Nimrod

Nimrod (/ˈnɪmrɒd/; Hebrew: נִמְרוֹדֿ, Modern: Nimrôd, Tiberian: Nimrôḏ; Aramaic: ܢܡܪܘܕ‎; Arabic: النمرود‎ an-Namrūd), a biblical figure described as a king in the land of Shinar (Mesopotamia), was, according to the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles, the son of Cush, the son of Ham, son of Noah. The Bible states that he was 'a mighty hunter before the Lord .... began to be mighty in the earth'. Extra-biblical traditions associating him with the Tower of Babel led to his reputation as a king who was rebellious against God. Attempts to match Nimrod with historically attested figures have failed. Nimrod may not represent any one personage known to history and various authors have identified him with several real and fictional figures of Mesopotamian antiquity, including the Mesopotamian god Ninurta or a conflation of two Akkadian kings Sargon and his grandson Naram-Sin (2254–2218 BCE), and Tukulti-Ninurta I (1243–1207 BCE). The first biblical mention of Nimrod is in the Table of Nations. He is described as the son of Cush, grandson of Ham, and great-grandson of Noah; and as 'a mighty one in the earth' and 'a mighty hunter before the Lord'. This is repeated in the First Book of Chronicles 1:10, and the 'Land of Nimrod' used as a synonym for Assyria or Mesopotamia, is mentioned in the Book of Micah 5:6: Genesis says that the 'beginning of his kingdom' (reshit mamlakhto) were the towns of 'Babel, Erech, Akkad and Calneh in the land of Shinar' (Mesopotamia) (Gen 10:10)—understood variously to imply that he either founded these cities, ruled over them, or both. Owing to an ambiguity in the original Hebrew text, it is unclear whether it is he or Ashur who additionally built Nineveh, Resen, Rehoboth-Ir and Calah (both interpretations are reflected in various English versions). Sir Walter Raleigh devoted several pages in his History of the World (c. 1616) to reciting past scholarship regarding the question of whether it had been Nimrod or Ashur who built the cities in Assyria. In Hebrew and Christian tradition, Nimrod is considered the leader of those who built the Tower of Babel in the land of Shinar, though the Bible never actually states this. Nimrod's kingdom included the cities of Babel, Erech, Akkad, and perhaps Calneh, in Shinar (Ge 10:10). Flavius Josephus believed that it was likely under his direction that the building of Babel and its tower began; in addition to Josephus, this is also the view found in the Talmud (Chullin 89a, Pesahim 94b, Erubin 53a, Avodah Zarah 53b), and later midrash such as Genesis Rabba. Several of these early Judaic sources also assert that the king Amraphel, who wars with Abraham later in Genesis, is none other than Nimrod himself. Since Accad (Babylonian Akkad) was destroyed and lost with the destruction of its Empire in the period 2200–2154 BCE (long chronology), the stories mentioning Nimrod seem to recall the late Early Bronze Age. The association with Erech (Babylonian Uruk), a city that lost its prime importance around 2,000 BCE as a result of struggles between Isin, Larsa and Elam, also attests the early provenance of the stories of Nimrod. According to some modern-day theorists, their placement in the Bible suggests a Babylonian origin—possibly inserted during the Babylonian captivity. Judaic interpreters as early as Philo and Yochanan ben Zakai (1st century AD) interpreted 'a mighty hunter before the Lord' (Heb.: גבר ציד לפני יהוה, ḡibbōr-ṣayiḏ lip̄nê Yahweh, lit. 'in the face of Yahweh') as signifying 'in opposition to the Lord'; a similar interpretation is found in Pseudo-Philo, as well as later in Symmachus. Some rabbinic commentators have also connected the name Nimrod with a Hebrew word meaning 'rebel'. In Pseudo-Philo (dated ca. AD 70), Nimrod is made leader of the Hamites, while Joktan as leader of the Semites, and Fenech as leader of the Japhethites, are also associated with the building of the Tower. Versions of this story are again picked up in later works such as Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius (7th century AD). The Book of Jubilees mentions the name of 'Nebrod' (the Greek form of Nimrod) only as being the father of Azurad, the wife of Eber and mother of Peleg (8:7). This account would thus make Nimrod an ancestor of Abraham, and hence of all Hebrews.