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{{Short description|Biblical figure}}
{{about|the biblical king}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
[[File:Nimrod (painting).jpg|thumb|267px|''Nimrod'' by [[David Scott (painter)|David Scott]], 1832]]
'''Nimrod'''{{Efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|ɪ|m|r|ɒ|d}}<ref>British English pronunciation given at {{cite OED|Nimrod}}</ref>}}{{Efn|{{Hebrew Name|נִמְרוֹד|Nīmrōd|Nīmrōḏ}}; {{langx|syc|ܢܡܪܘܕ}}; {{langx|ar|نُمْرُود|Numrūd}}}} is a [[Hebrew Bible|biblical]] figure mentioned in the [[Book of Genesis]] and [[Books of Chronicles|the Books of Chronicles]]. The son of [[Cush (Bible)|Cush]] and therefore the great-grandson of [[Noah]], Nimrod was described as a king in the land of [[Shinar]] ([[Lower Mesopotamia]]). The [[Bible]] states that he was "a mighty hunter before the Lord [and] ... began to be mighty in the earth".<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=nimrod&qs_version=GNV |title = BibleGateway }}</ref> In the biblical narrative and non-biblical traditions identifies Nimrod as the ruler who had commissioned the construction of the [[Tower of Babel]], and that identification led to his reputation as a king who had been rebellious against [[God]].

There is no direct evidence that Nimrod was an actual historical person in any of the non-biblical [[historic]] records, registers, or king lists (including any of the [[Mesopotamian]] ones, which are considered older than the biblical record). Historians have failed to match Nimrod with any real historically attested figure, or to find any historical, linguistic or genetic link between the [[Sumerian]] and [[Semitic people|Semitic]] [[Mesopotamia|Mesopotamians]] and the distant and later emerging [[Kingdom of Kush|kingdom of Cush]] in modern [[Sudan]]. In 2002 one scholar suggested that the biblical Nimrod was inspired by one of the exclusively Mesopotamian historical figures, [[Naram-Sin of Akkad|Naram-Sin]] of Akkad, grandson of [[Sargon of Akkad|Sargon]], and attempts have been made by other scholars to attribute the inspiration behind Nimrod to one or more [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]], [[Akkadian Empire|Akkadian]] or [[Babylonia|Babylonian]] kings, or the Assyro-Babylonian god [[Ninurta]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Levin |first=Yigal |year=2002 |title=Nimrod the Mighty, King of Kish, King of Sumer and Akkad |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/vt/52/3/article-p350_5.xml |journal=Vetus Testamentum |language=en |volume=52 |issue=3 |pages=350–366 |doi=10.1163/156853302760197494 |issn=0042-4935|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=The Literary-Historical Memory of Sargon of Akkad in Assyria as the Background for Nimrod in Genesis 10:8–12 |journal=Journal of Biblical Literature |url=https://doi.org/10.15699/jbl.1414.2022.1 |last=Jones |first=Christopher W. |issue=4 |volume=141 |pages=595–615 |doi=10.15699/jbl.1414.2022.1 |year=2022 |s2cid=255905070 |issn=0021-9231|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

In more recent times (during the Islamic era), several sites of ruins in the [[Middle East]] have been named after Nimrod.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Harris|first=Stephen L.|title=Understanding the Bible|publisher=Palo Alto: Mayfield|year=1985}}</ref>

==Biblical account==
[[File:Pieter Bruegel the Elder - The Tower of Babel (Vienna) - Google Art Project - edited.jpg|thumb|[[Pieter Bruegel the Elder|Pieter Bruegel's]] ''[[The Tower of Babel (Brueghel)|The Tower of Babel]]'' depicts a traditional Nimrod inspecting [[stonemasonry|stonemasons]].]]
The first biblical mention of Nimrod is in the [[Generations of Noah]].<ref name="Harris"/> He is described as the son of [[Cush (Bible)|Cush]], grandson of [[Ham, son of Noah|Ham]], and great-grandson of [[Noah]]; and as "a mighty one in the earth" and "a mighty hunter before the Lord". This is repeated in the [[1 Chronicles 1]]:10, and the "Land of Nimrod" used as a synonym for [[Assyria]] or [[Mesopotamia]], is mentioned in the [[Micah 5]]:6:
{{blockquote|Who will shepherd Assyria’s land with swords,<br/ >
The land of Nimrod in its gates. <br/ >
Thus he will deliver [us]<br/ >
From Assyria, should it invade our land,<br/ >
And should it trample our country.}}
Genesis 10:10 says that the "mainstays of his kingdom" ({{lang|he|רֵאשִׁית מַמְלַכְתּוֹ}} ''rēšit̲ mamlak̲to'') were [[Babylon]], [[Uruk]], [[Akkad (city)|Akkad]] and [[Calneh]] in [[Shinar]] ([[Mesopotamia]])—understood variously to imply that he either founded these cities, ruled over them, or both. Owing to an ambiguity in the original Hebrew text, it is unclear whether it is he or [[Ashur (Bible)|Ashur]] who additionally built [[Nineveh]], [[Resen (Bible)|Resen]], [[Rehoboth-Ir]] and [[Nimrud|Nimrud (Kalaḥ)]]; both interpretations are reflected in various [[List of English Bible translations|English versions]]. [[Walter Raleigh]] devoted several pages in his ''[[The History of the World (Raleigh)|History of the World]]'' (1614) to reciting past scholarship regarding the question of whether it had been Nimrod or Ashur who built the cities in Assyria.<ref>{{cite book |last = Raleigh |first = Walter |title = History of the World, Vol. II |pages = 125–132 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofworldin02raleuoft/page/124/mode/2up |year=1820 |orig-year=1614 |location=Edinburgh |publisher=A. Constable}}</ref>

==Traditions and legends==
In [[Jewish tradition|Jewish]] and [[Christian tradition]], Nimrod is considered the leader of those who built the Tower of Babel in the land of Shinar,<ref>{{cite magazine |last = Menner |first = Robert J. |year = 1938 |title = Nimrod and the Wolf in the Old English 'Solomon and Saturn' |magazine = [[Journal of English and Germanic Philology]] |volume = 37 |issue = 3 |pages = 332–84 |jstor = 27704407 }}</ref> although the Bible never states this. Nimrod's kingdom included the cities of Babel, Uruk, Akkad, and perhaps Calneh, in Shinar (Gen 10:10).<ref>Depending on how the text is read, "Calneh" may be the fourth city name in this enumeration, or it may be part of an expression meaning "all of them in Shinar". {{harv|Van der Toorn|Van der Horst|1990|p=1}}.</ref> [[Josephus]] believed that it was likely under his direction that the building of Babel and its tower began; in addition to Josephus, this is also the view found in the [[Talmud]] (''[[Hullin]]'' 89a, ''[[Pesahim]]'' 94b, ''[[Erubin]]'' 53a, ''[[Avodah Zarah]]'' 53b), and later ''[[midrash]]'' such as ''[[Genesis Rabba]]''. Several of these early Judaic sources also assert that the king [[Amraphel]], who wars with Abraham later in Genesis, is none other than Nimrod himself.

