*Adapted from my discussion posts for Old Testament Studies BIBL1305, King's University, Spring 2021, Professor: Dr. Eugene Chet Saunders.
*I reserve the right to change this a thousand times as I keep studying.
Nimrod and the Tower of Babel
Nimrod
God had given Adam (Genesis 1:29-31) and after the flood Noah (Genesis 9:1) the command to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.
Genesis 10:8–12 cites Nimrod as the son of Cush (see also 1 Chronicles 1:10). He was a mighty hunter before YHWH. He was essentially the world’s first (post-flood) king. He established his kingdom in the land of Shinar (AKA Mesopotamia, later Babylon) and expanded the kingdom to include many areas that would become relevant to Israel’s history, including Assyria and Nineveh (see also Micah 5:6).
Nimrod was the first king of the post-flood world (Genesis 10:8-12). He created an empire of cities in the land of Shinar, with a home base in Babel. A few verses later, we see the people gathered into one place, building a tower to reach God’s divine abode and prevent themselves from being scattered (Genesis 11). Nimrod may have been involved in the building of the tower according to some Jewish Traditions.[1]
Nimrod’s name could be linked etymologically to the pre-fall chaos and rebellion[2]. Although some Jewish traditions link Nimrod to the creation of the Tower of Babel, the only textual link that can be made is the fact he established the city/kingdom[3]. Although, it does say the people who settled in Shinar built the tower, therefore, Nimrod could have been responsible.
The Rebellion of The Tower
As a result of this rebellion, YHWH rejected humanity and turned them over to other gods and scattered them.[4] YHWH then selected Abraham out of these same Nimrodic people (the Mesopotamians) to be his own portion, and he began building a new nation from this man.
The people of Shinar (Babylon, Mesopotamia, Nimrod’s People) deliberately chose to attempt to thwart God’s will (“lest we be scattered”, Genesis 11:4). It was this essence of wanting to replace God and thwart his will, that drives all earthly rebellions today. The push for Globalism, erasing differences (rather than appreciating them), erasing borders, and the rumors of a New World Order, all stem from this altercation in Genesis 11. Like Shinar, each people-group who attempts to gather in unity without blessing and honoring YHWH will end in defeat.
God's instruction was to multiply and fill the earth. These people gathered together to specifically prevent that from happening. As I've read the Bible in my younger days, I thought "So they built a tower, so what?" Then you read the text and history and it makes sense. Hill and Walton discuss the background of these people as being the ancient societies of Mesopotamia.[5] This cultural context is important because it sets the stage for the background Abraham came out of. The traditions, history, and culture of Mesopotamia all influenced him. In Lost World of Genesis One, John Walton uses the stories and manuscripts available from these sister societies to show the mindset of someone like Abraham, and how Moses (writing the story) could have understood certain things.[6]
Ultimately, God wanted people to be multiply and fill. When they refused, he gave them incentive.
Abram (Abraham) responded in simple believing loyalty to YHWH, and that obedience allowed him to become the father of Faith. The record shows that one does not need to be perfect, one only needs to keep believing YHWH no matter what. It is that spirit of Faith for which Hebrews 11 praises him. He was told that his seed would inherit the nations, and indeed, his seed (Jesus) did exactly that.
Nimrodian / Babylonian Kingdoms vs YHWH’s Kingdom in 2021 and beyond
As I see it today, Jesus ushered in the Rock Kingdom as prophesied in Daniel 2, and the 70-7's were fulfilled in Jesus' ministry and Acts, closing the chapter on the 70-7's at the vision of Cornelius. Matthew 24 was fulfilled in its entirety in 70AD.[7]
There are only a few things left on God's prophetic calendar.
- · The Rock Kingdom (Daniel 2): The Kingdom of God will continue to fill the whole earth, growing, never shrinking. At this point, we are seeing the rock that smashed all others and grows until it fills the earth. When people decry the shrinking of "evangelicals in America", they lack the larger picture. On Earth, The Church will only continue to grow with each passing year.
- · Jesus Return: prophetically, we are waiting for Jesus to return and set up his kingdom. We will meet him in the air, as a people meets their returning king, and usher Him home.. At this time, we receive our glorified bodies.
