This is a resource book that provides Biblical and Archaeological evidence that Nimrod built the Tower of Babel around 2850 BC at Tel Eridu (Tel Abu Shahrain). It also defines new standard archaeological ages in keeping with young earth creation. Although it is written for the average Christian, it is invaluable to professional archeologists. The high-quality graphics are intended to be used by church preachers and teachers as quick aids in understanding and expounding Genesis 10-11.

Author’s note:

This book is available free on line at: www.bible.ca/nimrod
Due to multiple requests for a printed copy, this book has been provided. Over time, updates and corrections will be made to the on-line version. Original resolution images are available free online. Any part of this book or the online version may be used for public presentations, PowerPoint slides, printed and distributed as class notes to students as long as they are provided at no cost. No part of this book or the online version are permitted to be put online or on the internet or any electronic information access and retrieval system without the authors written permission.

Cover: Nimrod in his first mudbrick Temple (XVII) offering a Goatfish sacrifice to Enki dating to 3200 BC as per excavations at Eridu (Babel, Tel Abu Shahrain) in 1946 AD.

Edited by Judith Farrar and Julia Page

How to become a Christian:

Read the Gospel of Matthew and believe Jesus died on the cross for your sins and rose the third day. Repent of your sins by becoming morally obedient to Jesus Christ. Confess to others that you believe Jesus is the Son of God. Be immersed in water for the remission of your sins. Then: Attend a Bible Believing church every Sunday.

Map of Nimrod’s kingdom in 3200 BC

"The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, Calneh, in the land of Shinar." (Gen 10:10)

Index of People, Places, Idol gods and Earliest Archaeological Ages:

People:

1. Anzud bird: Lion-faced mythical bird; guardian of the mountain ranges between Sumer and Aratta.

2. Cush: Father of Nimrod, Son of Ham, Grandson of Noah.

3. Enmerkar: King of Uruk in Sumerian literature: “Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta”.

4. Ensuhgirana: King of Mt. Ararat in in Sumerian literature “Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta”.

5. Lugalbanda: son of Enmerkar in in in Sumerian literature “Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta”.

6. Nimrod: Founder of Babel and Uruk and the entire Assyrian nation.

7. Noah: Father of Ham, grandfather of Cush, great-grandfather of Nimrod.

8. Sargon I of Akkad: Assyrian king (2320-2265 BC)

Idol gods:

1. Anu/An: Supreme god and father of all gods including Enlil, Enki and Inana. Patron god of Nippur. Decreed the global flood in conjunction with his firstborn son Enlil.

2. Adad: Weather god

3. Assur: god of war empire. Patron god of Assur.

4. Easter: Alternate English name for Inanna/Ishtar derived from Saxon/Germanic “Eostre”, that Christians use for resurrection day of Christ celebrations. Eostre was spring fertility goddess who brought new light at the vernal equinox.

5. Enki/Ea: Freshwater god. Patron god of the Tower of Babel (Eridu), son of Anu, brother to Inana. In Sumerian literature, Enki defied the supreme gods and warned “Noah” to build ark and was responsible for the division of languages.

6. Enlil/Ellil/Bel/Marduk: god of Jupiter. Petitioned his father An/Anu to decree “noisy man” be destroyed with flood so he could sleep. Brother of Enki and Inana/Ishtar.

7. Inana/Inanna/Ishtar/Astarte/Venus/Eostre/Easter: Goddess of war, strife, fertility and sexual love; patron god of Uruk (Unug).

8. Nanna/Nammu/Namma/Sin: moon god; patron god of Ur.

9. Nebo/Nabu: god of Mercury and writing and scribes, son of Enlil/Marduk

10. Nergal: god of the underworld and Mars

11. Ninurta: god of Saturn

12. Shamash/Utu: Sun god

Places:

1. Accad: Unknown southern city founded by Nimrod in 3200 BC (Gen 10:10)

2. Akkad: or Agade, an unknown city founded in 2300 BC by Sargon I of Akkad. Located near new Babylon.

3. Aratta: Aratta = Urartu = Ur of Ararat = city of Aratta and/or Mt. Ararat region.

4. Babel: (Tel Eridu) Babylon, Southern city founded by Nimrod in 3200 BC (Gen 10:10). Archeological site name is Tel Abu Shahrain.

5. Babylon: two locations: 1. Babel (Uridu) founded by Nimrod. 2. New Babylon founded in 2300 BC by Sargon I, later occupied by Nebuchadnezzar.

6. Cairo Egypt: A city founded after Tower of Babel in 2850 BC, pyramid built in 2660 BC.

7. Caleh: Calah = Nimrud = Fort Shalmaneser. City founded by Nimrod in 3000 BC (Gen 10:11). Located 50 km south of Nineveh.

8. Calneh: Unknown southern city founded by Nimrod in 3200 BC (Gen 10:10)

9. Choga Mish: Nimrod’s bread factory where 250,000 Bevel Rim Bowls were found. Located 30 km east of Susa.

10. Değirmen Tepe: Northern city under Kingdom of Ararat. Founded c. 3250 BC and invaded by Nimrod in 3000 BC. Located near source of Euphrates River.

11. El-Beidha: En Mishpat (Gen 14:7), Kadesh Barnea, later Petra. Founded after Tower of Babel in 2850 BC.

12. Erech = Uruk: Southern city founded by Nimrod in 3200 BC (Gen 10:10). Located east of Babel.

13. Eridu: (Babel) Southern city founded by Nimrod in 3200 BC (Gen 10:10). Alternate Sumerian name for Biblical Babel and location of the Tower of Babel. Archaeological site name is Tel Abu Shahrain.

