אַשּׁוּר H0804
Asshur/Assyria; the eponymous ancestor, or the nation, empire, land, and people of Assyria.
In the Table of Nations (Gen 10:22), Asshur appears as a son of Shem and ancestor of the Assyrian civilization — one of the oldest named peoples in Scripture. Far more frequently, however, the same form designates the geopolitical entity Assyria: its land, its invading armies, and its imperial power that loomed over Israel and Judah for centuries. The prophets use it as both threat and symbol — Isaiah's 'rod of my anger' (Isa 10:5) and Hosea's futile ally (Hos 12:2). Translation traditions reflect this dual identity: Spanish 'Asiria' serves both person and nation, while German distinguishes 'Assur' (person) from 'Assyrien' (land).
Senses
1. Assyria the nation/land — The geopolitical entity Assyria — land, empire, people, and invading armies — appearing across all syntactic frames: bare, with prepositions ('to Assyria,' 2 Kgs 15:20), with conjunctions, and with directional suffixes. Dominates with 149 occurrences, spanning historical narrative (2 Kgs 15:19, 29; 16:7), prophetic judgment (Isa 10:5; 30:31), and eschatological vision (Zech 10:11). Multilingual glosses converge: Spanish 'Asiria,' French 'Assyrie,' German 'Assyrien.' 149×
AR["أَشُّورَ"]·ben["অশূরের"]·DE["Assyrien"]·EN["Ashur"]·FR["Assyrie"]·heb["אשור"]·HI["अश्शूर", "अश्शूर-का", "अश्शूर-के"]·ID["Asyur"]·IT["Assiria"]·jav["Asyur"]·KO["앗수르-의", "앗수르의"]·PT["Ashur", "Assur"]·RU["Ашшура"]·ES["Asiria"]·SW["Ashuru", "wa-Ashuru"]·TR["Asur'un"]·urd["اسور", "اسور-کا", "اسور-کے"]
2 Kgs 15:19, 2 Kgs 15:20, 2 Kgs 15:20, 2 Kgs 15:29, 2 Kgs 16:7, 2 Kgs 16:8, 2 Kgs 16:9, 2 Kgs 16:9, 2 Kgs 16:10, 2 Kgs 16:18, 2 Kgs 17:3, 2 Kgs 17:4 (+38 more)
2. Asshur the person — The personal or tribal ancestor Asshur, son of Shem, appearing in genealogical contexts. At Genesis 10:22 he is listed among Shem's sons in the Table of Nations (P source), and at Ezekiel 27:23 the name may carry both personal and territorial overtones in a trade-list. German 'Assur' and English 'Asshur' reflect the more personal reading, while Spanish and French tend to use the same form as for the nation. 2×
AR["أَشُورُ", "وَ-أَشُّورُ"]·ben["অশ্শূর", "আর-আশুর"]·DE["Assyrien", "und-Assur"]·EN["Asshur", "and-Asshur"]·FR["Assyrie", "et-Asshur"]·heb["אשור", "ו-אשור"]·HI["अशूर", "और-अशशूर"]·ID["Asyur,", "dan-Asyur"]·IT["Assiria", "e-Asshur"]·jav["Asur", "lan-Asyur"]·KO["그리고-앗수르", "앗수르와"]·PT["Ashur", "e-Ashur"]·RU["Ассур", "и-Ассур"]·ES["Asiria", "y-Ashur"]·SW["Ashuru", "na-Ashuru"]·TR["Asur", "ve-Asur"]·urd["اشور", "اور-اشور"]
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)H0834a 1. relative pronoun (who/which/that) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)G1063 1. (1047×)G3778 1. this thing, these things (1003×)H???? 2. (1002×)G2424 1. (924×)G3754 1. that (content clause) (881×)H2009 1. presentative particle: behold, look (881×)H0589 1. I (first person singular pronoun) (874×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
אַשּׁוּר n.pr.gent. & terr. Asshur, Assyria (Assyrian Aššur, land & cityDlPa 252 COT on Gn 2:14; Pers. Athura Syriac ܐܳܬܘܽܪ on the connection with name of god Ašur, & with √ אשׁר = ��שׁר good, gracious, cf. COTl.c.; v. also JenZA. 1886, 1 f. Schr ib. 209 f. Nöib. 268 f.) 1. Asshur as person, 2nd son of Shem Gn 10:22 (P, in table of nations) 1 Ch 1:17. 2. people of Asshur (often as invading army &…