ELLASAR ĕl’ ə sär (אֶלָּסָ֑ר, meaning uncertain). Arioch, king of Ellasar, was one of the allies of Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, in his raid on the Jordan valley in the time of Abraham (Gen 14:1). Earlier scholars considered the identifications of these kings as reasonably firm with Arioch being identified with Eri-Aku, king of Larsa. Further studies have weakened this confidence. In the case of Arioch, “Eri-Aku” is now read as “Warad-Sin,” and the phonetic differences between “Larsa” and Ellasar” are given more weight. Ilanzura, between Carchemish and Haran in northern Syria, has been suggested recently, but the only positive argument for this suggestion is the phonetic similarity between the two names. At present, the identification of Larsa remains uncertain.

Bibliography D. J. Wiseman, “Ellasar,” NBD (1967).