Elishah

Elishah or Eliseus (אֱלִישָׁה‎ ’Ĕlīšā) was the son of Javan according to the Book of Genesis (10:4) in the Masoretic Text. The Greek Septuagint of Genesis 10 lists Elisa not only as the son of Javan, but also a grandson of Japheth. His name is spelled differently in Hebrew to the prophet Elisha, ending in a hei (ה‎) instead of an ayin (ע‎).

For the prophet, see Elisha. For others with the same given name, see Elisha (given name).
Not to be confused with Elijah or Elisæus of Albania.

Scholars have often identified Elishah with Cypriots, as in ancient times the island of Cyprus or part of it was known as Alashiya. According to the Jewish encyclopedia Elishah is to be identified with Magna Graecia and Sicels. Judean historian Flavius Josephus related the descendants of Elishah with the Aeolians, one of the ancestral branches of the Greeks. Other proposed scholarly identifications are with Hellas and Carthage ("Elissa").

Elishah is also mentioned in the mediaeval, rabbinic Book of Jasher (Hebrew transliteration: Sefer haYashar); he is said in Jasher to have been the ancestor of the "Almanim", possibly a reference to Germanic tribes (Alemanni). An older and more common tradition refers to him as a settler of Greece, particularly Elis in the Peloponnese.

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