And Cush begot Nimrod he began to be mighty on the earth.
Genesis 10 lists the families of Noah's sons, then stops at one man. Nimrod is the first man the Bible calls mighty after the flood, and this verse raises the question of where that greatness came from.
One writer sets Nimrod beside earlier men whose greatness came to them as a gift. The writers quote an older translation, which reads "began to be a mighty one in the earth":
There is nothing mythical in the little that Scripture says. Nimrod "began to be a mighty one in the earth." It had not been so with Abel or Seth, with Enoch or Noah. What they enjoyed was God's gift. They looked for Him who is coming. Nimrod sought great things for himself, like Cain. Cain was the first builder of a city in the earliest days; Nimrod was the first after the flood, and on a large and repeated scale. Present power was his aim; and God allowed it apparent success.
The next verse calls him a mighty hunter, and commentators differ on what that means. One takes it literally, as real skill with animals:
We are further told that "he was a mighty hunter before the LORD." There seems no good reason to doubt that this is meant literally. It made a great impression on his contemporaries, so that his skill as a hunter became proverbial. "Therefore it is said, 'Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.'" Clearly it gave him trained skill and strength. In time that skill passed into another field of far deeper interest and seriousness.
Another writer finds more in the word, and a clue in his name:
There is more implied in this than merely his being a literal hunter of animals. His name means "we will rebel," not only "I will rebel." He was a leader in hunting the souls of men, to make them rebels.
The phrase does not mean God approved. A reference work explains how he gained his power:
He was "mighty upon the earth," and "a mighty hunter," using force and craft to bring man as well as beasts under his sway. The words "before the Lord" probably mean imperial energy and authority seized in independence of Jehovah. Nimrod and his descendants founded both Babylon and Nineveh.
One writer sets Nimrod against the shepherds among God's people:
He was under the curse, but that meant nothing to him. He did not fear Jehovah at all, and he was willing and able to show he was strong before Him. There is a clear difference between the hunter and people of God like David and Amos, who were shepherds caring for the sheep. The hunter tries to kill the animals he is hunting. This remains Nimrod's character down the ages.
That character shaped the first kingdom. Until Nimrod, fathers led their families:
Nimrod was the first to set aside the rule of the fathers over their families. That order had held until then, and it continued elsewhere for ages afterward. His ambition could not stop at hunting animals, and it led him from wild beasts to mankind. "And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel."
Babylon begins here, and the Bible follows that name to its end:
Here, then, we have the character of the founder of Babylon. Babylon's character all through the book of God matches its founder remarkably. It always appears as a mighty influence in the earth, acting in direct opposition to everything that owes its origin to heaven. Only when this Babylon has been completely abolished does the cry go up among the hosts above: "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns." Then all Babylon's mighty hunting will be over for ever, whether its hunting of wild beasts, to subdue them, or its hunting of souls, to destroy them.
Another writer contrasts Nimrod's fame with the greatness of the man God called:
The aim of the builders of Babel was to make themselves a name. To some extent they succeeded, for Nimrod "began to be a mighty one in the earth." The call of God carried Abraham into a path far removed from the power and fame of these famous men. … How great is the honour that God Himself should speak of him as "Abraham, my friend." Here is true greatness, greatness that lasts, while Nimrod's tower and city are only a heap of shapeless ruins on the plains of Mesopotamia and his rebel name is almost forgotten.
- Self-made. Nimrod's greatness was not God's gift. He sought great things for himself, and God allowed it apparent success.
- Rebel. His name carries the sense of rebellion. Some read his hunting as literal skill; others as the hunting of souls to make them rebels.
- Before the LORD. The phrase points to power grabbed and used in independence of God, not power blessed by Him.
- Hunter, not shepherd. He set aside the rule of fathers and moved from beasts to men — the opposite of David and Amos, who kept sheep.
