Calah was an ancient Assyrian city built by Nimrod, along with Nineveh and Resen.
Calah was one of the ancient cities built by Nimrod, the great-grandson of Noah, in the land of Assyria (Genesis 10:11-12). It was located along the Tigris River, south of Nineveh, in what is now northern Iraq. Calah, together with Nineveh and Resen, formed a complex of major Assyrian cities known for their power and influence in the ancient Near East.
The city of Calah served as the capital of the Assyrian Empire during the reigns of several powerful kings, including Ashurnasirpal II and Tiglath-pileser III. It was known for its impressive palaces, temples, and artistic achievements. Archaeological excavations at the site, known today as Nimrud, have uncovered significant remains of the ancient city, including royal inscriptions, reliefs, and statues.
In the Bible, Calah is mentioned only in the context of Nimrod's kingdom and the early development of Assyria. Its inclusion in the list of Nimrod's cities highlights the importance and antiquity of the Assyrian civilization, which would later play a significant role in the history of Israel and Judah.
Approximate location: 36.143, 43.312 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
One of the most ancient cities of Assyria. “Out of that land he [i.e., Nimrod] went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, and Calah, and Resen” (Gen. 10:11, R.V.). Its site is now marked probably by the Nimrud ruins on the left bank of the Tigris. These cover an area of about 1,000 acres, and are second only in size and importance to the mass of ruins opposite Mosul. This city was at one time the capital of the empire, and was the residence of Sardanapalus and his successors down to the time of Sargon, who built a new capital, the modern Khorsabad. It has been conjectured that these four cities mentioned in Gen. 10:11 were afterwards all united into one and called Nineveh (q.v.).
(completion, old age), one of the most ancient cities of Assyria. (Genesis 10:11) The site of Calah is probably market by the Nimrud ruins. If this be regarded as ascertained, Calah must be considered to have been at one time (about B.C. 930-720) the capital of the empire.
favorable; opportunity
CA'LAH (old age), one of the oldest of Assyrian towns; founded by Nimrod, Gen 10:11, and probably for a time the capital of the Assyrian kingdom. Layard, Porter, and Kalisch locate it at ?Kileh-Shergbut?, on the Tigris, 40 miles below Nimroud, where there is a vast ruin 3 miles in circuit. The Rawlinsons, Geo. Smith, and others, place it at Nimroud, where are ruins covering about 1000 acres. They indicate a town in the form of an irregular quadrangle, surrounded by a wall, flanked with towers, and pierced with gates. The remains of palaces, temples, and a famous tower or pyramid form a mound of ruins, 600 yards long, with a cone 140 feet high. See Assyria and Armenia.
CA'LAH (old age), one of the oldest of Assyrian towns; founded by Nimrod, Gen 10:11, and probably for a time the capital of the Assyrian kingdom. Layard, Porter, and Kalisch locate it at ?Kileh-Shergbut?, on the Tigris, 40 miles below Nimroud, where there is a vast ruin 3 miles in circuit. The Rawlinsons, Geo. Smith, and others, place it at Nimroud, where are ruins covering about 1000 acres. They indicate a town in the form of an irregular quadrangle, surrounded by a wall, flanked with towers, and pierced with gates. The remains of palaces, temples, and a famous tower or pyramid form a mound of ruins, 600 yards long, with a cone 140 feet high. See Assyria and Armenia. CAL'AMUS Song of Solomon 4:14; Eze 27:19, or SWEET CALAMUS, Ex 30:23, or SWEET CANE, Isa 43:24; Jer 6:20, All probably names for the same plant. It seems to have been an aromatic reed brought ''from afar country." Lemon-grass (Andropogon) is ''a plant of remarkable fragrance and a native of Central India, where it CAL CAL is used to mix with ointments, on account of the delicacy of its odor." Calamus may have been a species of this.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
2 verses in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H3625
From that land he went forth into Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah,
and Resen, which is between Nineveh and the great city of Calah.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.