Josephus wrote:<ref>{{cite web |last1=Josephus |first1=Flavius |title=Antiquities of the Jews — Book I |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/ant-1.html |website=Penelope {{!}} James Eason |publisher=University of Chicago |access-date=7 July 2024}}</ref>
{{quote|Now it was Nimrod who excited them to such an affront and contempt of God. He was the grandson of Ham, the son of Noah, a bold man, and of great strength of hand. He persuaded them not to ascribe it to God, as if it were through his means they were happy, but to believe that it was their own courage which procured that happiness. He also gradually changed the government into tyranny, seeing no other way of turning men from the fear of God, but to bring them into a constant dependence on his power. He also said he would be revenged on God, if He should have a mind to drown the world again; for that he would build a tower too high for the waters to reach. And that he would avenge himself on God for destroying their forefathers.

Now the multitude were very ready to follow the determination of Nimrod, and to esteem it a piece of cowardice to submit to God; and they built a tower, neither sparing any pains, nor being in any degree negligent about the work: and, by reason of the multitude of hands employed in it, it grew very high, sooner than any one could expect; but the thickness of it was so great, and it was so strongly built, that thereby its great height seemed, upon the view, to be less than it really was. It was built of burnt brick, cemented together with mortar, made of bitumen, that it might not be liable to admit water. When God saw that they acted so madly, He did not resolve to destroy them utterly, since they were not grown wiser by the destruction of the former sinners; but He caused a tumult among them, by producing in them diverse languages, and causing that, through the multitude of those languages, they should not be able to understand one another. The place wherein they built the tower is now called Babylon, because of the confusion of that language which they readily understood before; for the Hebrews mean by the word Babel, confusion ...}}

Since Akkad was destroyed and lost with the [[Gutian rule in Mesopotamia|collapse of the Akkadian Empire]] in the period 2200–2154 BC ([[long chronology]]), the stories mentioning Nimrod seem to recall the late [[Early Bronze Age]]. The association with Erech (Babylonian [[Uruk]]), a city that lost its prime importance around [[2000 BCE]] as a result of struggles between [[Isin]], [[Larsa]] and [[Elam]], also attests the early provenance of the stories of Nimrod. According to some modern-day theorists, their placement in the Bible suggests a Babylonian origin—possibly inserted during the [[Babylonian captivity]].<ref name=vans />

Judaic interpreters as early as [[Philo]] and [[Yohanan ben Zakkai]]  in the [[1st century]] interpreted "a mighty hunter ''before'' the Lord" ({{lang|he|גבר ציד לפני יהוה}} ''gibbor-ṣayiḏ lip̄nē Yahweh'', lit. "in the face of [[Yahweh]]") as signifying "''in opposition to'' the Lord"; a similar interpretation is found in [[Pseudo-Philo]], as well as later in [[Symmachus (translator)|Symmachus]]. Some rabbinic commentators have also connected the name ''Nimrod'' with a Hebrew word meaning 'rebel'.<ref> Jeff A. Benner, "Nimrod" ''Ancient Hebrew Research Center''. https://www.ancient-hebrew.org/names/Nimrod.htm</ref> In [[Pseudo-Philo]] (dated c. 70 CE), Nimrod is made leader of the Hamites, while [[Joktan]] as leader of the Semites, and Fenech as leader of the Japhethites, are also associated with the building of the Tower.<ref>{{cite book |first = James |last = Kugel |title = Traditions of the Bible |year = 1998 |page = 230 }}{{full citation needed|date=March 2017}}</ref> Versions of this story are again picked up in later works such as ''[[Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius]]'' (7th century).

The [[Book of Jubilees]] mentions the name of "Nebrod" (the Greek form of Nimrod) only as being the father of [[Azurad]], the wife of [[Eber]] and mother of [[Peleg]] (8:7). This account would thus make Nimrod an ancestor of Abraham, and hence of all [[Hebrews]].

[[File:Danziger, Itzhak, Nimrod, 1939.jpg|thumb|''Nimrod'' by [[Yitzhak Danziger]]]]

The [[Babylonian Talmud]] ([[Gittin]] 56b) attributes [[Titus]]'s death to an insect that flew into his nose and picked at his brain for seven years in a repetition of another legend referring to the biblical King Nimrod.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sefaria.org.il/Gittin.56b.13?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en|title=Tractate Gittin 56b|website=www.sefaria.org.il}}</ref><ref>Rosner, Fred. ''Medicine in the Bible and Talmud''. p.76. Pub. 1995, KTAV Publishing House, {{ISBN|0-88125-506-8}}. Extract viewable at ([https://books.google.com/books?id=SL34EWxAJfYC&pg=PA76])</ref><ref>[[Wikisource:Page:Legends of Old Testament Characters.djvu/178]]</ref>

An early [[Arabic]] work known as [[Arabic Apocalypse of Peter|''Kitab al-Magall'' or the ''Book of Rolls'']] (part of [[Clementine literature]]) states that Nimrod built the towns of Hadāniūn, [[Ellasar]], [[Seleucia]], [[Ctesiphon]], Rūhīn, [[Atrapatene]], Telalān, and others, that he began his reign as king over earth when [[Reu]] was 163, and that he reigned for 69 years, building [[Nisibis]], Raha ([[Edessa, Mesopotamia|Edessa]]) and [[Harran]] when [[Peleg]] was 50. It further adds that Nimrod "saw in the sky a piece of black cloth and a crown". He called upon Sasan the weaver and commanded him to make him a crown like it, which he set jewels on and wore. He was allegedly the first king to wear a crown. "For this reason people who knew nothing about it, said that a crown came down to him from [[heaven]]." Later, the book describes how Nimrod established fire worship and idolatry, then received instruction in divination for three years from Bouniter, the [[fourth son of Noah]].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/aa/aa2.htm |title = the ''Kitab al-Magall'' |publisher = Sacred-texts.com |access-date = 5 April 2012 }}</ref>

In the ''Recognitions'' (R 4.29), one version of the Clementines, Nimrod is equated with the legendary Assyrian king [[Ninus]], who first appears in the [[Greek people|Greek]] historian [[Ctesias]] as the founder of Nineveh. However, in another version, the ''Homilies'' (H 9:4–6), Nimrod is made to be the same as [[Zoroaster]].

