And Cush begot Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
8 19 (J). Nimrod, Assyria and Babylon: Canaan and Egypt
8 12 (J). Nimrod
8. Cush begat Nimrod ] In connexion with the “sons of Cush” we have here an Israelite tradition that the foundation of the Assyrian and Babylonian empires was due to “a son of Cush,” named Nimrod. What, if any, was deemed to be the connexion between Cush, and the origin of Babylon and Nineveh, is not related. At least, the explanation which has been hazarded, that some prehistoric Ethiopian monarch, having invaded and conquered Western Asia, founded the great cities of the Euphrates Valley, has not hitherto received confirmation.
Modern scholars call attention to the prominence of a people designated as the Cossaeans, , Assyr. Kashu, in Babylonian history. They were predominant in Babylonia between 1800 and 1200 b.c. It is suggested that the early Israelite tradition identified the name of this people with the similarly sounding name of the African Cush, and that, in the halo of romance and legend encircling the name of Nimrod, the Ethiopian origin of the founder of Babylon presented no serious difficulty.
Nimrod ] Mentioned elsewhere in 1Ch 1:10, Mic 5:6. Here he is described under two aspects: (1) as a mighty hunter, (2) as king of Babylonia, and founder of the chief cities in Assyria.
Assyriologists have been inclined to identify Nimrod with the mythical Babylonian hero, Gilgames, the hunter and lion-slayer, represented in Babylonian art as throttling, or gripping, a wild animal. No similarity in the name has yet been ascertained. Jeremias suggests that Nimrod is the Hebrew pronunciation of Nmir-Uddu = “shining light.” Another conjecture would identify him with the Cassite, or Cossaean, king Nazi-maruttash (circ. 1350 b.c.): but, if so, Israelite tradition seems to have transferred the name of a comparatively recent king (more recent than the patriarchs) into the ages of legendary obscurity.
began to be a mighty one ] A strange expression. The word “began” should be connected with “the beginning of his kingdom” in Gen 10:10. “He was the first great monarch.” Compare “began to be an husbandman” (Gen 9:20).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 8. Nimrod] Of this person little is known, as he is not mentioned except here and and in 1Ch 1:10, which is evidently a copy of the text in Genesis. He is called a mighty hunter before the Lord; and from Ge 10:10, we learn that he founded a kingdom which included the cities Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Though the words are not definite, it is very likely he was a very bad man. His name Nimrod comes from , marad, he rebelled; and the Targum, on 1Ch 1:10, says: Nimrod began to be a mighty man in sin, a murderer of innocent men, and a rebel before the Lord. The Jerusalem Targum says: “He was mighty in hunting (or in prey) and in sin before God, for he was a hunter of the children of men in their languages; and he said unto them, Depart from the religion of Shem, and cleave to the institutes of Nimrod.” The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel says: “From the foundation of the world none was ever found like Nimrod, powerful in hunting, and in rebellions against the Lord.” The Syriac calls him a warlike giant. The word tsayid, which we render hunter, signifies prey; and is applied in the Scriptures to the hunting of men by persecution, oppression, and tyranny. Hence it is likely that Nimrod, having acquired power, used it in tyranny and oppression; and by rapine and violence founded that domination which was the first distinguished by the name of a kingdom on the face of the earth. How many kingdoms have been founded in the same way, in various ages and nations from that time to the present! From the Nimrods of the earth, God deliver the world!
