Genesis 10:9-11

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Genesis 10:9 tn The Hebrew word for “hunt” is צַיִד (tsayid), which is used on occasion for hunting men (1 Sam 24:12; Jer 16:16; Lam 3:15).
2. Genesis 10:9 tn Another option is to take the divine name here, לִפְנֵי יִהוָה (lifne y^ehvah, “before the Lord [YHWH]”), as a means of expressing the superlative degree. In this case one may translate “Nimrod was the greatest hunter in the world.”
3. Genesis 10:10 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.
4. Genesis 10:10 tn Or “Babylon.”
5. Genesis 10:10 sn Erech (ancient Uruk, modern Warka), one of the most ancient civilizations, was located southeast of Babylon.
6. Genesis 10:10 sn Akkad, or ancient Agade, was associated with Sargon and located north of Babylon.
7. Genesis 10:10 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).
8. Genesis 10:10 sn Shinar is another name for Babylonia.
9. Genesis 10:11 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.
10. Genesis 10:11 tn Heb “Asshur.”
11. Genesis 10:11 sn Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city situated on the Tigris River.
12. Genesis 10:11 sn The name Rehoboth Ir means “and broad streets of a city,” perhaps referring to a suburb of Nineveh.
13. Genesis 10:11 sn Calah (modern Nimrud) was located 20 miles north of Nineveh.