In brief
Nimrod, son of Cush and grandson of Ham, descends from Noah according to the table of nations in Genesis. The Bible says he began to be mighty on the earth and was a mighty hunter before the LORD. He first reigned over Babel, Erech, Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. The text says little about him: anything more belongs to traditions that the Bible does not confirm.
What does the name Nimrod mean?
The name Nimrod is often linked to a Hebrew verb meaning to rebel, but this origin remains uncertain. The Bible gives no explanation of the name. It simply presents him as the son of Cush (Genesis 10:8).
The world of Nimrod
Nimrod appears in the table of nations in Genesis 10, a list that presents the descendants of Noah's three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, after the flood. The chapter specifies that the nations spread over the earth come from these families (Genesis 10:32). Nimrod belongs to the branch of Ham, through Cush. The text gives no date, and he stands before Abraham, whose story begins in Genesis 12. His kingdom is placed in the land of Shinar, the plain where men will settle to build Babel and its tower (Genesis 11:2-4). The book of Daniel calls the land of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the land of Shinar (Daniel 1:1-2), which ties this name to the region of Babylon. Nimrod's cities are Babel, Erech, Accad and Calneh. The account adds that out of that land Asshur went forth and built Nineveh, Calah and other cities. In a few verses, then, the Bible links Nimrod to the two great kingdoms of Mesopotamia that are met later in Israel's history, Assyria and Babylon. But these verses must be read for what they say: very little about his person, and a great deal about his land.
The story of Nimrod
The sons of Noah after the flood
Genesis 9:18-19; 10:1-5After the flood, the sons of Noah who came out of the ark are Shem, Ham and Japheth, and from them the whole earth was populated (Genesis 9:18-19). Chapter 10 then presents the descendants of each of them, nation by nation, by their families, languages and lands. The sons of Japheth are Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras. The sons of Ham are Cush, Mizraim, Put and Canaan, and those of Shem include Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud and Aram. Nimrod is found in this list, on the side of Ham, and he has no separate story: he appears in the midst of genealogies.
Cush and his sons
Genesis 10:6-8; 1 Chronicles 1:8-10Among the sons of Ham, Cush fathers Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteca, and Raamah has sons Sheba and Dedan. Then the text adds that Cush also fathered Nimrod, and it pauses over him. Chronicles takes up the same line: Cush fathered Nimrod, and he began to be mighty in the earth (1 Chronicles 1:10). The link with Cush shows Nimrod's origin in the family of Ham, but the text says nothing of his birth, his upbringing or his immediate family. The Bible names neither his wife nor his children.
The first to become mighty on the earth
Genesis 10:8-9Of Nimrod, Genesis says that he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before Yahweh, and this became a saying: like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before Yahweh. The Hebrew word rendered mighty often designates a warrior. The Bible does not give the detail of his exploits, and it does not explain what hunter means exactly: a hunter of beasts, of wars or of men. Nor does it say what before Yahweh implies: the expression stays open, and it is not honest to read into it an accusation or a praise that the text does not state.
A kingdom in the land of Shinar
Genesis 10:10Nimrod's kingdom began with Babel, Erech, Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Babel is the city whose name returns in the story of the tower (Genesis 11:9). The other three cities, Erech, Accad and Calneh, are not described. Shinar designates the plain where men settled when they came from the east (Genesis 11:2). The text does not say how long Nimrod reigned, nor how he came to power, nor what he did with his power in these cities. It is content to name the places, and these four names suffice to locate his reign in Mesopotamia.
Out of that land went Asshur
Genesis 10:11-12The text continues: out of that land a man went into Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah and Resen, between Nineveh and Calah, the great city. Depending on how it is translated, the sentence refers either to Asshur, son of Shem (Genesis 10:22), who leaves the land of Shinar and builds these cities, or to Nimrod himself, who would have gone out into Assyria. Translations differ on this point. In both cases the Bible links the region of Nineveh to the land of Shinar. This link prepares what the prophet Micah will say later, when he calls Assyria the land of Nimrod. The text does not develop it further.
Babel, in the land of Shinar
Genesis 11:1-9Further on, Genesis relates that the whole earth had one language. Men journey from the east, find a plain in the land of Shinar, settle there, make bricks, and decide to build a city and a tower whose top reaches the sky, to make a name for themselves and not be scattered. Yahweh comes down to look, confuses their language and scatters them over the whole earth: the city is called Babel. This account takes place in the same location as Nimrod's kingdom, but it never names Nimrod. It therefore does not allow us to say that Nimrod built the tower; that connection comes from a later tradition.
The land of Nimrod in Micah
Micah 5:1-6The prophet Micah announces that a ruler will come out of Bethlehem Ephrathah, then speaks of the time when the Assyrian comes into the land. Israel will then raise against him seven shepherds and eight leaders of men, who will rule the land of Assyria and the land of Nimrod with the sword. The prophet thus places Assyria and the land of Nimrod side by side, as two names for the same region. Long after Genesis, the name of Nimrod remains attached to the territory of Mesopotamia. This is the only time a prophet mentions him, and Micah says nothing about his person.
