ELISHAH ī lī’ shə (אֱלִישָׁ֣ה, God saves). A son of Javan and progenitor of the Japhetic nation which bears his name (Gen 10:4; 1 Chron 1:7; Ezek 27:7). Since Javan is the Heb. word for the Greeks, Elishah is to be associated with them. It is associated with islands or coastlands (Gen 10:4, 5; Ezek 27:7). Ezekiel speaks of the islands of Elishah which supplied purple dyes to the Tyrians. Its association with Greece and Kittim (Cyprus), would seem to indicate a location in the area of the N Mediterranean. Josephus identified them with the Aeolians, an ancient people of Gr. stock. Some have identified it with Carthage, a nation in N Africa, because of the similarity between Elishah and Elissa, the latter being, according to tradition, a Tyrian princess who founded Carthage. Most prob. Elishah refers to the inhabitants of the islands of the Aegean Sea. Its close association with Javan and its dye industry, which would necessitate close proximity to the sea, seem to support this identification.