Ellasar
“Possibly a Semitic rendering of Larsa; meaning uncertain”
Summary
An ancient kingdom whose king Arioch joined the coalition of four kings that invaded Canaan in Abraham's time, identified with the Babylonian city of Larsa.
☩Identification
Ellasar was the kingdom of Arioch, one of the four kings who invaded Canaan and captured Lot in Abraham's day. The association with the kings of Elam and Shinar points to the region of Babylonia. Scholars identify Ellasar with the ancient Babylonian city of Larsa (Aramaic Larissa), whose ruins are now called Senkereh, located on the east bank of the Euphrates about midway between Ur and Erech. Inscriptions reveal that Larsa was one of the most ancient capitals of Babylonia, possibly older than Babylon itself, and an important center of sun-god worship with a great temple called E-babbar, 'House of Light.'