14. Habuba Kabria: Walled city founded after Tower of Babel in 2850 BC at the Uruk 3 Expansion with Uruk assemblages.

15. Hacinebi Tepe: Twin walled cities each speaking different languages. Founded in 3000 BC at Ubaid 3 Expansion and invaded at Uruk 3 Expansion. Located near source of Euphrates. Located 75 km east of Aleppo on the Euphrates.

16. Hamoukar: Unwalled city founded in 3000 BC at the Ubaid 3 Expansion. Ubaid assemblages were replaced by Uruk assemblages at the Uruk 3 expansion when the city was burned, and a wall was built. Located 100 km NW of Nineveh.

17. Halaf/Habor: Archeological type city for the Halaf assemblage and Archaeological Age. Located 100 km east of Haran.

18. Hassuna: Archeological type city for the Hassuna assemblage and Archaeological Age. Located 20 km NW of Nineveh.

19. Jericho: Founded after Tower of Babel in 2850 BC. City destroyed in 1406 BC by Joshua when the walls fell down.

20. Jerusalem: Founded after Tower of Babel in 2850 BC.

21. Kish: City founded in 2700 BC. Located east of Nineveh.

22. Nineveh: (Mosel) Northern city founded by Nimrod in 3000 BC (Gen 10:11)

23. Peru South America: A city founded after Tower of Babel in 2850 BC, pyramid built in 2600 BC.

24. Rehoboth-Ir: City of Rehoboth. Unknown northern city founded by Nimrod in 3000 BC (Gen 10:11)

25. Tepe Gawra: Founded under Kingdom of Ararat c. 3250 BC, invaded by Nimrod in 3000 BC. Located beside Nineveh.

26. Tel Abu Shahrain: Archaeological site name for ancient Eridu (Tel Eridu), biblical Babel. Alternate archaeological name is Tel Eridu.

27. Ubaid: Southern city founded by Nimrod in 3200 BC located near Babel (Eridu). The Ubaid Archaeological Ages are based upon pottery and object assemblages found during excavations at Tel Ubaid.

28. Unug: City of Uruk in Sumerian literature: “Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta”.

29. Urartu: Ur of Ararat = City/region of Ararat

30. Uruk: (Erech) Southern city founded by Nimrod in 3200 BC (Gen 10:10) located near Babel (Eridu). The Uruk Archaeological Ages are based upon pottery and object assemblages found during excavations at Tel Uruk.

Earliest Archaeological ages: Flood to first pyramids (3298-2660 BC)

1. Noahic Flood: 3298 BC: Oldest possible archaeological age.

2. Stone Age: [3298-2500 BC] Assemblage of the earliest period immediately after flood and also some later cities founded after Uruk 3 Expansion, same as Paleolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic.

3. Halaf: [3298-3000 BC] Assemblage based upon Tel-Halaf/Habor type site dating immediately after the flood, concurrent with Stone Age in Kingdom of Ararat. Concurrent with Ubaid 3 Expansion, Stone Age, Hassuna.

4. Hassuna: [3298-3000 BC] Assemblage based upon Tel-Hassuna type site dating immediately after the flood, concurrent with Stone Age in Kingdom of Ararat. Concurrent with Ubaid 3 Expansion, Stone Age, Halaf.

5. Ubaid: [3200-2950 BC] The Ubaid Archaeological Ages are based upon pottery and object assemblages found at during excavations at Tel Ubaid. Archaeological assemblage of a southern city founded by Nimrod that invaded north beginning 3150 BC.

6. Ubaid 3 Expansion: [3000 BC] Archaeological assemblages originally found at Tel Ubaid, and also found at other sites after the friendly expansion of Nimrod’s kingdom north in 3000 BC (Gen 10:11). Concurrent with Stone Age, Halaf, Hassuna.

7. Uruk: [3000-2700 BC] Assemblage of a southern city founded by Nimrod that invaded north after 2900 BC.

8. Uruk 3 Expansion: [2850 BC] Archaeological assemblages originally found at Tel Uruk, and also found at other sites after the great division of languages and lands at the Tower of Babel in 2850 BC (Gen 11) and the great global dispersion. Concurrent with Early Bronze Age 1 (EB I), Naqada I and Egypt Dynasty 0.

9. Early Bronze Age I (EB I): [2850-2800 BC] Begins after the Tower of Babel in 2850 BC, concurrent with Naqada I, Uruk 3 Expansion and Egypt Dynasty 0.

10. Early Bronze Age II (EB II): [2800-2700 BC] Begins after 2800 BC, concurrent with Jemdet Nasr and Egypt Dynasty 1.

11. Early Bronze Age III (EB III): [2700-2320 BC] Begins after 2700 BC, concurrent with Egypt Dynasty 3.

12. Early Bronze Age IV (EB IV): [2320-1886 BC] Begins after 2300 BC at the ascent of Sargon I of Akkad, concurrent with Egypt Dynasty 3. Ends at the great famine when Jacob enters Egypt.

13. Naqada: [2850-2700 BC] Assemblages immediately after the Tower of Babel in 2850 BC, concurrent with Early Bronze Age I (EB I), Uruk 3 Expansion and Egypt Dynasty 0.

14. Jemdet Nasr: [2800-2700 BC] Assemblages after 2800 BC, concurrent with Early Bronze age II and Egypt Dynasty 1.

15. Egypt Dynasty 0: [2850-2800 BC] Begins after tower of Babel in 2850 BC, concurrent with Early Bronze Age I (EB I)

16. Egypt Dynasty 1: [2800-2700 BC] Begins after 2800 BC, concurrent with Early Bronze age II (EB II).

17. Egypt Dynasty 2: [2750-2700 BC] Begins after 2750 BC, concurrent with Egypt Dynasty 1 and Early Bronze age II (EB II).

