Biblical History of Man: The Flood to Babel part 4

Now we come to Nimrod.  Who was he?

Nimrod was the grandson of Ham.
Genesis 10  ⁶ The sons of Ham were Cush and Mizraim and Put and Canaan. ⁷ The sons of Cush were Seba and Havilah and Sabtah and Raamah and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. ⁸ Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth. ⁹ He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.” ¹⁰ The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. ¹¹ From that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah, ¹² and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.

Nimrod means "we shall revolt/rebel".  It may not have been his given name, rather a derisive term or a type.  This is done in many places in scripture.  If so, it is possible that the name Nimrod was given to one of the five listed sons of Cush.  If not, then Nimrod was Cush's sixth son.

Josephus tells us:  He was bold, of great strenth.  He ascribed his power to himself, not to God.  He set up tyranny and sought vengeance on God for the flood.  He defied God.  He was the one who has credit for building the Tower of Babel.

Hebrew commentators emphasize that Nimrod was in opposition to the Lord.  He was a tyrant...a powerful hunter of men.  The Seder Olam (a Jewish timeline of scripture) says that Nimrod declared himself king in 1788 AM (2387 BC). 

Scripture tells us that his kingdom began in Babel, and Erech (Uruk) and Accad (Akkad) and Calneh in Shinar.  Later he went north into Assyria, and built Ninevah, Rehoboth, Calah, and Resen.  Archaeological records that correspond to this would give him the name of Ninus.

The Hebrew terminology that is used in Genesis 10:8 is particularly interesting.  It says that "he became a mighty one on the earth". 

• "Mighty one" is gibborim. That word is used in Genesis 6:4 of the Nephilim.  It is used again in 1 Samuel 17:51 of Goliath, and is later used to describe David's mighty men. 
• "Became" in this instance is chalal.  It means he profaned or desecrated himself in order to accomplish what he did.

In verse 9 scripture tells us that Nimrod was a "mighty hunter before YHWH".  The Hebrew text tells us clearly that Nimrod was in opposition to the Lord.  "Before" doesn't mean on God's side, marching triumphantly in front of Him in battle, but standing before Him, in His face in rebellion.

A final note: It is very probable that the Epic of Gilgamesh is the story of Nimrod.  Please read this interesting article about Nimrod.  Nimrod - Who was he?

Was he a giant?