Genesis 10:8-12

7. Interlude: Nimrod the Empire-Builder. (Genesis 10:8-12)

The story of Nimrod is intriguing, to say the least. He is described as a mighty one in the earth, as a mighty hunter before Jehovah. What does this mean? Lange answers (CDHCG, 349): By such a proverb there may be noted a praiseworthy, Herculean pioneer of culture, as well as a blameworthy and violent despot [in ancient terms, tyrant]. In truth, the chase of the animals was, for Nimrod, a preparatory exercise for the subjugation of men. It can hardly be denied that Nimrod was an empire-builder. He belonged, it would seem, to what in Greek tradition was known as the Heroic Age: that is, he was a hero in the sense that Homer uses the word to describe the valiant (and often licentious and bloodthirsty) Greeks and Trojans of the Iliad and Odyssey. He impressed his name on subsequent generations to such an extent that the empire which he established was still, in the time of Micah the prophet, the land of Nimrod (Micah 5:6).It is interesting to note, too, that the cities that are associated in Genesis 10:10-12 with Nimrod's empire-building have, for the most part, been clearly identified in secular history.

Cornfeld (AtD, 38): According to this story, in the beginning Nimrod's kingdom was in Babylon, and from there he went to Assyria. This may not be historically true, but it accurately reflects the historic background pertaining to the early Babylonian and Assyrian kingdoms. The names of cities connected with him are well attested by archaeological research, The name of Nimrod is preserved in that of the present-day Arab village Nimrud, where ancient Calah was excavated. The modern name Nimrud may possibly contain an echo of that used in antiquity for its chief protector, Ninurta, god of war and the chase. The biblical name Nimrod, according to E. A. Speiser, does not echo a god but the reign of the vigorous Tutukli-Ninurta I (1243-1207) who built Calah, Assyria's second capital, and conquered Babylon. The description of Nimrod as a builder and -mighty hunter before the Lord-' well typifies characteristics of Assyria's early kings, as featured in illustrations of hunting scenes carved on rock.
Nimrod was a personal, rather than a geographical, name. He is presented in Scripture as founder of the following Babylonian and Assyrian cities: Babel: the rise of the great cities of Babylonia occurred very early in the historic period: the whole religion, culture and political organization of Assyria were derived from the southern state (Skinner, ICCG, 211). Erech: Babylonian city, Uruk, today ruins of Warka. Epic of Gilgamesh glorifies a legendary king of this perhaps most ancient city of southern Mesopotamia. Accad (Akkad), probably near modern Bagdad. Seat of the first Semitic empire and of a notable culture under its kings Sargon and Naram-Sin. Calneh: also in the modern Bagdad area. Cf. Calno (Isaiah 10:9, Amos 6:2); this city, however, apparently was in Syria. The real Calneh was identified by Rawlinson with the ruins of Niffer on the east of the Euphrates. In the land of Shinar, that is Sumer. Note that Nimrod is described as having gone forth into Assyria, where he founded certain other cities, as follows: Nineveh: the original Assyrian capital was Asshur. Nineveh seems to have been put first here among Assyrian cities because of its dominant role in the ancient world beginning with the reign of Sennacherib in the 8th century B.C. Rehoboth-Ir: Cf. Genesis 36:37Rehoboth by the River, that is, the Euphrates? Then was this an appelation for Asshur? No positive identification has yet been made. Calah: excavated by Layard 1845-8 and the British School of Archaeology in Iraq, 1949-61. Thought to have been founded by Asshur, a follower of Nimrod, moving from Shinar. Situated 24 miles south of Nineveh on the east bank of the Tigris, near the modern Nimrud. Resen: said to have been located between Nineveh and Calah. Must have been along the river Tigris, although positive identification has not yet been made.

The following brief sketch of the history of Mesopotamia is needed here (Cornfeld, AtD, 40): In lower Mesopotamia, the region at the head of the Persian Gulf, the dominant ethnic, political and cultural group in the 3rd millenium B.C.E. called its land Sumer (biblical Shinar). This phase is featured in material and written illustrations from Ur, Uruch (biblical Erech), Lagash, and Eshnunna, among others. Following the long phase of Sumerian ascendancy came the historic period of the first Empire under the Semitic dynasty founded by Sargon of Accad. Sumerian and Semite co-existed and contended with each other for political leadership until the end of the millenium, but the prevailing culture was very much of a joint effort. Though Accad was the main city and capital of the first empire in Mesopotamia, it has not yet been identified. As the civilization of Mesopotamia expanded, it separated into different channels. In the south of Mesopotamia were the Babylonians, whose city Babylon (biblical Babel) became the capital of the great kingdom. Its peak of power and glory was reached in the 18th and 17th centuries under Hammurabi, one of the great rulers of Babylonia's first dynasty. The Semite inhabitants of western Mesopotamia were known as Amorites. In the north a city on the river Tigris was rising slowly to ever-increasing prominence. Its name was Ashur, as was also that of its chief god. The state the city came to control was Assyria. The political tide swung for the first time decisively in favor of Ashur during the reign of the vigorous Tukutli Ninurta I, The expansion of Ashur northward brought with it successive transfers of the capital of Assyria from Ashur to Calah to Nineveh. But Ashur remained the old tribal and religious capital in which the kings were buried, and Calah was the military capital of ancient Assyria until it was transferred to Nineveh. Thus Ashur, Calah, and Nineveh were Assyria's successive capital cities, well known in history and through archaeological discoveries.