What is…
Erech

also known as: Erek, Uruk, Orech (Septuagint), Orchoe (Greeks and Romans)

Hebrew: אֶרֶךְ —transliteration: Erek —meaning: length, long-suffering, patience

This is the name of one of the cities of Nimrod’s kingdom in the plain of Shinar ().

The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. —Genesis 10:10

It was probably the city of the Archevites, who were transplanted to Samaria by Asnapper (Ezra 4:9).

It lay on the left bank of the Euphrates River, about 120 miles southeast of Babylon, and is now represented by the mounds and ruins of Uruk (Warka, Iraq).

Archaeologist William Kennett Loftus visited the site of Uruk in 1849, identifying it as Erech, known as the second city founded by Nimrod in Shinar, and led the first excavations from 1850 to 1854.

It appears to have been the necropolis of the Assyrian kings, as the whole region is strewn 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 center 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.”

More information

• Archevites
• Euphrates River
• Who is NIMROD? Was he godly or evil?
• ASSYRIA—What does the Bible say about it?
• What are the CITIES OF THE BIBLE? Names, descriptions, locations and types
• Learn about Bible archaeology