- Babel and after. His kingdom began at Babel, and its war against heaven runs through the whole Bible until the Almighty reigns. Nimrod's name is nearly forgotten; Abraham, whom God calls "my friend," has greatness that lasts.
He was a mighty hunter before Jehovah; therefore it is said, As Nimrod, the mighty hunter before Jehovah!
Genesis 10 lists names and nations, but the list stops for one man: Nimrod, a grandson of Cush, marked out by what he did rather than by whom he fathered. His title, the proverb built on it, and the words "before the LORD" all raise one question — what kind of power rose first on earth after the flood?
One writer sets Nimrod against the men named earlier in Genesis. They received what they had. He went after it himself.
But there is nothing mythical in the little that Scripture says. Nimrod "began to be a mighty one in the earth." It had not been so with Abel or Seth, with Enoch or Noah. What they enjoyed was God's gift. They looked for Him who is coming. Nimrod sought great things for himself, like Cain, who built the first city in the earliest days. Nimrod was the first to do so after the flood, and on a large and repeated scale. Present power was his aim; and God allowed it apparent success.
Commentators differ on how literally to take the hunting. Some say real skill with real game lies behind the proverb, and that he later used it elsewhere.
There seems no good reason to doubt that this is meant literally. It made a great impression on the people of his day, so that his skill as a hunter became proverbial. The hunting gave him trained skill and strength, which he later carried into a field of far deeper interest and seriousness.
Others read the word as pointing past animals from the start, and find the clue in his name.
There is more implied in this than merely his being a literal hunter of animals. His name means "we will rebel," not only "I will rebel." He was a leader in hunting the souls of men, to make them rebels. The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, where man was exalted in defiance of God.
The phrase places this man's success right in God's presence. One reference work reads it as authority he seized rather than received.
He was "mighty upon the earth," and "a mighty hunter," using force and craft to bring men as well as beasts under his control. The words "before the LORD" probably signify imperial energy and usurped authority, independent of Jehovah.
Another writer reads the same words as open defiance of God.
"Before the LORD he hunted." In defiance of God he sought conquest and power. He added house to house and field to field, wanting to be lord alone… He had no heart for any portion God could give him. He set out to provide for himself and to make his own fortune, so that his dignity and honour came from himself. And such a man is the man of the world to this day.
Nimrod's trade puts him on the opposite side from the men God chose.
There is a clear difference between the hunter and people of God like David and Amos, who were shepherds and took care of the sheep. The hunter tries to kill the animals he is hunting. This remains Nimrod's character down the ages.
The same contrast shows in the king God later gave Israel.
How different was Jehovah's way later! Israel wanted a king like the nations, and chose one who served himself… Then God took His servant David from the pasture, from following the sheep, and made him prince over His people, Israel, to feed them.
One writer traces the line from this first self-exalted man to the rulers who came after.
The first self-exalted man after the flood was Nimrod. Beginning as a hunter of wild beasts, he developed into a tyrant over men. And so the centuries have rolled on in their monotonous course. Nimrods have never been lacking.
- Began — Nimrod's greatness started with himself. Abel, Seth, Enoch and Noah enjoyed what God gave them. He sought great things for himself, and God allowed it apparent success.
- Hunted — commentators differ. Some see real hunting skill that later turned on men. Others see a hunt for human souls from the start. Both end with force and craft used on people.
- Before the LORD — the phrase points to authority he seized, held apart from God and even against Him. He wanted no portion God could give.
- Ruled — the hunter kills what he pursues; the shepherd feeds it. God passed over the Nimrod pattern and took David from the pasture to shepherd Israel.
- Repeats — his kingdom began at Babel, and the type never died out. The man who makes his own fortune and his own honour is still with us.
And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
This verse names the first kingdom in the Bible. One man held four cities on the plain between the Tigris and Euphrates. Why does the Bible record it? And why does the first city on the list, Babel, keep coming back later in Scripture?
Nimrod's rise came while Noah was still living.
