of the tribe of Judah, and wife of Aaron. The name occurs only in Ex 6" (P). W. C. Allen.
ELISHUA {rt>-^s, 2 8 6",! Ch 14»).— A son of David bom at Jerusalem. The variant in 1 Ch 3",
Vt7 ,?. is due to the similar name occurring in the
next line
J. P. Stenninq.
ELIUD (EXioi/S).— An ancestor of Jesus (Mt 1"X See Genealogy.
ELIZAPHAN (i?y^K 'God has protected'; cf. Phoen. '?y3:Ds, 'EXfura^dx). — 1. Prince of the Koliath- ites, son of Uzziel, Nu S*", 1 Ch 15» ('EXi(ra<^T), 2Ch 29" = Elzaphan ([?>i'x, 'EXenro^di-), Ex 6-«, Lv 10* P. 2. Zi'biilun's representative for dividing the laud (Nu 34^ P). G. H. BATTEitsuY.
ELIZUR (TsSij 'God is a Rock,' cf. Zukiel, 'EXetffoi'p). — Prince of Reuben at the first census (Nu 1" 2'" ~^- " 10'» P). A similar name occurs in the Zinjerli inscriptions (8th cent. B.C.), Bir-tsftr, 'the god Bir is a rock' (Hommel, Anc. Heh. Trad, 320), or Har-tsdr, 'son of a rock' (D. H. Miiller).
G. II. Battersby.
ELKANAH (njij^Hi 'God has possessed ').—!. The second son of Korah, brother to Assir and Abi- asaph, one of the clans of the Korahites (Ex 6**). We are told that ' the children of Korah died not ' in the overthrow of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (Nu 26"). 2. The son of Jeroliam, the son of Eliliu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite of Ramathaim-zophim, * of the hill country of Ephraim, the husband of Hannah, his favourite wife, and Peninnah. Hannah felt her childlessness very much, especially as Peninnah mocked her for it ; but E. endeavoured to comfort her. At length, after several yearly visits to the temple at Shiloh, Hannah was promised a son. Tliis son was called Samuel, and Hannah and her husband offered him to the Lord when he was but an infant, and left him with Eli on tlieir return to Ramah (1 S 1'- 2"). 3. The son of Assir, the son of Korah (1 Ch 6^), apparently identical with (1), and an ancestor of (2). 4. The father of Zuph or Zophai (1 Ch 6^-"). 5. An ancestor of Berechiah, the son of Asa, ' that dwelt in the villages of the Netopha- thites' (I Ch 9"). 6. One of David's mighty men, a Korahite (1 Ch 12"). 7. One of the two door- keepers for the ark (1 Ch 15^), perhaps identical with (6). 8. ' That was next to the king,' slain in the reign of Ahaz with ' Maaseiah tlie king's son, and Azrikam the ruler of the house,' by Zicliri, ' a mighty man of Ephraim' (2 Ch 28').
H. A. Redpath.
ELKIAH ('EX«eid). — An ancestor of Judith, Jth 8'.
ELKOSHITE (v'p^'Nri, LXX'EX«<raros).— A gentilio adjective employed to describe the prophet Nalium (1'), implying that a place named Elkosh was his birthplace. Three identifications have been pro- posed for the latter. (1) Jerome (in his Comm.) locates Elkosli at a village in Galilee named Elcesi (cf. also Capernaum = 0'nj is? (?), 'village of Nahum '). (2) In a work ascribed to Epiphanius, Un the Pruphcts, huw they died and where tliey were buried, we are told that ' Nahum was of Elkosh, beyond B6t GabrC, of the tribe of Simeon.' This B6t GabrS is Beit Jibrin, the ancient Eleu- thcropolis, N.E. of Lachish. (3) Mediii'val traditiim connected Nahum with Elkush on a tributary of the Tigris, 2 days' journey N. of Mosul (Nineveh). We must be content to leave the prophet's birtliplaci' uncertain, although weighty considerations plead