3641. Kalneh
Lexical Summary
Kalneh: Kalneh

Original Word: כְּלְנֶה
Part of Speech: Proper Name Location
Transliteration: Kalneh
Pronunciation: kal-neh'
Phonetic Spelling: (kal-neh')
KJV: Calneh, Calno
Word Origin: [of foreign derivation]

1. Calneh or Calno, a place in the Assyrian empire

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Calneh, Calno

Or Kalneh {kal-nay'}; also Kalnow {kal-no'}; of foreign derivation; Calneh or Calno, a place in the Assyrian empire -- Calneh, Calno. Compare Kanneh.

see HEBREW Kanneh

Brown-Driver-Briggs
כַּלְנֵ֑ה (van d. H, so Norzi; Baer כַּלְנֶ֑ה) proper name, of a location in Babylonia, Genesis 10:10 (J), ᵐ5 Ξαλαννη; DlPa 225 proposes identify. with Babylonian Kul-unu = Zirlab (conquered by Sargon in 710: COTGenesis 10:10: Amos 6:2), but dubious, and site of Zirlab unknown.

כַּלְנֶה Amos 6:2, probably = כַּלְנוֺ Isaiah 10:9 proper name, of a location city (conquered by Assyria under Sargon ?) possibly = כַּנֶּה (q. v.) Ezekiel 27:23, ᵐ5 omitted in Amos 6:2, Ξαλαννη Isaiah 10:9; perhaps = Kullani (WklGeschichte. Babylonian 225) i.e. (TomkinsPSBA Jan. 1883, 61) Kullanhou, near Aleppo, conquered by Tiglath-Pileser III in 738 (COTii, 195); or (Di) Kunulua (KG217 KBi, 107), southeast of Antioch (compare DrAmos 6:2).

Topical Lexicon
Name and Identity

Calneh (Hebrew כְּלְנֶה, Strong’s 3641) appears as an early Mesopotamian city of note, later remembered as an Assyrian conquest and finally as a case study in prophetic warning. Scripture also cites the form “Calno” (Isaiah 10:9) and the cognate “Canneh” (Ezekiel 27:23), suggesting a single urban center whose fame spanned many centuries.

Scriptural Occurrences and Literary Setting

1. Genesis 10:10 – “The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.”
• Calneh belongs to the first post-Flood imperial experiment under Nimrod. Alongside Babel, it helps portray the concentration of power, ingenuity, and human pride that would culminate in the Tower of Babel narrative (Genesis 11).
2. Isaiah 10:9 – The Assyrian king boasts: “Is not Calno like Carchemish? …”
• By Isaiah’s day the once-great Calneh has already fallen to Assyria, becoming a trophy invoked to assure Judah that no fortress can resist the invader.
3. Amos 6:2 – “Cross over to Calneh and see; go from there to great Hamath; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms?”
• Amos summons complacent Samaria to survey Calneh’s ruins as living proof that worldly splendor cannot shield a nation from divine judgment.

Together these verses trace a full arc: founding glory (Genesis), humiliation under foreign domination (Isaiah), and final desolation (Amos).

Historical and Geographical Considerations

• Mesopotamian Heartland: Genesis situates Calneh in Shinar, the broad alluvial plain between the Tigris and Euphrates. Many scholars locate it near modern Nippur or tell Uquair, though a minority places it farther north in modern Syria (near modern Kullan-hu).
• Trade Center: Ezekiel’s “Canneh” appears in a list of commercial partners of Tyre (Ezekiel 27:23), implying that Calneh, whatever its exact site, controlled lucrative caravan routes that linked Babylonia with Anatolia.
• Assyrian Target: The city’s capture, memorialized in Isaiah 10:9, fits the annals of Tiglath-Pileser III and Sargon II, who subdued central Mesopotamian towns early in their western campaigns.

Theological Themes

1. Human Ambition versus Divine Sovereignty
• Calneh’s placement beside Babel in Genesis associates it with humanity’s collective pride. The subsequent silence until its fall underscores that empires rise and fade under God’s unchanging rule (Job 12:23).
2. Judgment Begins with the Proud
Isaiah 10 and Amos 6 employ Calneh as evidence that God’s judgments are impartial, sweeping from pagan cities to covenant nations who mirror their arrogance.
3. A Call to Humility and Trust
• Observing Calneh’s trajectory, believers learn to reject security grounded in military strength or economic success and instead cling to the Lord of hosts (Psalm 20:7).

Archaeological and Prophetic Resonances

Calneh’s memory survived long enough to serve eighth-century prophets, showing that fulfilled judgments were verifiable to contemporaries. Modern excavations in lower Mesopotamia reveal layers of destruction matching Neo-Assyrian military activity, lending historical weight to biblical testimony. Such convergence reinforces confidence in Scripture’s historical accuracy and prophetic reliability.

Ministry Application

• Preaching: Calneh furnishes a ready illustration when confronting nationalism, materialism, or overconfidence.
• Teaching: In a survey of Genesis 10 or the Minor Prophets, it helps connect primeval history with later prophetic literature, highlighting the coherence of the biblical narrative.
• Discipleship: Believers can examine Calneh’s fate to cultivate humility, vigilance, and an eschatological outlook that prizes obedience over worldly stature.

Related Biblical Sites

Babel (Genesis 11:1–9); Carchemish (Isaiah 10:9); Hamath (Amos 6:2); Gath (Amos 6:2); Nineveh (Nahum 1–3).

Forms and Transliterations
וְכַלְנֵ֑ה וכלנה כַּלְנ֑וֹ כַֽלְנֵה֙ כלנה כלנו chalNeh ḵal·nêh kal·nōw ḵalnêh kalNo kalnōw vechalNeh wə·ḵal·nêh wəḵalnêh
Links
Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Genesis 10:10
HEB: וְאֶ֖רֶךְ וְאַכַּ֣ד וְכַלְנֵ֑ה בְּאֶ֖רֶץ שִׁנְעָֽר׃
NAS: and Accad and Calneh, in the land
KJV: and Accad, and Calneh, in the land
INT: and Erech and Accad and Calneh the land of Shinar

Isaiah 10:9
HEB: הֲלֹ֥א כְּכַרְכְּמִ֖ישׁ כַּלְנ֑וֹ אִם־ לֹ֤א
NAS: Is not Calno like Carchemish, Or
KJV: [Is] not Calno as Carchemish?
INT: like Carchemish Calno Or like

Amos 6:2
HEB: עִבְר֤וּ כַֽלְנֵה֙ וּרְא֔וּ וּלְכ֥וּ
NAS: Go over to Calneh and look, And go
KJV: Pass ye unto Calneh, and see;
INT: Go to Calneh and look and go

3 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 3641
3 Occurrences


ḵal·nêh — 1 Occ.
kal·nōw — 1 Occ.
wə·ḵal·nêh — 1 Occ.

3640
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