AMRAPHEL (Septuagint Ἀμαρράλ). - King of Shinar, who with Arioch (v.) and Tidal followed Chedorlaomer (v.) of Elam in the expedition against the Syro-Palestinian peoples, then against the coalition of the kings of the Pentapolis who had rebelled against Chedorlaomer after twelve years of subjection (Gen. 14:1, 9).
The similarity between the two names has inclined scholars, from Eb. Schrader (1872) onward, to identify A. with the famous Hammurabi (v.) of Babylon (cf. J. Hontheim, in Zeitschrift für kath. Theologie, 36 [1912], pp. 48-67). The difficulties to the contrary arise from the name itself, because the final element is missing in the Babylonian name, and also from chronology, since authors have not yet agreed on fixing the dates either of Abraham or of Hammurabi. F. M. Th. Böhl, followed by A. Jirku and A. Albright, separates them clearly, placing the four eastern kings at the time of Boghazköy (v.) and putting Abraham's coming to Palestine around 1550 B.C.; he interprets A. as Amur-apil "son of Amur" (god of the Amorites). The identification, as far as can be said today, is chronologically and linguistically possible. The ending (could be explained from Hurrian (cf. Gilgamish = Gilgamishil), but historically several obscure points remain, and the prudent exegete will not place too much reliance on the aforementioned identification (A. Bea, La Palestina preisraelitica, in Biblica, 24 [1943], p. 247, n. 2).
Bibliography5 worksA. Deimel, Amraphel, rex Sennar, Thadal, rex Gentium, in Biblica, 8 (1927), pp. 350-57; P. Dhorme, Hammurabi-Amraphel, in Revue Biblique, 5
BIBL.: A. Deimel, Amraphel, rex Sennar, Thadal, rex Gentium, in Biblica, 8 (1927), pp. 350-57; P. Dhorme, Hammurabi-Amraphel, in Revue Biblique, 5 (1908), pp. 205-26; 40 (1931), pp. 506-10; F. M. Th. Böhl, in Zeitschrift für die alttest. Wissenschaft, 36 (1916), p. 65 ff.; id., Das Zeitalter Abrahms, in Der Alte Orient, 29 (1930), pp. 12-19.
Castellino, Giorgio. “Amrafel (Settanta) ἈΜΑΡΡΆΛ).” In Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. I, coll. 1118–1119. Città del Vaticano: Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1948. https://azioneromana.com/article/amrafel-settanta-amarral.
MLA
Castellino, Giorgio. “Amrafel (Settanta) ἈΜΑΡΡΆΛ).” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. I, Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1948, coll. 1118–1119. Azione Romana, https://azioneromana.com/article/amrafel-settanta-amarral.
BibTeX
@incollection{ec1_amrafel_settanta_amarral,
author = {Castellino, Giorgio},
title = {Amrafel (Settanta) ἈΜΑΡΡΆΛ)},
booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica},
volume = {I},
pages = {1118--1119},
note = {Cited by column},
publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico},
address = {Città del Vaticano},
year = {1948},
url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/amrafel-settanta-amarral}
}
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