Mr. Bryant, in his Mythology, considers Nimrod as the principal instrument of the idolatry that afterwards prevailed in the family of Cush, and treats him as an arch rebel and apostate. Mr. Richardson, who was the determined foe of Mr. Bryant’s whole system, asks, Dissertation, p. 405, “Where is the authority for these aspersions? They are nowhere to be discovered in the originals, in the versions, nor in the paraphrases of the sacred writings.” If they are not to be found either in versions or paraphrases of the sacred writings, the above quotations are all false.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Whom he placeth last of all his sons, because he was to say more of him.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8. Nimrodmentioned aseclipsing all his family in renown. He early distinguished himself byhis daring and successful prowess in hunting wild beasts. By thoseuseful services he earned a title to public gratitude; and, havingestablished a permanent ascendancy over the people, he founded thefirst kingdom in the world [Ge10:10].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Cush begat Nimrod,…. Besides the other five sons before mentioned; and probably this was his youngest son, being mentioned last; or however he is reserved to this place, because more was to be spoken of him than of any of the rest. Sir Walter Raleigh i thinks that Nimrod was begotten by Cush after his other children were become fathers, and of a later time than some of his grandchildren and nephews: and indeed the sons of Raamah, the fourth son of Cush, are taken notice of before him: however, the Arabic writers k must be wrong, who make him to be the son of Canaan, whereas it is so clear and express from hence that he was the son of Cush. In the Greek version he is called Nebrod, and by Josephus, Nebrodes, which is a name of Bacchus; and indeed Nimrod is the same with the Bacchus of the Heathens, for Bacchus is no other than Barchus, the son of Cush; and Jacchus, which is another of his names in Jah of Cush, or the god the son of Cush; and it is with respect to his original name Nebrod, or Nebrodes, that Bacchus is represented as clothed with the skin of
, “nebris”, or a young hind, as were also his priests; and so in his name Nimrod there may be an allusion to , “Nimra”, which, in the Chaldee language, signifies a tiger, and which kind of creatures, with others, he might hunt; tigers drew in the chariot of Bacchus, and he was sometimes clothed with the skin of one; though the name of Nimrod is usually derived from , “to rebel”, because he was a rebel against God, as is generally said; and because, as Jarchi observes, he caused all the world to rebel against God, by the advice he gave to the generation of the division, or confusion of languages, the builders of Babel: he seems to be the same with Belus, the founder of Babel and of the Babylonian empire, whom Diodorus Siculus l confounds with Ninus his son:
he began to be a mighty man in the earth: that is, he was the first that formed a plan of government, and brought men into subjection to it; and so the Jews m make him to be the first king after God; for of the ten kings they speak of in the world, God is the first, and Nimrod the second; and so the Arabic writers n say, he was the first of the kings that were in the land of Babylon; and that, seeing the figure of a crown in the heaven, he got a golden one made like it, and put it on his head; hence it was commonly reported, that the crown descended to him from heaven; for this refers not to his gigantic stature, as if he was a giant, as the Septuagint render it; or a strong robust man, as Onkelos; nor to his moral character, as the Targum of Jonathan, which is,
“he began to be mighty in sin, and to rebel before the Lord in the earth;”
but to his civil character, as a ruler and governor: he was the first that reduced bodies of people and various cities into one form of government, and became the head of them; either by force and usurpation, or it may be with the consent of the people, through his persuasion of them, and on account of the mighty and heroic actions done by him.
i History of the World, B. 1. ch. 10. sect. 1. p. 109. k Elmacinus, p. 29. apud Hottinger. Smegma, p. 270. See the Universal History, vol. 1. p. 276. l Bibliothec. l. 2. p. 90. m Pirke Eliezer, c. 11. n Elmacinus, p. 29. Patricides, p. 16. apud Hottinger. Smegma, p. 271, 272. Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. p. 18.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
8. And Cush begat Nimrod. It is certain that Cush was the prince of the Ethiopians. Moses relates the singular history of his son Nimrod, because he began to be eminent in an unusual degree. Moreover, I thus interpret the passage, that the condition of men was at that time moderate; so that if some excelled others, they yet did not on that account domineer, nor assume to themselves royal power; but being content with a degree of dignity, governed others by civil laws and had more of authority than power. For Justin, from Trogus Pompeius, declares this to have been the most ancient condition of the world. Now Moses says, that Nimrod, as if forgetting that he was a man, took possession of a higher post of honor. Noah was at that time yet living, and was certainly great and venerable in the eyes of all. There were also other excellent men; but such was their moderation, that they cultivated equality with their inferiors, who yielded them a spontaneous rather than a forced reverence. The ambition of Nimrod disturbed and broke through the boundaries of this reverence. Moreover, since it sufficiently appears that, in this sentence of Moses, the tyrant is branded with an eternal mark of infamy, we may hence conclude, how highly pleasing to God is a mild administration of affairs among men. And truly, whosoever remembers that he is a man, will gladly cultivate the society of others. With respect to the meaning of the terms, ציד ( tsaid,) properly signifies hunting, as the Hebrew grammarians state; yet it is often taken for food (310) But whether Moses says that he was robust in hunting, or in violently seizing upon prey; he metaphorically intimates that he was a furious man, and approximated to beasts rather than to men. The expression, “Before the Lord,” (311) seems to me to declare that Nimrod attempted to raise himself above the order of men; just as proud men become transported by a vain self-confidence, that they may look down as from the clouds upon others.
