Erech

E´rech, one of the cities which formed the beginning of Nimrod’s kingdom in the plain of Shinar (Gen 10:10). It is not said that he built these cities, but that he established his power over them; from which we may conclude that they previously existed. Bochart seeks the name in the Aracca or Aracha of the old geographers, which was on the Tigris, upon the borders of Babylonia and Susiana. Rosenmüller happily conjectures that Erech probably lay nearer to Babylon than Aracca: and this has been lately confirmed by Col. Taylor, the British resident at Bagdad, who is disposed to find the site of the ancient Erech in the great mounds of primitive ruins, indifferently called Irak, Irka, and Senkerah, by the nomad Arabs: and sometimes El Asayiah, ’the place of pebbles.’ These mounds, which are now surrounded by the almost perpetual marshes and inundations of the lower Euphrates, lie some miles east of that stream, about midway between the site of Babylon and its junction with the Tigris.

One of Nimrod’s cities in the plain of Shinar, Gen 10:10 . A recent explorer finds its probable site in the mounds of primeval ruins now called Irka or Irak, a few miles east of the Euphrates, midway between Babylon and the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris.\par

E’rech. (length). One of the cities of Nimrod’s kingdom, in the land of Shinar, Gen 10:10, doubtless the same as Orchoe, 82 miles south and 43 east of Babylon, the modern designations of the site -- Warka, Irka and Irak -- bearing a considerable affinity to the original name.

"The beginning of Nimrod’s kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh in the land of Shinar." Orchoe, 82 miles S., 43 E. of Babylon, now Warka; in the land of Shinar. Apparently the necropolis of the Assyrian kings, judging from the brick and coffins and mounds all round. Some bricks bear the monogram "the moon," corresponding to Hebrew yareach, from whence perhaps Erech is derived. The inhabitants were among those settled in Samaria by Asnapper (Ezr 4:9-10). (See BABYLON.)

(Hebrews E’reok, אֶרֶךְ, length; Sept. Ο᾿ρέχ,Vulg. Arach), one of the cities which formed the beginning of Nimrod’s kingdom in the plain of Shinar (Gen 10:10). It is not said that he built these cities, but that he established his power over them; from which we may conclude that they previously existed. It was probably also the city of the ARCHEVITES, who were among those who were transplanted to Samaria by Asnapper (Ezr 4:9). Until recently, the received opinion, following the authority of St. Ephrem, Jerome, and the Targumists, identified Erech with Edessa or Callirhoe (now Urfah), a town in the northwest of Mesopotamia. This opinion is supported by Von Bohlen (Introd. to Genesis page 233), who connects the name Callirhoe with the Biblical Erech through the Syrian form Eurhok, suggesting the Greek word ἐ῏υῤῥοος. This identification is, however, untenable: Edessa was probably built by Seleucus, and could not, therefore, have been in existence in Ezra’s time (Ezr 4:9), and the extent thus given to the land of Shinar presents a great objection. Erech must be sought in the neighborhood of Babylon. Gesenius (Thesaur. page 151), following Bochart (Phaleg, 4:16), rather seeks the name in the ῎Αρακκα or Aracha of the old geographers, which was on the Tigris, upon the borders of Babylonia and Susiana (Ptolemy, 6:3; Ammian. Marcell. 33:6, 26). This was probably the same city which Herodotus (1:185; 6:119) calls Ardericca (῎Αρδέρικκα), i.e. Great Erech. Rosenmüller happily conjectures (Alterth. 1, 2:25) that Erech probably lay nearer to Babylon than Aracca; and this has lately been confirmed by Colossians Taylor, the British resident at Bagdad, who is disposed to find the site of the ancient Erech in the great mounds of primitive ruins, indifferently called Irak, Irka, Werka, and Senkerah, by the nomade Arabs and sometimes El-Asayiah, "the place of pebbles" (Bonomi, Nineveh, page 40). These mounds, which are now surrounded by the almost perpetual marshes and inundations of the lower Euphrates, lie some miles east of that stream, about midway between the site of Babylon and its junction with the Tigris. This is doubtless the same as Orchoa (Ο᾿ρχόη) 82 miles south, and 42 east of Babylon (Ptolemy, 6:20, 7), the modern designations of the site bearing a considerable affinity to both the original names. It is likewise probable that the Orcheni (Ο᾿ρχηνοί) described by Strabo as an astronomical sect of the Chaldaeans dwelling near Babylon (21, page 739); in Ptolemy as a people of Arabia living near the Persian Gulf (5:19, 2); and in Pliny as an agricultural population, who banked up the waters of the Euphrates, and compelled them to flow into the Tigris (6:27, 31), were really inhabitants of Orchoe and of the district surrounding it. This place appears to have been the necropolis of the Assyrian kings, the whole neighborhood being covered with mounds, and strewed with the remains of bricks and coffins. Some of the bricks bear a monogram of "the moon," and Colossians Rawlinson surmises that the name Erech may be nothing more than a form of יָרֵחִ, the Hebrews name for that luminary (Athenceum, 1854, No. 1377); but the orthography does not sustain this conjecture. Some have thought that the name of Erech may be preserved in that of Irak (Irak-Arabi), which is given to the region enclosed by the two rivers in the lower part of their course. (See Chesney, Euphrates Expedition, 1:116, 117; Ainsworth, Researches, page 178; Loftus, Chaldcea, page 160 sq., where a full description is given.) For another Erech, probably in Palestine, SEE ARCHI.

