Некоторые ученые, придерживающиеся атеизма, утверждают, что из-за того, что Нимрод был сыном Тишины, фараона Аменофиса можно было назвать Нимродом ІІІ (1411-1375). Это основано на том, что сыновья Хуша эмигрировали из Месопотамии в Эфиопию. Однако, скорее всего, они пришли из Куссу , что на востоке Месопотамии, в то время как некоторые из сыновей Хуша пошли дальше на восток, в бассейн Инда, на территорию современного Пакистана, а затем и дальше. - на территорию современной Индии.

Ассирия называлась землей Нимрода, и такие города, как Вавилон, Эрех, Аккад и Халне, были основаны в земле Сеннар, которая позже стала землей шумеров. Асур вышел из этой земли и построил Ниневию, один из самых могущественных городов ассирийцев, во время расцвета Ассирийской империи, даже столицу государства. Эти места сейчас являются территорией Ирака или граничат с ним.

Библия говорит. Этот Нимрод был «сильным охотником перед Иеговой (или Господом)», что означало огромного, сильного и жестокого человека.. Since he was known as a successful hunter of wild animals that attacked people, he became a hero, and later accordingly became the head of his fellow tribesmen (Gen. 10: 8-9). Like many others at the time, Nimrod certainly knew about the Laws of God, but he hated them. But like many misguided people today, Nimrod believed that he would not be able to enjoy life to the fullest if he followed these commandments. He set his own laws for himself, and tried to convince others to follow them.

Nimrod led those people who gathered together in the main city of the land of Sennar. Surely there were families then who did not like the way Nimrod ruled, but when the city was attacked by wild animals, it was Nimrod and his warriors who came out to defend the city. Later, Nimrod built a wall to protect the growing city. It was in these actions that his character of a strong leader manifested itself, who attracted a large number of people to his city and under his leadership.

Many years have passed since Babylon turned from a small settlement into a huge city. It was the first large city to emerge on earth after the flood. it was such a miracle that people came from afar to look at the mass of buildings and the high walls of the fortress. In honor of the city of Babel or Babylon, the land around was later called Babylonia Genesis (10:10). The name has Akkadian roots and means “gateway to God” (see commentaries on Genesis 10:10 and 1: 9).

Nimrod gives rise to idolatry

Nimrod became the most fearsome man on earth. As Babylon grew, so did her power. He created laws according to which the Babylonians were to obey his government, not the laws of God, whom Noah honored. Nimrod told his people that they should worship Satan by deifying corruptible objects such as the sun, snakes and the like (Rom 1: 21-23).

The name of the Babylonian god was Bel or Baal, which means master or lord... He was also called Merodach, and he was the Babylonian "God of War" (Jer 50: 2). In Hebrew, his name was Baal. He was the spouse of the sun goddess Ashtoret or Istar, or Astarte, after whom the Easter holiday was named (Easter from the English.Easter ). Among other idols, Vil was considered the main one. Nimrod tried to strengthen his power by declaring himself the high priest of Vil or Baal and Merodach. Thus, false doctrines appeared in Babylon, which are reflected in almost all religions of the world. Many millions of people now, striving to live according to the law of God, in fact follow the ancient traditions of worshiping idols and pagan rituals, which were born in Babylon. People who call themselves Christians celebrate the Babylonian solstice festivals, calling them Christmas and Easter, the last of which dates back to the feast of the goddess Easter (Astarte), whose husband died on Friday and rose again on Sunday. The name of this spouse among different peoples in different secret cults was Atteus in the west, Adonis or Orpheus, or Dionysus among the Greeks, Bacchus (Bacchus) among the Romans.

Tower of babel

One of Nimrod's ways to keep his influence over the people and to rally them was to build a tower large enough to inspire awe and admiration around the world. It was to become a temple of the sun, a structure higher than which on earth had not yet been built, and it was supposed to be in the center of world domination (Gen. 11: 5).

The slaves worked on laying only one foundation for a very long time. Then, little by little, the tower rushed towards the sky. Nimrod's plan to build a monstrous structure in the middle of the valley was gradually being carried out.

