Genesis 10:10–11

10:10 The primary regions34 of his kingdom were Babel,35 Erech,36 Akkad,37 and Calneh38 in the land of Shinar.39 10:11 From that land he went40 to Assyria,41 where he built Nineveh,42 Rehoboth-Ir,43 Calah,44

34	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.
35	tn Or “Babylon.”
36	sn Erech (ancient Uruk, modern Warka), one of the most ancient civilizations, was located southeast of Babylon.
37	sn Akkad, or ancient Agade, was associated with Sargon and located north of Babylon.
38	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).
39	sn Shinar is another name for Babylonia.
40	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.
41	tn Heb “Asshur.”
42	sn Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city situated on the Tigris River.
43	sn The name Rehoboth-Ir means “and broad streets of a city,” perhaps referring to a suburb of Nineveh.
44	sn Calah (modern Nimrud) was located twenty miles north of Nineveh.