18. Egypt Dynasty 3: [2700-2600 BC] Begins after 2700 BC, concurrent with Early Bronze age III (EB III).

Archaeological terms:

1. Assemblage: A collection of pottery and objects excavated at a single site or within one or more stratum which sometimes become diagnostic at other sites for dating. Assemblages found at Ubaid, Uruk

2. Christian Archaeological Dating (CAD): The oldest possible archeological age can be no older than the Noahic global flood in 3298 BC. God created the world in 6 literal 24-hour days in the year 5554 BC.

3. Evolutionary Archaeology Ages: The artificial fabrication of excessively long archaeological ages in order to harmonize with Evolutionary Geologic ages of the earth and a world faith-view that the earth is 4.5 billion years old. Often distinct Archaeological ages separated by thousands of years are fabricated which are based upon concurrent regional differences in localized assemblages.

4. Levant: The historic lands of the Bible starting at Greece then sweeping through Turkey, Syria, Judea and Egypt

5. Khirbet Kerak Ware: A distinctive and high-quality Early Bronze I pottery style found at ancient Tel Khirbet Kerak (Philoteria) located on the southern shore of the sea of Galilee.

6. Locus: (Plural = Loci) A depth layer of dirt or stone where all the objects and pottery found within are expected to be from a single date. In archeological excavations multiple loci often date to the same period.

7. Sealed Locus: A layer of archeological matrix that has not been disturbed since the time it was laid and can be dated earlier than the layer above. For example, a stone floor seals the pottery and objects that lay below from intrusion materials and can be dated earlier than the floor itself.

8. Stratigraphy: The vertical sequence of stratum and loci from a single archeological site.

9. Stratum Levels: One or more loci considered to be part of a single archeological age and given a single number, usually a Roman Numeral. Since excavations begin on the surface, this youngest stratum level is given a designation of Stratum Level I. At Eridu, the oldest/lowest stratum level for the first temple built on virgin soils is Stratum Level XVII. This inversion of numbers is sometimes confusing because we naturally would expect the first temple built would be designated Stratum I. Stratum levels are assigned in the order from the surface they are excavated, not the order of original construction.

10. Babel Veteran: Someone (ie. Heber) who eye witnessed Tower of Babel and had their natural born language changed.

11. Babel Baby Boomer: Someone (ie. Peleg) who was born after the Tower of Babel and learned a new language from birth.

12. Tell (Tel): An archeological site.

Master Bible Chronological Chart: Creation: 5554 BC, Flood: 3298 BC, Tower of Babel: 2850 BC, Abraham: 2166 BC

Map of the Northern Kingdom of Ararat and the Southern Kingdom of Nimrod: 3298-2850 BC

Master Bible Chronological Chart: Abraham to the Exodus: 2166-1446 BC

INTRODUCTION

Introduction:

When you get the chronology right, the cartography right and the archaeology right, you will get the Bible text right. What you read in the book you find in the ground! Let’s dig up another Bible story!

This is the Bible account of the origin of civilization after the global Noahic flood. Archaeology indicates that the Tower of Babel closely resembled the Stepped Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara in Egypt. Although excavations at biblical Babel (Tel Abu Shahrain = Eridu) have not found any evidence of the Tower itself, there is evidence of the 300 x 300 meter square elevated platform upon which the Tower of Babel was going to be built. The city of Eridu (Babel) and the platform were abandoned for 750 years until Ur-Nammu built a Ziggurat upon the vacant platform in 2100 BC.

Scripture dates creation to 5554 BC and the Flood to 3298 BC using the Septuagint. Eight Bible markers in Genesis 10-11 decode the date of the Tower of Babel to around 2850 BC. The founding principle of Christian Archaeological Dating (CAD) is that there is no Archaeology older than the flood which marks the beginning of the earliest Archaeological Stone ages including: Paleolithic, Neolithic and Chalcolithic. Archaeological assemblages excavated at Tepe Gawra provide evidence that the earliest Archaeological ages were concurrent not consecutive. Pre-flood Human civilization is encased in a 2 km layer Noahic flood deposit of sedimentary rock laid down in a few months as seen in the geology of the Grand Canyon.

During this earliest period of post-flood civilization, “rebel” Nimrod plays a key and central role in almost every area. The identity of Nimrod is unknown, but he is best represented by the character of Enmerkar in Sumerian literary sources. Ancient Jewish, Christian and secular literary sources unanimous record that Nimrod built the Tower of Babel. It is chronologically impossible for Nimrod to be Sargon I of Akkad (~2300 BC). It is unlikely that God would allow idol worshippers on the Ark, therefore it was likely Nimrod who fabricated a new complex pantheon of pagan gods to worship like the supreme Anu who decreed the flood and his children Enlil, Enki and Inana. It will be shown using 20 direct parallels between the “rebel” Nimrod and the god Enki that Nimrod seems to have invented Enki as a “god in his own image”. In Sumerian flood stories, Enki was the rebel god who warned “Noah” to build an ark because An and his son Enlil sent a flood to wipe out mankind. The Gilgamesh flood story records mankind’s anger towards the supreme god who decreed the flood and portray him as unjust, impatient and evil. Enki, the son of An, is portrayed as a savior/hero of mankind for warning Noah of the decree and instructing him to build the ark. This hostility is surfaces in the scene where all the gods are invited to Noah’s incense offering except An and Enlil.

Nimrod’s first mudbrick temple at Eridu (Babel) was dedicated to Enki, as was his Tower of Babel, as was the Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu in 2100 BC at Eridu. In Sumerian myths, it was Enki who caused the division of languages (Gen 11) at Eridu (Babel). Nimrod satisfied the human need to worship by inventing and/or promoting a complex hierarchy of pagan gods, idols and temples. These were the “gods beyond the river” that Moses and Joshua warned about. Nimrod won over the people, not through violence but through improved living conditions, better technology and idol worship. Under Nimrod, food was mass produced in bread factories using Bevel Rim Bowls to feed workers, the first trade routes were established, the first mudbrick temples were built and fine pottery was made. Contrary to popular opinion, the earliest pottery after the flood was finely made bichrome ware with intricate designs. After the Tower of Babel, when the Early Bronze Age I (EB I) began, the quality of pottery is noticeably reduced with the exception of Khirbet Kerak Ware in the Levant.