God decided to intervene. He realized that building the Tower of Babel would be just the beginning. Uncontrolled knowledge can reach such a level that in the six thousand years given to Satan to rule the world, the earth will be completely destroyed by the people themselves. Imagine what would happen if people like Nimrod could then create the weapons we have now! So, the system of idolatry in Babylon had to end, and the languages \u200b\u200bof the people were mixed, because human knowledge progressed so rapidly that people would destroy the planet long before the period of time given to Satan to rule on earth ended.

Mixing languages

The Lord said: “Behold, there is one people, and they all have one language; and this is what they began to do, and they will not lag behind what they decided to do. Let us go down and confuse their language there, so that one does not understand the speech of the other ”(Gen. 11: 5-6). Suddenly, something happened to the people who were working on the construction. They began to accuse each other that the other could not clearly explain what he wanted. Some spoke one language, others another. The less they understood each other, the more they argued. Their arguments turned into fights. Construction ceased (Gen. 11: 7-8). God mixed languages \u200b\u200bin order to make it impossible for the further construction of the tower due to the lack of mutual understanding. The tower was named "Babylonian" from the word "Babel", which meant "confusion" in the language spoken by Noah, which has retained this meaning to the present day.

Not understanding now the speech of their neighbors, many families who lived in Babylon or its environs left the city to live in remote corners of the country. This became the fulfillment of God's covenant (Gen. 10:25 and Deut. 32: 7-8). The fact that God mixed languages, dividing people, dealt a strong blow to Nimrod's plans for the early growth of his kingdom and the establishment of control over people, their customs, behavior and traditions.

But over the next few years, as some of the people left Babylon and began to inhabit the earth, the number of those who remained grew uncontrollably. In addition, many strangers stayed in Babylon.

Nimrod's Purpose of Ruling the Earth

Over time, during the reign of Nimrod, other cities arose in the land of Shinar in Babylonia. The boundaries of his possessions expanded. The sons of Hush, his father, traveled throughout the continent of Asia and Europe, descended further, to the territory of Egypt and Ethiopia on the African continent. And everywhere they carried the sinful tradition of worshiping the devil in the guise of a snake or the sun god. Nimrod claimed that only Satan possessed mysterious knowledge that only he himself could reveal to his followers. For Bible students, the name of Nimrod corresponds to the name of "Peter" or Potakha, this relationship arises on the basis of the original meaning of the root of this word - "opening" in languagesx Aldeyskih, in Avilonian , and later in Hebrew.

At the same time, many of the inhabitants of the earth had nothing to do with the belief system created by Nimrod. Some tribes settled so far from Babylonia that they did not even hear about the coming of idolatry. Others did not attach any importance to faith at all.

But a small number of people still did not depart from their Creator. Shem, one of Noah's sons, led this group of followers of God. For many years they have fought against the wave of idolatry that spread from Babylon.

Shem was Noah's youngest son, hence Nimrod was his great-nephew. Shem's mission, as the priest of the Most High, was to resist the influence of Nimrod.

Nimrod's death is not known for certain. It is only known that Sim survived him for many years. The bosom of Shem's church was located in Jerusalem, where many kings became high priests and received the names Melchizedek or Adonai Zedek, which meant My king is righteousness or My God is righteousness... Later, Abraham paid tithes to Shem or one of his high priests in Jerusalem.

The death of Nimrod came as a surprise to his followers. They did not understand how and why the high priest of the sun god was allowed to die. Many had lost faith in their hero, and the very religious doctrine of Nimrod began to lose its influence.

But Satan was not going to give up his attempts to turn people away from their Creator. He was going to use the death of Nimrod in order to shock the people again to return them to idolatry. According to Satan's plan, paganism was supposed not only to regain the lost positions at that time, but also to gain popularity for many millennia!

Nimrod's wife

To understand what happened, we must meet Nimrod's wife, who was called Ishtar or Easter. She is referred to in the Bible as Astarte. Many call her Semiramis. Her lust-filled cult still survives in the far south of Africa, Uganda (cf. Fraser Golden bitch, 275). The symbol of Semiramis is the golden dove, she is also known under the names of the Phrygian Sibyl or Syrian Atargata. The name Atargatis is the Greek version of the name of the consort of Baal, who was worshiped in Tarsus, which is the territory of today's Syria. Once her name sounded like Ateh-ateh and meant the goddess of Tarsa. She was worshiped in the north, in the valley of the Euphrates River, in a territory called Hieropolis-Bambis (Fraser in the same place).

