Erec (Heb. ‘Erek, perhaps “length”; Bab. Uruk). City of Mesopotamia that was part of the kingdom of Nimrod in Babylon (Gen 10:10). The site has been identified with modern Warka, some 80 km northwest of Ur. German-led excavations, which began before World War I and continued on and off until 1959, show that the city was one of the most Ancient Mesopotamia. The Babylonians considered it the residence of Gilgamesh, 383 hero of the great Babylonian epic poem that contains the story of the flood. Inhabitants of that city were transferred to Samaria by Ashurbanipal (the Biblical Asnapar*; Ezr 4:9,10). Regarding Ezr 4:9, the word aram. ‘arkewâyê (Q ‘arkewâ’ê, “those of Erec”; cun. Urukaa, Arakaa) is a demonym for the natives of the city of Erec. Map III, C-6. 192. The White Temple of Uruk, the biblical Erec, with its stairway.
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
City of ancient Babylon mentioned in Gen 10:10 as the second city founded by Nimrod. The Babylonian form of the name is Uruk, the home of Gilgamesh, the hero of the great Akkadian epic.
Source: Hispanic World Bible Dictionary
See URUC.
Source: Archaeological Biblical Dictionary
City in Mesopotamia that the Bible relates to †¢Nimrod saying that †œthe beginning of his kingdom was Babel, E., Akkad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar† (Gen 10:10). Located on the eastern bank of the Euphrates about 65 km NW of Ur. In the time of Ezra, †œRehum chancellor and Simsai secretary, and his other companions the judges, governors and officials, and those of Persia, of E., of Babylon, from Susa…† wrote “a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes” (Ezra 4:8-9).
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
type, CITY
sit, a4, 294, 272
vet, City of Shinar that was part of the reign of Nimrod (Gen. 10:10). It has been identified with the mounds of Warka, south of Babylon.
Source: New Illustrated Bible Dictionary
One of the four cities that constituted the †˜beginning of the kingdom†™ of Nimrod in the land of Shinar. (Ge 10:10) Today Erec is a group of mounds located in a place known to the Arabs as Warka and known to the ancient Akkadians of Mesopotamia as Uruk. This city is about 180 km to the SE. of Babylon, on the west bank of the old bed of the Euphrates (the Shatt-ek-Kar), about 6 km to the E. of the current course of the aforementioned river. An ancient ziggurat has been discovered here, as well as many burial mounds and coffins, which seem to indicate that Erech was once a burial ground for Assyrian kings.
The people of Erech (†œArchevites† , MK, Mod; †œArchaveites† , Ga) were among the peoples moved to Samaria by the Assyrian emperor Asnapar. (Ezr 4:9, 10)
Source: Dictionary of the Bible
Ancient city of Mesopotamia mentioned in the table of nations (Gen. 10.10) as one of the possessions of Nimrod, in the land of *Sinar. Known to the Sumerians as Unu(g), and to the Akkadians as Uruk, it was one of the great cities of Sumerian times. It is mentioned in the Sumerian king list as the seat of the 2nd post-flood dynasty, one of whose kings was Gilgamesh, who later became one of the great heroes of Sumerian legend. Although the city remained occupied during later periods (Gr. Orjoē), never surpassed the importance that it had originally. Uruk is represented today by a group of burial mounds known to the Arabs as Warka, which is located S of Babylon, about 64 km NW of Ur and 6 km E of the present course of the *Euphrates. Although the site was investigated over a century ago by WK Loftus (Travels and Researches in Chalduaea and Susiana, 1857), the main excavations have been carried out by a series of German expeditions in 1912, 1928–39, and 1954–60. . The results are of supreme importance for the early history of Mesopotamia. To the prehistoric remains of the ubaidano period (* Sumer) followed the monumental stone sculpture and architecture of the late prehistoric period that richly illustrate the material culture of Mesopotamia at the beginning of history. It was on these levels, dating from the 4th millennium BC, that the earliest known inscriptions were found. They are found in the form of clay tablets, and although the signs are entirely pictographic, it is probable that the language they represented was Sumerian.
Bibliography. CF Pfeiffer, “Uruc (Erec)”, °DBA, pp. 707–708.
R. North, “Status of the Warka Excavations”, Orientalia sn 26, 1957, pp. 185–256.
TCM
Douglas, J. (2000). New Biblical Dictionary: First Edition. Miami: United Bible Societies.
Source: New Bible Dictionary