The land we now call Iran is referred to in the Bible mainly as Persia and, earlier, Elam and Media.

Main biblical names for Iran

  • Persia (Hebrew: Paras) – This is the clearest biblical name for the region of today’s Iran, especially in the books written around and after the Babylonian exile (like Esther, Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah). These texts describe the great Persian Empire under kings such as Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, whose realm corresponds broadly to modern Iran and surrounding territories.
  • Elam – An even earlier name, used in Genesis and in prophetic books like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. Elam was a kingdom in what is now southwestern Iran, and over time its identity became absorbed into the expanding Persian Empire.
  • Media (or “Persia and Media”) – In some passages, especially later Old Testament texts, the area is referred to together as “Persia and Media” (Hebrew: Paras u Madai), reflecting the joint Median–Persian power that ruled the region before and during the rise of the Achaemenid Empire based in what is now Iran.

So, when you ask “what was Iran called in the Bible,” the best answer is:

  • In early Old Testament times: Elam and Media.
  • In exilic and post‑exilic books: Persia (often with Media, as “Persia and Media”).

Modern “Iran” is essentially the later name for this same core region that the Bible calls Persia. It officially adopted the name “Iran” in the 20th century, but in biblical language it remains “Persia” and, in older passages, “Elam.”

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