With the death of her husband, the rule of the state passed into her hands. But Semiramis was afraid to lose control over her subordinates, since many of them no longer believed that Nimrod was the sun-like one that he imagined himself to be. She knew that some miracle was about to happen, something that would fill people with awe and prove that Nimrod really was a god.

Some time after the death of Nimrod, Semiramis gave birth to a son. This was what this low woman needed to carry out her greedy plan. She announced that her son did not have an earthly father, and that he was born from a magic ray from the great sun god. They began to call him the son of Nimrod, who succeeded his father.

For some, this monstrous lie seemed inconceivable. Nevertheless, the queen managed to take control of her state. An increasing number of people considered Nimrod to be the son of God. Moreover, Semiramis began to be worshiped as the mother of God. She was called the "Virgin Mother" or "Goddess of Heaven" (Jer 7:18; 44: 17-19, 25). She became the world's first religious ruler. This is where the cult of Sibyl as the Mother Goddess in the Middle East originates.

These events took place over four thousand years ago. But this was only the beginning of pagan beliefs, the influence of which was so strong that even now some people worship the "Goddess of Heaven" who never really existed.

Because of the actions of Satan, all these pagan idolatrous symbols, customs, doctrines and traditions were mixed with the biblical ones in such a way that many people, without knowing it, follow them now. This "secret knowledge", so called in the Bible, still hides the truth from many who really want to come to God.

Pagan traditions today

In Scripture, God tells us not to follow the traditions of idolatry (Jer 10: 2 and Deut 12: 30-31). On the other hand, many spiritual leaders tell us that not to celebrate December 25 is to follow the pagan tradition. This day was celebrated by those ancient pagans who considered this day the birthday of the son of the Mother of Heaven, associated with Nimrod and the sun god!

Semiramis and her followers claimed that on December 25 at night an evergreen tree grew from a dead stump in Babylon, and Nimrod himself secretly comes to earth every year to leave his gifts under this tree. This was the beginning of what we now celebrate as Christmas. Santa Claus will appear later, but this will be discussed in another article. See article Why We Don't Celebrate Christmas [DB24].

The birth of Babylon or Easter is also reflected in religious festivals around the world. There is a misconception that even before the flood, a spirit was sent from heaven, emerging from a huge egg that was thrown into the Euphrates. This goddess in the egg Istar (Easter egg translated from English means Easter egg) was none other than Semiramis.

The name Easter is also found in the canonical translation of the Bible into English - the King James Version (Acts 12: 4), but it is mistakenly replaced by the translators with the word denoting the Jewish Passover (in the Russian translation - Passover). Easter was one of those holidays that should be celebrated by the will of the Lord, while Easter Sunday, with its pagan traditions of celebrating the dawn, is an entirely pagan holiday (1 Cor. 5: 7-8). Lookthose See also article Holy days of God [DB22].

Now it becomes clear how Satan, with the help of Nimrod and Semiramis, forced humanity to believe in a lie (Rev. 12: 9), as he once forced Eve.

Other characters in this story also carry lies, for example, the god Atteus, who allegedly was the only God who was both the Son and the Father at the same time. He was killed in a tree, then descended into hell on Friday and rose again on Sunday. This is the basis for the present Passover story, which, as it turns out, has nothing to do with what happened to Christ during the Passover. This is where the doctrine of the triune God originates, which is actively supported by traditional Christianity.

This false belief system, which we call Mysticism, has been reflected in all world religions.

However, Satan will not always be allowed to deceive humanity. The time will soon come when he will be stripped of power for a thousand years (Rev. 20: 1-3). All false religions will be eradicated. Then humanity will know the real truth, which has been hidden from it for so long.

The Khushi confusion brings us to the part of the chapter of undoubtedly Semitic origin that relates to the lineage of Ham.

Gen. 10: 8-12. Hush [Semitic] also begat Nimrod: this one began to be strong on earth. He was a strong hunter ... His kingdom was at the beginning: Babylon, Erech, Akkad and Halne, in the land of Shinar. Assur came out of this land, and built Nineveh, Rehobothir, Kalach. And Resen between Nineveh and between Kalach ...

