Elkosch

Elkosch (also Elkos ) is a place in the Bible that is mentioned as the hometown of the prophet Nahum ( Nah 1.1 EU ).

The location of the place is controversial. There are several theories:

Elkosh in Assyria (also Alqosh ): The place is near Mosul , a few miles north of the ruins of Nineveh . A grave of Nahum was long suspected there. However, the information does not match the information that Nahum makes in his book about his homeland.
Elkesi (also El Kauze, Elcesaeus) in Galilee : The church father Hieronymus favored this place as Nahum's home after a local showed him a Nahum grave here.
Capernaum in Galilee: The name can be read as Kaper Nahum. If it was Nahum's hometown, the place was probably named after him.
Elkesei at Bet Gabre in Judah : There is much to be said for the situation of Elkosch in Judah. Nahum spoke to the people of the southern kingdom of Judah. The northern empire had already perished in its time, therefore Nahum's origin in Judah is likely.

Ultimately, the exact location can no longer be reconstructed today.

Source and literature

Fritz Reinecker (Ed.): Brockhaus Lexikon zur Bibel, 1988, 19th edition.
Immanuel Benzinger : Elkesi . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume V, 2, Stuttgart 1905, Col. 2436.

Claudia Bergmann: Elkosch. In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (Eds.): The Scientific Biblical Lexicon on the Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff.