Nimrod - Part 1 of 3
“Genesis 10:8; And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.”
I consider Nimrod to be the work of decades of decadence in the initial history of man. Even though he was born after the Flood, the innate rebellious attitudes of man were still part of his make up. This short article is a rework of my Christian Martial Arts Fellowship (CMAF) Bible study from 3-18-2004. CMAF is still in operation, by the way.
Okay, enough of the commercial. Let’s get back to Nimrod.
Primarily, I see Nimrod as the epitome of mankind, and not just of his era, but today as well.
Nimrod was a hunter, Genesis 10:9. But more, in Genesis 10:8, he is called a “mighty one” which, from the Hebrew word, “gibor” (1368) and the context that followed, meant he was a conquering tyrant. We find history supports this in its accounts of the Akkadian empire, Accad being a city of Nimrod. This would make him more than just a “hunter.” He was a conquering tyrant. Strange as it is, “Nimrod” today means a numbskull or idiot in common parlance.
And where did he or those that taught him learn to use or make these items? We have to go way back to Genesis 4:22 for this answer.
In Genesis 4 we find Tubal-cain, a sixth generation descendent of Cain, the first murderer. It’s possible Tubal-cain was a blacksmith. His father, Lamech, was a violent man, and a murderer, Genesis 4:23.
And, as a sidelight to the family, let’s not miss another “little” detail. His sister, Naamah, is one of the original moon goddesses. Depending on the “society,” her name may change through history, but it is the same “demon” which is one of the conflated meanings of her name. In the occult, her mother was Lillith, the mother of demons. Naamah’s sign is the “crescent moon.” She is the origin of another popular religion. And there are a couple other folks we will consider in other articles. Quite a family. But let’s get back to Tubal.
It would appear that Tubal-cain’s profession as a blacksmith made him familiar with weapons. A proper artisan would not only make a product, but test it for usability and durability. I believe we can call him the first named martial artist in the Bible. (My doctorate dissertation takes several pages to explain this position.)
Tubal-cain’s family made him familiar with fighting. His father, Lamech, was a fighter as indicated and, as we said above, a murderer, Genesis 4:23. His sister was related to the occult. One brother was a nomad. The other brother was a musician. And because of this family, the things of Earth took a real down turn.
We note that Genesis 4 begins with the story of Cain and Abel and progresses through that family, Cain, Lamech, Tubal-cain and Naamah. Tribes, which would later burgeon into armies I believe, were being armed. Religions were beginning. And man was moving away from God quickly. But the last two verses of the chapter continue to give us hope and a way of salvation.
We note chapter 5 is a sidestep giving us the families or people who stayed true to God. Some may be missing in this lineage. I would say they are those that had a place in the family, but walked away from God as did Cain. They add nothing to the story of the “righteous” so they are not named. Then, again, in the ending verse of the chapter, we have a reminder of God’s love as we are introduced to Noah.
Genesis 6 begins with the underlying, continuing story of those folks we met back in Genesis 4. Their heirs are now, apparently, the “rulers” of the earth and their antics are about to bring an end to the initial workings of the Earth and most of mankind. God will do this with the Flood. The time for the Flood would be circa 2500 BC.
Secular history reports armies were being established and kingdoms were at war with each other during this time just before the Flood. God said enough is enough, Genesis 6:5-7.
God brought judgement on the world with that Great Flood. It and the ark and the family of Noah takes up most of chapters 6, 7 and 8.
Eight people came through the Flood. We know a little about Noah, but nothing of note about his family’s activities. Of the other seven, we only know the names of the sons of Noah. They were Shem, Ham and Japheth. Neither Noah’s wife nor the son’s wives were named, but of these the earth was repopulated.