Nimrod, “a mighty one of hunting before the Lord”
Says וְכוּשׁ יָלַד אֶת־נִמְרֹד (“and Cush fathered Nimrod”) uses the active verb yalad, “fathered” (BSB “was the father of”). The lexicon gives yalad as “bear, bring forth, beget” and cites 10:8. Then הוּא הֵחֵל לִהְיוֹת גִּבֹּר בָּאָרֶץ (hu’ hekhel lihyot gibbor ba’arets, “he began to be a mighty one in the earth”). Hekhel, “began,” is the verb of 9:20, and the lexicon cites lihyot at 10:8 under hayah, “fall out, come to pass, become, be.”
Says Verse 9 calls him גִבֹּר־צַיִד לִפְנֵי יְהוָה (gibbor-tsayid lifne yhwh, “a mighty one of hunting before the Lord”). עַל־כֵּן יֵאָמַר (‘al-ken ye’amar, “therefore it is said”) introduces a saying, and the saying repeats the phrase: כְּנִמְרֹד גִּבּוֹר צַיִד לִפְנֵי יְהוָה. The second time the word is spelled גִּבּוֹר, with a vav. It is the only verse in the chapter with the divine name.
Uncertain Who Nimrod was is debated. Some take him as a historical king, and Sargon, Tukulti-Ninurta I, Gilgamesh and the god Ninurta have all been proposed; others say he cannot be identified. Each proposal matches a few features and none matches all. “Before the Lord” is read three ways. It may express favor, a neutral idiom meaning “in the Lord’s sight,” or defiance, as early hostile readings took it. Favor and defiance both read more into a short phrase than it states, while the idiom view has to explain why the Lord is named at all. No lean is taken here.
Claims
- Saysוְכוּשׁ יָלַד אֶת־נִמְרֹד (“and Cush fathered Nimrod”) uses the active verb yalad, “fathered” (BSB “was the father of”). The lexicon gives yalad as “bear, bring forth, beget” and cites 10:8. Then הוּא הֵחֵל לִהְיוֹת גִּבֹּר בָּאָרֶץ (hu’ hekhel lihyot gibbor ba’arets, “he began to be a mighty one in the earth”). Hekhel, “began,” is the verb of 9:20, and the lexicon cites lihyot at 10:8 under hayah, “fall out, come to pass, become, be.”
- SaysVerse 9 calls him גִבֹּר־צַיִד לִפְנֵי יְהוָה (gibbor-tsayid lifne yhwh, “a mighty one of hunting before the Lord”). עַל־כֵּן יֵאָמַר (‘al-ken ye’amar, “therefore it is said”) introduces a saying, and the saying repeats the phrase: כְּנִמְרֹד גִּבּוֹר צַיִד לִפְנֵי יְהוָה. The second time the word is spelled גִּבּוֹר, with a vav. It is the only verse in the chapter with the divine name.
- UncertainWho Nimrod was is debated. Some take him as a historical king, and Sargon, Tukulti-Ninurta I, Gilgamesh and the god Ninurta have all been proposed; others say he cannot be identified. Each proposal matches a few features and none matches all. “Before the Lord” is read three ways. It may express favor, a neutral idiom meaning “in the Lord’s sight,” or defiance, as early hostile readings took it. Favor and defiance both read more into a short phrase than it states, while the idiom view has to explain why the Lord is named at all. No lean is taken here.
Citations
- OSHB CC BY 4.0 Gen 10:8–9 (WLC/OSHB; morph HVqp3ms HVhp3ms HAamsc HAamsc)
- BSB public domain Gen 10:8–9 (BSB)
- BDB CC BY 4.0 BDB 1906, p. 408 (leaf n431, archive.org hebrewenglishlex00browuoft), s.v. H3205 “bear, bring forth, beget”; checked against the printed page (scan)
- BDB CC BY 4.0 BDB 1906, p. 224 (leaf n247, archive.org hebrewenglishlex00browuoft), s.v. H1961 “fall out, come to pass, become, be”; checked against the printed page (scan)
2026-11-11
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