Genesis 10:11

10:11 From that land he went ¹  to Assyria, ²  where he built Nineveh, ³  Rehoboth-Ir, ⁴  Calah, ⁵ 

Genesis 25:18

25:18 His descendants ⁶  settled from Havilah to Shur, which runs next ⁷  to Egypt all the way ⁸  to Asshur. ⁹  They settled ¹⁰  away from all their relatives. ¹¹ 

[10:11]  ¹ tn The subject of the verb translated “went” is probably still Nimrod. However, it has also been interpreted that “Ashur went,” referring to a derivative power.

[10:11]  ² tn Heb “Asshur.”

[10:11]  ³ sn Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city situated on the Tigris River.

[10:11]  ⁴ sn The name Rehoboth-Ir means “and broad streets of a city,” perhaps referring to a suburb of Nineveh.

[10:11]  ⁵ sn Calah (modern Nimrud) was located twenty miles north of Nineveh.

[25:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Ishmael’s descendants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “which is by the face of,” or near the border. The territory ran along the border of Egypt.

[25:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “as you go.”

[25:18]  ⁹ sn The name Asshur refers here to a tribal area in the Sinai.

[25:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he fell.”

[25:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “upon the face of all his brothers.” This last expression, obviously alluding to the earlier oracle about Ishmael (Gen 16:12), could mean that the descendants of Ishmael lived in hostility to others or that they lived in a territory that was opposite the lands of their relatives. While there is some ambiguity about the meaning, the line probably does give a hint of the Ishmaelite-Israelite conflicts to come.