The [[Syriac language|Syriac]] ''[[Cave of Treasures]]'' (c. 350) contains an account of Nimrod very similar to that in the ''Kitab al-Magall'', except that Nisibis, Edessa and Harran are said to be built by Nimrod when Reu was 50, and that he began his reign as the first king when Reu was 130. In this version, the weaver is called ''Sisan'', and the fourth son of Noah is called ''Yonton''.

[[Jerome]], writing c. 390, explains in ''Hebrew Questions on Genesis'' that after Nimrod reigned in Babel, "he also reigned in Arach [Erech], that is, in Edissa; and in Achad [Accad], which is now called Nisibis; and in Chalanne [Calneh], which was later called Seleucia after King Seleucus when its name had been changed, and which is now in actual fact called Ctesiphon." However, this traditional identification of the cities built by Nimrod in Genesis is no longer accepted by modern scholars, who consider them to be located in [[Sumer]], not [[Syria]].

The [[Ge'ez]] ''[[Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan]]'' (c. 5th century) also contains a version similar to that in the ''Cave of Treasures'', but the crown maker is called ''Santal'', and the name of Noah's fourth son who instructs Nimrod is ''Barvin''.

However, [[Ephrem the Syrian]] (306–373) relates a contradictory view, that Nimrod was righteous and opposed the builders of the Tower. Similarly, ''[[Targum Pseudo-Jonathan]]'' (date uncertain) mentions a Jewish tradition that Nimrod left Shinar in southern Mesopotamia and fled to Assyria in northern Mesopotamia, because he refused to take part in building the Tower—for which God rewarded him with the four cities in Assyria, to substitute for the ones in Babel.

''[[Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer]]'' (c. 833) relates the Jewish traditions that Nimrod inherited the garments of Adam and Eve from his father Cush, and that these made him invincible. Nimrod's party then defeated the Japhethites to assume universal rulership. Later, [[Esau]] (grandson of [[Abraham]]), ambushed, beheaded, and robbed Nimrod. These stories later reappear in other sources including the 16th century ''[[Sefer haYashar (midrash)|Sefer haYashar]]'', which adds that Nimrod had a son named ''Mardon'' who was even more wicked.<ref>See Louis Ginsberg ''Legends of the Jews'' Vol I, and the footnotes volume.</ref>

In the ''[[History of the Prophets and Kings (book)|History of the Prophets and Kings]]'' by the 9th century [[Muslim]] historian [[Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari|al-Tabari]], Nimrod has the tower built in Babil, [[God in Islam|God]] destroys it, and the language of mankind, formerly [[Syriac language|Syriac]], is then confused into 72 languages. Another Muslim historian of the 13th century, [[Abu al-Fida]], relates the same story, adding that the patriarch [[Eber]] (an ancestor of Abraham) was allowed to keep the original tongue, Hebrew in this case, because he would not partake in the building. The 10th-century Muslim historian [[Masudi]] recounts a legend making the Nimrod who built the tower to be the son of Mash, the son of [[Aram, son of Shem]], adding that he reigned 500 years over the [[Nabateans]]. Later, Masudi lists Nimrod as the first king of Babylon, and states that he dug great canals and reigned 60 years. Still elsewhere, he mentions another king Nimrod, son of [[Canaan (biblical figure)|Canaan]], as the one who introduced astrology and attempted to kill Abraham.

In [[Armenia]]n legend, the ancestor of the Armenian people, [[Hayk]], defeated Nimrod (sometimes equated with [[Bel (god)|Bel]]) in a battle near Lake Van.

In the [[Hungarian people|Hungarian]] legend of the Enchanted Stag (more commonly known as the [[Csodaszarvas|White Stag]] [''Fehér Szarvas''] or Silver Stag), King Nimród (''Ménrót''), often described as "Nimród the Giant" or "the giant Nimród", descendant of Noah, is the first person referred to as forefather of the Hungarians. He, along with his entire nation, is also the giant responsible for the building of the Tower of Babel—construction of which was supposedly started by him 201 years after the biblical event of the [[Noah's Ark|Great Flood]]. After the catastrophic failure of that most ambitious endeavour and in the midst of the [[confusion of tongues]], Nimród the giant moved to the land of ''Evilát'', where his wife, ''Enéh'' gave birth to twin brothers ''Hunor'' and ''Magyar'' (aka ''Magor''). Father and sons were, all three of them, prodigious hunters, but Nimród especially is the archetypal, consummate, legendary hunter and archer. Hungarian legends held that twin sons of King Nimród, [[Hunor and Magor]] were the ancestors of the [[Huns]] and the [[Magyars]] (Hungarians) respectively, siring their children through the two daughters of King Dul of the [[Alans]], whom they kidnapped after losing track of the silver stag whilst hunting.<ref>''Simon of Kéza: The Deeds of the Hungarians'' (ch. 1.4–5), pp. 13–17.</ref> Both the Huns' and Magyars' historically attested skill with the recurve bow and arrow are attributed to Nimród. ([[Simon of Kéza|Simon Kézai]], personal "court priest" of King [[Ladislaus IV of Hungary|Ladislaus the Cuman]], in his ''Gesta Hungarorum'', 1282–1285. This tradition can also be found in over twenty other medieval Hungarian chronicles, as well as a German one, according to Dr Antal Endrey in an article published in 1979<!--http://arpad.org/pages.php?&menuid=21-->). The 16th-century Hungarian prelate [[Nicolaus Olahus]] claimed that [[Attila]] took for himself the title of ''Descendant of the Great Nimrod''.<ref>{{cite web |last1 = Herbert |first1 = William |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=XJ44AAAAMAAJ&q=nicolas+olaus+attila+engaddi&pg=PA49 | title = Attila, King of the Huns |website = Google Books |year = 1838 | access-date = 12 September 2019 |page = 49 }}</ref>

