Hope of Israel Ministries (Ecclesia of YEHOVAH):

Nimrod's Other Name

by Peter Goodgame

It is a misconception that Nimrod does not appear as a major figure in the Old Testament. In this article we will show that Nimrod appears throughout the prophetic writings of the Old Testament as the primary human adversary of the people of YEHOVAH God and of YEHOVAH Himself. Isaiah repeatedly refers to Nimrod, as does Ezekiel, and the minor prophets Hosea, Micah, and Habakkuk prophesy about Nimrod as well. Often the predictions and prophecies of Nimrod, the false Messiah of Paganism, appear immediately before or after prophecies that are given of the true Messiah of the God of Israel. This all becomes clear once we realize that Israel's prophets simply referred to Nimrod by another name.

Nimrod's other name is given in Genesis 10:11, but this fact has gone entirely unnoticed (as far as I know) by all Biblical scholars except for David Rohl and James Lloyd. Even when I first read Rohl's explanation of this fact several years ago I allowed it to pass by without grasping its importance. Here is Genesis 10:9-12 as given in the KJV, which in this case is faithful to the original Hebrew:

"And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same [is] a great city."

Nimrod's other name is Asshur. His kingdom began in Babel (Eridu) and Erech (Uruk), but then he moved north and established Ninevah, which became the capital of the Assyrian nation, whose people worshiped Asshur, a fierce war god identical to the Babylonian god Marduk. Nimrod was the founder of Ninevah, and Greek legends ascribe the founding of Ninevah to Ninus, a ruler who allegedly "founded the first empire" and "conquered in 17 years the whole of western Asia." Nimrod's presence in the region is also confirmed by the ancient city known as Nimrud, located just south of Ninevah, also known as Kalhu in ancient times, which is the Biblical Calah established by Nimrod according to Genesis 10:12.

Identifying Nimrod as Asshur is complicated, however, by two problems. The first involves alternate translations of Genesis 10:11, such as those provided by most modern Bibles such as the ASV, NASB, NIV and ESV. Here is how the ESV gives the text:

"From that land he went [referring to Nimrod] into Assyria [Asshur] and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city."

The question revolves around whether the word "Asshur" is intended as the name of an individual or as the name of a region. Modern translators are disposed to view it as a region precisely because they know that Nimrod founded Ninevah, and because a second reference to Asshur appears several lines later in Genesis 10:22 where Asshur is named as a son of Shem.

This brings us to a second problem: Were there two "Asshurs" or only one? Egyptologist David Rohl solves the problem by arguing that there was only one, and that this Asshur is identical with Nimrod the descendent of Ham. Rohl simply concludes that the reference to Asshur as a son of Shem is a Biblical error. On the other hand, Bible translators solve the problem by concluding that there is only one Asshur, and that he is the son of Shem, unrelated to Nimrod the descendent of Ham. They argue that the first reference to Asshur refers to a region rather than an individual. However, this conclusion was rejected by the scholars who translated both the KJV and the Septuagint (LXX), and for good reasons.

The Hebrew text of Genesis 10:11 begins (see below and read right to left) with the compound word min-haaretz, which is translated as "from the land." The second word is hahi, meaning essentially "that," and connects "from the land" back to the land of Shinar mentioned previously in verse 10 where Nimrod's kingdom began. The third word is the verb yatza which means "(he) went forth." The fourth word is Asshur. The fifth word is vayben which is derived from the verb banah ("to build") and means "(he) builded," and the sixth is et-Ninevah.

מִן־הָאָ֥רֶץ הַהִ֖וא יָצָ֣א אַשּׁ֑וּר וַיִּ֙בֶן֙ אֶת־נִ֣ינְוֵ֔ה

The most straightforward translation of this text corresponds to the translations found in the KJV and Septuagint (LXX) and it reads,

"Out of that land went forth Asshur, and he built Ninevah..."

The modern translations of this text are in error. Nimrod did not go forth into Asshur because there is nothing in the text that suggests that Asshur is the destination. If Asshur was intended as the destination Asshur would either be prefixed with the prepositional article el, or would end with a final suffix of the letter He, giving either "yatza el Asshur" or "yatza Asshurah". Because neither of these forms are used it should be concluded that Asshur is meant either as an adjective that applies to Nimrod, or that Asshur is simply another name for Nimrod. As an adjective the word asshur could be related to the word asher giving a meaning of "prosperous" or "successful." The verse might then read, "Out of that land he (Nimrod) went forth successfully and built Ninevah."

