Places in the Bible Today:

Ellasar

Data

Translated NameEllasar
Typesregion or settlement
Notesmay be a region rather than a settlement
Geo Data KML (for Google Earth)
GeoJSON (for GIS applications)

9 Possible Identifications

  1. another name for Asshur (ancient): 25% confidence

    1. panorama of AssurAssur

  2. another name for Cappadocia (ancient): less than 10% confidence

    1. panorama of cliffs in CappadociaCappadocia

  3. another name for Telassar (ancient): less than 10% confidence. It may be:

    1. art from Til BarsipTil Barsip

    2. satellite view of the region around Til AssuriTil Assuri

    3. castle at Tal AfarTal Afar

    4. satellite view of the region around Tell BashirTell Bashir

  4. Alishar Huyuk (modern): less than 10% confidence

    1. artifact from Alishar HuyukAlishar Huyuk

  5. Ilanzura (modern): less than 10% confidence

    1. cityscape of IlanzuraIlanzura

  6. another name for Pontus (ancient): less than 10% confidence

    1. panorama of a mountain in PontusPontus

  7. Alsi (modern): less than 10% confidence

    1. walls at AlsiAlsi

  8. Larsa (modern): less than 10% confidence

    1. ruins at LarsaLarsa

  9. Til Assuri (modern): less than 10% confidence

    1. satellite view of the region around Til AssuriTil Assuri

Verses (2)

Gen 14:1, 14:9

Linked Data Identifiers

SourceIdentifier
Biblemapper.com389
Logos FactbookEllasar
OpenBible.info (2007)Ellasar
OpenBible.infoa6f4a6d (Ellasar)
TIPNREllasar@Gen.14.1
UBS Names Databaseot ID_267
WikidataQ2712606

Sources

  1. Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (1992): Ellasar (place)
  2. Baker Illustrated Bible Dictionary (2013): Ellasar
  3. Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000): Ellasar
  4. ESV Bible Atlas (2010)
  5. Grollenberg, Atlas of the Bible (1957): Ellasar
  6. Hamilton, Genesis (1995): 14:1
  7. HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (2011): Ellasar
  8. Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (2003)
  9. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1979): Ellasar
  10. IVP Old Testament Bible Background Commentary (2000): Gen 14:1-4
  11. Lexham Bible Dictionary (2016): Ellasar
  12. New Bible Dictionary (1996): Ellasar
  13. New Unger’s Bible Dictionary (1988)
  14. Waltke and Fredricks, Genesis (2001): 14:1
  15. Wenham, Genesis (1987, 1994): 14:1
  16. Westminster Historical Atlas to the Bible (1956): Larsa
  17. Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia (1975): Ellasar
  18. Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible (2010)
  19. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary (2009): Gen 14:1

Confidence Trends over Time

This chart indicates how confidence in the identifications is changing over time. Each dot (connected by a dotted line) reflects the confidence of an identification over the preceding ten years (e.g., the 2009 dot reflects scholarship from 2000 to 2009), and the corresponding solid line reflects a best-fit line for the identification. Confidences that cluster near or below 0% indicate low confidence. Because of the small dataset, it's best to use this chart for general trends; if one identification is trending much higher than the others, for example, then you can probably have higher confidence in the identification. This chart only reflects the sources I consulted (listed above), not an exhaustive review of the literature.

Thumbnail Image Credits

Véronique Dauge, Benh LIEU SONG, Trjames, Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2019, Kparker84, Nevit Dilmen, Bertilvidet, Dr. Zeynel Cebeci, Dosseman, David Stanley

About

This page attempts to identify all the possible locations where this biblical place could be. The confidence levels add up to less than 100%, indicating that the modern location is uncertain. It's best to think about the confidences in relative rather than absolute terms. Often they reflect different schools of thought, each confident in their identifications.

The isobands you see on the map (gray areas with dark borders) attempt to give you confidence where a region is. Because many ancient regions aren't precisely defined, I consulted atlases to determine where the biblical region is located and used that data to build the isobands. The smaller isobands reflect more confidence that the given isoband is in the region, while the larger isobands reflect less confidence. Isobands are a kind of contour line that here indicate confidence levels.