The hunter god or spirit [[Nyyrikki]], figuring in the Finnish ''[[Kalevala]]'' as a helper of [[Lemminkäinen]], is associated with Nimrod by some researchers and linguists.<ref>''Kalevala''. Das finnische Epos des Elias Lönnroth. Mit einem Kommentar von Hans Fromm, Stuttgart: Reclam 1985. (Commentary of Hans Fromm to Elias Lönnroth's ''Kalevala'')</ref>

The [[Nimrod Fortress]] (Qal'at Namrud in Arabic) on the [[Golan Heights]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EPFDU8POrXIC&pg=PA59|title=Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum Palaestinae: B v. 1 (Handbook of Oriental Studies)|first1=Moshe|last1=Sharon |author-link= Moshe Sharon|edition=Hardcover|publisher=Brill Publishers|year=1999|isbn=90-04-11083-6|page= [https://books.google.com/books?id=EPFDU8POrXIC&pg=PA59 59] }}</ref> - actually built during the [[Crusades]] by [[Al-Aziz Uthman]], the younger son of [[Saladin]] - was anachronistically attributed to Nimrod by later inhabitants of the area.

There is a very brief mention of Nimrod in the [[Book of Mormon]]: "(and the name of the valley was Nimrod, being called after the mighty hunter)".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/eng/scriptures/bofm/ether/2|title=Ether 2|website=www.churchofjesuschrist.org}}</ref>

===Nimrod vs. Abraham===
{{See|Ninus}}
[[File:Abraham ready to sacrifice his son, Ishmael (top); Abraham cast into fire by Nimrod (bottom).jpg|thumb|upright|Abraham sacrificing his son, [[Ishmael in Islam|Ishmael]]. [[Abraham]] cast into fire by Nimrod. From ''Zubdat-al Tawarikh'', 1566-1574 Persian Art by Ottoman Scholar [[Seyyid Lokman]] "Şahname-ı Selim Han" "Persian: شاهنامه ی سلطان سلیم" manuscript.]]
In Jewish and Islamic traditions, a confrontation between Nimrod and [[Abraham]] is said to have taken place. Some stories bring them both together in a cataclysmic collision, seen as a symbol of the confrontation between Good and Evil, or as a symbol of [[monotheism]] against [[polytheism]]. Some Jewish traditions say only that the two men met and had a discussion. According to K. van der Toorn and P. W. van der Horst, this tradition is first attested in the writings of [[Pseudo-Philo]].<ref>{{harvp|Van der Toorn|Van der Horst|1990|p= 19|ps=.}}</ref> The story is also found in the [[Talmud]], and in rabbinical writings in the [[Middle Ages]].<ref>{{Daat enc|he-title=נמרוד|id1=1058}}</ref>

In some versions, such as [[Flavius Josephus]], Nimrod is a man who sets his will against that of God. In others, he proclaims himself a god and is worshipped as such by his subjects, sometimes with his consort [[Semiramis]] worshipped as a goddess at his side.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}

A [[Portent (divination)|portent]] in the stars tells Nimrod and his astrologers of the impending birth of Abraham, who would put an end to [[idolatry]]. Nimrod therefore orders the killing of all newborn babies. However, Abraham's mother escapes into the fields and gives birth secretly. At a young age, Abraham recognizes God and starts worshipping him. He confronts Nimrod and tells him face-to-face to [[Abraham and the Idol Shop|cease his idolatry]], whereupon Nimrod orders him burned at the stake. In some versions, Nimrod has his subjects gather wood for four whole years, so as to burn Abraham in the biggest bonfire the world had ever seen. Yet when the fire is lit, Abraham walks out unscathed.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}

In some versions, Nimrod then challenges Abraham to battle. When Nimrod appears at the head of enormous armies, Abraham produces an army of [[gnat]]s which destroys Nimrod's army. Some accounts have a gnat or mosquito enter Nimrod's brain and drive him out of his mind (a divine retribution which Jewish tradition also assigned to the Roman Emperor [[Titus]], destroyer of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]]).{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}

In some versions, Nimrod repents and accepts God, offering numerous sacrifices that God rejects (as with [[Cain]]). Other versions have Nimrod give to Abraham, as a conciliatory gift, the giant slave [[Eliezer]], whom some accounts describe as Nimrod's own son (the Bible also mentions Eliezer as Abraham's [[majordomo]], though not making any connection between him and Nimrod; Genesis 15:2).

Still other versions have Nimrod persisting in his rebellion against God, or resuming it. Indeed, Abraham's crucial act of leaving [[Mesopotamia]] and settling in [[Canaan]] is sometimes interpreted as an escape from Nimrod's revenge. Accounts considered canonical place the building of the Tower many generations before Abraham's birth (as in the Bible, also ''[[Jubilees]]''); however in others, it is a later rebellion after Nimrod failed in his confrontation with Abraham. In still other versions, Nimrod does not give up after the Tower fails, but goes on to try storming Heaven in person, in a chariot driven by birds.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}

The story attributes to Abraham elements from the story of [[Moses]]' birth (the cruel king killing innocent babies, with the midwives ordered to kill them) and from the careers of [[Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego]] who emerged unscathed from the fire. Nimrod is thus given attributes of two archetypal cruel and persecuting kings – [[Nebuchadnezzar]] and [[Pharaoh of the Exodus|Pharaoh]].{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} Some Jewish traditions also identified him with [[Cyrus the Great|Cyrus]], whose birth according to [[Herodotus]] was accompanied by portents, which made his grandfather try to kill him.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}