Wherefore it is said (312) Since the verb is in the future tense, it may be thus explained, Nimrod was so mighty and imperious that it would be proper to say of any powerful tyrant, that he is another Nimrod. Yet the version of Jerome is satisfactory, that thence it became a proverb concerning the powerful and the violent, that they were like Nimrod. (313) Nor do I doubt that God intended the first author of tyranny to be transmitted to odium by every tongue.
(310) “ ציד Metaphorice cibus venatione partus, aut quovis modo paratus, praeter panem.” — Schindler. — Ed
(311) Some translate it, “Against the Lord;” yet, perhaps, the words will hardly bear this rendering. — Ed.
(312) “ Qua propter dicetur,” etc., “Wherefore it shall be said” In Calvin’s text it is, “ Idcirco dicitur,” “Wherefore it is said.”
(313) “ Ob hoc exivit proverbium, Quasi Nemrod robustus venator eoram Domino.” — Vulgate
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
7. Interlude: Nimrod the Empire-Builder. (Gen. 10:8-12)
The story of Nimrod is intriguing, to say the least. He is described as a mighty one in the earth, as a mighty hunter before Jehovah. What does this mean? Lange answers (CDHCG, 349): By such a proverb there may be noted a praiseworthy, Herculean pioneer of culture, as well as a blameworthy and violent despot [in ancient terms, tyrant]. In truth, the chase of the animals was, for Nimrod, a preparatory exercise for the subjugation of men. It can hardly be denied that Nimrod was an empire-builder. He belonged, it would seem, to what in Greek tradition was known as the Heroic Age: that is, he was a hero in the sense that Homer uses the word to describe the valiant (and often licentious and bloodthirsty) Greeks and Trojans of the Iliad and Odyssey. He impressed his name on subsequent generations to such an extent that the empire which he established was still, in the time of Micah the prophet, the land of Nimrod (Mic. 5:6). It is interesting to note, too, that the cities that are associated in Gen. 10:10-12 with Nimrods empire-building have, for the most part, been clearly identified in secular history.
Cornfeld (AtD, 38): According to this story, in the beginning Nimrods kingdom was in Babylon, and from there he went to Assyria. This may not be historically true, but it accurately reflects the historic background pertaining to the early Babylonian and Assyrian kingdoms. The names of cities connected with him are well attested by archaeological research, The name of Nimrod is preserved in that of the present-day Arab village Nimrud, where ancient Calah was excavated. The modern name Nimrud may possibly contain an echo of that used in antiquity for its chief protector, Ninurta, god of war and the chase. The biblical name Nimrod, according to E. A. Speiser, does not echo a god but the reign of the vigorous Tutukli-Ninurta I (12431207) who built Calah, Assyrias second capital, and conquered Babylon. The description of Nimrod as a builder and mighty hunter before the Lord well typifies characteristics of Assyrias early kings, as featured in illustrations of hunting scenes carved on rock.
