Nippur

Nippur was the spiritual heart of ancient Sumer, devoted to the chief god Enlil. While not directly named in Scripture, it sat on the Chebar canal near where Ezekiel had his vision of God's chariot-throne by the river Chebar (Ezekiel 1:1-3), and excavations have produced the Murashu archive — Persian-period business documents that include Jewish names, confirming a Jewish exilic community in the Nippur region throughout the post-exile period.