A confrontation is also found in the [[Quran]], between a king, not mentioned by name, and [[Abraham in Islam|Ibrahim]] (Arabic for "Abraham"). Some Muslim commentators assign Nimrod as the king. In the quranic narrative Ibrahim has a discussion with the king, the former argues that God is the one who gives life and causes death, whereas the unnamed king replies that he gives life and causes death.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://corpus.quran.com/translation.jsp?chapter=2&verse=258|title=The Quranic Arabic Corpus - Translation|website=corpus.quran.com}}</ref> Ibrahim refutes him by stating that God brings the Sun up from the East, and so he asks the king to bring it from the West. The king is then perplexed and angered. The commentaries on this [[surah]] offer a wide variety of embellishments of this narrative, one of which by [[Ibn Kathir]], a 14th-century scholar, adding that Nimrod showed his rule over life and death by killing a prisoner and freeing another.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://quranx.com/tafsirs/2.258|title=QuranX.com The most complete Quran / Hadith / Tafsir collection available!|website=quranx.com}}</ref>

Whether or not conceived as having ultimately repented, Nimrod remained in Jewish and Islamic tradition an emblematic evil person, an archetype of an idolater and a tyrannical king. In rabbinical writings up to the present, he is almost invariably referred to as "Nimrod the Evil" ({{langx|he|נמרוד הרשע}}).{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}

Nimrod is mentioned by name in several places in the [[Baháʼí literature|Baháʼí scriptures]], including the [[Kitáb-i-Íqán]], the primary theological work of the [[Baháʼí Faith]]. There it is said that Nimrod "dreamed a dream" which his soothsayers interpreted as signifying the birth of a new star in heaven. A herald is then said to have appeared in the land announcing "the coming of Abraham".<ref>[http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/KI/ki-2.html "The Kitáb-i-Íqán"] ''Baháʼí Reference Library''. pp 41–80. Retrieved 10 September 2014.</ref> Nimrod is also mentioned in one of the earliest writings of the [[Báb]] (the herald of the Baháʼí Faith). Citing examples of God's power, he asks:  "Has He not, in past days, caused Abraham, in spite of His seeming helplessness, to triumph over the forces of Nimrod?"<ref>{{cite web |last1 = Effendi |first1 = Shoghi |title = The Dawn-Breakers |url = http://bahai-library.com/books/dawnbreakers/chapters/3.html#94 |website = bahai-library.com |publisher = Baháʼí Publishing Trust |access-date = 23 February 2016 |page = 94 }}</ref>

The story of Abraham's confrontation with Nimrod did not remain within the confines of learned writings and religious treatises, but also conspicuously influenced popular culture. A notable example is "''[[Quando el Rey Nimrod]]''" ("When King Nimrod"), one of the most well-known folksongs in [[Ladino language|Ladino]] (the Judeo-Spanish language), apparently written during the reign of King [[Alfonso X]] of [[Kingdom of Castile|Castile]]. Beginning with the words: "When King Nimrod went out to the fields/ Looked at the heavens and at the stars/He saw a holy light in the Jewish quarter/A sign that Abraham, our father, was about to be born", the song gives a poetic account of the persecutions perpetrated by the cruel Nimrod and the miraculous birth and deeds of the savior Abraham.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.hebrewsongs.com/song-hamelechnimrod.htm |title = CUANDO ELREY NIMROD |work = hebrewsongs.com }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://zemerl.com/cgi-bin//show.pl?title=Cuando+El+Rey+Nimrod+(When+King+Nimrod) |title = Cuando El Rey Nimrod |trans-title = When King Nimrod |work = zemerl.com |url-status = usurped |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090106094702/http://zemerl.com/cgi-bin/show.pl?title=Cuando+El+Rey+Nimrod+(When+King+Nimrod) |archive-date = 6 January 2009 }}</ref>

===Islamic narrative===
The [[Quran]] states, "Have you not considered him who had an argument with Abraham about his Lord, because God had given him the kingdom (i.e. he was prideful)?"<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title = Surat Al-Baqarah [2:258] - The Noble Qur'an - القرآن الكريم |url = http://legacy.quran.com/2/258 |website = legacy.quran.com |access-date = 16 November 2015 }}</ref> Abraham says, "My Lord is He Who gives life and causes death." The king answers, "I give life and cause death".<ref name=":0" /> At this point some commentaries add new narratives like Nimrod bringing forth two men, who were sentenced to death previously. He orders the execution of one while freeing the other one.<ref>{{Cite web |title = Mosque: Prophet Ibrahim |url = http://www.islamicity.com/mosque/ibrahim.htm |website = www.islamicity.com |access-date = 16 November 2015 }}</ref> Then Abraham says, "Indeed, God brings up the sun from the east, so bring it up from the west."<ref name=":0" /> This causes the king to exile him, and he leaves for the [[Levant]].<ref>{{Cite web |title = Ibn Kathir: Story of Prophet Ibrahim/Abraham (pbuh) |url = http://www.islamawareness.net/Prophets/ibrahim.html |website = www.islamawareness.net |access-date = 16 November 2015 }}</ref>

Although Nimrod's name is not specifically stated in the Quran, Islamic scholars hold that the "king" mentioned was him. Other traditional stories also exist around Nimrod, which have resulted in him being referenced as a tyrant in Muslim cultures.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.alim.org//history/prophet-stories/6/16/|title=Stories of the Prophets &#124; Alim.org|website=www.alim.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://islamicstories.com/story/93|title=Ibrahim and Namrud|website=islamicstories.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.al-islam.org/islamic-stories/prophet-ibrahim-and-idol-worship|title=Prophet Ibrahim and the Idol Worship|date=22 January 2013|website=www.al-islam.org}}</ref>

According to [[Mujahid ibn Jabr]], "Four people gained control over the Earth, east and west, two believers and two disbelievers. The two believers were [[Solomon]] ([[Solomon in Islam|Sulayman]] in Islamic texts) and [[Dhul-Qarnayn|Dhul Qarnayn]], and the two disbelievers were [[Nebuchadnezzar II]] and Nimrod. No one but they gained power over it."<ref>Ibn Kathir, ''Qasas Ul Ambiya (Stories of the Prophets)'', Muassisa Al-nur Lil nashr wal I'laan, 1978, p. 183, [https://archive.org/details/iqraaEBook54/page/n182/mode/1up?view=theater Archive.org]</ref>

===Midrash Rabba version===
The following version of the confrontation between Abraham and Nimrod appears in the [[Midrash Rabba]], a major compilation of Jewish Scriptural [[exegesis]]. The part in which this appears, the [[Genesis Rabbah]] (Chapter 38, 13), is considered to date from the sixth century.

