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Bible Dictionaries
Elath
American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
or Or ELOTH, a city of Idumea, situated at the northern extremity of the eastern gulf of the Red Sea, which was anciently called the Elantic gulf, and now the gulf of Akaba. Ezion-Gaber was also situated here, and very near Elath, Deuteronomy 2:8 1 Kings 9:26 . This gulf, although known to the ancients, has been almost unknown to modern geographers until the time of Burckhardt. This enterprising traveler explored it, and gave the first full amount of it. The great sand valley called El-Arabah, and towards the north El-Ghor, runs from this gulf to the Dead Sea. Elath was annexed to Judah by David, who established there an extensive commerce, 2 Samuel 8:14 . Solomon also built ships there, 2 Chronicles 8:17,18 . In the reign of Joram the Edomites recovered it, but lost it again to Uzziah, 2 Kings 8:20 14:22; and he to Rezin, 2 Kings 16:6 . Under the rule of the Romans it was a flourishing commercial town with the ordinances of Christianity. In 630 A. D. it fell under the power of Mohammed, and is now in ruins. The fortress of Akaba, near by, now often visited by travelers from Mount Sinai to Palestine, is only important for the protection of pilgrims to Mecca.
These files are public domain and are a derivative of the topics are from American Tract Society Bible Dictionary published in 1859.
Rand, W. W. Entry for 'Elath'. American Tract Society Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ats/e/elath.html. 1859.