Erech (ç’rek), enduring. A city of Nimrod. Gen 10:10. Its people are called Archevites and noticed in connection with the Babylonians. Ezr 4:9. Jerome identifies Erech with Edessa, in Mesopotamia; others identify it with Orchoe or Orech of the Greek and Roman geographers. It corresponded to modern Warka, about 120 miles southeast of Babylon.

[E’rech]

One of the cities of Nimrod in the land of Shinar. Gen 10:10. It is judged to have been the ancient Orchoe of the Greeks and Romans. It is identified with extensive ruins at Warka, 31° 30’ N, 45° 40’ E. Its original Accadian name was UNU, UNUG, or UNUGA; the Babylonians and Assyrians called it URUK or ARKU; hence the Hebrew name Erech, and the Arab Warka. By the Accadians it was also styled ’the heavenly grove,’ ’the heavenly resting place,’ ’the seven enclosures,’ etc. The Babylonians thought much of the city, and the ruins show that it had large and elegant buildings.

By: Emil G. Hirsch, Robert W. Rogers

The second of the four Babylonian cities founded, according to Gen. x. 10, by Nimrod.

The site of the city is now known as "Warka," on the left bank of the Euphrates, about half-way between Hilla and Korna. The mounds and ruins cover an area six miles in circumference. Inadequately explored by Loftus ("Travels in Chaldea and Susiana," pp. 162 et seq.), they have furnished only incomplete material for its history. The earliest inscriptions found are by Dungi, Ur-Ba'u, and Gudea, kings of Ur, who held Erech as a part of their dominions. After these come texts of Singasid, Merodach-baladan I. Great numbers of coffins, especially of the Parthian period, show that the site had become a necropolis.

The foundation of Erech is ascribed in the non-Semitic version of the Creation-story to the god Marduk, and it is the center of life and action in the Gilgamesh epic. It had many poetical names.

ERECH.—Named second in the list of Nimrod’s cities (Gen 10:10). the very ancient Babylonian city of Arku, or Uruk, regarded as exceptionally sacred and beautiful. Its ruins at Warka lie half-way between Hillah and Korna, on the left bank of the Euphrates, and W. of the Nile Canal. The people of Erech are called Archevites in Ezr 4:9.

C. H. W. Johns.

ē´rek, er´ek (ארך, ’erekh; Ὄρεχ, Órech):

1. Etymology of the Name

The second of the cities founded by Nimrod, the others being Babel, Accad and Calneh (Gen 10:10). The derivation of the name is well known, Erech being the Semitic-Babylonian Uruk, from the Sumerian Unug, a word meaning “seat,” probably in the sense of “residential city.” The character with which it is written enters into the composition of the Babylonian names of Larsa and Ur of the Chaldees.

2. Position and Nature of the Ruins

Its identification with Warka, on the left bank of the Euphrates, half-way between Hillah (Babylon) and Korna, is beyond a doubt. It is thought that the Euphrates must have flowed nearer to the city in ancient times, as the Gilgames legend relates that that hero and his companion Enkidu washed their hands in the stream after having killed the divine bull sent by the goddess Ištar to destroy them. The shape of the ruin is irregular, the course of the walls of the Northeast having been seemingly determined by that of the Nile canal (Shatt-en-Nil), which flowed on that side. The extreme length of the site from North to South is over 3,000 yds., and its width about 2,800 yds. This space is very full of remains of buildings; and the foundations of the walls, with their various windings, gateways and defenses, are traceable even now.

