Elmeyas (‘Élmeyas)

‘Élmeyas, whose name also appears in the forms Éleyas, Élmiyas, Élémeyas and Érmeyas, is mentioned in the Kebrä Nägäst (“Glory of Kings”) as one of the first-born sons of the elders of Israel who were chosen by King Solomon to accompany his son Menilek I to Aksum, where they were to form the nucleus of his court, holding the same offices as those discharged by their fathers at the court of Solomon. ‘Élmeyas is said to have been the son of ‘Arni, the liqä-diyaqonat or arch-deacon, who was the son of Nathan the Prophet. With ‘Azaryas (q.v.), the son of Sadoq the high-priest, ‘Élmeyas became one of the spiritual leaders of the Aksumites and a guardian of the Ark of the Covenant, being confirmed in the office of arch-deacon by Makeda, the Queen of Sheba (q.v.).

B. M.

Bibliography

C. Bezold, *Kebra Nagast *(München, 1905), pp. 44, 48, 50, 52, 112, 114, 127 of text, 36, 39, 40, 42, 47, 51, 89 ff. Of trans; E. A. Wallis Budge *The Queen of Sheba and Her Only Son Meyelek *(London, 1922), pp. 62, 66, 69, 77, 79, 147, 150, 151, 165.

This article is reproduced, with permission, from The Dictionary of Ethiopian Biography, Vol. 1 ‘From Early Times to the End of the Zagwé Dynasty c. 1270 A.D.’ copyright © 1975, by Belanesh Michael, S. Chojnacki and Richard Pankhurst, Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. All rights reserved.