Smith's Bible Dictionary.pdf - Online Christian Library

Smith's Bible Dictionary
(limpid, pure), a place mentioned by this name in (Numbers 32:3) only. If it is the same as
BETU-NIMRAH, ver. 36, it belonged to the tribe of Gad. It was ten miles north of the Dead Sea
and three miles east of the Jordan, in the hill of Nimrim.
Nimrim
(limpid, pure), The waters of, a stream or brook within the country of Moab, which is mentioned
in the denunciations of that nation by Isaiah. (Isaiah 15:6) and Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 48:34) We
should perhaps look for the site of Nimrim in Moab proper, i.e. on the southeastern shoulder of the
Dead Sea.
Nimrod
(rebellion; or the valiant), a son of Cush and grandson of Ham. The events of his life are recorded
in (Genesis 10:8) ff., from which we learn (1) that he was a Cushite; (2) that he established an
empire in Shinar (the classical Babylonia) the chief towns being Babel, Erech, Accad and Calneh;
and (3) that he extended this empire northward along the course of the Tigris over Assyria, where
he founded a second group of capitals, Nineveh, Rehoboth, Calah and Resen.
Nimshi
(rescued), the grandfather of Jehu, who is generally called “the son of Nimshi.” (1 Kings 19:16;
2 Kings 9:2; 14:20; 2 Chronicles 22:7)
Nineveh
(abode of Ninus), the capital of the ancient kingdom and empire of Assyria. The name appears
to be compounded from that of an Assyrian deity “Nin,” corresponding, it is conjectured, with the
Greek Hercules, and occurring in the names of several Assyrian kings, as in “Ninus,” the mythic
founder, according to Greek tradition of the city. Nineveh is situated on the eastern bank of the
river Tigris, 50 miles from its mouth and 250 miles north of Babylon. It is first mentioned in the
Old Testament in connection with the primitive dispersement and migrations of the human race.
Asshur, or according to the marginal reading, which is generally preferred, Nimrod is there described,
(Genesis 10:11) as extending his kingdom from the land of Shinar or Babylonia, in the south, to
Assyria in the north and founding four cities, of which the most famous was Nineveh. Hence Assyria
was subsequently known to the Jews as “the land of Nimrod,” cf. (Micah 5:6) and was believed to
have been first peopled by a colony from Babylon. The kingdom of Assyria and of the Assyrians
is referred to in the Old Testament as connected with the Jews at a very early period, as in (Numbers
24:22,24) and Psal 83:8 But after the notice of the foundation of Nineveh in Genesis no further
mention is made of the city until the time of the book of Jonah, or the eighth century B.C. In this
book no mention is made of Assyria or the Assyrians, the king to whom the prophet was sent being
termed the “king of Nineveh,” and his subjects “the people of Nineveh.” Assyria is first called a
kingdom in the time of Menahem, about B.C. 770. Nahum (? B.C. 645) directs his prophecies
against Nineveh; only once against the king of Assyria. ch. (Nahum 3:18) In (2 Kings 19:36) and
Isai 37:37 The city is first distinctly mentioned as the residence of the monarch. Sennacherib was
slain there when worshipping in the temple of Nisroch his god. Zephaniah, about B.C. 630, couples
the capital and the kingdom together, (Zephaniah 2:13) and this is the last mention of Nineveh as
an existing city. The destruction of Nineveh occurred B.C. 606. The city was then laid waste, its
monuments destroyed and its inhabitants scattered or carried away into captivity. It never rose again
from its ruins. This total disappearance of Nineveh is fully confirmed by the records of profane
history. The political history of Nineveh is that of Assyria, of which a sketch has already been
given. [Assyria, Asshur] Previous to recent excavations and researches, the ruins which occupied
500
William Smith