Genesis 10 - Noah’s Family Tree - Elam and the End Times
Elam is a son of Shem, and the first name in Noah’s descendant-tree that we will study. The name Elam or Elamites appears in 29 scriptures. Not every reference is to Shem’s son or the nation that came from him. Other men named Elam are listed in 1 Chronicles 8:24, 1 Chronicles 26:3. In Ezra 2:7 and Ezra 2:31 are mentions of Elam and “the other Elam”, whom I presume to be the Elams named in 1 Chronicles 8 and 26. Other references in Ezra and Nehemiah would also seem to refer to them, and not to Shem’s son.
What I find interesting is in Genesis 14. It would seem that there was a kingdom started by Elam. The king at the time was Kedorlaomer. He was allied with other kings against Sodom. Abram’s nephew Lot was living in Sodom at the time, and when Kedorlaomer defeated Sodom, Lot was among the people he captured. Abram rescued him from Kedorlaomer, and the defeat was very much appreciated by the king of Sodom. He wanted to honor Abram for it, but Abram wouldn’t accept any rewards.
So, what does history know about the civilization of Elam? According to Wikipedia, Elam was mostly in what is now southwest Iran…
Elam’s history is outlined as follows…
- Proto-Elamite: c. 3200 BC – 2700 BC (Proto-Elamite script in Susa)
- Old Elamite period: c. 2700 BC – 1600 BC (earliest documents until the Eparti dynasty)
- Middle Elamite period: c. 1500 BC – 1100 BC (Anzanite dynasty until the Babylonian invasion of Susa)
- Neo-Elamite period: c. 1100 BC – 539 BC (characterized by Iranian and Syrian influence. 539 BC marks the beginning of the Achaemenid period)
This lines up perfectly with my timeline that has the flood occurring in 2807 BC. This is because the Proto-Elamite period is the period before the first actual Elamite Period. In other words, this area was not known as Elam area until 2700 BC, about 100 years after the flood by my reckoning, a very reasonable duration, considering Elam was born to Shem sometime after the flood.
Elam is considered to have begun with the establishment of the Awan dynasty. Several of the Wikipedia pages appear to conflict in their timeline for who ruled Elam around this time. One says someone was king, another pages agrees but disagrees on the time; another lists a different king for the same; the main says there several simultaneous kings. While the last is probably the truth, what they all appear to agree on is that Elam started around 2700BC. Elam himself does not appear to have been a king or ruler of Elam, so it is interesting that the place would be named for him. Perhaps he was named for the place? Whichever it is, as I said above, the timeline fits… so something happened.
It is worth noting that even while a sudden change occurred at Elam right after the flood, it was not the beginning of civilization there, but the beginning of a new one. There appears to be a continuity of artifacts going back quite far beyond the beginning of Elam. For example, Elam’s primary capital of Susa was founded around 5000BC, long before the Awan dynasty established Elam as a kingdom, and later captured Susa and made it Elam’s capital. Also worth noting is that a writing system existing up until its conquering by the Awan dynasty. None of the sources there make a connection between the two.
Here is another account…
The proto-Elamite script (see iii, below), which has defied all efforts to decipher it, remained in use until about 2700 B.C.E., but it was in the little-known period that followed, between the end of the Proto-Elamite period and the establishment of the dynasty of Awan, that Elam began to emerge from anonymity.
Could there be little known because no one recorded anything during that last period? This could be explained by what I wrote in A Fuller Profile of the Flood…
The flood within the planes was absolutely horrible, but the horror fell short of complete destruction as you get toward Sumer to the West and India to the East.
This would include Elam, and could account for why things came to an end as they did, and allowed a new beginning. Not everyone was killed. Not everything was destroyed. Not all records were lost. But, I am guessing that plenty of people died, and the area’s weakened state left it ripe for conquering (as happened) and the imposition of a new culture upon the old (as happened). It also explains the seeming connection between styles of art between Elam and Sumer, and the possible connection mentioned going back to 7000BC. Basically, we could be seeing an infusion of Noah’s culture within the Sumerian connection, and an infusion of Adam’s previous culture, who dates back to around 4500 BC, by my reckoning.
Interesting Biblical references to Elam include its references to Susa. This includes primarily the Book of Esther, which took place under the rule of King Xerxes, who ruled Persia around 486 BC. Among his accomplishments was the building of a palace in Susa, but I do not believe it to be the Citadel of Susa mentioned in the beginning of the Book of Esther…
1 This is what happened during the time of Xerxes, the Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush: 2 At that time King Xerxes reigned from his royal throne in the citadel of Susa, 3 and in the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his nobles and officials. The military leaders of Persia and Media, the princes, and the nobles of the provinces were present.
The reason I do not believe the citadel to be the palace he built is in part because the Book of Daniel is also set in Elam, at the Citadel of Susa, and Daniel is set around 536 BC, around 50 years before Esther. Furthermore, it seems that the Citadel existed as along ago at the 3rd millennium BC.
Now, here things become interesting, because Daniel saw a vision of Iran’s destruction by Greece during the Tribulation. According to Daniel 8…
4 I watched the ram as it charged toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against it, and none could rescue from its power. It did as it pleased and became great.
This ram is modern day Iran.
5 As I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between its eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground.
This could likely be an attack via fighter jets or missiles.
6 It came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at it in great rage. 7 I saw it attack the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering its two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against it; the goat knocked it to the ground and trampled on it, and none could rescue the ram from its power.
A nuclear attack could have that impact. Given Iran’s current path toward nuclear power, this is eery.
20 The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. 21 The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is the first king. A king of Greece? Well, Greece is now bankrupt. The EU is trying to save it, but perhaps that effort is destined to failure, and a new kingdom will be put in its place…
8 The goat became very great, but at the height of its power the large horn was broken off, and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven. 9 Out of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land.
If it’s during the Tribulation, I believe the Beautiful Land to be reference to Israel.
10 It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them. 11 It set itself up to be as great as the commander of the army of the LORD; it took away the daily sacrifice from the LORD, and his sanctuary was thrown down. 12 Because of rebellion, the LORD’s people and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground.
22 The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power.
23 “In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a fierce-looking king, a master of intrigue, will arise. 24 He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy those who are mighty, the holy people. 25 He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power.
Perhaps then, Jeremiah 49 foretells God’s use of Greece to devestate Iran, followed His victory over Greece as well, before putting in place His thrown on Earth…
34 This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah:
35 This is what the LORD Almighty says:
“See, I will break the bow of Elam,
the mainstay of their might.
36 I will bring against Elam the four winds
from the four quarters of heaven;
A reference to the 4 horns in Daniel 8, which come from the transformed Greece…
I will scatter them to the four winds,
and there will not be a nation
where Elam’s exiles do not go.
37 I will shatter Elam before their foes,
before those who want to kill them;
I will bring disaster on them,
even my fierce anger,”
declares the LORD.
“I will pursue them with the sword
until I have made an end of them.
38 I will set my throne in Elam
and destroy her king and officials,”
declares the LORD.39 “Yet I will restore the fortunes of Elam
in days to come,”
declares the LORD.
At this point, I believe Isaiah 11’s prophecy of Elam will come into play…
10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. 11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.
I believe this refers to the second coming, specifically to Jesus’ 1000-years reign.
Well, this isn’t exactly what I expected to find, but Elam would appear to be quite significant, today and into the future. It is fascinating that Greece and Iran are both poised for dramatic transformation. Greece needs to be taken over in some way that saves it from financial ruin, and Iran almost has the bomb. But, I take comfort in God, and sit in awe of His Word, reassured that whatever happens, His will be done.