Reference: Erech

One of Nimrod's cities in the plain of Shinar, Ge 10:10. A recent explorer finds its probable site in the mounds of primeval ruins now called Irka or Irak, a few miles east of the Euphrates, midway between Babylon and the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris.

(LXX., "Orech"), length, or Moon-town, one of the cities of Nimrod's kingdom in the plain of Shinar (Ge 10:10); the Orchoe of the Greeks and Romans. It was probably the city of the Archevites, who were transplanted to Samaria by Asnapper (Ezr 4:9). It lay on the left bank of the Euphrates, about 120 miles south-east of Babylon, and is now represented by the mounds and ruins of Warka. It appears to have been the necropolis of the Assyrian kings, as the whole region is strewed with bricks and the remains of coffins. "Standing on the summit of the principal edifice, called the Buwarizza, a tower 200 feet square in the centre of the ruins, the beholder is struck with astonishment at the enormous accumulation of mounds and ancient relics at his feet. An irregular circle, nearly 6 miles in circumference, is defined by the traces of an earthen rampart, in some places 40 feet high."

The beginning of Nimrod's kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh in the land of Shinar. Orchoe, 82 miles S., 43 E. of Babylon, now Warka; in the land of Shinar. Apparently the necropolis of the Assyrian kings, judging from the brick and coffins and mounds all round. Some bricks bear the monogram "the moon," corresponding to Hebrew yareach, from whence perhaps Erech is derived. The inhabitants were among those settled in Samaria by Asnapper (Ezr 4:9-10). (See BABYLON.)

Named second in the list of Nimrod's cities (Ge 10:10). the very ancient Babylonian city of Arku, or Uruk, regarded as exceptionally sacred and beautiful. Its ruins at Warka lie half-way between Hillah and Korna, on the left bank of the Euphrates, and W. of the Nile Canal. The people of Erech are called Archevites in Ezr 4:9.

C. H. W. Johns.

E'rech

One of the cities of Nimrod in the land of Shinar. Ge 10:10. It is judged to have been the ancient Orchoe of the Greeks and Romans. It is identified with extensive ruins at Warka, 31 30' N, 45 40' E. Its original Accadian name was UNU, UNUG, or UNUGA; the Babylonians and Assyrians called it URUK or ARKU; hence the Hebrew name Erech, and the Arab Warka. By the Accadians it was also styled 'the heavenly grove,' 'the heavenly resting place,' 'the seven enclosures,' etc. The Babylonians thought much of the city, and the ruins show that it had large and elegant buildings.

E'rech

(length), one of the cities of Nimrod's kingdom in the land of Shinar,

Ge 10:10

doubtless the same as Orchoe, 82 miles south and 43 east of Babylon, the modern designations of the site --Warka, Irka and Irak --bearing a considerable affinity to the original name.