Nimrod was forceful, a mighty hunter. He gained the upper hand and founded a "kingdom," and the beginning of it was Babel. This happened, we judge, before Noah's long life ended; and if any kingdom existed, it should have been his. The power that should have been given to Noah was taken by Nimrod, and used to serve himself and his own renown. With this began the founding of cities to serve as centres of human influence. Babel, Erech, Accad and Calneh are among the first we have any record of.
God chose no one here, and no one asked Him.
It was among the sons of Ham, then, that a kingdom was first set up among men. God was not in any of Nimrod's thoughts; He was not sought, nor did He give the least direction in the matter. His own ambition gave Nimrod the plan. He carried it out by the force of his will, and by the skill he had gained in his hunting. How different the way of Jehovah at a later day! For, when Israel wanted a king in imitation of the nations and chose one who served himself... He took His servant David from the pasture, from following the sheep. He made him prince over His people, over Israel, to feed them.
Babel is where God had scattered the builders. That ruin was exactly what Nimrod wanted.
What did he care if it had begun in godless self-will? It aimed to gather mankind into one centre, against God's design and command to fill the earth. What did he care if the builders had abandoned it under a divine judgment that forced them to scatter over all the earth? The abandoned city and tower suited his plan exactly: a kingdom for himself, not a universal commonwealth. So "the beginning of his kingdom was Babel." Success encouraged him to go forward, and "Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar" followed.
Another writer reads the placement as open defiance.
The builders may be scattered, but their principles survive. Judgment does not cure... Nimrod, a grandson of Ham, plants his flag on the very spot that had witnessed the judgment of God. ... He had no heart for any portion God could give him. He set out to provide for himself and to be the maker of his own fortune. His dignity and honour would come from himself. And such is the man of the world to this day. He was the earliest example and pattern of the one who, in the closing days, will do as he pleases and fill up the measure of man's sin.
Chapters 10 and 11 show two drives at work in the same city. One man rules the many; the many band together.
In them we find two great principles. They mark the natural energy of the human heart doing its own will: the spirit of despotism, and the spirit of association. Nimrod, the first example of individual supremacy, begins to be mighty in the earth... On the other hand, man does not like being governed. He joins with others to make himself completely independent of God. Joined with others, he thinks himself capable of anything. "Union," he says, "is strength." And this is true until God steps in... But when God had scattered men, Nimrod took possession of all they had done. The beginning of his kingdom was Babel.
The land of these four cities comes back later in the Bible under other names.
Ancient name of the plain lying in the south between the Euphrates and the Tigris. It was where Nimrod established his kingdom, and where the tower of Babel was built. ... Later it was known as Chaldea, or Babylonia... and some of the captives from Judah were taken there.
This kingdom's story runs on through the whole Bible.
That was how Babylon began, and its character all through the book of God matches that beginning. It is always seen as a mighty influence in the earth, acting in direct opposition to everything that comes from heaven. Only after this Babylon is completely abolished does the cry go up among the hosts above: "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns."
Nimrod's ambition was never reached.
It seems his ambition was to rule the whole world. The aim in building the tower of Babel was to have a centre of government, control and oversight. The tower was never finished, and no man will ever gain that rule, until He comes to whom the whole creation rightly belongs.
- Beginning. The first kingdom in the Bible begins with a man seizing authority God had placed elsewhere. He used it for his own fame.
- Beginning without God. No one asked God about this kingdom. Contrast David, whom God Himself took from the sheep to shepherd His people.
- Beginning at Babel. Nimrod built his throne on ground God had already judged. The abandoned ruins suited his plan.
- Beginning of a pattern. Two impulses run out of this city: one strong will ruling others, and crowds uniting to be independent of God.
- Beginning without end — until Christ. Babel opposes heaven right through the Bible. It ends only when the Lord God Almighty reigns.