{|class="wikitable"
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נטלו ומסרו לנמרוד. אמר לו: עבוד לאש. אמר לו אברהם: ואעבוד למים, שמכבים את האש? אמר לו נמרוד: עבוד למים! אמר לו: אם כך, אעבוד לענן, שנושא את המים? אמר לו: עבוד לענן! אמר לו: אם כך, אעבוד לרוח, שמפזרת עננים? אמר לו: עבוד לרוח! אמר לו: ונעבוד לבן אדם, שסובל הרוחות? אמר לו: מילים אתה מכביר, אני איני משתחוה אלא לאוּר - הרי אני משליכך בתוכו, ויבא אלוה שאתה משתחוה לו ויצילך הימנו! היה שם הרן עומד. אמר: מה נפשך, אם ינצח אברהם - אומַר 'משל אברהם אני', ואם ינצח נמרוד - אומַר 'משל נמרוד אני'. כיון שירד אברהם לכבשן האש וניצול, אמרו לו: משל מי אתה? אמר להם: משל אברהם אני! נטלוהו והשליכוהו לאור, ונחמרו בני מעיו ויצא ומת על פני תרח אביו. וכך נאמר: וימת הרן על פני תרח אביו. (בראשית רבה ל"ח, יג)
|
(...) He [Abraham] was given over to Nimrod. [Nimrod] told him: Worship the Fire! Abraham said to him: Shall I then worship the water, which puts off the fire! Nimrod told him: Worship the water! [Abraham] said to him: If so, shall I worship the cloud, which carries the water? [Nimrod] told him: Worship the cloud! [Abraham] said to him: If so, shall I worship the wind, which scatters the clouds? [Nimrod] said to him: Worship the wind! [Abraham] said to him: And shall we worship the human, who withstands the wind? Said [Nimrod] to him: You pile words upon words, I bow to none but the fire—in it shall I throw you, and let the God to whom you bow come and save you from it!<br />
Haran [Abraham's brother] was standing there. He said [to himself]: what shall I do? If Abraham wins, I shall say: "I am of Abraham's [followers]", if Nimrod wins I shall say "I am of Nimrod's [followers]". When Abraham went into the furnace and survived, Haran was asked: "Whose [follower] are you?" and he answered: "I am Abraham's!". [Then] they took him and threw him into the furnace, and his belly opened and he died and predeceased Terach, his father.<br />
[The [[Bible]], [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 11:28, mentions Haran predeceasing Terach, but gives no details.]|—
|}

==Historical interpretations==
[[File:Naram-Sin inscription AO6782 stitched.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Inscription of Naram Sin found at the city of [[Marad]]]]
Historians, [[Orientalists]], [[Assyriologists]] and [[mythographers]] have long tried to find links between the Nimrod of biblical texts and real historically attested figures in Mesopotamia or its surrounds. Significantly, no king named Nimrod or with a similar name appears anywhere on any of the considerably older and more numerous pre-biblical, extra-biblical or historic [[Sumer|Sumerian]], [[Akkadian Empire|Akkadian]], [[Assyria|Assyrian]] or [[Babylon|Babylonian]] king list, nor does the name Nimrod appear in any other writings from Mesopotamia itself or its neighbours in any context whatsoever during the [[Bronze Age]], [[Iron Age]] or pre-Christian [[Classical Age]].

Since the city of [[Akkad (city)|Akkad]] was destroyed and lost with the destruction of its Empire in the period 2200–2154 BC ([[long chronology]]), the much later biblical stories mentioning Nimrod seem to be inspired by the late Early [[Bronze Age]]. The association with [[Erech]] ([[Sumero-Akkadian]] [[Uruk]]), a city that lost its prime importance around 2000 BC as a result of struggles between [[Isin]], [[Ur]], [[Larsa]] and [[Elam]], may have influenced the later stories of Nimrod.<ref name=vans>{{harvp|Van der Toorn|Van der Horst|1990|ps=.}}</ref> Several [[Mesopotamian]] ruins were given Nimrod's name by invading 8th-century AD Muslim [[Arabs]], including the ruins of the [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] city of [[Kalhu]] (the biblical [[Calah]]), which contrary to biblical claims that it was built by Nimrod, was in reality built by a king of the  [[Middle Assyrian Empire]], [[Shalmaneser I]] (1274–1244 BC)<ref name="Harris">{{cite book |author-link=Stephen L Harris |last=Harris |first=Stephen L. |title=Understanding the Bible |location=Palo Alto |publisher=Mayfield |year=1985}}</ref>

A number of attempts to connect him with historical figures have been made without any success.

The Christian Bishop [[Eusebius of Caesarea]] as early as the early 4th century, noting that the [[Babylonia]]n historian [[Berossus]] in the 3rd century BC had stated that the first king after the flood was ''Euechoios'' of Chaldea (in reality Chaldea was a small state in southeast Mesopotamia historically not founded until the late 9th century BC), identified him with Nimrod. [[George Syncellus]] (c. 800) also had access to Berossus, and he identified ''Euechoios'' with the biblical Nimrod. However, like Nimrod, no king named Euechoios appears anywhere in Mesopotamian record. 

