The Story of Nimrod: An In-depth Analysis

                                                   NIMROD

Nimrod was most likely the youngest of his family. It is believed that Ham stole Noah’s garment of authority (the covering of the Ark-Genesis 8:13 and gave it to Canaan in Genesis 9:18-29. Because Ham tried to usurp Noah’s authority, he prophetically declared that the tribes of Shem and Japheth would have dominion over Ham’s descendants, specifically Canaan. Once his garment was returned from Ham, it appears that Noah handed down the garment to Shem-an early priesthood role. But because the garment was stolen and possibly given to Canaan, it is appears that some of the tribes considered Canaan as a rejected king.

Knowing that the Shemites and Japhethites were to be considered authority figures over Canaan, Nimrod fought against Noah’s prophecy since he was the son of Cush. He was a strong warrior who was talented in hunting beasts such as lions/dragons/dinosaurs (similar to Ishmael, Esau, and Samson; Judges 14:6; Job 5:22) and conquering cities-hunting/enslaving men. In Exodus 23:29 and Deuteronomy 7:22, wild beasts are considered to be a huge threat to the nation of Israel. The people felt safe with Nimrod since he was fulfilling man’s call to dominating the beasts of the Earth (Genesis 1:26-28, Psalm 91:13, and Luke 10:19). He was an unstoppable hunter/conqueror before God. This revealed that the people didn't trust in God's protection. They looked to Nimrod for safety (Jeremiah 17:5; Psalm 118:8, 146:3; Isaiah 2:22, 20:5, 30:1). They believed that they were stronger in great numbers against the dangerous creatures and/or armies outside of Shinar (Proverbs 22:13; Number 13:33). At some point, Nimrod conquered many cities including Assyria (who was derived from the Line of Shem-Asshur). In verses 11-12, the Land of Shinar is the “great city.” It was born as an early manifestation of the wicked city of Babylon.

To the people, it appeared that Genesis 3:15 was being fulfilled before their eyes-killing beasts, it was easy for the people to see Nimrod as the Messiah. In Genesis 11:1-2, we see a small remnant that was established together by Nimrod from the tribes of Shem, Japheth, and Ham. In contrast to the traditional view of Babel, I take the view from Chris Gousmett’s study called-“The Confusion of Language in the Interpretation of Genesis 11.” He believes that language was developed before the construction of the tower. In this view, the whole world represents Nimrod’s Kingdom, not the entire world. Also, the one language is not a linguistic-like language (Hebrew word: Lashan), but a mode of speech similar to Zephaniah. The Hebrew word here is Saphah. Saphah describes the mode of expression of the human speech. It is used to distinguish righteous speech from foolish speech. Therefore, Nimrod’s remnant was united in ideology against God, not in linguistic-like language as tradition states.

During Nimrod’s invasion of Assyria, it is presumed that some of the Japhethites actually inhabited Shemite cities during Nimrod’s invasion. See Genesis 9:27. Therefore, he brought all kinds of prisoners of war with him as slaves. This is similar to how the Egyptians (Hamites) oppressed the Hebrews (Shemites) in building their architectural structures with brick and bitumen/mortar (Exodus 1:14). Idol worship involved large numbers of bricks for their altars (Isaiah 65:3). Bricks are known to be waterproof. This indicated that they did not trust God’s promise in never flooding the world again. This advance technology made them feel superior to God in Genesis 11:4. It echoes God in Genesis 1:26.

Furthermore, Nimrod was drawing various nations to his kingdom. This is similar to Mount Zion in Isaiah 2. Instead of peace, he established his kingdom through war. A high tower would give them an advantage over all other nations. Nimrod’s remnant feared being scattered across the Earth.  Unlike his grandfather Noah, who worshiped God in a humble, private manner, Nimrod wanted access to God in an openly, blatant manner-without a covenant. He wanted to build his own entrance into the Heavens-Use his own authority to enter Heaven figuratively like in Matthew 16:19; Isaiah 22:22; Revelation 3:7. God comes down from Heaven to observe the construction of the Tower of Babel. Perhaps, the Lord measured the tower with a plumbline (Amos 7:7-15) and it was left wanting (Daniel 5, Job 31:6). It is unknown if this was progressive or instantaneous, but the people started having disagreements with each other, which resulted in the Tower of Babel not being completed, and everyone dispersing to other parts of the world.

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