Genesis 10:10-12

10:10 The primary regions ¹  of his kingdom were Babel, ²  Erech, ³  Akkad, ⁴  and Calneh ⁵  in the land of Shinar. ⁶  10:11 From that land he went ⁷  to Assyria, ⁸  where he built Nineveh, ⁹  Rehoboth-Ir, ¹⁰  Calah, ¹¹  10:12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and the great city Calah. ¹² 

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¹ tn Heb “beginning.” E. A. Speiser, Genesis (AB), 67, suggests “mainstays,” citing Jer 49:35 as another text where the Hebrew noun is so used.

² tn Or “Babylon.”

³ sn Erech (ancient Uruk, modern Warka), one of the most ancient civilizations, was located southeast of Babylon.

⁴ sn Akkad, or ancient Agade, was associated with Sargon and located north of Babylon.

⁵ tn No such place is known in Shinar (i.e., Babylonia). Therefore some have translated the Hebrew term כַלְנֵה (khalneh) as “all of them,” referring to the three previous names (cf. NRSV).

⁶ sn Shinar is another name for Babylonia.

⁷ tn The subject of the verb translated “went” is probably still Nimrod. However, it has also been interpreted that “Ashur went,” referring to a derivative power.

⁸ tn Heb “Asshur.”

⁹ sn Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city situated on the Tigris River.

¹⁰ sn The name Rehoboth-Ir means “and broad streets of a city,” perhaps referring to a suburb of Nineveh.

¹¹ sn Calah (modern Nimrud) was located twenty miles north of Nineveh.

¹² tn Heb “and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; it [i.e., Calah] is the great city.”