Elath (also called Eloth) was an ancient city on the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba, which is the northeastern arm of the Red Sea. Control of Elath alternated between Edom and Israel/Judah.
Location[]
Elath was located in the same vicinity as Ezion-Geber.[1] It was located at the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba, which is the northeasternmost extent of the Red Sea.
History[]
At the time of Moses, Elath was under the control of Edom. God commanded Moses and the Israelites to be careful when passing through Edom, for He would not give the Israelites any of their territory at that time, as He had given it to the descendants of Esau.[2] So, the Israelites turned away from Edom and headed in the opposite direction from Elath.[3]
Elath first came under Israelite control when David conquered Edom. During the reign of King Solomon, Elath was an important port city, along with Ezion-Geber.[4] From Elath and Ezion-Geber Solomon embarked on a joint venture with Hiram king of Tyre and sent ships to bring gold from Ophir.[5]
During the divided monarchy, Edom regained its independence (except for during the reign of Jehoshaphat), depriving Judah of access to trade routes in the Red Sea. However, King Uzziah of Judah managed to restore Elath to Judah and rebuild the city in his early reign.[6] This was the beginning of a very prosperous period for Judah under Uzziah. Elath remained part of Judah during the reign of Uzziah's son Jotham. But under Jotham's successor, the wicked king Ahaz, Syria and Israel allied together to attack Judah.[7] Syria captured Elath and forced all the people of Judah to flee the city, allowing the Edomites to move in and take possession of Elath.[8]
Modern times[]
The modern Israeli city of Eilat was named after Elath and was built in the same vicinity as the ancient city.