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Easton's Bible Dictionary
fort, One of the four cities founded by Nimrod ( Genesis
10:10 ). It is the modern Niffer, a lofty mound of earth and rubbish situated
in the marshes on the left, i.e., the east, bank of the Euphrates, but 30 miles
distant from its present course, and about 60 miles south-south-east from Babylon.
It is mentioned as one of the towns with which Tyre carried on trade. It was finally
taken and probably destroyed by one of the Assyrian kings ( Amos
6:2 ). It is called Calno ( Isaiah
10:9 ) and Canneh ( Ezekiel
27:23 ).
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
our consummation
Smith's Bible Dictionary
Calneh, or Calno (fortress of Anu), appears in ( Genesis
10:10 ) among the cities of Nimrod. Probably the site is the modern Niffer.
In the eighth century B.C. Caneh was taken by one of the Assyrian kings, and never
recovered its prosperity. ( Isaiah
10:9 ; Amos
6:2 )
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
kal'-ne (kalneh; Chalanne):
The name of the fourth city of Nimrod's kingdom (Genesis
10:10), the three preceding it being Babel, Erech, and Accad, i.e. the capital
of the realm of Babylonia and the chief cities of three of the principal states.
The meaning of the name is unknown, and many regard the identification as uncertain
athers and burned Callisthenes, who had fled into an outhouse with others who
had set the sacred gates on fire, "the meet reward of their impiety" (2 Macc 8:33).
1. Identified with Nippur:
G. Rawlinson thought it to be the modern Niffer (or Noufar), comparing the Talmudic
(compare Yoma') Nopher, which is said to be the same as Calneh. What place-name
Calneh corresponds with in cuneiform is doubtful. Fried. Delitzsch (Wo lag das
Paradies?) compared it with Kul-unu, but as we are told to pronounce this group
as Kullaba, it seems unlikely that there is any connection between the two. The
identification proposed by G. Rawlinson, however, may be regarded as being supported
by the bilingual Creation-legend, in which Merodach (= Nimrod) is made the founder
of Babylon, Erech and Nippur, which would in that case be three of the four cities
mentioned in Genesis
10:10.
2. Nippur's Importance:
The inscriptions reveal to us Nippur as a city with a glorious past. Sargon of
Agade, Sur-Engur, Dungi and all the more prominent kings of Babylonia in its larger
sense interested themselves in the rebuilding and restoration of its renowned
temples, so as to gain the favor of their great divinities.
3. Its Deities and Their Legends:
The city's earlier divine patrons were Enlil and Ninlil, the older Bel and Beltis,
whose shrines were at the great temple-tower called E-kura, "the house of the
land," and a poetical legend in Sumerian (dialectical) recording their visit to
the city, and enumerating its sacred places, still exists (PSBA, March, 1911,
85). Later, the chief deities of the city seem to have been Ninip, the son of
Enlil, and his spouse Nin-Nipri, "the lady of Nippur." These two divine beings
likewise evoked the muse of the city-scribes, who dealt with the glories of the
god in a composition extending over several tablets, in which his favor to his
spouse Nin-Nipri is extolled; and to whom a career very similar to that of Merodach,
the head of the Babylonian pantheon, is attributed (PSBA, December, 1906, 270).
4. Its Ruins Today:
The great temple-tower of Niffer, which was dedicated to the god Enlil, was a
very striking object among the buildings and temples of the city, and the lower
stages are still in an extremely perfect condition. Most interesting, also, are
the remains of streets and houses which enable the general conditions of life
in ancient Babylonia to be estimated, and suggest that they are similar to those
subsisting even at the present day. Our knowledge of the city is almost entirely
due to the American excavations at Niffer, inaugurated by J. P. Peters, which
have been most fruitful and have shed quite a new light on the city's history.
See Peters' Nippur (2 volumes, 1887); the many volumes written or edited by Professor
H. V. Hilprecht under the general title The Babylonian Expedition of the University
of Pennsylvania; and Professor A. T. Clay's Light on the Old Testament from Babel
(Philadelphia, 1907).
T. G. Pinches
Tags:
bible commentary, bible history, bible reference, bible study, calneh, calno, canneh, city, define, niffer, nimrod
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