Nimrod was a personal, rather than a geographical, name. He is presented in Scripture as founder of the following Babylonian and Assyrian cities: Babel: the rise of the great cities of Babylonia occurred very early in the historic period: the whole religion, culture and political organization of Assyria were derived from the southern state (Skinner, ICCG, 211). Erech: Babylonian city, Uruk, today ruins of Warka. Epic of Gilgamesh glorifies a legendary king of this perhaps most ancient city of southern Mesopotamia. Accad (Akkad), probably near modern Bagdad. Seat of the first Semitic empire and of a notable culture under its kings Sargon and Naram-Sin. Calneh: also in the modern Bagdad area. Cf. Calno (Isa. 10:9, Amo. 6:2); this city, however, apparently was in Syria. The real Calneh was identified by Rawlinson with the ruins of Niffer on the east of the Euphrates. In the land of Shinar, that is Sumer. Note that Nimrod is described as having gone forth into Assyria, where he founded certain other cities, as follows: Nineveh: the original Assyrian capital was Asshur. Nineveh seems to have been put first here among Assyrian cities because of its dominant role in the ancient world beginning with the reign of Sennacherib in the 8th century B.C. Rehoboth-Ir: Cf. Gen. 36:37Rehoboth by the River, that is, the Euphrates? Then was this an appelation for Asshur? No positive identification has yet been made. Calah: excavated by Layard 18458 and the British School of Archaeology in Iraq, 194961. Thought to have been founded by Asshur, a follower of Nimrod, moving from Shinar. Situated 24 miles south of Nineveh on the east bank of the Tigris, near the modern Nimrud. Resen: said to have been located between Nineveh and Calah. Must have been along the river Tigris, although positive identification has not yet been made.
The following brief sketch of the history of Mesopotamia is needed here (Cornfeld, AtD, 40): In lower Mesopotamia, the region at the head of the Persian Gulf, the dominant ethnic, political and cultural group in the 3rd millenium B.C.E. called its land Sumer (biblical Shinar). This phase is featured in material and written illustrations from Ur, Uruch (biblical Erech), Lagash, and Eshnunna, among others. Following the long phase of Sumerian ascendancy came the historic period of the first Empire under the Semitic dynasty founded by Sargon of Accad. Sumerian and Semite co-existed and contended with each other for political leadership until the end of the millenium, but the prevailing culture was very much of a joint effort. Though Accad was the main city and capital of the first empire in Mesopotamia, it has not yet been identified. As the civilization of Mesopotamia expanded, it separated into different channels. In the south of Mesopotamia were the Babylonians, whose city Babylon (biblical Babel) became the capital of the great kingdom. Its peak of power and glory was reached in the 18th and 17th centuries under Hammurabi, one of the great rulers of Babylonias first dynasty. The Semite inhabitants of western Mesopotamia were known as Amorites. In the north a city on the river Tigris was rising slowly to ever-increasing prominence. Its name was Ashur, as was also that of its chief god. The state the city came to control was Assyria. The political tide swung for the first time decisively in favor of Ashur during the reign of the vigorous Tukutli Ninurta I, The expansion of Ashur northward brought with it successive transfers of the capital of Assyria from Ashur to Calah to Nineveh. But Ashur remained the old tribal and religious capital in which the kings were buried, and Calah was the military capital of ancient Assyria until it was transferred to Nineveh. Thus Ashur, Calah, and Nineveh were Assyrias successive capital cities, well known in history and through archaeological discoveries.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(8) Cush begat Nimrod.This does not mean that Nimrod was the son of Cush, but only that Cush was his ancestor. In the days of Nimrod population had become numerous, and whereas each tribe and family had hitherto lived in independence, subject only to the authority of the natural head, he was able, by his personal vigour, to reduce several tribes to obedience, to prevail upon them to build and inhabit cities, and to consolidate them into one body politic.
