Well, it wasn’t B’resheet that I got my chance with, but I did deliver my first full-length sermon this past Friday, as well as a Torah Commentary. And despite not getting my crack at B’resheet this time around, I was able to tackle one I enjoy almost as much: Noach. There are not many folks with job descriptions that include getting to study and teach the Torah, but it’s nice when it happens, that’s for sure. Here’s part 1 of my three-part Torah Commentary post on Noach. I’ll eventually post my full-length sermon as well, but the commentary is up first.

Shabbat Shalom.

Our parashah today is Noach, which covers Genesis 6:9 through Genesis 11:32. Usually the focus of any Torah commentary on Noach focuses on Noach or the flood. Well, I had a chance to do an in-depth study on that part of this parashah in last night’s Erev service, so what I’d like to do today is put the spotlight on the very end of this parashah and take a look at an incident that not only gets overlooked frequently, but is often dismissed as mythology or pure fiction, rather than an important chapter in post-Flood human history.

First, I’d like to introduce you to a man named Nimrod. He is first mentioned in Genesis 10, part of a genealogy of the sons and descendants of Noach. Ham, the third son of Noach, and the son who dishonored Noach in his drunken state, was the father of Kush, and let’s pick up in verse eight:

Genesis 10:8-9
Kush fathered Nimrod, who was the first powerful ruler on earth. He was a mighty hunter before ADONAI––this is why people say, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before ADONAI.”

Now, this is a verse that has puzzled me from a young age. I mean, on first blush, it doesn’t sound like a bad thing to be “a mighty hunter before Adonai.” As a young boy, I pictured a fellow in blaze orange, with a couple of rifles and a compound bow slung over his shoulders, with a lot of stuffed deer-heads and moose-heads on the wall of his house, and some sort of “Great job, Nimrod!” message from Adonai in the mix there, somehow. Hey, I was young…

But as I grew older, I noticed that Nimrod is a figure that just doesn’t get talked about very much. Perhaps part of this is because the Torah reveals so little about him. So I’ve tried to do really dig in and see what I could dig up that might shed light on this controversial figure.

Here’s a bit more about Nimrod directly from the Torah:

Genesis 10:10-12 (CJB)
His [Nimrod’s] kingdom began with Bavel, Erekh, Akkad and Kalneh, in the land of Shin’ar. Ashur went out from that land and built Ninveh, the city Rechovot, Kelach, and Resen between Ninveh and Kelach–that one is the great city.

So we see here that Nimrod was actually an early ruler with a kingdom over which he held power and influence. That’s a bit more information. It helps to understand that the story of the tower of Bavel, which shortly follows, is an event that took place in the city of Nimrod.

Yet I wanted to know more, so I had to start searching outside of Torah alone, and along the way, I uncovered some interesting information; while this information is comprised of Jewish traditions and is not as reliable as the Torah itself, it does reveal an indication, at least, of what else we might learn about Nimrod, who the Torah singles out in this way.

Let’s take a look at this Jewish tradition about Nimrod, as related by Louis Ginzberg in his epic work, The Legends of the Jews:

Louis Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, vol. 1
He gave him the clothes made of skins with which God had furnished Adam and Eve at the time of their leaving Paradise. Cush himself had gained possession of them through Ham. From Adam and Eve they had descended to Enoch, and from him to Methuselah, and to Noah, and the last had taken them with him into the ark. When the inmates of the ark were about to leave their refuge, Ham stole the garments and kept them concealed, finally passing them on to his first-born son Cush. Cush in turn hid them for many years. When his son Nimrod reached his twentieth year, he gave them to him. These garments had a wonderful property. He who wore them was both invincible and irresistible. The beasts and birds of the woods fell down before Nimrod as soon as they caught sight of him arrayed in them, and he was equally victorious in his combats with men. The source of his unconquerable strength was not known to them. They attributed it to his personal prowess, and therefore they appointed him king over themselves.

Now, this has the feel of mythology, but behind the myth of Adam and Eve’s clothes, what we see is an effort to explain a charismatic and seemingly invincible quality that surrounded Nimrod. This means he must have been a man of great power and influence, right?

Let’s see what else Ginzburg has gathered about Nimrod:

Louis Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, vol. 1
His impiousness kept pace with his growing power. Since the flood there had been no such sinner as Nimrod. He fashioned idols of wood and stone, and paid worship to them. But not satisfied to lead a godless life himself, he did all he could to tempt his subjects into evil ways, wherein he was aided and abetted by his son Mardon.

So from this, we learn that Nimrod is not only a great ruler, but also a man of great sin. How great and deep was his sin? Let’s continue in Ginzberg:

Louis Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, vol. 1
The great success that attended all of Nimrod’s undertakings produced a sinister effect. Men no longer trusted in God, but rather in their own prowess and ability, an attitude to which Nimrod tried to convert the whole world. Therefore people said, “Since the creation of the world there has been none like Nimrod, a mighty hunter of men and beasts, and a sinner before God.”

Now, that’s a bit more information than the version of that saying in the Torah, and it’s more revealing of Nimrod’s true character. We have one more bit from Ginzberg:

Louis Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, vol. 1
And not all this sufficed unto Nimrod’s evil desire. Not enough that he turned men away from God, he did all he could to make them pay Divine honors unto himself. He set himself up as a god, and made a seat for himself in imitation of the seat of God. It was a tower built out of a round rock, and on it he placed a throne of cedar wood, upon which arose, one above the other, four thrones, of iron, copper, silver, and gold. Crowning all, upon the golden throne, lay a precious stone, round in shape and gigantic in size. This served him as a seat, and as he sat upon it, all nations came and paid him Divine homage.

Now, this rounds out our understanding of Nimrod. Not only was he a “mighty hunter before Adonai” and a great sinner, but he was perhaps one of the first rulers who wanted to be worshipped in place of Adonai, who wanted to declare himself God and be worshipped that way. Remind you of anyone?

Tags: job descriptions, Noach, Torah commentary