From that land went out Asshur, and built Nineveh, and Rehoboth-Ir, and Calah,
Genesis 10 lists the nations that came from Noah's sons. In the middle of that list, one line moves north out of Shinar and founds Nineveh — the city that later ruled an empire — and it opens with a puzzle over who did it.
One reference work sets out the problem, and why many read the verse another way:
Older English versions make it look as if a son of Ham named Asshur built Nineveh. Yet Genesis 10:22 and 1 Chronicles 1:17 name Asshur as a son of Shem. But in the margin of verse 11 it reads that "he went out into Assyria," that is, Nimrod went out into Asshur or Assyria (the Hebrew is the same). Micah 5:6 confirms this, for it links Assyria and Nimrod together. Assyria goes back to Asshur or Assur, a son of Shem. Nimrod came afterwards and may have subdued the country, but with what result is not shown.
Commentators differ here. William Kelly keeps the older reading and finds a moral point in it — a second man copying the first:
Nothing here says that Ham's descendants drove Asshur out. The wording suggests instead that the success of Nimrod set the example, and stirred a similar ambition. Everything the record reveals shows how completely all of them forgot Noah's authority, though he was still alive. The authority of the family head gave way to men's own thoughts and will.
Either way, the move goes north, away from the plain where the kingdom began. One writer names the man behind it, and places the move after the scattering at Babel:
Nimrod's name means "we will rebel," not only "I will rebel." He was a leader in hunting the souls of men, to make them rebels. The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, where man was exalted in defiance of God. Other places are also mentioned in the land of Shinar. The move from that land into Assyria came no doubt after the Lord scattered the people from Babel (Gen. 11:8). Nimrod's ambitious course of self-will was not stopped even by God's judgment at the tower of Babel.
Nothing in the verse suggests these were great cities at the start. Kelly warns against reading Nineveh's later splendour back into its founding. He then traces what that small start became:
When Asshur did his work, we need not imagine anything more than a small beginning of what would in time reach such power and splendour. It held that power long enough to conquer the ten tribes of Israel and to threaten Judah and David's house. Then it received a blow so plainly from God that it never troubled the holy land again. Soon it fell, never to rise again, when God chose to bring Babylon forward from a provincial position... to become ruler of the world.
Babel and Nineveh both begin in this chapter. The two cities stand for two different kinds of worldly power:
Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian empire. Her founder was Nimrod, who lived shortly after the flood (Gen. 10:8-12). There was rivalry between Assyria and Babylon from the very beginning. Babylon is the picture of worldly might in a religious garment. Assyria pictures the proud, cruel and overbearing world, which knows nothing but her own importance.
The city founded here came to a definite end. Another writer, who takes Asshur as the founder, follows the story down to the ruins left today:
Asshur founded Nineveh not long after the flood, apparently as a rival to Nimrod's Babylon (Gen. 10:11)... But where is Nineveh today? Opposite the town of Mosul there are miles of ruins from which many objects of interest have been dug up... The Medes captured and destroyed the city in 625 B.C. There has been no effort to rebuild it since that time, and it is not the will of God that it should ever be rebuilt.
Scripture returns to this ground at the close of history, and names it after the man in this verse:
The Lord, with His chosen instruments, will carry out His final judgments before He brings peace to this troubled world. He strikes the lands where man's lawlessness among the nations first raised its head, through Nimrod and Assyria (Gen. 10:9–11).
- The step. The verse records a move out of Shinar into Assyria. The Hebrew allows two readings: Nimrod went out into Assyria, or Asshur went out. Commentators differ, and Micah 5:6 supports the first.
- The spread. One man's success set the pattern, and others copied it. Noah was still alive, but his authority counted for nothing.
- The scale. These cities were a small beginning. What began here grew into the power that overthrew the ten tribes of Israel and threatened David's house.
- The spirit. Both Babylon and Nineveh grew from this root. One is worldly power dressed in religion, the other worldly power that is proud and cruel.