More recently, Sumerologists have suggested additionally connecting both this ''Euechoios'', and the king of Babylon and grandfather of [[Gilgamesh]] who appears in the oldest copies of [[Claudius Aelianus|Aelian]] (c. 200 AD) as ''Euechoros'', with the name of the founder of Uruk known from cuneiform sources as [[Enmerkar]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Henkelman |first=Wouter F. M. |chapter=The Birth of Gilgamesh |title=Altertum und Mittelmeerraum: die antike Welt diesseits und jenseits der Levante |page=819}}{{full citation needed|date=March 2017}}</ref>

In 1920, [[J. D. Prince]] also suggested a possible link between the Lord (Ni) of [[Marad]] and Nimrod. He mentioned how Dr. Kraeling was now inclined to connect Nimrod historically with [[Lugal-Banda]], a mythological Sumerian king mentioned in Poebel, ''Historical Texts'', 1914, whose seat was at the city Marad.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Prince |first=J.D. |year=1920 |title=A Possible Sumerian Original of the Name Nimrod |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society}}{{full citation needed|date=March 2017}}</ref>

According to [[Ronald Hendel]] the name Nimrod is probably a much later polemical distortion of the Semitic [[Assyria|Assyrian]] god [[Ninurta]], a prominent god in [[Mesopotamian religion]] who had cult centers in a number of [[Assyria]]n cities such as [[Kalhu]], and also in [[Babylon]], and was a patron god of a number of [[Assyria]]n kings, and that 'Cush' is a mistranslation of [[Kish (Sumer)|Kish]], a Mesopotamian city, rather than the state that arose in modern day Sudan some time later.<ref name="Metzger & Coogan">{{cite book |title=Oxford Guide to the Bible |page=557 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-19-534095-2}}</ref> Nimrod's imperial ventures described in Genesis may be based on the conquests of the [[Kings of Assyria|Assyrian king]] [[Tukulti-Ninurta I]].<ref>Dalley et al., 1998, p.&nbsp;67.</ref>

[[Julian Jaynes]] also indicates [[Tukulti-Ninurta I]] (a powerful king of the [[Middle Assyrian Empire]]) as the inspiration for Nimrod.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3eQd-x-cxPwC&pg=PP1 |last=Jaynes |first=Julian |title=The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind |publisher=Mariner Books |year=2000 |isbn=9780547527543 |access-date=16 June 2013}}</ref>

[[Alexander Hislop]], in his tract ''[[The Two Babylons]]'' (1853), identified Nimrod with [[Ninus]] (also a mythical figure unattested anywhere in Mesopotamian king lists), who according to [[Greek mythology]] was a [[Mesopotamia]]n king and husband of Queen [[Semiramis]],<ref name="AE2014">{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/743/|title=Sammu-Ramat and Semiramis: The Inspiration and the Myth|website=[[World History Encyclopedia]]|access-date=2016-04-13}}</ref> with a whole host of deities throughout the [[Mediterranean]] world, and with the [[Persians|Persian]] [[Zoroaster]]. The identification with [[Ninus]] follows that of the ''Clementine Recognitions''; the one with Zoroaster, that of the ''Clementine Homilies'', both works part of [[Clementine literature]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ccel.org/fathers2/ANF-08/anf08-53.htm |title=Homily IX |publisher=Ccel.org |date=1 June 2005 |access-date=5 April 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120629045848/http://ccel.org/fathers2/ANF-08/anf08-53.htm |archive-date=29 June 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Hislop attributed to Semiramis and Nimrod the invention of [[polytheism]] and, with it, [[mother goddess|goddess worship]], and that their incestuous male offering was [[Tammuz (mythology)|Tammuz]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Alexander |last=Hislop |url=http://philologos.org/__eb-ttb/default.htm |title=The Two Babylons |publisher=Philologos.org |access-date=4 January 2013 |archive-date=28 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328052108/http://philologos.org/__eb-ttb/default.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> He also claimed that the [[Catholic Church]] was a millennia-old secret [[New World Order (conspiracy)|conspiracy]], founded by Semiramis and Nimrod to propagate the [[pagan]] religion of ancient [[Babylon]].<ref name="Grabbe"/> Grabbe and others have rejected the book's arguments as based on a flawed understanding of the texts,<ref name="Grabbe">{{cite book|last=Grabbe|first=Lester L.|author-link=Lester L. Grabbe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K2hIY_E_ngYC&pg=PA28|title=Can a 'History of Israel' Be Written?|editor1-last=Mein|editor1-first=Andrew|editor2-last=Camp|editor2-first=Claudia V.|pages=27–28|date=1997|location=London, England|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|isbn=978-0567043207}}</ref><ref name="Mcllhenny">{{cite book|last1=Mcllhenny|first1=Albert M.|title=This Is the Sun?: Zeitgeist and Religion (Volume I: Comparative Religion)|date=2011|isbn=978-1-105-33967-7|page=60|publisher=Lulu.com |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KymmAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA7}}</ref> but variations of them are accepted among some groups of [[Evangelicalism|evangelical]] Protestants.<ref name="Grabbe"/><ref name="Mcllhenny"/>

There was a historical Assyrian queen [[Shammuramat]] in the 9th century BC, in reality the wife of [[Shamshi-Adad V]], a king of the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]], whom Assyriologists have identified as the inspiration behind the much later Greco-Persian legends of Semiramis. 

In [[David Rohl]]'s theory, [[Enmerkar]], the [[Sumer]]ian founder of [[Uruk]], was the original inspiration for Nimrod, because the story of ''[[Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta]]''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr1823.htm |title=Enmerkar and the lord of Aratta: translation |publisher=Etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk |access-date=12 November 2009}}</ref> bears a few similarities to the legend of Nimrod and the Tower of Babel, and because the -KAR in Enmerkar means "hunter". Additionally, Enmerkar is said to have had [[ziggurat]]s built in both [[Uruk]] and [[Eridu]], which Rohl postulates was the site of the original Babel.

Others have attempted to conflate Nimrod with [[Amraphel]], a supposed king in Mesopotamia, but yet again, one who is himself historically unattested in Mesopotamian records.

[[George Rawlinson]] believed Nimrod was [[Belus (Babylonian)|Belus]], based on the fact Babylonian and Assyrian inscriptions bear the names ''Bel-{{sic|hide=y|Nibru}}''.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Seven Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World |volume=1 |pages=347–350}}{{full citation needed|date=March 2017}}</ref> The word ''Nibru'' in the East Semitic [[Akkadian language]] of Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia comes from a root meaning to 'pursue' or to make 'one flee', and as Rawlinson pointed out not only does this closely resemble Nimrod's name but it also perfectly fits the description of Nimrod in Genesis 10:9 as a great hunter. The Belus-Nimrod equation or link is also found in many old works such as [[Moses of Chorene]] and the ''[[Book of the Bee]]''.<ref>Mos. Choren. 1. 6; 9; ''Book of the Bee'', 22</ref> [[Nibru]], in the [[Sumerian language]], was the original name of the city of [[Nippur]].