Noah and his sons founded a kingdom in the Mt. Ararat region as the world population grew from 8 to 800 men during the first 100 years after the flood. Nimrod, second generation from the flood, was born in the northern Ararat Kingdom around 3225 BC. Being a rebel, he migrated south in 3200 BC and founded Babel (Eridu), Uruk and Ur (Gen 10:10). Archaeological excavations at Biblical Babel (Eridu) were conducted in the 1940’s have been re-evaluated by Christian Archeologists with some stunning results! From these 80 year old excavations, we now know that Nimrod likely built his first pagan temple in 3200 BC. Temple XVII (3x3 meters) was dedicated to the god Enki at Eridu (Babel) which featured a niched altar room in which to place an idol of Enki and a burnt offering table for Goatfish (carp) in the middle of the room (see book cover). From 3200 – 3000 BC Nimrod would build at Eridu 9 temples (XVII-IX) one on top of the other in increasing size and complexity as the world population grew from 800 people in 3200 BC to 300,000 in 3000 BC. Immediately following the division of languages at the Tower of Babel, the first written languages are invented (while Nimrod was alive) by employing pictograms to communicate. The earliest Sumerian cuneiform, Egyptian Hieroglyphs and Chinese symbols were pictographic.

In the first 450 years from the flood down to the Tower of Babel, Archaeology has demonstrated an older culture being replaced by a new culture, not once, but twice. First, we see the founding “post flood” Halaf culture of the Northern Ararat kingdom of Noah’s sons, being suddenly replaced by the Ubaid culture of Nimrod’s southern kingdom in 3000 BC during the Ubaid 3 Expansion Archaeological Age. This occurred when Nimrod founded Nineveh (Gen 10:11). Second, after the Tower of Babel in 2850 BC, Archaeology demonstrates an explosion of urbanism during the Uruk 3 Expansion Archaeological Age, when the confusion of languages caused men to disperse to the corners of the earth in Gen 11.

Immediately after the Tower of Babel is when some of the oldest cities in the world were founded on virgin soil or small populations were swarmed by a new wave of mass migration. Cairo was founded around 2850 BC by sailing south on the Persian Gulf then back up the Red Sea to the Gulf of Suez and migrating west. In 2660 BC Pharaoh Djoser built the oldest pyramid in the world (Stepped) and the oldest stone temple in the world at Saqqara. This temple in Egypt is an architectural mirror of Nimrod’s Temple VI at Eridu (Babel). Peru was founded around 2850 BC by sailing down the Persian Gulf, following the ocean currents around the Horn of Africa and across the Atlantic Ocean, then west through Panama (submerged by much higher ocean levels), then south to Peru. In 2600 BC the Peruvians built one of the oldest Pyramids in the world. Jerusalem, Jericho and El-Beidha (En-mishpat, Kadesh, Petra) were founded around 2850 BC when migrants followed the Euphrates north, then travelled down the coast.

Abraham left Ur the very year that Ur-Nammu begins construction of two almost identical Ziggurats at Ur and Babel in 2100 BC. The Ziggurat at Ur was a temple to Nanna the moon god. The Ziggurat at Babel (Eridu) was built upon Nimrod’s 300x300 meter platform for the Tower of Babel that lay abandoned for 750 years. In 2850 BC, Nimrod had tried to build the Tower of Babel, which was a pagan Temple to Enki but God caused construction to be stopped by the division of languages. In 2100 BC, Ur-Nammu began to construct his own “ziggurat version” of Nimrod’s ancient Tower of Babel as a pagan temple of Enki. The year construction begins of the two ziggurats at Babel and Ur, God calls Abraham out of Assyria to Canaan.

To the Christian Nimrod is antitypical of Satan, Absalom and Judas as the epitome of rebellion, treason and betrayal against the One True God. The Tower of Babel represents false world religions and false Christian doctrines.

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:3–6)

A. The historic identity of Nimrod

1. The historic identity of Nimrod is unknown but is possibly: Nimrod = Nudimmud = Enmerkar.

2. Nimrod may have been Enmerkar in literature Sumerian “Enmerkar vs. lord of Aratta” 2100 BC.

3. Nimrod may have been known as Nudimmud the leader according to the Sumerian Creation story of Eridu:

a. “After the exalted crown and throne of kingship had descended from heaven, the divine rites and the exalted powers were perfected, the bricks of the cities were laid in holy places, their names were announced and the ...... were distributed. The first of the cities, Eridu, was given to Nudimmud the leader.” (The Sumerian Creation story of Eridu , segment B, lines 6-11)

b. Nimrod was Nudimmud the Shaman priest. Enmerkar refers to himself as Nudimmud: (See Submission of Ararat to Uruk #2: Enmerkar vs. Lord of Ararat: EPSK 2:135–155)

4. Nimrod may be Gišur:

a. The Sumerian King’s List shows that Eridu (Babel) was the first city on earth before the flood: “After the kingship descended from heaven, the kingship was in Eridu.” (Sumerian King List, Larsa prism version G)

b. Then after the flood it names Gišur (possibly Nimrod) as ruling at a city named Cush, after his father Cush: "After the Flood had swept over, and the kingship had descended from heaven, the kingship was in Kiš. [Cush] In Kiš, Gišur became king; he ruled for 1,200 years. " (Sumerian King List, Larsa prism version G)

c. In the Sumerian King List, a possible coincidence, there are 10 kings before the flood which match the 10 generations from Adam to Noah in the Bible chronology of Gen 5.