Nimrod's family
- father
- Cush Genesis 10:8
- grandfather
- Ham Genesis 10:6
- great-grandfather
- Noah Genesis 10:1
- brother
- Seba Genesis 10:7
- brother
- Havilah Genesis 10:7
- brother
- Sabtah Genesis 10:7
- brother
- Raamah Genesis 10:7
- brother
- Sabteca Genesis 10:7
- uncle
- Mizraim Genesis 10:6
- uncle
- Put Genesis 10:6
- uncle
- Canaan Genesis 10:6
Test your knowledge
What Nimrod teaches us
- The Bible acknowledges Nimrod's power without developing his story: we must take care not to add to Scripture what it does not say.
- The phrase before the LORD reminds us that God sees the powerful and their kingdoms, even when people speak only of their exploits.
- All nations descend from the sons of Noah (Genesis 10:32): no people escapes God's gaze or his plan.
- Great human power does not last by itself: Nimrod's kingdoms, like Babel, have become names in the Scriptures.
Key verses
The text presents Nimrod as the first to become mighty on the earth, a mighty hunter before the LORD. This is the fullest biblical portrait we are given of him.
The beginning of his reign is located at Babel, Erech, Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. The Bible does not say how long he reigned or what he did there.
The prophet also calls the land of Assyria the land of Nimrod. This verse suggests that his name remained attached to that region long after him.
Bible verses to meditate on
Frequently asked questions
Who was Nimrod in the Bible?
Nimrod was the son of Cush and the grandson of Ham, so a descendant of Noah. The Bible says he began to be mighty on the earth, was a mighty hunter before the LORD, and reigned over Babel, Erech, Accad and Calneh in the land of Shinar.
Did Nimrod build the tower of Babel?
The Bible does not say so. Genesis 10:10 places Babel among the cities of his kingdom, and the story of the tower also takes place in the land of Shinar (Genesis 11:1-9). But the text does not name Nimrod as its builder: that is a later tradition, not a biblical claim.
Where is Nimrod's story found in the Bible?
Nimrod appears in Genesis 10:8-12, in the list of Noah's descendants, and he is repeated in 1 Chronicles 1:10. The prophet Micah also speaks of the land of Nimrod in Micah 5:6. These are the only passages that mention him.
What does 'a mighty hunter before Yahweh' mean?
The Bible does not explain it. The two words rendered mighty and hunter are used elsewhere, the first for powerful men and warriors, the second for hunting. The expression before Yahweh can be understood in several ways: Nimrod was a great hunter in God's eyes, or he was one under God's gaze, without any judgment implied. The text adds that it became a saying: 'like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before Yahweh' (Genesis 10:9). This shows that he was known for his strength. Nothing more is said. Commentaries that see in him a tyrant or a pious hero go further than the text, and it is better to present them as interpretations, not as facts.
Was Nimrod a rebel against God?
The Bible never says so. Some link his name to a Hebrew verb meaning to rebel, but this origin is uncertain, and the text does not make that connection. The only indication about his relationship with God is the expression before Yahweh (Genesis 10:9), which can be understood in several ways. His kingdom begins at Babel (Genesis 10:10), and Babel is the place where men wanted to make a name for themselves before being scattered (Genesis 11:4-9), but the text does not name Nimrod in that account. To say that Nimrod rebelled against God is therefore a conclusion drawn from a comparison, not a biblical statement. The safest course is to keep what the text attributes to him: power, cities, a kingdom.
What is the link between Nimrod, Babylon and Assyria?
Genesis 10:10 places the beginning of Nimrod's kingdom at Babel, Erech, Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Babel and Babylon are the same name, and the book of Daniel calls the land of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the land of Shinar (Daniel 1:1-2). The next verse links this land to Assyria: out of that land went one who built Nineveh and other cities (Genesis 10:11-12). Micah speaks of the land of Assyria and the land of Nimrod as two names for one region (Micah 5:6). The Bible thus connects Nimrod with Mesopotamia, that is, with the two kingdoms that later threatened Israel, Assyria and Babylon. But it does not tell the deeds of Nimrod in these lands.
Where was the land of Shinar?
Genesis says that men, journeying from the east, found a plain in the land of Shinar (Genesis 11:2) and that Babel was there (Genesis 10:10). The book of Daniel confirms it indirectly: Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, carries off the vessels of the house of God to the land of Shinar, into the house of his god (Daniel 1:1-2). The land of Shinar therefore corresponds to the region of Babylon, in Mesopotamia. Genesis also mentions Amraphel, king of Shinar, in the time of Abraham (Genesis 14:1), which shows that this name still designated a country with its kings long after Nimrod. The Bible gives no precise borders. We therefore keep to these landmarks.
Was Nimrod the first king in the Bible?
The text does not say so in those terms. It states that Nimrod began to be mighty in the earth (Genesis 10:8) and that he reigned first over four cities (Genesis 10:10). At this point in the book it is the first reign the text reports, but it does not name Nimrod as the first king in human history, and it does not say there were none before him. Later, Genesis mentions other kings, such as Amraphel, king of Shinar, in the time of Abraham (Genesis 14:1). It is better to say that the Bible presents Nimrod as a mighty man whose reign begins at Babel, without giving him a more precise title.