Arioch

Not to be confused with Arioch, the king's chief executioner in the Book of Daniel

Part of a series on
Judaism
Movements Orthodox Haredi Hasidic Modern Conservative Reform Karaite Reconstructionist Renewal Humanistic Haymanot
Philosophy Principles of faith Kabbalah Messiah Ethics Chosenness Names of God Musar movement
Texts Tanakh Torah Nevi'im Ketuvim Ḥumash Siddur Piyutim Zohar Rabbinic Mishnah Talmud Midrash Tosefta
Law Mishneh Torah Tur Shulchan Aruch Mishnah Berurah Aruch HaShulchan Kashrut Tzniut Tzedakah Niddah Noahide laws
Holy cities / places Jerusalem Safed Hebron Tiberias Synagogue Beth midrash Mikveh Sukkah Chevra kadisha Holy Temple Tabernacle
Important figures Abraham Isaac Jacob Moses Aaron David Solomon Sarah Rebecca Rachel Leah Rabbinic sages Chazal Tannaim Amoraim Savoraim Geonim Rishonim Acharonim
Religious roles Rabbi Rebbe Posek Hazzan Dayan Rosh yeshiva Mohel Kohen
Culture and education Brit Pidyon haben Bar and Bat Mitzvah Marriage Bereavement Yeshiva Kolel Cheder
Ritual objects Sefer Torah Tallit Tefillin Tzitzit Kippah Mezuzah Menorah Shofar Four species Etrog Lulav Hadass Arava Kittel Gartel
Prayers Shema (Sh'ma) Amidah Aleinu Kaddish Minyan Birkat Hamazon Shehecheyanu Hallel Havdalah Tachanun Kol Nidre Selichot (S'lichot)
Major holidays Rosh Hashana Yom Kippur Sukkot Pesach Shavuot
Other religions Judaism and Christianity Hinduism Islam Abrahamic religions Judeo-Christian Pluralism
Related topics Jews Zionism Israel Criticism Antisemitism Anti-Judaism Holocaust theology Music Jesus Muhammad
Judaism portal

Arioch (Hebrew: אַרְיוֹךְ‎‎ ’Aryōḵ) is a Hebrew name that means "fierce lion". It originally appears in the Book of Genesis chapter 14 as the name of the "King of Ellasar", part of the confederation of kings who did battle with the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and with Abraham in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim. The same story is also mentioned in the Book of Jubilees which mentions "Arioch king of Sellasar".

^[2]

Earlier in the 20th century, it was common to identify him with "Eriaku" - an alternative reading of either Rim-Sin or his brother Warad-Sin, who were Elamite rulers over Larsa, contemporary with Hammurabi,^[3] although this identification has come under attack from scholars in more recent years, and is now largely abandoned, in part due to Nuzu inscriptions referring to a Hurrian king named Ariukki.

Alternatively Ellasar could have been the site referred to as Alashiya, now thought to be near Alassa in Cyprus, where there was a Late Bronze Age palace, destroyed by the Peoples of the Sea.

Adaptations by later writers

Arioch (Arius) was also a grandson of Semiramis in the classical Ninus legend.

Arioch was a name for a fictional demon, and also appears as the name of a demon in many grimoires. Arioch is also named in John Milton's Paradise Lost (vi. 371.) as one of the fallen angels under Satan's command.

Arioch is one of the principal lords of Chaos in several of Michael Moorcock's fantasy series. For more information, see Deities in the Elric series.

Arioch is also the name of an escape artist and magician who rose to fame in the 1990s after performing on MTV.

References

• Price, Ira, 1904. Some Literary Remains of Rim-Sin (Arioch), King of Larsa, about 2285 B.C. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.