5. Nimrod is not:

a. Nimrod was not Sargon I of Akkad: 2320-2265 BC

b. Nimrod was not Gilgamesh

B. Overview of Nimrod

1. What the Bible says about Nimrod: (only three passages)

a. "The sons of Ham were Cush and Mizraim and Put and Canaan. The sons of Cush were Seba and Havilah and Sabtah and Raamah and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.” The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city." (Genesis 10:6–12)

b. "The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raama and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. Cush became the father of Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one in the earth." (1 Chronicles 1:9–10)

c. "They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod at its entrances; And He will deliver us from the Assyrian when he attacks our land and when he tramples our territory." (Micah 5:6)

2. Nimrod of the Bible rebelled against his parents, the existing kingdom of Ararat, vegan cultural norms and God

a. Nimrod was the great grandson of Noah and son of Cush, likely born around 3225 BC.

b. Nimrod founded Assyria and the cities of Babel (Eridu), Uruk/Erech and Nineveh.

c. Nimrod was likely the first post-flood man to normalize meat eating.

d. Nimrod promoted and/or invented the pantheon of pagan Sumerian gods like Enlil, Anu, Enki, Inana. Joshua indirectly referenced Nimrod when he referred to “the gods of your fathers (Nimrod) beyond the Euphrates river” (Joshua 24:2,15).

e. Nimrod built the tower of Babel in 2850 BC.

f. Nimrod was alive when writing was invented after the languages were divided in 2850 BC and may have been personally instrumental in the invention of the first written language as witnessed in the Sumerian story of Enmerkar vs. the king of Ararat (2100 BC).

g. It is impossible for Nimrod to be the same person as Sargon I of Akkad: 2320-2265 BC

3. Chronological summary of Nimrod:

a. Creation: 5554 BC

b. Flood: 3298 BC

c. Nimrod born, grandson of Ham: 3225 BC

d. Nimrod founds Babel (Eridu) and Uruk/Erech: 3200 BC

e. Tower of Babel: 2850 BC (Nimrod age 375)

f. “Babel Veteran” who eye witnessed Tower of Babel: Birth of Eber: 2901 BC. First Hebrew speaker and father of all the Hebrews. (Eber = Hebrew)

g. “Babel Baby Boomer”: Peleg born in 2767 BC. First descendant in seed bloodline born after the Tower of Babel. (Peleg = Divided)

h. Nimrod dies age ~500 in ~2725 BC

C. Post-Flood Migrations of Gen 10-25: 3298-2000 BC

Post-Flood Migrations of Gen 10-25: 3298-2000 BC

1. Post Flood migrations: Flood to Tower of Babel: 3298-2850 BC

a. 3298 BC: Global flood: The population of 8 form the Kingdom of Ararat in the area surrounding Mt. Ararat where Noah’s Ark rested. (Gen 11)

b. 3225 BC: Nimrod is born in the Kingdom of Ararat.

c. 3200 BC: Rebellious Nimrod migrates south and starts his own kingdom by founding Babel (Eridu), Uruk/Erech, Ur etc.

d. Nimrod builds the first post flood pagan mudbrick temple at Babel (Eridu Temple XVII) and dedicates it to the freshwater god Enki.

e. 3000 BC: Ubaid 3 Expansion North: Nimrod builds Eridu (Babel) Temple VIII. The Kingdom of Nimrod expands north and founds Nineveh and likely builds pagan temples there too.

f. 2850 BC: Construction of The Tower of Babel (Temple to Enki) is begun at Eridu (Babel). A large platform is constructed at Eridu and is abandoned because of the division of languages.

g. 2850-2100 BC: Nimrod’s Babel (Eridu) is abandoned for 750 years.

h. 2849 BC: After the division of languages, the Late Uruk 3 Expansion Archeological Age begins when men move to the ends of the earth away from Babel. Ships travel down the Persian Gulf to found Cairo and Peru in the Americas.

i. 2725 BC: Nimrod dies at age of 500 years.

j. 2660 BC: Pyramids are constructed all over the world, the first in Egypt.

k. 2320 BC: Sargon I of Akkad

l. 2100 BC: Ur-Nammu builds a Ziggurat on Nimrod’s abandoned platform of the Tower of Babel and another one at Ur. The Ziggurat at Babel is a temple to Enki, the freshwater god.

2. Post Flood migrations: Migration of Terah and Abraham to Canaan:

a. 2296 BC: Terah is born in Ur of Chaldea and worships Nimrod’s idols: Josh 24:2

b. 2226 BC: Haran is born to Terah when he is 70 years old.

c. 2166 BC: Abram is born to Terah when he is 130 years old in Ur of Chaldea’s.

d. 2156 BC: Sarah is born

e. Abram’s older brother Nahor marries Milcah the daughter of his older brother Haran.

f. 2140 BC: 25-year-old Abram marries Sarah, age 15.

g. 2100 BC: Ur-Nammu builds another Temple to Enki (Ziggurat) on Nimrod’s Tower of Babel platform that had been abandoned for 750 years.

h. 2100 BC: Haran, (Abram’s oldest brother & Lot’s father), dies in Ur at age 125.

i. 2100 BC: God speaks the 3 promises (nation, land, seed) to Terah (age 196) and Abraham (age 66) and the entire family leaves Ur for Canaan: Acts 7:2-4; Gen 11:31-32

j. 2100 BC: While en-route to Canaan and 1000 km NW of Ur, Terah founds a city and names it “Haran” after his son.

k. 2100-2091 BC: Terah continues to worship Nimrod’s idols and never leaves Haran for Canaan until he dies age 205 years.

l. 2091 BC: Terah dies at age 205 years when Abraham is 75 years old.

m. 2091 BC: God repeats the three promises to Abraham at Haran at age 75 after the death of Terah & he leaves for Canaan: Gen 12:1-4

n. Abram migrates to Shechem & builds an altar after God repeats promises.

