From Shinar, Nimrod goes into Assyria and builds Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, and Resen. Nineveh — which will become the capital of the Assyrian Empire and the city to which Jonah is reluctantly sent — traces its founding to Nimrod. The two great ancient empires that will oppress Israel — Babylon and Assyria — both trace their origin to this verse and the previous one. The empire that began with one hunter who was a byword for power becomes the template for every subsequent political structure that crushes what is small and weak. Yet Jonah will discover in Nineveh that even the most powerful city founded by the most aggressive empire-builder is capable of repentance (Jonah 3:5). The people of Nineveh repent at Jonah's preaching, and Jesus holds them up in Matthew 12:41 as an example that shames those who reject greater light. The origin of Nineveh in Genesis 10 makes its repentance all the more extraordinary.

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