Erech

Septuagint (LXX, 70): “Orech”), length, or Moon-town

This is the name of one of the cities of Nimrod’s kingdom in the plain of Shinar (Genesis 10:10); the Orchoe of the Greeks and Romans.

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, about 120 miles southeast 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 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

• cities of the Bible