For modern man, the name Nimrod (or Nemvrod) means nothing. But once this name was well known to people and had a very definite meaning: a strong and cruel hunter, a giant, a tyrant with a bad character and megalomania, who once decided to declare himself a god.
In the Old Testament, Nimrod is mentioned in the Book of Genesis. He is a direct descendant of Noah, the savior of humanity, or rather, his great-grandson.
Became strong on earth
The Bible calls Nimrod's father one of Ham's sons, Khush. Nimrod himself was known as a strong and brave hunter, who over time "became strong on earth," that is, he subdued the local tribes. He founded the cities of Babylon, Erech, Akkad and Chalne. Nimrod's relative Assur, a descendant of Shem, settled nearby. He owned Nineveh, Rehovofir, Kalach and Resen. However, peaceful coexistence did not work out, a war of complete extermination began between Nimrod and Assur. The strongest, Nimrod, won. Remarkable is the translation of the name of Nimrod into the Russian language - "rebel" or "incited people to revolt." From the text of the Bible, we can assume what kind of "rebellion" Nimrod committed: he forced people to worship him as a god, that is, he usurped not only earthly, but also heavenly power. For the inhabitants of Mesopotamia, with their abundant pagan pantheon, the appearance of another god was in the order of things, but even for them the claims to the supreme heavenly power of the “living god-king” looked offensive. For the Jews professing monotheism, it is sacrilegious.
Both biblical scholars and secular historians have been trying for centuries to figure out what real historical person could become the biblical Nimrod. In the "royal lists" of the rulers of Mesopotamia, no Nimrod, or Nemvrod, and the rulers consonant with this name are mentioned. Traditionally, Nimrod is associated with the rulers of ancient Uruk. But there Meskiaggasher was named the first king, Enmerkar was named his son, Lugalbanda was named grandson, and Dumuzi (Tammuz), father of Gilgamesh, the hero of the epos of the same name, was named his great-grandson. Dumuzi was officially deified as the ruler of the "underworld". But the first attempt to turn from a king into a god happened, probably, earlier. And many researchers call the name of the Sumerian king striving for deification - Enmerkar. It is he who is appointed to the real prototypes of the biblical Nimrod. Moreover, in Sumerian literature Enmerkar is a well-known and glorified name. At one time, stories about him were no less popular than the epic about the descendant of Enmerkar - Gilgamesh.
Other researchers tend to see the biblical Nimrod in the Mesopotamian god Ninurta, whose sanctuaries are excavated in Babylon. Some associate Nimrod with the legendary (that is, archaeologically unconfirmed) Mesopotamian king Nin, the husband of Queen Semiramis. It is believed that "Nimrod" is a distorted word for "Nibru", which corresponds to the Sumerian city of Nippur. According to another version, the Akkadian king Sargon the Great or his grandson Naram-Sin could be called Nimrod.
However, most researchers are convinced that it is not worth looking for a real prototype of Nimrod: the image of this animal catcher is collective. This legendary ruler was attributed to the most negative, from the point of view of the Jews, human traits - greed, pride, self-will, cruelty. And although this enemy of the One God and people is sometimes not called by name, he is credited with such legendary deeds as the construction of the Tower of Babel and the persecution of the patriarch Abraham.
