Lud, Ludim

LUD, LUDIM lud, lōō’ dĭm (ל֥וּד, לוּדִ֧ים). Lud was the fourth son of Shem (Gen 10:22) and Ludim was the first son of Mizraim (Gen 10:13). Since the Table of Nations (ch. 10) is basically ethnographic in character and concerned chiefly with the origin and classification of certain of the nations of the ancient world, Lud and Ludim are to be regarded as eponymous ancestors of nations which continued to bear their names. While the two names are similar, they cannot be regarded as the same nations because Lud is classified as a Sem. nation, having Shem as its progenitor, and Ludim is one of the Hamitic nations springing from Mizraim (Egypt).

The identification of Ludim with Lydia is ruled out on the basis of the close geographical and ethnic association of Ludim with Egypt. It is prob. better to regard it as a nation now unknown as are the Anamim and Naphtuhim which also were begotten by Mizraim.

Lud, on the other hand, is almost certainly Lydia in several passages. The Assyrian Inscriptions refer to the Lydians as Lūdu; the same root as the Heb. Lud. Josephus equates Lud in Genesis 10:22 with Lydia (Antiq. I. 6. 4) and Herodotus speaks of Lydus, who was the traditional progenitor of the Lydians.

Lud appears in association with Tarshish, Tubal and Javan (Isa 66:19), nations which were located along the N shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Pul, which occurs in the same v. (KJV) is emended by some to Put, an African nation, but its close identification with the N Mediterranean nations seems to militate against the emendation. Since Lydia was in the same general area as the other nations cited, its identification with Lud in this passage seems to be warranted.

In Ezekiel 30:5 Lud prob. refers to Ludim, the African nation. It occurs in association with Ethiopia and Lydia in an oracle directed against Egypt. Some have suggested that Lud in this context may refer to Lydian mercenaries who were employed in the army of Egypt from the time of Psammetichus I, but the context seems rather to require the name of a place.

In an oracle against Tyre Ezekiel refers to mercenaries from Lud (27:10). The passage is of little help in locating Lud geographically because it is associated with Persia and Put, widely separated nations. It is quite probable, however, that Lydian mercenaries are intended for their prowess in battle was lauded by Herodotus (I:79) and the Assyrian Annals (Ashurbanipal, Rassam Cylinder) speak of Lydian mercenaries. In Jeremiah 46:9 a reference is obviously to the African Ludim because of its association with Ethiopian Put.

Egyp. inscrs. from the 13th to the 15th cent. b.c. refer to a people called Luden located near Mesopotamia. This has led some to infer that the Lydians were displaced from their original home in Mesopotamia by the Assyrians and migrated to Asia Minor. Lydia became a part of the Rom. empire after the defeat of Croesus by Cyrus.

Bibliography ANET (1955), 306; J. Simons, The Geographical and Topographical Texts of the Old Testament (1959).