NINEVEH (nInie-veh), (Heb. 71).?.?, nee-nev-ay' ; Gr. Nevem nin-yoo-ay' ; also Nwevt, nin-yoo-ee'), meaning the dwelling of Ninus.
(1) Location. A famous city of the ancient world, capital of the great Assyrian empire, which stood on the eastern bank of the river Tigris, op posite to the present Mosul ; its actual site being most probably the same with that of Nunia and the tomb of Jonah, about three-fourths of a mile from the river, in the midst of ruins, north lati tude 36° 20' 17"; east longitude 43° to' 17".
(2) Name. The Bible makes the city a sort of colony from Babylon or Babel, Shinar Isee BABEL, TOWER OF), stating (Gen. x 'out of that land (Babel, etc., in the land of Shinar) went forth Asshur and builded Nineveh.' A similar tradition is indicated in Micah v :6. The native monu ments show that the tradition is correct, and that Nineveh was once included in the boundaries of the Babylonian empire. (See Driver in Ho garth's Authority and Archeology, pp. 29, sq.) In fact it seems to have taken its name from the Babylonian city of Nina on the Euphrates, which is mentioned by Diodorus (ii:3, 7), quoting prob ably from Ctesias.
The name of Nineveh is written Ninted and Nind in the cuneiform inscriptions. A popular etymology connected it with the Assyrian menu, '11,11,' at a very early date, since the name is ideo graphically represented by the picture of a fish inside the enclosufe of a city. But it seems really to have bcen derived from the title of the Baby lonian goddess Nina, the daughter of Ea, who was identified with the Semitic Istar. Nina is the original of the Grcek form Ninos." (A. H. Sayce, Hastings' Bib. Dict.) (3) History. After the simple statement in Genesis, the sacred record is for a long time entirely silent respecting Nineveh, which, we may therefore presume, remained inconsiderable for many generations. At length, some fifteen hun dred years after the first mention of the place, in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel (B. C.
825), Nineveh again enters by name on the biblical record, having meanwhile grown into a mighty power. This reappearance of Nineveh is acci dental, and shows that the Bible does not pro fess to give any orderly and systematic history of the world. Other countries come on thc scene and disappear, just as the course of events in the kingdoms of Judah and Israel seem to re quire or may chance to occasion.
Nineveh is described in the book of Jonah as 'that great city,"an exceeding great city of three days' journey,' probably in a straight line through the place, as the large cities of Asia stood on a great extent of country, having gardens, and even fields, in the midst of them; and Jonah is said to 'enter into the city a day's journey' (ch. iii :4) before he hegan to foretell its overthrow ; that is, as is most likely, Ile penetrated into the heart of the place, as being that which was most suitable for deliver ing his burden. The magnitude of the place may also be gathercd from what is said in the last verse of the book : 'That great city, wherein are more than six score thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand, and also much cattle' (grazing). The pop ulation of a place must have becn immense in which there were no fewer than 12o,000 children— young children, the language employed seems to denote. It also appears from the same book that the state of society was highly complex, organized in divers ranks from thc king and the noble to the peasant ; and, if we may argue from the exact ness with which the number of children is given, 735) entrusted with 'the burden of Nineveh.' From this book it would appear that thc repent ance of the city, if sincere, was not durable. Thcre fore was thc anger of Jehovah about to fall upon it and make it a perpetual waste. (See Sex