However, this was not the interpretation arrived at by the translators of the Greek LXX or the English KJV. These scholars simply viewed Asshur as the name of the individual who built Ninevah, and from numerous sources we know that this individual was in fact Nimrod. He established his kingdom in Shinar and then he campaigned to the north and built the city of Ninevah. Eventually this city became the capitol of the kingdom of Asshur that we know as Assyria, whose people worshiped Nimrod as the god Asshur, their primary deity.

A further analysis of the origins of the name "Osiris" can be found in a recent reference work entitled The Ancient Gods Speak: A Guide to Egyptian Religion (2002), edited by Donald B. Redford. The analysis below is found under the heading "Osiris" and is provided by Dr. J. Gwyn Griffiths, the former professor who taught Egyptology at Cairo, Bonn, Tubingen, and Swansea, Wales:

"The god's name Wsir (in Coptic, Oycipe or Oycipi) was written at first with the sign for a throne, followed by the sign for an eye; later the order was inverted. Among the many meanings suggested is one cognate with Ashur, implying a Syrian origin; but also 'he who takes his seat or throne;' 'she or that which has sovereign power and is creative;' 'the place of creation;' 'seat of the Eye,' with the Eye explained as the Sun; 'the seat that creates;' and 'the Mighty One,' deriving from wsr ('mighty')."

From this reference we can see that even modern Egyptologists find a possible connection between the Egyptian god Osiris and the Assyrian god Asshur. Furthermore, the idea that the name "Osiris" could possibly be translated as "The Mighty One" is most interesting. Consider again the text of Genesis 10:8-12 with this translation and see how it makes perfect sense:

"And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Out of that land went forth 'The Mighty One' and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city."

The Hebrew word for "mighty one" is gibbor, but in referring to Nimrod as "Asshur" it seems that Moses simply wrote down a Hebrew vocalization of Nimrod's Egyptian name (Wsir or Asar) which itself derives from the Egyptian root word wsr which means "mighty." Confirmation for the possibility that "Asshur" can be translated as "The Mighty One" can be found in Young's Analytical Concordance to the Bible under the heading "asshurim." This word is simply the word "Asshur" with a plural ending, and the concordance provides a meaning of "mighty ones." If the plural form of Asshur is to be translated as "mighty ones," then surely the singular form should be translated as "The Mighty One."

The Silence of Moses

But if Nimrod is so closely connected with Egypt then why did Moses not make any mention of such a connection in Genesis 10:8-12? According to a plain reading of the text it would appear that the conquests of Nimrod were confined to Mesopotamia which is also clearly identified as the place where his empire began: "And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar."

Moses was himself a prince of Egypt, and he was surely intimately familiar with both Egyptian history and religion. Why would he not speak clearly of Nimrod's relationship with Egypt if Nimrod's conquests marked the beginning of Egyptian history, and if Nimrod's death was the central theme of Egyptian religion, as we have so far postulated? For an answer to this important question we must turn back and take a second look at the story of the descendents of Ham.

According to Genesis 10:6 there were four "sons" of Ham and their names were Cush, Mizraim, Put and Canaan. First of all we must understand that "sons" does not necessarily mean "sons" as we understand it and can simply be translated as "descendents" in many cases. For instance, in Genesis 10:4 two of the "sons" of Javan are the Kittim and the Rodanim. These "sons" are not two individuals, but are rather understood to refer to two different groups of people who descended from the line of Javan. The primary clue that leads scholars to this conclusion is the plural ending of -im, which is simply the Hebrew letter Mem.

Again, let us consider the names of the four "sons" of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Put and Canaan. Notice that the name of the second "son" contains just such a plural ending. What we see is that the descendents of Ham appear to be listed in a geographical manner rather than a strictly genealogical manner. Cush (singular) settled in Ethiopia, Mizraim (plural) settled the land of Egypt, Put (singular) settled west of Egypt on the north coast of Africa, and Canaan (singular) settled east of Egypt on the coast of the Mediterranean. Three of Cush's "sons" are individuals, but one of them refers to a group of people. We turn now, once again, to the expertise of David Rohl for an analysis of what this name Mizraim might actually mean:

So it seems that Moses does provide evidence of a connection between Nimrod and Egypt, and it comes simply from the name that he gave to the people of Egypt when he referred to them as Mizraim which means "the followers or descendents of Asar/Asshur." Perhaps Moses went no further in clarifying this connection simply because, as an adopted son of Egypt, he viewed such an elaboration as self-evident and unnecessary. Whatever the case may be there is ample evidence that the conquests of Nimrod, after beginning in the land of Shinar, extended through Ethiopia and Egypt, throughout the Mediterranean Basin, throughout Mesopotamia and even into India and other parts of Asia. It was the largest kingdom of the post-flood world the like of which has never been seen.

-- Edited by John D. Keyser.