Babel, Shinar and “he went out to Asshur”
Says וַתְּהִי רֵאשִׁית מַמְלַכְתּוֹ בָּבֶל (vattehi re’shit mamlakhto bavel, “and the beginning of his kingdom was Babel”) is rendered by BSB as “His kingdom began in Babylon.” Bavel is the same word as Babel in 11:9 (בָּבֶל). The cities lie בְּאֶרֶץ שִׁנְעָר (be’erets shin‘ar, “in the land of Shinar”).
Says Verse 11 reads מִן־הָאָרֶץ הַהִוא יָצָא אַשּׁוּר (“from that land went out ’ashshur”). There is no preposition before the name, and וַיִּבֶן (vayyiven, “and he built”) follows. The lexicon gives banah as “build” and lists this verse under the building of cities. רְחֹבֹת עִיר (rekhovot ‘ir) may be a name, as in BSB’s “Rehoboth-Ir”, or a phrase, “the city’s squares.” Verse 12 ends הִוא הָעִיר הַגְּדֹלָה (hi’ ha‘ir haggedolah, “that is the great city”).
Uncertain Verse 11 can be read with Asshur as the subject (“Asshur went out”) or as the place Nimrod went to (“he went out to Assyria”), since a verb of motion can take a place name without a preposition. The first gives Asshur a story of its own, though Asshur is listed only among Shem’s sons (10:22). The second keeps Nimrod as the subject but requires an implied “to.” In 10:12 “the great city” may be Resen, Calah, or the group of four cities. No lean is taken here.
Claims
- Saysוַתְּהִי רֵאשִׁית מַמְלַכְתּוֹ בָּבֶל (vattehi re’shit mamlakhto bavel, “and the beginning of his kingdom was Babel”) is rendered by BSB as “His kingdom began in Babylon.” Bavel is the same word as Babel in 11:9 (בָּבֶל). The cities lie בְּאֶרֶץ שִׁנְעָר (be’erets shin‘ar, “in the land of Shinar”).
- SaysVerse 11 reads מִן־הָאָרֶץ הַהִוא יָצָא אַשּׁוּר (“from that land went out ’ashshur”). There is no preposition before the name, and וַיִּבֶן (vayyiven, “and he built”) follows. The lexicon gives banah as “build” and lists this verse under the building of cities. רְחֹבֹת עִיר (rekhovot ‘ir) may be a name, as in BSB’s “Rehoboth-Ir”, or a phrase, “the city’s squares.” Verse 12 ends הִוא הָעִיר הַגְּדֹלָה (hi’ ha‘ir haggedolah, “that is the great city”).
- UncertainVerse 11 can be read with Asshur as the subject (“Asshur went out”) or as the place Nimrod went to (“he went out to Assyria”), since a verb of motion can take a place name without a preposition. The first gives Asshur a story of its own, though Asshur is listed only among Shem’s sons (10:22). The second keeps Nimrod as the subject but requires an implied “to.” In 10:12 “the great city” may be Resen, Calah, or the group of four cities. No lean is taken here.
Citations
- OSHB CC BY 4.0 Gen 10:10–12 (WLC/OSHB; morph HNcfsc HVqp3ms HC/Vqw3ms HPp3fs)
- BSB public domain Gen 10:10–12 (BSB)
- BDB CC BY 4.0 BDB 1906, p. 124 (leaf n147, archive.org hebrewenglishlex00browuoft), s.v. H1129 “build”; checked against the printed page (scan)
2026-11-11
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