Ulam
1:
ULAM (PERSON) [Heb ˒ûlām (אוּלָם)]. 1. The Manassite son of Sheresh, who is mentioned only in 1 Chr 7:16–17. His name is from the Hebrew ˒ûl and probably meant “first” or “leader” (Noth IPN, 231). According to the MT, his brother was Rakem (the LXX omits Rakem from the genealogy), and his son was Bedan. Some form of textual corruption is undoubtedly responsible for the introduction of the latter in v 17 with the phrase, “The sons of Ulam.” While an early copyist may have replaced the singular form “son” with the plural “sons” (the Vulgate reads “son”), it is also possible that an earlier form of the genealogy named additional children of Ulam.
2. A Benjaminite tribal leader, whose sons were archers in the military (1 Chr 8:39–40). Ulam was the firstborn son of Eshek, and his two brothers were Jeush and Eliphelet. Ulam’s sons and grandsons were numerous—totaling 150 (190, according to a few LXX mss)—and were recognized for their military prowess.
The two verses that treat Ulam and the other sons of Eshek are problematic for several reasons. First, they represent a change of syntax from the earlier forms in the chapter to the form: “the sons of PN: PN and PN ” (Braun 1 Chronicles WBC, 127–28). In addition, the verses are only loosely attached to the rest of the chapter. While Eshek, the father of Ulam, is linked to Azel and called “his brother” in vv 38–39, when Azel and his sons are listed again, along with other Benjaminites, in 9:35–44, the family of Eshek is unmentioned. Therefore, it has been proposed that vv 39–40 may have been a genealogical fragment—perhaps from a military census, as the military vocabulary suggests—that was inserted at the end of chap. 8 (Curtis and Madsen Chronicles ICC, 167; Braun WBC, 127–28). Finally, the number of Ulam’s sons and grandsons (150) seems a bit high (Rudolph Chronikbücher HAT, 82).
Benjaminites appear again as bowmen in 2 Chr 14:7 (—Eng 14:8), where they number 280,000 and constitute a major contingent of Asa’s army. While most interpreters believe that this number is far too large, some think that authentic military records lie behind it and suggest that “Judah” and “Benjamin” had come to designate the S army’s heavy and light divisions, respectively (Junge 1937: 37–45; Williamson Chronicles NCBC, 262–63). Others, however, deny that the verse reflects the conditions of Asa’s reign and believe that the author of Chronicles composed it to show how God had blessed Judah (Welten 1973: 79–82).
Bibliography
Junge, E. 1937. Der Wiederaufbau des Heerwesens des Reiches Juda unter Josia. BWANT 4th ser. 23. Stuttgart.
Welten, P. 1973. Geschichte und Geschichtsdarstellung in den Chronikbüchern. WMANT 42. Neukirchen-Vluyn.
M. Patrick Graham
Freedman, D. N. (1996, c1992). The Anchor Bible Dictionary (6:721). New York: Doubleday.
2:
ULAM
1. Clan in Manasseh’s tribe (1 Chr 7:16–17).
2. Eshek’s firstborn son and a mighty warrior in Benjamin’s tribe (1 Chr 8:39–40).
Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). Tyndale Bible dictionary. Tyndale reference library (1278). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
3:
U´LAM (ūʹlam; perhaps, “leader, first”; cf. Arab. ˒awwal, “first”).
1. A son of Sheresh, and father of Bedan, of the tribe of Manasseh. Mentioned only in the genealogical record (1 Chron. 7:16–17).
2. The firstborn of Eshek, a direct descendant from Mephibosheth, the grandson of King Saul; he lived about 588 b.c. His sons and grandsons, numbering 150, were famous as archers and “mighty men of valor” (1 Chron. 8:39–40).
Unger, M. F., Harrison, R. K., Vos, H. F., Barber, C. J., & Unger, M. F. (1988). The new Unger's Bible dictionary. Revision of: Unger's Bible dictionary. 3rd ed. c1966. (Rev. and updated ed.). Chicago: Moody Press.
4:
Ulam (o̅o̅ʹluhm). 1 A descendant of Manasseh of the clan of Gilead (1 Chron. 7:16, 17). 2 The son of Eshek; he was a Benjaminite descendant of King Saul and head of a family of archers (1 Chron. 8:39-40).
Achtemeier, P. J., Harper & Row, P., & Society of Biblical Literature. (1985). Harper's Bible dictionary. Includes index. (1st ed.) (1104). San Francisco: Harper & Row.
5:
Ulam (Heb. ˒ûlām)
1. A Manassite, son of Sheresh and descendant of Maacah and Machir (1 Chr. 7:16–17).
2. The oldest son of Eshek, a descendant of Saul, and head of a Benjaminite family of archers (1 Chr. 8:39–40; cf. 2 Chr. 14:8b [MT 7b]).
Freedman, D. N., Myers, A. C., & Beck, A. B. (2000). Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible (1345). Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans.