o. Abram pitches his tent between Bethel and builds an altar at Ai, which we know today as Kh. El-Maqatir, where the author spent 8 seasons as staff Square Supervisor during the professional Archaeological excavations under Associates for Biblical Research (ABR).

p. Abram moves to Egypt because of drought and sees the Pyramids.

q. Abram returns to altar near Ai, Lot moves east & God repeats promises.

r. Abram settles in Hebron, by the oaks of a man named Mamre.

s. 2066 BC: Isaac is born

t. 2029 BC: Sarah dies

u. 2028 BC: Isaac marries Rebecca

v. 2006 BC: Jacob and Esau born

w. 1991 BC: Abraham dies age 175: Gen 25:7

D. Post-flood world population growth from 8 men to 12 million with archaeological ages

1. 3298 BC: Flood: Population 8 persons

a. Population Calculator: Start with 6 Persons (three breeding couples- Noah had no other children of which we are aware).

b. Breeding lifespans over 400 years.

c. Archaeology and literary sources have shown that from the time of Christ back to the time of Abraham, the Hebrew girls married at age 15 but the Gentile girls were married at age 13… or immediately after the onset of puberty. We know that 15-year-old Sarah married Abraham when he was 25 years old.

d. Polygamy was widespread so that all available fertile females would be mated and constantly pregnant.

e. In 2018 Somalia had a 3.8% growth rate

f. Archaeological age: Stone age: (Paleolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic), Halaf, Hassuna. All these ages are concurrent, not consecutive.

2. 3200 BC: Nimrod founds Babel: Population: 800 persons

a. 3298-3200 BC = 100 years

b. Start with 6 Persons @ 5% growth 100 yrs. after flood = 800 persons

c. Archaeological age: Ubaid 1, Stone age: (Paleolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic), Halaf, Hassuna. Some are concurrent, others are progressive

3. 3000 BC: Nimrod founds Nineveh: Population 300,000 persons

a. 3200-3000 BC = 200 years

b. Start with 800 Persons @ 3% growth 200 years = 300,000 persons

c. Archaeological age: Ubaid Expansion, Uruk 1, Stone age: (Paleolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic), Halaf, Hassuna. Some are concurrent, others are progressive

4. 2850 BC: Nimrod builds Tower of Babel: Population 12 million persons

a. 3000-2850 BC = 150 years

b. Start with 300,000 Persons @ 3% growth for 150 years = 12 million persons

c. Using Somalia’s 2018 AD growth rate of 3.8% for 450 years with a starting population of 6 equals a final population of 14 million.

d. After the great dispersal, a divided population of 12 million provides enough manpower to build the first pyramids around the world after an additional 150 years of growth ending in 2700 BC.

e. Archaeological age: Uruk Expansion, Naqada I, Early Bronze (EB I), Pre-Dynastic Egypt (dynasty 0): all concurrent

CHAPTER 1: Nimrod the Rebel

I. Nimrod the Rebel:

A. Nimrod = rebel: A nickname

1. Hebrew “Nimrod” is a nickname that literally means “rebellion, Rebel”

a. Nimrod of the Bible rebelled against his parents, the existing kingdom, vegan cultural norms and God

b. “First, what does the name Nimrod mean? It comes from the Hebrew verb marad, meaning "rebel." Adding an "n" before the "m" it becomes an infinitive construct, "Nimrod." (see Kautzsch 1910: 137 2b; also BDB 1962: 597). The meaning then is "The Rebel." Thus "Nimrod" may not be the character's name at all. It is more likely a derisive term of a type, a representative, of a system that is epitomized in rebellion against the Creator, the one true God. Rebellion began soon after the Flood as civilizations were restored. At that time this person became very prominent.” (Who Was Nimrod?, Dr. David Livingston, Bible and Spade, Vol. 14, No. 3, Pg 67, 2001 AD)

2. Nimrod is a nick name meaning “rebel” and not his real name because Nimrod is unattested in any ancient literary source.

B. Nimrod = rebel who rejected the authority of his parents

1. The kingdom of Ararat (Aratta) was patriarchal and governed by Noah and his three sons.

a. The oldest Archaeology in the world is a 100 km radius of Mt. Ararat.

b. As world populations grew from 8 to 800 from 3298-3200 BC, the “kingdom of Aratta” was simple, communal, cooperative, familial and tribal.

2. Young Nimrod, age 25, rejects parental authority of the existing government of his parents.

3. In Sumerian flood myths, freshwater god Enki likewise rejected his father’s authority (supreme god An/Anu) by secretly warning Noah of the coming flood and instructing him to build the ark.

C. Nimrod = Rebel usurper of Mt. Ararat kingdom in founding Assyria: Micah 5:6

1. Nimrod rebelled against the authority of patriarchal lords of the Ararat kingdom in 3200 BC.

2. Nimrod is credited with founding the Assyrian – Babylonian kingdom: "They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod at its entrances; And He will deliver us from the Assyrian When he attacks our land And when he tramples our territory." (Micah 5:6)

c. Nimrod was the first mega-king in the post flood world and founded many of the ancient cities including Eridu/Babylon, Uruk in the south and Nineveh in the north.

d. "The sons of Ham were Cush and Mizraim and Put and Canaan. The sons of Cush were Seba and Havilah and Sabtah and Raamah and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.” The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city." (Gen 10:6)

3. The storyline in the four stories of Enmerkar vs. the king of Ararat (2100 BC) document the pre-flood power takeover of Nimrod (Enmerkar) from his parent’s kingdom at Mt. Ararat.

