Bible Location
4 cross references · Modern-day map available
Asshur is the older form behind Assyria and can refer both to the founding ancestor and to the Assyrian realm or capital tradition. It is important because it connects genealogy, imperial identity, and the broader northern world known to Israel. First appears in Num 24:22.1
Coordinates
36.36, 43.15
First appears
Num 24:22
AI summary: Asshur carries a double significance in Scripture. It belongs to the table of nations and early post-flood memory, but it also points toward the great imperial reality of Assyria that later overshadows Israel and its neighbors. In prophecy and poetry the name therefore evokes both ancestry and geopolitical threat. The cross references present Asshur as a bridge between primeval genealogy and the emergence of one of the Bible's most consequential imperial powers.1
Latitude
36.36
Longitude
43.15
Bible references
4
Second son of Shem (Gen. 10:22; 1 Chr. 1:17). He went from the land of Shinar and built Nineveh, etc. (Gen. 10:11, 12). He probably gave his name to Assyria, which is the usual translation of the word, although the form Asshur is sometimes retained (Num. 24:22, 24; Ezek. 27:23, etc.). In Gen. 2:14 “Assyria” ought to be “Asshur,” which was the original capital of Assyria, a city represented by the mounds of Kalah Sherghat, on the west bank of the Tigris. This city was founded by Bel-kap-kapu about B.C. 1700. At a later date the capital was shifted to Ninua, or Nineveh, now Koyunjik, on the eastern bank of the river. (See CALAH; NINEVEH.) 3
Source note: this 1893 dictionary language reflects its period and may be culturally insensitive or outdated. It is presented as historical source material, not as ai-BIBLE’s language, interpretation, or endorsement.
AI-assisted summary prepared for ai-BIBLE and stored as page content, based on dictionary material, place metadata, and linked Bible cross references.
Alistair de Blacquiere-Clarkson, “ai-BIBLE Bible Names JSON Factsheet Aggregating Material from Smith’s Bible Dictionary & Hitcocks’s New and Complete Analysis of the Bible.” ai-BIBLE electronic edition, version 1.0.
M.G.Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, ai-BIBLE electronic edition, version 1.0.
Robert Rouse, “Theographic Bible Information,” Theographic-Bible-Metadata, 2020, https://github.com/robertrouse/theographic-bible-metadata.