Your current browser may not support copying via this button. Author: Yigal Levin. Online Publication Date: 01 Jan Abstract Metadata Cited By Metrics.
Abstract The intent of this paper is to examine the story of Nimrod in Genesis x , offering fresh insight on both the historical background and the literary development of the passage. Access options Get access to the full article by using one of the access options below. Buy instant access PDF download and unlimited online access :.
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Email Newsletter Sign-up Page. Imprints and Trademarks. It is unclear what the Great City refers to. In sum, verses 8—12 tell the story of a mighty hunter-hero-king, who began his reign in the ancient great cities of southern Mesopotamia, and continued from there to the great cities of Assyria, in northern Mesopotamia.
The Nimrod passage interrupts the genealogy of Ham, which continues in verse Finally, the geographic picture it presents is problematic. How are we to make sense of this? Critical scholarship is almost unanimous in the assessment that verses 8—12 were taken from a different source than the preceding and following verses. Most scholars would assign verses 1—7 and 13—32 to the Priestly school, and verses 8—12 to the J source.
This suggests that we may explain the Nimrod narrative independently of the surrounding Table of Nations. This leaves us with two questions: What was its original meaning, and why was it linked to the genealogy of Cush? For instance, in his classic treatment of the subject, Ephraim A.
This final option, i. We know of no ancient Mesopotamian figure, mythic or historical, named Nimrod. Thus, scholars have struggled to identify who the biblical authors are describing. Uruk was one of the oldest cities in the world and remained an important place throughout antiquity.
Akkad, on the other hand, was founded in the 24 th century, and destroyed in the 21 st. Thus, some scholars have suggested that Nimrod is based on a legendary god or demigod, such as the Sumerian gods Ninurta or Nergal or the Babylonian Marduk—all of whom were renowned as great hunters—which the biblical version humanized. Others have equated Nimrod with legendary Mesopotamian heroes such as Gilgamesh.
I suggest that instead of trying to explain all the details of these verses, we consider the larger picture of a Mesopotamian ruler that the biblical passage is trying to convey. For this, we need to look back to a very ancient Mesopotamian figure, as far back as the 23 rd century B.
The mid-third millennium B. After several centuries of rivalry between various Sumerian city-states such as Ur, Uruk, Lagash and Umma, the rulers of the city of Kish managed to establish supremacy over much of southern Mesopotamia. This was the first time one Sumerian city succeeded in doing this.
Kish, I would argue, is the basis of the Cush of the Nimrod passage v. The basket floated to Kish, where he was adopted by Aqqi the gardener, eventually becoming cup-bearer to Urzababa, king of Kish. Somehow, he managed to become king and expanded his rule over all of southern Mesopotamia, pushing north to conquer Mari, Ebla, Ashur and Nineveh, and even reaching Anatolia and the Mediterranean. Sargon was the first known Semitic-speaking Mesopotamian ruler to adapt the Sumerian cuneiform script to his own language, and he reigned over a vast territory for 56 years.
Both were credited with extraordinary prowess. Both were considered to be the first postdiluvians to wield royal power. Thus, Sargon is likely the figure behind Nimrod, though as we will see, he has been amalgamated with his grandson, Naram-Sin. Naram-Sin ruled for 36 years. He survived a rebellion led by the city of Kish and then restored the empire. Naram-Sin was succeeded by his son Shar-kali-shari, and during his reign the empire fell apart. A few additional Akkadian rulers are known, but they were no longer powerful emperors, and the city of Akkad was eventually abandoned and lost.
By the time the Bible was written, the kingdom of Akkad had been gone for more than a millennium, so how did this amalgamated character of Nimrod enter the Bible? We know very little about the historical Sargon or Naram-Sin, but to the Mesopotamian literati of the Late Babylonian and Neo-Assyrian periods, the age of Sargon and Naram-Sin was one of the important stages in human history. According to the Sumerian King List, [20] after the flood, kingship came down from heaven and was granted to the city of Kish.
In short, to people of the second and first millennia B. The same was true for the Canaanites and the Israelites living in the second and first millennia B. Although our knowledge of the West Semitic versions of the primeval history are extremely limited, it is clear from the few sources we do have the Bible included that Western and Eastern Semitic i.
During later periods, the different versions would be occasionally updated through continuous contact between Mesopotamia and the Levant. He will deliver us from the Assyrians when they invade our land and march across our borders.
From this passage in Micah, we gather that Assyria was still regarded as the land of Nimrod—at least by the people of God—hundreds of years later. However, we learn little about Nimrod himself. However, the name probably had a different meaning in the original language.
Some scholars posit that Nimrod actually came from a Semitic root, a language similar to ancient Hebrew. Because of this, Nimrod is often thought to have been a rebel against the Lord. We will begin with a few things that we can gather with more surety from the biblical text itself. Only a few generations had passed since the Flood that destroyed the world and washed away all of humanity other than Noah and his family. Cush, then, may not have been under the curse. These include the great cities of Babylon and Nineveh.
His kingdom appears to have extended across Sumer, then called Shinar. After Nimrod established cities in Shinar, Genesis records that he went to Assyria built great cities there, including Nineveh.
Beyond these facts, there is little we know for certain. So check out the fun facts—and some myths and legends—below. Some interpreters have suggested that Nimrod was not an individual, but a stand-in term for a rebellious people group.
This is possible, but seems unlikely, given that other nations in the surrounding genealogical records are clearly treated as such, whereas Nimrod is portrayed as a singular person. Later Jewish writers and historians also tend to treat Nimrod as a distinct person. These clues continue, however.
Context clues like these suggest that Nimrod may have set himself up as a mighty hunter, warrior, and provider in opposition to God. Babel is often thought to be the same as Babylon, which Nimrod is recorded as founding in Genesis In fact, some Bible translations actually list this city as Babel rather than Babylon.
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