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Meaning, origin and etymology of the name Nineveh


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Nineveh Nineveh

Nineveh is the capital of Assyria, built by Nimrod.

"The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city." - Genesis 10:10-12

In cognate languages the city of Nineveh was known as Nina, Ninua or Ninu, so the Hebrew rendering of Nineveh should be expected to be a meaningless transliteration more than a deliberate name. However, the form Nineveh may have reminded a Hebrew audience of a combination of nin (nin 1326a) and nawa (naweh 1322):

nin (nin 1326a) means offspring, from the root nun (nun 1326) meaning propagate, increase. nun (nun 1326).
nawa (naweh 1322b) means dwelling, from the root nawa (nawa 1322) meaning keep at home.

Jones reads Offspring's Habitation, or Habitation Of Ninus. Ninus is a powerful, historical figure, but is not mentioned by the Bible.
NOBSE and BDB do not translate.



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