Nimrod is a legendary Mesopotamian king in the early Bronze Age. A controversial figure, Nimrod has a savage nature and civilized mind, aspects forever at war as he founds empires, defies Yahweh, builds the Tower of Babel and throws Abraham into the fire.
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Nimrod is reputed to be the great-grandson of Noah of flood fame, or grandson of Sargon the Great of Akkad, called Naram-Sin. He opposes Hebrew god Yahweh to worship Marduk of Babylon instead. Worship of a cult image or idolatry is condemned in Abrahamic religion.
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It's also said Nimrod is King over a vast realm who worships a fertility goddess, probably Inanna, also called Shaushka or Ishtar. She's perhaps the most widely revered goddess of Mesopotamia and tutelary deity of Uruk.
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Along the lines of polytheism and idolatry Nimrod brings the concept of fire worship into general practice. He association with fire, especially that of the underworld, appears in the name of Mt. Nemrut (Van Province, Turkey), said to be named for Nimrod.
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Earliest mention of the god Marduk is from a partial inscription dating to the Early Dynastic II period c. 2750 - 2600 BCE, the early Bronze Age. It's left by an unknown ruler of the city of BAR.KI.BAR (Babylon) who constructs a temple for Marduk.
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Marduk eventually (1st millennium BCE) becomes one of the most popular deities of the ancient world. As a warrior hero god he defeats the forces of Chaos, only to be equated with them himself.
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Nimrod may be called Bel, a term also applied to Marduk, simply meaning lord, similar to Baal. In Hungarian legend King Nimród (Ménrót), is described as "Nimród the Giant" or "the giant Nimród", a descendant of Noah. He's considered forefather of the Hungarians.
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Geneisis 10:9
King James version: "He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD."
Legacy Standard Bible: He was a mighty hunter before Yahweh; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before Yahweh.”
International Standard Version: He became a fearless hunter in defiance of the LORD. That is why it is said, "Like Nimrod, a fearless hunter in defiance of the LORD."
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Although considered a great king and builder of empires, Nimrod is notorious for his conflicts with Abraham. He throws Abraham into a furnace for devotion to Yahweh. Miraculously Abraham survives. Excerpt is below.
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The legendary ancestor of Armenians, Hayk, defeats Nimrod in a battle near Lake Van. East of Colchis on the Black Sea coast, Van is a saline soda lake, formed in a prehistoric volcanic crater. Nearby Mount Nemrut, which now has a lake in its crater, is named for Nimrod.
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In Babylon Nimrod orders the building of the Tower of Babel, a structure designed to put all others to shame. Construction begins 201 years after the biblical event of Yahweh's Great Flood. In Mesopotamia the flood is sent by God Enlil, who can't sleep due to noisy mortals.
The tower of Babel is never finished, as Yahweh causes language confusion. In this case Yahweh is the chaos element in his own name. The myth of Babel inspires millennia of art, theology and philosophy.
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The myth itself may be inspired by the Tower Tempe in Babylonian to the north of the Marduk temple. In Babylonian it's called Bab-ilu (“Gate of God”) and in Hebrew Babel, or Bavel.
Nimrod has a reputation as builder of towns, cities and empires. The prophet Micah calls Assyria, or northern Mesopotamia, the "land of Nimrod." Here Nimrod founds the cities Nineveh, Calah, Resen, and Rehoboth-Ir.
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The Mesopotamian cities Babel (Babylon), Erech (Uruk), Akkad, and Calneh belong of the initial kingdom of Nimrod. Shinar refers to the southern lands of ancient Mesopotamia.
"And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar."
Micah 5:6
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An early Arabic work, Kitab al-Magall or Book of Rolls, credits Nimrod with building several Mesopotamian towns including Ellasar (Larsa), Seleucia, Ctesiphon and Atropatene. A similar account appears in the Cave of Treasures (c. 350 CE).
The epics of Nimrod and Abraham reflect the classic Chaoskampf, the battle of good vs. evil, order vs. chaos or man vs nature. Nimrod appears either as a man who opposes Yahweh, or one who makes himself a god.
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One day, Nimrod is told by his astrologers of a portent in the stars. A child is born, Abraham, who will vanquish idolatry. Nimrod sentences all newborn infants to death. Abraham's mother escapes into the fields and gives birth in secret.
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Young Abraham recognizes Yahweh (God) early, and worships him. He confronts Nimrod and tells to cease his idolatry, whereupon Nimrod orders him thrown in a furnace or burned at the stake. Despite the intense heat of the fire, Abraham emerges unscathed.
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From the Midrash Rabba:
" ... He [Abraham] was given over to Nimrod. [Nimrod] told him: Worship the Fire! Abraham said to him: Shall I then worship the water, which puts off the fire! Nimrod told him: Worship the water! [Abraham] said to him: If so, shall I worship the cloud, which carries the water? [Nimrod] told him: Worship the cloud! [Abraham] said to him: If so, shall I worship the wind, which scatters the clouds? [Nimrod] said to him: Worship the wind! [Abraham] said to him: And shall we worship the human, who withstands the wind? Said [Nimrod] to him: You pile words upon words, I bow to none but the fire—in it shall I throw you, and let the God to whom you bow come and save you from it!"
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"... Haran [Abraham's brother] was standing there. He said [to himself]: what shall I do? If Abraham wins, I shall say: "I am of Abraham's [followers]", if Nimrod wins I shall say "I am of Nimrod's [followers]". When Abraham went into the furnace and survived, Haran was asked: "Whose [follower] are you?" and he answered: "I am Abraham's!". [Then] they took him and threw him into the furnace, and his belly opened and he died and predeceased Terach, his father."
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As a priest-king, Nimrod is ascribed augury powers. Early in his reign he receives three years of divination instruction from Bouniter, the fourth son of Noah. Credited with inventing astrology, Bouniter is later compared to Roman god Janus, the heavenly gatekeeper.
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There are times, in some versions of Nimrod's life story, when he attempts to divest himself of the trappings of fierce independence and turn to the worship of Yahweh. According to scholars he makes offerings to Yahweh, which the god refuses.
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Accounts from ancient historians include a Jewish tradition in which Nimrod leaves Shinar in south Mesopotamia and relocates to Assyria in north Mesopotamia, refusing to take part in building the Tower. Yahweh rewards him with the four cities in Assyria.
Nimrod is also compared with Naram-Sin (r. 2254–2218), the grandson of Sargon the Great of Akkad (r. 2334 - 2279 BCE). Naram-Sin is known for empire expansion, defeating several mountain tribes and declaring himself God of Akkad.
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Overall, there is no uncontested evidence for Nimrod's historical presence or deeds. He's part legend, part god, part human, part beast, a mythological foil for Yahweh. As a tyrant who spreads fear, kills babies and promotes urbanization, he continues to rouse debate.
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