- · The Judgement Seat: Where people are separated into their eternal destinies based on only one question: Believing Loyalty to YHWH as defined in his Son. "I never knew you" vs "Welcome Home".
- · The (Re)New Heavens/Earth // New Jerusalem: The final act is to fulfill El Elyon's original plan, united Heaven and Earth again for the first time since Eden was closed.
That being said, what I see is the continued drive in the non-saved people to build their Babylonian Kingdom and Tower without YHWH. They did it in early Babylon, and history is full of would-be global leaders. From Nebuchadnezzar to Hitler to Stalin to Mao, each is destined to fail at their tower building, just as the people of Nimrod were. Nevertheless, the world's system will keep calling for Globalism and the New World Order.
Won't they be surprised when it actually comes!
As with Abraham/Israel, as with Jesus' first arrival, YHWH has a plan that will twist man's plan on its head. Some of mankind will keep trying to build their Babylonian systems without YHWH, proclaiming "God is dead!" and "all religions are equal" and "all paths lead to God".
Meanwhile, The Kingdom of God will continue to grow and fill the earth (despite them). God will continue to smack would-be Nimrods back down as they arise.
Then when the time is right, Yeshua himself, The King of Kings, will arrive to usher in the one and only true global kingdom, and every knee will bow.
*I reserve the right to change this a thousand times as I keep studying.
[1] The Lexham Bible Dictionary - Barry, J. D., Bomar, D., Brown, D. R., Klippenstein, R., Mangum, D., Sinclair Wolcott, C., … Widder, W. (Eds.). (2016). In The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press. (Billingham, WA: Leham Press, 2016), NIMROD, SON OF CUSH, LexhamPress.com.
[2] Lexham Bible Dictionary. Section: NIMROD, SON OF CUSH: Quote “ Etymology - The etymology and the meaning of Nimrod’s name are uncertain (BDB, “נִמְרֹד, nimrod.”). The name is often connected to the Hebrew verb “to rebel” (מָרַד, marad) and to the narrative of the tower of Babel (Wenham, Genesis 1–15, 222). Nimrod is characterized as the first of the “mighty on earth” (גִּבֹּ֖ר בָּאָֽרֶץ, gibbor ba'arets) (compare Gen 6:4, where the plural form of גִּבּוֹר, gibbor; is used). The word גִּבּוֹר (gibbor) in the Nimrod pericope (Gen 10:8–12) may convey “the idea of violent, tyrannical power” (Skinner, Genesis, 207). If this interpretation is correct, as the text and the intertextual link with Gen 6:4 seem to suggest, it follows that Nimrod’s power and success were founded in violent, tyrannical rule and not a gradual spread in the population (Mathews, Genesis 1–11:26, 448).”
[3] Lexham Bible Dictionary, NIMROD, SON OF CUSH. Quote: “ Nimrod in Jewish Tradition – The interpretation of the figure of Nimrod in Jewish tradition is overwhelmingly negative. According to Philo of Alexandria, Nimrod’s ancestors epitomize “evil and spiritual unproductiveness,” which can only result in giants (van der Horst, “Nimrod after the Bible,” 221–22). Later in the Jewish legends (Hag. 13a; Pesahim 94b) Nimrod is described as the archetypal evil king who made all the people rebel against God (Hamilton, Genesis, 338). He is also noted as the builder of the tower of Babel and the enemy of Abraham (Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, 175–81). Furthermore, the lexical links shared among Gen 6:4, 10:8–12, 11:1–9—namely the key words “giant,” “Shinar,” and “Babel”—”suggested to the early haggadists that Nimrod might have been one of the giants of Genesis 6” (van der Horst, Nimrod after the Bible, 222).”
[4] Michael S. Heiser, The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible, First edition (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015). Chapter 14 Divine Allotment
[5] Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton, A Survey of the Old Testament, 3rd ed (Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan Publishing House, 2009). Pages 79-82
[6] John H Walton, The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate. (Westmont: InterVarsity Press, 2010), https://public.ebookcentral.proquest.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=2030851.
[7] Jonathan Welton, Raptureless, 3rd Edition Printing (Place of publication not identified: Bookbaby, 2015), http://public.ebookcentral.proquest.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=4188734. Credit this book for introducing me to a new eschatological perspective.
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Shalom: Live Long and Prosper!
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