D. Nimrod = Rebel to vegan cultural norms: Eating meat

1. Nimrod the “mighty hunter” was the first meat eater!

a. While men after the flood were likely vegans who continued to fear animals, Nimrod showed uncharacteristic fearless bravery in not only hunting animals but also eating them.

b. Nimrod therefore paved the way for men to start eating meat and changed their diets from vegan to omnivore.

2. Echoing the bravery and hunting skills of Nimrod, their founder, many ancient Assyrian inscriptions and stone reliefs of Assyrians kings are pictured as “fearless hunters of animals”.

3. We find Archaeological confirmation that Nimrod’s southern kingdom ate 50% more meat than the Ararat northern kingdom at Hacinebi:

a. “At Hacinebi, for example, comparisons of fauna between the Uruk and Anatolian (Ubaid) parts of the site show differences between the two groups in food preferences, so that sheep and goats were 49 percent of the local (Ubaid) meat consumption, but provided 80 to 90 percent of the Uruk diet. This matches exactly the known food preferences in the south Mesopotamian heartland. At the same time, butchery practices show clear differences between Uruk and local (Ubaid) contexts, in both the locations and the widths of cut marks, suggesting that the two groups used different butchering tools. Chipped stone tools show similar differences in technological style, so that even when Uruk and local specialists made the same tool forms, the proportions of the tools differed significantly. Blade tools from Uruk areas at Hacinebi are significantly narrower than their local (Ubaid) counterparts and match closely the dimensions of blades from south Mesopotamian Uruk sites.” (A Tale of Two Oikumenai: Variation in the Expansionary Dynamics of Ubaid and Uruk Mesopotamia, Gil J. Stein, Rana Ozbal, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, Vol 3, p330, 2007 AD)

E. Nimrod = Rebel to God

1. Nimrod led the rebellion against God’s orders to disperse across the face of the earth

a. "They said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”" (Genesis 11:4)

b. "So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city." (Genesis 11:8)

2. Rebellion to God in building the tower of Babel to escape a second flood

a. 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 was through his means they were happy, but to believe that it was their own courage which procured that happiness. (114) 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 upon 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 be able to reach! and that he would avenge himself on God for destroying their forefathers! (Josephus Antiquities 1.109-114)

3. Rebellion to God through idolatry: An, Enlil, Enki, Inana

a. Nimrod rebelled against God as the originator and inventor of all the idol gods of the ancient world including like An, Enlil, Enki and Inana.

Enmerkar vs. the king of Ararat (2100 BC) documents how the first pagan shrine built of mudbrick and bitumen was at Uruk/Erech. Enmerkar boasts that he built the first pagan temple for the sex goddess Inana, who was a forerunner to Ishtar and Venus. She was the goddess of war, strife, and sexual love and was the patron goddess of Unug (Uruk) and Aratta (Ararat), but her preference was for Enmerkar at Uruk. Aratta did not have a temple in the four stories, but Uruk did.

It is possible that these pagan gods were worshipped before the flood and their memory was transmitted through the 8 who were on the Ark of Noah by warning their sons to not worship idols.

If Nimrod did not invent the entire Sumerian pagan pantheon of idol gods so ubiquitous in ancient times, he surely was the first great promoter of such idolatry.

b. “In Sumerian literature, Eridu (Nimrod’s Babel) is claimed to be the First City to hold kingship and later on, Eridu is both the city whose name became interchangeable with Babylon and the holy city in which Hammurabi king of Babylon was crowned. These correlations are not accidental and could be related to the myth known as the Sumerian Eridu Genesis, in which Eridu and Babylon refer to the same primeval city. The holy place of Eridu was also deeply related to Inanna and Adapa religious hemispheres, but for the Near East mythopoeic thought Eridu was, first of all, the sacred place of Enki/Ea, the primeval god of the humankind creation and his destinies, the infinitely precious concepts to how the Mesopotamians viewed their Humanity.” (The Iraqi‑Italian Archaeological Mission at the Seven Mounds of Eridu/Amer, Marco Ramazzotti, p8, 2015 AD)

c. Although the idea that Nimrod was nicknamed “the rebel” because he rebelled against God in promoting idolatry is not found in the Genesis narrative, the Hebrews stationed at the foot of Mt. Sinai in 1446 BC were fully aware of the system of the “gods of their forefathers beyond the Euphrates river”. In other words, we are told that Nimrod founded the Assyrian empire in the second generation from the flood and every Hebrew knew about the rampant idolatry that plagued the Assyrian empire from the time of Nimrod down to the time of Alexander the Great in 333 BC.

d. Nimrod the “mighty hunter” echoes Ninurta, the Assyrian god of hunting and warfare and is likely a god he created in his own image.

4. Rebellion to God by rejecting blood sacrifices of goats for bloodless goatfish

a. We know from the earliest time that God instructed men to sacrifice sheep and goats as a blood sacrifice.

b. Nimrod, like Jeroboam (931 BC), who started worshipping Nimrod’s goat-idol, he retained sacrifice but changed the object of sacrifice from a goat to a Goatfish:

i. "Jeroboam set up priests of his own for the high places, for the satyrs [goat idols] and for the calves which he had made." (2 Chr 11:15)

ii. "They shall no longer sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat demons [goat idols] with which they play the harlot. This shall be a permanent statute to them throughout their generations.” ’" (Leviticus 17:7)

c. Goatfish were excavated from the altar of burnt offering in Nimrod’s temples at Eridu.

d. While fish do have blood, they do not bleed like a mammal.

e. God never instructed anyone in the Bible to sacrifice fish although they ate fish: “So watch yourselves carefully, since you did not see any form on the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire, so that you do not act corruptly and make a graven image for yourselves in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the sky, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water below the earth. “And beware not to lift up your eyes to heaven and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, and be drawn away and worship them and serve them, those which the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven." (Deuteronomy 4:15–19)

