The meaning of Nimr is “the leopard,” and rod means “to subdue.” Therefor, Nimrod either means the “leopard who subdues” or the “leopard tamer.” In Hebrew, Nimrod signifies spotted. He is often depicted in wearing a garment of a leopard.

Nimrod, who was born on December 25th, the High Sabbath of Babylon, was the founder of Babylon and the city of Nineveh. The Tower of Babble was said to have been erected by the descendants of Nimrod. There are also several places in Palestine that are named after the leopard. Places such as ‘Nimrah‘ (Numb, xxxii. 3, 36); ‘Nimrim’ (Isa. xv. 6, Jer. xlviii. 34), and ‘the mountains of the leopard’ (Cant. iv. 8). ‘Nemeirah’ is also a place near the Dead Sea.

According to the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles, Nimrod is the son of Cush, grandson of Harm and great-grandson of Noah. 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 him an ancestor of Abraham, and hence of all Hebrews. His “kingdom” comprised Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Sinar, otherwise known as the land of Nimrod (Gen. 1:. 8-10; I Chron. i. 10; Micah v. 5 [A. V. 6]).

You will find stories throughout history of Nimrod who was also called King of Assyria, and King of the World. “And a mighty hunter before the Lord,” Gen. x. 8, 9. He Was the first who began to monopolize power on the earth, and gave occasion to the proverb, ” Like Nimrod, the great hunter before the Lord.” His hunting was not only of wild beasts, but also to subdue men, to reduce them under his dominion. Hence, Nimrod was a God of war and chaos.

In the book titled, “The Two Babylons; the Papal Worship Proved to be the Worship of Nimrod,”  author Alexander Hislop states, “From Persian records we are expressly assured that it was Nimrod who was deified after his death by the name of Orion, and placed among the stars.” Just as Nimrod is the Leopard Tamer and Mighty Hunter, so is the constellation  Orion‘s current name that derives from Greek mythology, in which Orion was a gigantic hunter of primordial times. Orion is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator and visible throughout the world. The stars of Orion were associated with Osiris, the sun-god of rebirth and afterlife, by the ancient Egyptians.

In Rabbinical Literature: Nimrod is the prototype of a rebellious people, his name being interpreted as “he who made all the people rebellious against God” (Pes. 94b; comp. Targ. of pseudo Jonathan and Targ. Yer. to Gen. x. 9).

He is identified with Cush and with Amraphel, the name of the latter being interpreted as “ he whose words are dark ” ($51: fibre; Gen. R. xlii. 5; for other explanations see below). As he was the first hunter he was consequently the first who introduced the eating of meat by man. He was also the first to make war on other peoples (Midr. Agadah to Gen. X. 9).

In Arabic Literature: By the Arabs Nimrod is considered as the supreme example of the tyrant (“al-jabbar”).

However, in 15th-century English, things allegedly changed for the powerful leopard subduer and mighty hunter when a new regime had come to power in the world. Nimrod was no longer associated with the King of the World of the Great Hunter and the name “Nimrod” had a new meaning,”tyrant”. In 20th-century American English, the term is now commonly used to mean “dimwitted or stupid fellow”. A usage first recorded in 1932 and popularized by the cartoon character Bugs Bunny, who refers to the hunter Elmer Fudd as “nimrod”, possibly as an ironic connection between “mighty hunter” and “poor little Nimrod”, i.e. Fudd.

Moe

Moe is the founder of GnosticWarrior.com. He is a father, husband, author, martial arts black belt, and an expert in Gnosticism, the occult, and esotericism.