Nimrod is the only undoubtedly personal name in Genesis 10 that is not an eponym. Who is this Nimrod? Is it possible to accurately establish his personality, correlate him with any historical character? Or is he forever lost in the darkness of primitive times?

As to who Nimrod was, there are no questions: he is described as the ruler of that region of Mesopotamia, where, as you know, all the known cities of the above were located. In addition, it is believed that the biblical expression "land of Shinar" is the name of Sumer.

Kingdom of Nimrod

In Genesis 10: 10, Nimrod appears as a powerful king of Mesopotamia, whose power is based on four cities - Babylon, Erech, Akkad and Chalna. The whereabouts of Halna are unknown, but it is now generally accepted that mentioning it among these cities is a mistake and that the word is not the name of the city at all, but the Hebrew expression "all of them." The Revised Standard Translation reads this verse like this: "His kingdom was originally: Babylon, Erech, and Akkad, all in the land of Shinar."

The three remaining cities are no mystery. Erech corresponds to the city known from ancient inscriptions as Uruk. During the first excavations of this city in the 50s. XIX century. all the signs of a vast metropolis with large temples and a library were found. Erech's existence dates back to at least 3600 BC. e. It was on the Euphrates River about 40 miles from its ancient mouth. Since then, the course of the Euphrates has changed somewhat, and the ruins of the city are now a few miles east of it.

The king of Erech was the mythical Gilgamesh, but a real historical character ruled in him. This was Lugalzagesi, who reigned shortly after 2300 BC. e. He conquered other Sumerian city-states and was the first known ruler of a fairly large kingdom in Mesopotamia, which stretched as far as the Mediterranean. However, the triumph of this ruler was short-lived: he was supplanted by another conqueror who is associated with Akkad, the second city mentioned in Genesis 10:10.

Akkad in ancient inscriptions is called Agade. Its exact whereabouts are unknown, but it was probably also on the Euphrates, about 140 miles upstream of Erech. The northern part of Mesopotamia was named after this city, which became known as Akkad.

The Akkadians who inhabited these areas in the upper Euphrates were not Sumerians, although they inherited their culture. They spoke a Semitic language, and the Sumerian language was not Semitic (its linguistic connections with other languages \u200b\u200bhave not been established).

Initially, the Akkadians were under the rule of the Sumerians, but around 2280 BC. e. a ruler named Sharrukin (which in Akkadian means "true king") came to power and made the city of Agade his capital. This king of Akkad is known to us under the name of Sargon the Ancient. Around 2264 BC e. he defeated Lugalzagesi and founded the Akkadian kingdom. Under Sargon's grandson Naram-Sina, this kingdom increased significantly and by 2180 BC. e. reached the greatest power.

However, after the death of Naram-Sin around 2150 BC. e. barbarians from the eastern mountains invaded and conquered Mesopotamia. The Akkadian state collapsed. A century after the rule of the barbarians, the Sumerians defeated them, expelled them from the country, and around 2000 Sumer is experiencing the last period of its power. And then comes the time of the city that survived after these events, which is mentioned in Genesis 10: 10.

The city of Babylon was on the Euphrates, about 40 miles downstream of Haggadah. For more than a thousand years, it existed as a small and unremarkable city - while the Sumerian city-states located even further downstream flourished, and the Akkadian kingdom experienced its heyday and decline.

While the Sumerians were in their last period of glory, the Amorites - another tribe that lived in the middle reaches of the Euphrates - around 1900 BC. e. captured Babylon and made it the capital of their vast kingdom.

Under Hammurabi, the sixth king of the Amorite dynasty, who ruled around 1700 BC. e., - Babylonia (the region of Mesopotamia, which received its name from this city) acquired the significance of a world power and remained it for two thousand years - despite the fact that it was subjected to frequent conquests and plunders. During Old Testament times, Babylon was a splendid eastern city.

During the reign of the Amorites, the Sumerians finally weakened and quickly fell into decay, losing their identity, although their culture was inherited and developed by all subsequent conquerors. The Sumerian language disappeared as a means of living communication and became dead, but continued to be used as the language of a religious cult (like Latin in the modern Catholic Church) for almost one and a half thousand years, surviving until 300 BC. e.