[[Joseph Poplicha]] wrote in 1929 about the identification of Nimrod in the first dynasty or Uruk.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Joseph |last=Poplicha |jstor=593008 |title=The Biblical Nimrod and the Kingdom of Eanna |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=49 |year=1929 |pages=303–317 |doi=10.2307/593008}}</ref>

More recently, [[Yigal Levin]] (2002) suggests that the fictional Nimrod was a recollection of [[Sargon of Akkad]] and also of his grandson [[Naram-Sin of Akkad|Naram-Sin]], with the name "Nimrod" derived from the latter. He argues that:
{{blockquote|The biblical Nimrod, then, is not a total counterpart of any one historical character. He is rather the later composite [[Hebrew]] equivalent of the [[Sargonid dynasty]]: the first, mighty king to rule after the flood. Later influence modified the legend in the Mesopotamian tradition, adding such details as the hero's name, his territory and some of his deeds, and most important his title, "King of [[Kish (Sumer)|Kish]]", again attesting to Cush being a mistranslation of Kish The much later editors of the Book of Genesis dropped much of the original story and mistakenly misidentified and mistranslated the Mesopotamian [[Kish (Bible)|Kish]] with the "Hamitic" Cush, there being no ancient geographical, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, genetic or historical connection between Cush (in modern northern Sudan) and Mesopotamia.<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Yigal |last=Levin |title=Nimrod the Mighty, King of Kish, King of Sumer and Akkad |magazine=Vetus Testamentum |volume=52 |year=2002 |issue=3 |pages=350–356 |doi=10.1163/156853302760197494}}</ref>}}

==In popular culture==
===Idiom===
In modern North American English, the term "nimrod" is often used to mean a dimwitted or a stupid person. This usage is often said to have been popularized by the ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' cartoon character [[Bugs Bunny]]  sarcastically referring to the hunter [[Elmer Fudd]] as "nimrod"<ref>{{cite book |last=Steinmetz |first=Sol |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nk_RFL9LYg0C&pg=PA126 |title=Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7425-4387-4 |page=126 |access-date=11 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Garner |first=Bryan A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mVcJqKs1isUC&pg=PR53 |title=Garner's Modern American Usage |date=27 August 2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-538275-4 |page=53 |access-date=11 April 2012}}</ref> to highlight the difference between "mighty hunter" and "poor little Nimrod", i.e. Fudd.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bauer |first=S. Wise |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HmShg3dnLSMC&pg=PA270 |title=The History of the Ancient World: From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome |publisher=Norton |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-393-05974-8 |pages=269–70 |author-link=Susan Wise Bauer |access-date=11 April 2012}}</ref> However, it is in fact [[Daffy Duck]] who refers to Fudd as "my little Nimrod" in the 1948 short "[[What Makes Daffy Duck]]",<ref>{{cite AV media |title=What Makes Daffy Duck |date=14 February 1948 |type=Animated short |language=English |time=5:34 |quote=Precisely what I was wondering, my little Nimrod. |people=Arthur Davis (director)}}</ref> although Bugs Bunny does refer to [[Yosemite Sam]] as "the little Nimrod" in the 1951 short "[[Rabbit Every Monday]]". Both episodes were voiced by [[Mel Blanc]] and produced by [[Edward Selzer]].<ref>{{cite AV media |title=Rabbit Every Monday |date=10 February 1951 |type=Animated short |language=English |time=6:50 |quote=Nah, I couldn't do that to the little Nimrod. |people=Fritz Freleng (director)}}</ref>

===Literature===
* In the ''[[Divine Comedy]]'' by [[Dante Alighieri]] (written 1308–1321), Nimrod is portrayed as a [[Giant (mythology)|giant]] (which was common in the Medieval period). With the giants [[Aloadae|Ephialtes]], [[Antaeus]], [[Hecatoncheires|Briareus]], [[Tityos]], and [[Typhon]], he stands in chains on the outer edge of Hell's Circle of Treachery. His only line is "[[Raphèl mai amècche zabì almi]]", words whose unintelligibility emphasizes his guilt for the confusion of languages after the tower of Babel.<ref>Dante, ''Inferno'', XXXI.67 and 76.</ref>

==See also==
* {{annotated link|Nim (programming language)}} was named after Nimrod, later shortened to Nim
* [[Hawker Siddeley Nimrod]]
* [[Operation Nimrod]]
* ''[[Nimrod (album)|Nimrod]]'' – [[1997 in music|1997]] album by [[Green Day]]
* [[Nimrod (comics)|Nimrod]] - A villainous character featured in [[Marvel Comics]]' [[X-Men]] series.

==References==

=== Notes ===
{{Noteslist}}

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

'''Bibliography'''
* {{cite book |author-link = Stephanie Dalley |last = Dalley |first = Stephanie |display-authors = etal |title = The Legacy of Mesopotamia |location = Oxford |publisher = Oxford University Press |year = 1998 }}
* {{cite book |last = Haynes |first = Stephen R. |title = Noah's Curse: The Biblical Justification of American Slavery |location = New York |publisher = Oxford University Press |year = 2002 }}
* {{cite magazine |url = http://www.michaelsheiser.com/PaleoBabble/NimrodHTR.pdf |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150525135856/http://www.michaelsheiser.com/PaleoBabble/NimrodHTR.pdf |url-status = dead |archive-date = 2015-05-25 |last1 = Van der Toorn |first1 = K. |last2 = Van der Horst |first2 = P. W. |name-list-style = amp |title = Nimrod Before and After the Bible |magazine = The Harvard Theological Review |volume = 83 |issue = 1 |date = January 1990 |pages = 1–29 }}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=295&letter=N&search=nimrod "Nimrod" entry] in the ''[[Jewish Encyclopedia]]''
* [https://www.thetorah.com/article/nimrod-mighty-hunter-and-king-who-was-he Nimrod, Mighty Hunter and King - Who Was He? - TheTorah.com]—This article summarizes Yigal Levin's view on the legends of Nimrod.

{{Characters and names in the Quran}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Nimrod| ]]
[[Category:Book of Genesis people]]
[[Category:Books of Chronicles people]]
[[Category:Ham (son of Noah)]]
[[Category:Mythological hunters]]
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[[Category:Islamic mythology]]
[[Category:Jewish mythology]]
[[Category:Noach (parashah)]]
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