Genesis 10:6 - Meaning and Application

What stands out in these verses is the account of Nimrod, in Genesis 10:8-10. He is shown here as a great man in his day: he “began to be a mighty one in the earth.” The people before him were content to stand on the same level as their neighbors. Each man ruled his own house, but no one tried to go farther. Nimrod’s proud mind would not stop there. He wanted to rise above others, not only to be important among them, but to rule over them.

The same spirit that had driven the giants before the flood, who became “mighty men” and “men of renown” (Genesis 6:4), showed up again in him. Such is the strange speed with which people forget the terrible judgment God had already brought on the world because of pride and cruelty. Some people seem born with ambition and a love of power. There have always been such people, and there will be more, even though God has often shown his anger against them from heaven. Nothing short of hell itself will humble some proud hearts. In that, they are like Lucifer, the fallen one described in (Isaiah 14:14-15).

I. Nimrod was a great hunter. He began with this work, and it made him famous. So much so, that every great hunter is remembered by his name and called a Nimrod. Some think he used hunting for good, serving his country by clearing out wild animals that troubled the land. In that way, he may have won the favor of his neighbors and then became their prince. Those who use authority are either, or at least want to be called, benefactors (Luke 22:25).

Others think he used hunting as a cover for something else. Under the name of hunting, he gathered men under his control, while he was really pursuing another goal, making himself master of the land and bringing others under his power. In that sense, he was a mighty hunter because he violently seized his neighbors’ rights and property, and persecuted innocent people. He pushed forward in everything, trying to make all things his own by force. He thought of himself as a great prince, but in God’s sight he was only a great hunter. Great conquerors are really only great hunters. Alexander and Caesar would not appear in Scripture history as they do in ordinary history. Alexander is shown in prophecy only as a pushing male goat (Daniel 8:5).

Nimrod was, as the Septuagint says, a mighty hunter against the Lord. That may mean one of two things. Either he set up idolatry, as Jeroboam later did, to support the rule he had taken by force. To establish a new government, he also established a new religion, tearing down the old order of both. Babel became the mother of false worship. Or else he carried on his violence in open defiance of God himself, acting as if he and his hunters could challenge the Almighty and stand against the Lord of hosts and all his armies. It was as if it were a small thing to tire out men, and he thought he could tire out God too (Isaiah 7:13).

II. Nimrod was a great ruler. “The beginning of his kingdom was Babel” (Genesis 10:10). In some way, by skill or by force, he gained power. He may have been chosen, or he may have forced his way in. In that way, he laid the foundations of a monarchy, a rule under one king, which later became like a head of gold and a terror to the mighty. It was beginning to look like a world power. He does not seem to have had a right to rule by birth. Either his ability made him fit for office, and so he was chosen, or by force and strategy he rose little by little into the throne.

This shows how old civil government is, especially the form that places rule in one person. If Nimrod and his neighbors began this pattern, other nations soon learned to gather under one head for their common safety and good. However it started, it proved such a blessing to the world that people thought things were very bad when there was no king in Israel.

III. Nimrod was a great builder. He was likely the planner behind the building of Babel, and there he began his kingdom. But when his plan to rule all the sons of Noah was broken by the confusion of languages, he went from that land into Assyria, as the margin reads it in (Genesis 10:11), and built Nineveh and other cities. He did this so he could command them and rule over them.

Nimrod shows the nature of ambition. It has no limit. What has much still wants more and keeps crying, “Give, give.” It is restless. Nimrod could not be content with four cities under his command until he had four more. It is costly. He was willing to spend whatever it took to build cities, if only he could have the honor of ruling them. The urge to build is often the outward sign of pride. It is bold and will stop at nothing. Nimrod’s name means rebellion, and if he did use his power to oppress his neighbors, that teaches us that tyrants against people are rebels against God, and their rebellion is as serious as the sin of witchcraft.