Verse Lens · Context pointer
Genesis 10:12 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 12. 12And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
Resen is placed between Nineveh and Calah, and the sequence closes by calling either Resen or the larger urban complex a great city.
Read It With
- Genesis 10:1–32
Read verses 10–12 together. The southern and northern city lists belong to one expansion about Mesopotamian power; verse 11 leaves the builder uncertain, and verse 12 leaves the precise referent of 'great city' uncertain.
Why It Needs Context
The verse is the geographical close of the Nimrod-Asshur digression and cannot identify a modern site or empire by itself.
Read Genesis 10:8–12 together
Why these verses belong together: Nimrod's might, hunting fame, kingdom, and southern and northern Mesopotamian cities form one digression.
Verse 8. 8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
Verse 9. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.
Verse 10. 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
Verse 11. 11 Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,
Verse 12. 12 And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Genesis 10:1–32 — The Families of the Nations Spread Across the EarthSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Displayed wording, genealogy, embedded notices, repeated summaries, and transition to Babel.
Exact location: Genesis 10:1–32 in the pinned standardized 1769 KJV corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text morphology and lemma data
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026
Supports: Generations, families, tongues, lands, nations, Nimrod clauses, Asshur syntax, elder wording, and Peleg's division.
Exact location: Genesis 10:1–32 forms, lemmas, syntax, names, and verse structure in Gen.xml
Open source ↗