- The sentence. Nineveh fell and was never rebuilt. Scripture says God's final judgments will fall on the land of Nimrod, where this lawlessness began, before peace comes.
and Resen, between Nineveh and Calah this is the great city.
Genesis 10:12 ends a short list of cities built in Assyria: Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and now Resen. Two questions have followed that list ever since — who went out and built them, and which one is "the great city"?
The sentence begins back in verse 11, and its wording can be read two ways. One reference work lays out both, and why it prefers the second:
In Genesis 10:11 the Authorised Version seems to say that a son of Ham named Asshur built Nineveh. Yet Genesis 10:22 and 1 Chronicles 1:17 name Asshur as the son of Shem. But the margin of verse 11 reads that "he went out into Assyria." That is, Nimrod went out into Asshur or Assyria. Asshur and Assyria are the same word in Hebrew. Micah 5:6 confirms this: it links Assyria and Nimrod together. The name Assyria goes back to Asshur, or Assur, a son of Shem. Nimrod came later and may have subdued the country, but what came of that is not shown.
Commentators differ here. Others keep the older wording, where Asshur himself went out and built these cities, and read it as one man copying another:
"From that land went out Asshur, and built Nineveh … and Resen between Nineveh and Calah: this is the great city." The text does not hint that Ham's descendants drove Asshur out. Rather, its language implies that Nimrod's success set the example and stirred a like ambition. Everything the record shows makes it clear: they all forgot Noah's authority, though he was still living. His place as head of the family gave way to men's own thoughts and will.
Either way, one writer treats these cities not as scattered settlements but as one system, planted by one man:
In defiance of God he sought conquest and power. He added house to house and field to field, in the desire to be lord alone. Erech, Accad and Calneh are mother-cities. Mighty Nineveh, with Rehoboth and Calah, and that great city Resen, are only colonies in the system of this boastful apostate. He had no heart for any portion God could give him. He undertook to provide for himself. He would be the maker of his own fortune, so that his dignity and honour came from himself. And such a man is the man of the world to this day.
The verse fixes Resen only by its neighbours, and even its site today is disputed:
The great city "between Nineveh and Calah," one of the four cities built by Asshur, or by Nimrod in Assyria. Genesis 10:12. Some judge it to be not identified; but others trace it to ruins at 36° 12' N, 43° 10' E.
The closing phrase may not describe Resen at all. One writer points to Calah instead, and carries the title into the book of Jonah:
The capital of Assyria was old Nineveh. Nimrod had already built it, along with Rehoboth, Resen and Calah. (Calah is the only town Scripture calls the great city.) It is possible that the expression "that great city" in Jonah 1:2 is to be understood in the same way. In that case the three days' journey of Jonah 3:3 would present no difficulty.
Whatever its size at the founding, this cluster of cities grew into the power that later fell on Israel:
When Asshur did his work, we need not imagine anything more than a small beginning of what would in time reach such power and splendour. It kept that power. It went on to triumph over the ten tribes of Israel and to threaten Judah and David's house. Then it received a blow so plainly from God that it never troubled the holy land again.
Centuries later God pressed His own pity for this city on His unwilling messenger, Jonah:
The plant that had sprung up to shade the self-occupied prophet withered when God sent a worm. Jonah fainted in the heat and again wished to die. Then the LORD said, "You had pity on the plant … and should not I pity Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?" Yes, He is the God of all grace. He is the God not of Jews only but of Gentiles also. As the faithful Creator, His mercies are over all His works.
- Ambition — Nimrod's success set the example, and the same drive built the cities further north.
- Self-will — the building went ahead while Noah was still alive; his place as head of the family gave way to men's own will.
- Expansion — Nineveh, Rehoboth, Calah and Resen are colonies of one system; commentators differ over which of them is "the great city".
- Power — a small beginning grew into the empire that crushed the ten tribes of Israel, until a blow from God ended its threat to the holy land.
- Mercy — God asked whether He should not pity that great city; His mercy reaches Gentiles as well as Jews.