3. Its Patron-Deities and Their Temples

Two great deities, Ishtar and Nanaa, were worshipped in this city, the temple of the former being Ê-anna, “the house of heaven” (or “of Anu,” in which case it is probable that the god of the heavens, Anu, was also one of the patrons of the city). The shrine dedicated to Ishtar is apparently now represented by the ruin known as Buwārı̄yya or “reed-mats,” and so called on account of the layers of matting at intervals of 4 or 5 ft. This is the great temple-tower (ziqqurat) of the place, called Ê-gipar-imina, “the house of 7 enclosures.” The remains are situated in a large courtyard measuring 350 ft. by 270 ft. As in the case of other Babylonian erections, the corners are directed toward the cardinal points, and its height is about 100 ft. above the desert-plain.

As Erech is mentioned with Babylon, Niffer (Calneh) and Eridu, as one of the cities created by Merodach (Nimrod), it is clear that it was classed with the oldest foundations in Babylonia. It was the city of Gilgames, the half-mythical king of the earliest period, who seems to have restored the walls and temples. Its earliest known ruler of historical times was Enšag-kuš-anna, about 4,000 bc.

4. History of the City’s Temples, Etc

The celebrated shrine of Ištar was already in existence in the time of Lugal-zaggi-si, who came somewhat later. King Dungi (2600 bc) restored Ê-anna and built its great wall. This was in the time of the great Ur Dynasty, but later the city seems to have come under the dominion of the kings of Isin, Libit-Ištar having apparently restored the sanctuary of Ištar on Ê-gipara. Another great ruler of the early period was Sin-gašid, king of Erech, who was a patron of Ê-anna; and when he restored this shrine, he endowed it with grain, wool, oil and 1 shekel of gold. There seems also to have been a shrine to Nergal, god of war, which was restored by King Sin-gamil. About 2280 bc Kudur-Nanh̬unde, the Elamite king, plundered the city, and carried off the statue of the goddess Nanaa, which was only restored to its place by Aššur-bani-âpli, the Assyrian king, about 635 bc. Samsu-iluna seems to have surpassed his father H̬ammurabi (Amraphel) in the restoration of the city’s temples, and other rulers who did not forget Erech were Nebuchadrezzar and Nabonidus.

5. Literature Referring to Erech

Many tablets have been found on the site, and give promise of interesting discoveries still to come. Having been the capital of the hero-king Gilgames, who saw the wonders of the wide world, spoke with the Babylonian Noah face to face, and almost attained immortality as a living man, it was always a place of romance. Poetical compositions concerning it exist, one of the most interesting being a lamentation possibly written after the invasion of Kudur-Nanh̬undi, when famine was rife in the city, blood flowed like water in Ê-ulbar, the house of 1star’s oracle, and the enemy heaped up fire in all the goddess’ lands as one heaps up embers.

6. The City’s Numerous Names

The consideration in which the city was held is made plain by the geographical lists, from which it would seem that it had no less than 11 names, among them being Illab or Illag, Tir-anna, “the heavenly grove”; Ub-imina, “the 7 regions”; Uru-gipara-imina, “the city of the 7 enclosures”; and Uruk-supuri, “Erech of the folds” (the name which it always bears in the Gilgames legend), given to it either on account of its being a center where pastoral tribes gathered, or because of the flocks kept for sacrifice to its deities.

7. Tablets and Tombs of Late Date

Besides the inscriptions of the kings already mentioned, tablets of the reigns of Nabopolassar, Nebuchadrezzar, Nabonidus, Cyrus, Darius and some of the Seleucids have been found on the site. In the ruins of the town and the country around, numerous glazed earthenware (slipper-shaped) coffins and other receptacles, used for and in connection with the burial of the dead, occur. These are mostly of the Parthian period, but they imply that the place was regarded as a necropolis, possibly owing to the sanctity attached to the site.

Literature

Schrader, KAT; Loftus, Chaldoea and Susiana, 162ff; Fried. Delitzsch, Wo lag das Paradies? 221 f; Zehnpfund, Babylonien in seinen wichtigsten Ruinenstätten, 48ff.