"The Pagan and the Babylonian King, What Do You Know?" Part 1

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"Originally established by Nimrod (Gen. 10:11), and today known as Nimrud, Calah became an important city in Iraq. The artist's reconstruction above shows the interior of Tiglath-pileser III's palace there (late seventh century BC). Nimrod was a very significant man in ancient times, the grandson of Ham and great-grandson of Noah. Nimrod started his kingdom at Babylon (Gen. 10:10). Babylon later reached its zenith under Nebuchadnezzar (sixth century BC). Pictured above are mudbrick ruins of Nebuchadnezzar's city along with ancient wall lines and canals in modern day Iraq. This was also part of Nimrod's kingdom (Gen. 10:11). Nineveh along the Tigris River continued to be a major city in ancient Assyria. Today adjacent to modern Mosul, Iraq, the ruins of ancient Nineveh are centered on two mounds, the acropolis at Kuyunjik and Nebi Yunis (Arabic for "Prophet Jonah").Pictured is Sennacherib's "palace without rival" on Kuyunjik, constructed at the end of the seventh century BC and excavated by Henry Layard in the early 20th century. Often attributed to Nimrod, the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:19) was not a Jack and the Beanstalk-type of construction, where people were trying to build a structure to get into heaven. Instead, it is best understood as an ancient ziggurat (Assyrian "mountaintop"), as the one pictured at ancient Ur of the Chaldees, Abraham's hometown (Gen. 11:31). A ziggurat was a man-made structure with a temple at its top, built to worship the host of heaven. The Bible states... Cush was the father of Nimrod, who grew to be a mighty warrior on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; that is why it is said, "Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD." The centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Erech, Akkad and Calneh in Shinar (Genesis 10:8-10). Many consider this to be a positive, complimentary testimony about Nimrod. It is just the opposite! First, a little background study is necessary. Besides the stories of the Creation and Flood in the Bible there ought to be similar stories on clay tablets found in the cultures near and around the true believers. These tablets may have a reaction, or twisted version, in their accounts of the Creation and Flood. In the post-Flood genealogical records of Genesis 10 we note that the sons of Ham were: Cush, Mizraim, Put and Canaan. Mizraim became the Egyptians. No one is sure where Put went to live. And it is obvious who the Canaanites were. Cush lived in the "land of Shinar" which most scholars consider to be Sumer. There developed the first civilization after the Flood. The sons of Shem-the Semites-were also mixed, to some extent, with the Sumerians. We suggest that Sumerian Kish, the first city established in Mesopotamia after the Flood, took its name from the man known in the Bible as Cush. The first kingdom established after the Flood was Kish, and the name "Kish" appears often on clay tablets. The early post-Flood Sumerian king lists (not found in the Bible) say that "kingship descended from heaven to Kish" after the Flood. (The Hebrew name "Cush," much later, was moved to present-day Ethiopia as migrations took place from Mesopotamia to other places.) The Sumerians, very early, developed a religio-politico state which was extremely binding on all who lived in it (except for the rulers, who were a law unto themselves). This system was to influence the Ancient Near East for over 3000 years. Other cultures which followed the Sumerian system were Accad, Babylon, Assyria, and Persia, which became the basis of Greece and Rome's system of rule. Founded by Cush, the Sumerians were very important historically and Biblically. First, what does the name Nimrod mean? It comes from the Hebrew verb marad, meaning "rebel." Adding an "n" before the "m" it becomes an infinitive construct, "Nimrod." (see Kautzsch 1910: 137 2b, also BDB 1962: 597). The meaning then is "The Rebel." Thus "Nimrod" may not be the character's name at all. It is more likely a derisive term of a type, a representative, of a system that is epitomized in rebellion against the Creator, the one true God. Rebellion began soon after the Flood as civilizations were restored. At that time this person became very prominent. In Genesis 10:8-11 we learn that "Nimrod" established a kingdom. Therefore, one would expect to find also, in the literature of the ancient Near East, a person who was a type, or example, for other people to follow. And there was. It is a well-known tale, common in Sumerian literature, of a man who fits the description. In addition to the Sumerians, the Babylonians wrote about this person; the Assyrians likewise; and the Hittites. Even in Palestine, tablets have been found with this man's name on them. He was obviously the most popular hero in the Ancient Near East.