Nimrod

Nimrod by David Scott, 1832

Nimrod (/ˈnɪmrɒd/;[1] Hebrew: נִמְרוֹד, Modern: Nīmrōd, Tiberian: Nīmrōḏ; Imperial Aramaic: ܢܡܪܘܕ; Arabic: نُمْرُود, romanizedNumrūd) is a biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush and therefore a great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of Shinar (Lower Mesopotamia). The Bible states that he was "a mighty hunter before the Lord [and] ... began to be mighty in the earth".[2] Later extra-biblical traditions identified Nimrod as the ruler who commissioned the construction of the Tower of Babel, which led to his reputation as a king who was rebellious against God.

Nimrod has not been attested in any historic, non-biblical registers, records or king lists, including those of Mesopotamia itself which are both considerably older and more diverse than the later biblical texts. Historians have failed to match Nimrod with any historically attested figure, or find any historical, linguistic or genetic link between Mesopotamia and the kingdom of Cush, although one recent suggestion among the exclusively Mesopotamian figures is Naram-Sin of Akkad, grandson of Sargon.[3][4]

Several ruins of the Middle East have been named after him during the Islamic Era.[5]

  1. ^ British English pronunciation given at "Nimrod". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  2. ^ "BibleGateway".
  3. ^ Levin, Yigal (2002). "Nimrod the Mighty, King of Kish, King of Sumer and Akkad". Vetus Testamentum. 52 (3): 350–366. doi:10.1163/156853302760197494. ISSN 0042-4935.
  4. ^ Jones, Christopher W. (2022). "The Literary-Historical Memory of Sargon of Akkad in Assyria as the Background for Nimrod in Genesis 10:8–12". Journal of Biblical Literature. 141 (4): 595–615. doi:10.15699/jbl.1414.2022.1. ISSN 0021-9231. S2CID 255905070.
  5. ^ Harris, Stephen L. (1985). Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield.