Who was Nimrod? This question has caused much debate among people who interpret the Bible.
The Bible tells us the following characteristics about him:
1. He ruled in the area of ancient Mesopotamia. The same region was later ruled by several empires, the most famous of which are the Babylonian and Assyrian empires.
2. He was the grandson of Noah's son Ham.
3. He is said to have been the first ruler, i.e. the first political ruler on earth.
The latter should not be confused with the ancient cities, each of which had its own 'leader', which modern researchers call 'king'. Likewise, they call their city a 'city-state'. However, this is a wrong interpretation in many places. One might assume that the term 'state' includes much more than the fact that some city has some kind of 'police department' and 'grocery store'. It would seem to include some kind of political thinking as well. In the city-state, it could be estimated that this was related to the fact that its 'leaders' exercised more power over the residents than was part of their duties.
Let's look at a few people from history, what information can be found about them.
Sargon of Akkad
Sargon is perhaps the most overrated word than Nimrod. This is due to the fact that so much information about his conquests in ancient Mesopotamia has been preserved. He became king around 2215 BCE* spoke the Akkadian language.
According to legend, he initially worked as a cupbearer for the King of Kis. There would seem to be a parallel to Nimrod here, since Nimrod's father was Cush.
Although many have considered Sargon to be the same as Nimrod, there is one major negative aspect associated with him. Researchers estimate that he was Semitic** because his name 'Sargon' is a Semitic name. This is apparently influenced by the fact that scholars believe that the language used by Sargon, Akkad, is related to other Semitic languages.*** Nimrod, on the other hand, was a Hamite.
Can also that year 2215 BCE. be too late date?
King Lugal-zagge-si of Uruk
The king of Uruk approximately in the years 2240-2215 BCE.# From the Bible's account, one can get the idea that Nimrod was the king when the mixing of languages took place in Babel. If that was the case, this timing of the Lugalzaggesi reign is more appropriate. His parentage is uncertain, but he was Sumerian and he had a Sumerian name. His name is estimated to mean: 'holy king'. It is not excluded that he, like Nimrod, was a Hamite.
On the other hand, the Bible tells about the kingship of Nimrod and the mixing of languages in different contexts. It does not say whether Nimrod became king before or after the mixing of languages.
Therefore, observe the statement related to Nimrod: "The first ruler on the earth." (Genesis 10:8)
The first ruler on earth
Scholars consider Sargon to be the first to establish a vast empire.
Information related to Lugalzaggesi is very limited. He was from the city of Umma and was its governor. He became king of Uruk or Erek. In addition, he was at least the king of Ur, Girsu, Nippur, Larsa and Kis. But it is considered possible that he ruled as far as the Mediterranean, i.e. in the territory of present-day Syria.## And thus also in the territory of Assyria, so Nimrod.
A very remarkable similarity is the name of Lugalzaggesi's father, Ukush. It is a very similar name to Nimrod's father: Cush.
The Lugalzaggesi have been considered the first to unify the Sumerian Empire, although scholars are not sure.
But based on this, the statement 'the first ruler on earth' would seem to apply to Lugalzaggesi. Thus, one might assume that he was the same as Nimrod.
There have also been various reflections on which language family the language spoken by the Lugal-zagge-si, Sumer, belonged to. If he was Nimrod, then it was the Hamitic language. Researchers today prefer to speak of an Afro-Asiatic language.###
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