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The legend of the Babylonian pandemonium
In the Old Testament itself, little space is reserved for the construction of the Tower of Babel. It says that in the post-Flood times, the descendants of Noah decided to build a huge tower reaching to heaven in order to be saved from a new flood if it followed. God did not like this very much, and he made it so that the builders began to speak in different languages and ceased to understand each other. Due to this misunderstanding, they could not finish building the tower and scattered throughout the land. When this happened and who became the instigator of the construction, the Old Testament does not mention. Apocryphal biblical legends, however, call Nimrod. He not only began the construction of the Pillar of Babel, but with the aim of shaming the power of God and conquering not only the earth, but also the heavens. On this construction site of the century, Nimrod drove many people from all the lands he conquered. The tower under construction had 2 huge staircases - one in the west, the other in the east. The builders lifted bricks along the eastern staircase, and descended to the ground along the western one. Bricks were produced in incredible quantities. But all the same, if it happened that they fell and deteriorated, Nimrod worried. And if the masons "spoiled" - he did not care. Construction went on successfully until God realized what Nimrod was up to. And once the construction site stalled: people stopped understanding each other, because of this they began to quarrel and fight, and in the end they left the unfinished tower on the ground and scattered in all directions. And the lower part of the tower fell into the ground, in the upper part it completely collapsed, only the middle part survived. Nimrod was furious: he had already ordered to make a golden crown with a symbolic tower of the king of the whole world - both earthly and heavenly!He failed to ascend to heaven and overthrow the legitimate Creator from the throne.
Personal enemy of Abraham
In the Apocrypha, Nimrod is also credited with the torment that fell to the lot of the patriarch Abraham. Even before the birth of this forefather, astrologers told Nimrod that a male child would appear in one family, which would become the limit of his power - both earthly and heavenly. Nimrod was frightened and ordered to imprison all pregnant women in special rooms, and when they give birth - to kill all the boys. Abraham's father Terah held a high court position, so Nimrod saved his wife from this fate. At the appointed time, she gave birth to Abraham, and on the same day a child was born to her maid. When Nimrod was informed that the stars still portend trouble, he summoned Terakh and promised to give him a rich gift if he agreed to give his son to death. Terakh's wife Abraham hid, and the servant's son was handed over to reprisal. Just in case, mother and boy hid in a cave,where God created a refuge for them - there were two pipes with milk and honey, which fed them all the time they were imprisoned. Obviously, they were not the only ones who were so smart: others also hid from Nimrod. So Nimrod abandoned the idea of finding the one who would destroy him. And after a couple of years, Terakh's son was forgotten. But it's not that simple. Abraham turned out to be a special child. From an early age he began to struggle with idolatry, which led his pagan father, who was engaged in the manufacture of idols, into confusion and rage. When he became a fully grown man, rumors of his views on paganism reached Nimrod's ears. He ordered Terah to come to the palace with Abraham. Nimrod demanded that Abraham bow to the cleansing fire, but in response he was refused and ridiculed. Terah was as furious as Nimrod. And he didn't mindwhen the sovereign ordered to build a huge fire and throw the rebellious Abraham there. However, the fire did not cause any harm to Abraham, but his brother, who did not believe in the One God, instantly burned out. Of course, after such a miracle, both earthly and heavenly powers of Nimrod were greatly shaken.
The limit of his power
The Old Testament says nothing about how the famous ruler ended his days. There is complete disagreement in the apocryphal sources. In some of them it is written that Nimrod died during the construction of the Babylonian pillar: when he realized that the idea had failed, he lost his mind and stepped from the tower into the void. Others say that after a "dispute" with Abraham, that is, many years after the unsuccessful construction, he still continued to live. Likewise, he rampaged, sacrificed people, fought, killed and was especially at enmity with the nascent Judaism. The end of his life was put by a war with Abraham's grandson Esau. Tom managed to defeat the army of Nimrod, sending hordes of gnats or mosquitoes. The warriors fled in fear, but the old commander did not move. Then a small mosquito slipped into his nose and got to the king's brain. The king immediately went mad and died in terrible agony. Thus he was punished for atrocities and sacrilege. Over time, the name Nimrod became synonymous with all kinds of evil, and from the king of the earth, Nimrod turned into the commander of the fallen angels, into the Greek fighter Titan, and then into Satan or Shaitan. In the Middle Ages, the Arabs even showed curious travelers the grave of Shaitan Nimrod - a huge mound in the Mesopotamian town of Nimrud.
Nikolay mmmKOTOMKIN