H5248 H5248
Nimrod, legendary hunter and mighty warrior; founder of Mesopotamian cities including Babel, Nineveh, and Calah
Nimrod stands as one of Scripture's most enigmatic figures—a 'mighty hunter before the LORD' whose name became proverbial (Gen 10:9). As a descendant of Ham through Cush, he founded the kingdom of Shinar (Babylon) and built several major Mesopotamian cities. The exact etymology remains uncertain, though some ancient interpreters connected it with rebellion. Later tradition in Micah 5:6 uses 'land of Nimrod' as a synonym for Assyria, showing how his legacy became emblematic of Mesopotamian imperial power.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The historical or legendary figure Nimrod appears exclusively as a proper name across Genesis, Chronicles, and Micah. The multilingual evidence uniformly treats this as a transliterated personal name rather than a descriptive title, maintaining the Hebrew form across European languages. Genesis 10:8-9 establishes his reputation as both a hunter and city-builder, while Micah's 'land of Nimrod' demonstrates how the name evolved to represent broader geographic and political entities. 4×
AR["كَ-نِمْرُودَ", "نِمْرود", "نِمْرُودَ"]·ben["নিম্রোদ", "নিম্রোদের", "নিম্রোদের-মতো"]·DE["Nimrod", "[נמרד]", "[נמרוד]", "wie-Nimrod"]·EN["Nimrod", "like-Nimrod"]·FR["Nimrod", "[נמרוד]", "comme-Nimrod"]·heb["כ-נמרד", "נמרד", "נמרוד"]·HI["निमरोद-की", "निम्रोद", "निम्रोद-को", "निम्रोद-जैसा"]·ID["Nimrod", "seperti-Nimrod"]·IT["Nimrod", "[נמרד]", "[נמרוד]", "come-Nimrod"]·jav["Nimrod", "kados-Nimrod"]·KO["니므롯", "니므롯-의-를", "니므롯같이"]·PT["Nimrod", "como-Nimrod"]·RU["Нимрода", "как-Нимрод", "он"]·ES["Nimrod", "como-Nimrod"]·SW["Nimrodi", "kama-Nimrodi"]·TR["Nimrod'u", "Nimrod'un", "gibi-Nimrod"]·urd["جیسے-نمرود", "نمرود", "نمرود-کی"]
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)H0834a 1. relative pronoun (who/which/that) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)G1063 1. (1047×)G3778 1. this thing, these things (1003×)H???? 2. (1002×)G2424 1. (924×)G3754 1. that (content clause) (881×)H2009 1. presentative particle: behold, look (881×)H0589 1. I (first person singular pronoun) (874×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† נִמְרֹד, נִמְרוֹד n.pr.m. Nimrod (etym. and meaning wholly unknown; Thes (dub.) sub מָרַד rebel (of which Hebr. may have thought [cf. LagBN 105]); in fact prob. Bab. name; 1. = a god e.g. Marduk, WeComp. Hex. (2), 308 f.; Nimrod, Encycl. Brit. (9), xvii. 511, RSSem. i. 91 n.; 2d ed. 92; HomPSBA xv (1893), 291–300 proposes Narûdu = Namra-uddu, a star-god. 2. Nu-marad = ‘Man of Marad’ cf. DlPa…