He began to be a mighty one.Heb., gibbor= warrior. (See Note on Gen. 6:4.) The LXX. translate giant, whence in fable Nimrod is identified with the Orion of the Greeks, in Hebrew Chesil, and in Arabic Jabbar; but this identification is entirely fanciful, as is probably the idea that he is the Izdubar of the Chaldean legends (Chald. Genesis, p. 321). Following the unscholarlike method of explaining Hamite names by Hebrew roots, commentators interpret Nimrod as meaning rebel; but the Biblical narrative speaks rather in his commendation, and the foolish traditions which blacken his reputation date only from the time of Josephus. Mr. Sayce connects his name with the Accadian town Amarda (Chald. Gen., p. 191).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
8. Nimrod If this is a Hebrew or Shemitic word, it is probably related to the verb , to rebel, and means, let us rebel; but it may be an Hamitic name . The author here naturally turns aside to notice the foundation of the first great monarchies of the earth, Babylon and Nineveh . Brief digressions of this kind are not uncommon with the Hebrew chroniclers . Comp . 1Ch 2:4. Nimrod is clearly a person, and appears to be separately introduced as such, but he may have been removed several generations from Cush; for the Hebrew usage allows the dropping out of intermediate names in order to introduce an important personage.
A mighty one Mighty in personal prowess; warlike.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And Cush begat Nimrod. He began to be a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty warrior (hunter) before Yahweh (i.e. even in the Yahweh’s eyes); wherefore it is said “Like Nimrod a mighty warrior before Yahweh”.’
Here we begin to see some of the complications facing us in identifying some of these peoples. Nimrod was clearly, in pre-history, a great warrior who left his homeland seeking conquests and established great cities. Thus the descendants of Cush become connected with Mesopotamia.
This need not necessarily mean that the Cassites were all directly descended from Cush. It could mean that Nimrod, possibly with a small but powerful band of warriors, conquered the people who became known as Cassites in a similar way to that in which the Philistines became overlord of some Canaanites and gave them their name.
The reference to ‘a hunter’ probably indicates his warrior status as a hunter of men. But ancient kings did boast excessively about their prowess in the hunt and he may actually have been remembered as an exceptional hunter. In Mic 5:6, Assyria is described as ‘the land of Nimrod’ confirming the above connections.
“Wherefore it is said -”. This probably indicates a quotation from an epic passed down through the ages (compare Num 21:14). It is possible that the writer had access to ancient records about Nimrod and his activities. Alternately it may have been a well known proverb.
“Before Yahweh”. Compare Jon 3:3 where Nineveh is described as ‘a city great to God’. The idea is that even Yahweh God sees them as great. It represents a superlative.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Gen 10:8. Cush begat Nimrod, &c. Nimrod’s impiety and apostacy are here marked out, as well as his tyranny and domination. The word Nimrod signifies an apostate or rebel. The word rendered hunter, tzaid, is used as well for catching, or ensnaring souls, as for catching game. See Eze 18:20-21. Great oppressors also are called hunters, Jer 16:16. And the phrase, before the Lord, may signify, his opposition to the Lord, his own desertion of the divine presence and regard, as well as his endeavours to seduce others from it. So that, I conceive, he is called thus mighty, because of the tyrannical domination which he exercised over the men of his times; disregarding the worship and reverence of God, and totally apostatizing from it, oppressing and subjugating men to himself, as hunters do the wild beasts they have taken. See Lam 3:52. The versions confirm this interpretation: the LXX has it, “he began to be a giant hunter against the Lord God.” The Arabic has it, “he was a terrible giant before the Lord.” The Syriac, “he was a giant warrior before, or against, the Lord.” In which places the word giant has probably a reference to the race of giants and their enormities before the flood; Nimrod having acted in the same spirit and manner as they had done before.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Gen 10:8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
Ver. 8. Nimrod, he began to be a mighty one. ] His name signifies a rebel: he was the chief Babel builder, and there began to be a mighty one. A giant, saith the Greek, – such another as Goliath was in his generation, 1Sa 17:51 where the same word is used, – a magnifico, a grandio; such a one as sought to make himself great, even to a proverb. Gen 10:9 But there is a double greatness; first, genuine; secondly, brutal. This latter is no such commendation; a beast in this may, and doth exceed us; as in the former, we exceed ourselves and others.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
mighty one = a hero. N. B. From Ham; not from Shem.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
am 1715, bc 2289
Nimrod: Mic 5:6
Reciprocal: 1Ch 1:10 – General Psa 52:1 – O mighty Isa 18:2 – to a people
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
10:8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a {e} mighty one in the earth.
(e) Meaning, a cruel oppressor and tyrant.