Hammurabi's fame was short-lived. Around 1670 BC e. Babylonia was invaded by the Kassites from the east, and the "dark age" began, which lasted about five centuries. Southern Babylonia had died away, but cities located in river valleys much further north had a chance to rise. If Genesis 10:10 focuses on southern Babylonia, then verse 10: 11 refers to the north.

In the King James Bible, this verse begins with the words, "Out of this land came Asshur."

Most researchers now consider this option to be an incorrect translation from Hebrew. In the Amended Standard Translation, verse 10: 11 begins like this: "From this land he [Nimrod] entered Asshur."

The biblical Assur is Ashur, a country located in the middle reaches of the Tigris, in the territory of modern northern Iraq. The city of Ashur, which gave its name to the whole country, was located on the Tigris, about 230 miles north of Babylon; it was founded (possibly by Sumerian colonists) as early as 2700 BC. e. Ashur is more familiar to us from the Greek version of this name - Assyria.

Assyria was part of the Akkadian kingdom, and later - part of the kingdom of the Amorites. However, the Assyrians who inhabited this country retained their individuality, and they had periods of extraordinary flourishing. The capital of Assyria was moved to the cities located upstream of the Tigris - first in Kalah, then in Nineveh. (The location of the city of Resen, which, according to verse 10: 12, was located between the two cities, is unknown. However, this word, like “Halne,” may not mean the name of the city at all.)

A turning point in Assyrian history may have been in the reign of Shalmaneser 1 (circa 1250 BC). It is believed that this king built Kalach, and also that under him the art of smelting iron penetrated into Assyria from Asia Minor.

Iron weapons gave warriors a tremendous advantage over those who were armed with bronze. Iron is heavier than bronze, and the sharper iron blades did not dull so quickly. The son of Shalmanasar, Tukultininurta, armed his warriors with iron weapons and iron armor, became the first Assyrian king-conqueror.

Despite occasional setbacks, Assyria gained more and more power, drove out the Kassites, established dominion over all of Babylonia, and then spread its influence far beyond its borders. By the time the tradition of Genesis was recorded, Assyria had become the most powerful state that ever existed in the world.

Apparently, the verses of Genesis 10: 8-12 are a short summary of the 2500-year history of Mesopotamia, from the period of the Sumerian city-states to the Akkadian, then the Amorite and, finally, the Assyrian kingdoms.

So where do we find Nimrod in this vast story?

It seems that the biblical passage describing him includes the deeds of Lugalzagesi, Sargon the Ancient, Hammurabi and Shalmaneser 1 (and possibly even Gilgamesh), so that the greatness of Sumer, Akkad, the Amorite and Assyrian states was reflected in the personality of Nimrod.

Yet for the authors of the Bible, Assyria was the last and greatest kingdom of Mesopotamia, and its glory overshadowed the entire past. The first Assyrian king-conqueror could be attributed not only to the merits in strengthening the power of Assyria, but also to the deeds of the rulers of all previous kingdoms. (As if a child with a very vague idea of \u200b\u200bthe early history of America, but fully aware that the first president of the United States was George Washington, would have declared: “George Washington crossed the Atlantic Ocean on the Mayflower, discovered America, conquered Mexico, built the city of Washington and became the first president of the United States. ")

The first known Assyrian conqueror was, as already mentioned, Tukultininurta I. It is likely that he was the historical prototype of the hero of the Greek myth of Nina (in the second part of the name of the Assyrian king, Ninurta, the last letters disappeared, and with the help of the Greek ending - s, almost always used in personal names, it became the name Ninus).

According to the Greek myth, Nin himself, without outside help, founded Nineveh, conquered all of Babylonia and Armenia (Urartu), as well as the regions in the east, where nomadic peoples lived, and erected the Assyrian kingdom.

And it seems that the same Ninurta became Nimrod for the Bible authors. The succinct description of Nimrod in these few biblical verses probably points to one of the Assyrian kings. Assyrian art was notable for its harsh power, and one of its favorite themes was the depiction of the Assyrian kings on the hunt. It is widely known that for these rulers, hunting was the most attractive sport, and this was undoubtedly the reason that Nimrod is described as a "powerful hunter."

In addition, the Assyrians, as the dominant power in Babylonia, replaced the Kassites (Kush), so it is natural that Nimrod is described as the son of Hush.