H3641a H3641a
Calneh (a city in Babylonia)
Calneh was one of the cities in Nimrod's kingdom in the land of Shinar, according to Genesis 10:10. It is listed alongside Babel, Erech, and Accad as part of the early empire building in Mesopotamia. Scholars have proposed identifying it with various Babylonian sites, including the city of Kullunu conquered by Sargon, though the identification remains uncertain. The name reflects the ancient geographical and political landscape of lower Mesopotamia in the Table of Nations, mapping the spread of post-flood civilization.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A city name in the Table of Nations, representing one of the urban centers of early Babylonian civilization. The multilingual evidence shows consistent transliteration (Spanish 'Kalné,' French 'Calneh'), preserving the proper name across language boundaries. Its association with Nimrod, history's first empire builder according to Genesis, places it in the foundational narrative of human civilization and kingdom formation. The difficulty of precise identification reflects the chronological distance and textual challenges in correlating ancient sources. 1×
AR["وَ-كَلْنَةَ"]·ben["আর-কল্নে"]·DE["und-Kalne"]·EN["and-Calneh"]·FR["et-Calneh"]·heb["ו-כלנה"]·HI["और-कलनेह"]·ID["dan-Kalne"]·IT["e-Calneh"]·jav["lan-Kalne"]·KO["그리고-갈레"]·PT["e-Kalneh"]·RU["и-Халне"]·ES["y-Kalné"]·SW["na-Kalne"]·TR["ve-Kalne"]·urd["اور-کلنہ"]
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
† כַּלְנֵ֑ה (van d. H., so Norzi; Baer כַּלְנֶ֑ה) n.pr.loc. in Babylonia, Gn 10:10 (J), 𝔊 Χαλαννη; DlPa 225 proposes identif. with Bab. Kul-unu = Zirlab (conquered by Sargon in 710: COT Gn 10:10; Am 6:2), but dubious, and site of Zirlab unknown.