5. Nimrod the rebel, saw himself in Enki and identified with Enki the rebel god

a. Nimrod’s kingdom began at Babel (Eridu)

b. Enki was God of freshwater: Babel was surrounded by swampy wetlands.

c. Enki was the patron god of Nimrod’s city of Babel.

d. Enki was the son of supreme god Anu who rebelled against parents like Nimrod.

e. Nimrod rebelled against his parent’s northern kingdom of Ararat.

f. In Sumerian literature, Enki betrays the flood decree of the supreme god Anu and his son Enlil, by warning “Noah” to build the ark and save himself and the animals.

g. “Rebel” Nimrod identified with “rebel Enki” who thwarted his parents will.

h. Over 300 years Nimrod built/rebuilt the temple to Enki at Babel 18 times.

i. Enki was symbolized by a goat, goatfish, carp fish with goat like whiskers.

j. Goatfish were offered as burnt sacrifices on altars in the Babel mudbrick temple.

k. The Tower of Babel was the last temple to Enki Nimrod attempted to build.

l. Josephus says Nimrod built the Tower of Babel to survive a second global flood: “Now it was Nimrod … the grandson of Ham … said he would be revenged on God, if he should have a mind to drown the world a second time; so he built a tower too high for the waters to be able to reach and that he would avenge himself on God for destroying their forefathers! (Josephus Antiquities 1.109-114)

m. Enki is responsible for division of language at Tower of Babel

n. Enki plays a central role in understanding the city of Babel and the tower of Babel.

o. Then at the tower of Babel it was Enki who was responsible for the division of languages. (see below)

p. Nimrod therefore hated the one true God who caused the flood and loved Enki who betrayed God’s will in destroying mankind.

q. The will of the god Enlil who caused the flood was usurped by rebel/betrayer lower god Enki who became the savior of mankind.

r. Enki therefore represents Satan as a false savior and Judas who betrayed God.

s. Reversal of reality: YHWH/Saviour/true vs. Enki/destroyer/Satan/Judas/betrayer

t. “Rebel” Nimrod hated true God YHWH and loved false god Enki the “rebel”, a god perhaps of his own making, perhaps in his own image.

CHAPTER 2: Dating the Tower of Babel to 2850 BC

II. 8 Markers in Genesis 10-11 that decode date for the Tower of Babel to 2850 BC

BIBLE MARKER 1: “Division” of languages at Babel is central theme of Gen 10-11

1. Sons of Japheth: "From these the coastlands of the nations were divided into their lands, every one according to his language, according to their families, into their nations." (Genesis 10:5)

2. Sons of Ham: Nimrod founded Babel at Eridu then built the tower of Babel.

3. Sons of Noah: "These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, by their nations; and out of these the nations were separated on the earth after the flood." (Genesis 10:32)

4. Sons of Seth: "Two sons were born to Eber; the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided" (Genesis 10:25)

5. Division at tower of Babel: "Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth." (Genesis 11:9)

6. Nimrod was the only one to retain his same geography before and after the division: Assyria

a. "The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city." (Gen 10:10–12)

b. "They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod at its entrances; And He will deliver us from the Assyrian." (Micah 5:6)

BIBLE MARKER 2: Nimrod is the central figure of Gen 10-11

1. Gen 5 Fact: In Gen 5, Noah’s Father Lamech is the central focus:

a. 83 words are devoted to Noah’s father Lamech in Gen 5 (Gen 5:28-31)

b. This is understandable because he is the Father of Noah.

2. Gen 6-9 Fact: In Gen 6-9, Noah is the central figure discussed with four whole chapters of text.

a. This is understandable because of the entire flood story

3. Gen 10-11 Fact: In Gen 10-11 Nimrod is the central focus:

a. More words (79 words) are devoted to describing Nimrod than any other descendant from Noah to Abraham in Gen 10-11. (Genesis 5:28-31)

b. The many words used to describe Nimrod is because he built the Tower of Babel which was the primary cause of the division of languages in these two chapters.

c. None of Nimrod’s children are listed because we know he founded the first Assyrian empire before and after the Tower of Babel.

d. If Nimrod lived centuries after the Tower of Babel, then the huge focus the Holy Spirit places on an obscure and irrelevant person becomes absurd.

e. Since the central focus of Gen 10-11 is to explain the origin of the nations that occurred at the Tower of Babel, why devote so much discussion to Nimrod if he lived long after the division and had nothing to do with the ORIGIN of the nations.

f. Those who say Nimrod is Sargon I of Akkad (2300 BC), who lived 550 years after the tower of Babel, are speechless to explain why he is referenced AT ALL in Gen 10-11. By 2300 BC there had been dozens of kings of equal stature and power as Sargon I.

BIBLE MARKER 3: More important relatives (Like Nimrod) are narrated last by design: Gen 10:6-12

1. The fact that Genesis narration lists 5 sons of Cush but excludes Nimrod, then lists two important grandsons, then returns to list the most important son of Cush, Nimrod, is a natural narration style given the volume of words.

2. The sequence of reserving the most important descendant after discussing other siblings is natural and follows a pattern.

a. “The Shemites are the last in this table because they are the most crucial, the line from which Abraham will emerge. Thus, their placement is for climactic effect.” (NICOT, Gen 10:21)

3. The narrated order of Cush’s children may additionally reflect their actual birth order, which also explains why he was narrated last.

BIBLE MARKER 4: Japheth & Ham provide genealogical time marker that decodes

the Tower of Babel to 2^nd generation from flood

Descendants list of Japheth and Ham stop at eyewitnesses of Tower of Babel
On Noah’s Ark	Japheth	Ham	Ham
Generation 1	Gomer, Javan +5 others	Cush, Mizraim, Canaan, Put	Cush
Generation 2 Lived through Tower of Babel	Only Children of Gomer and Javan are listed. “Babel Vets” who eye witnessed the Tower of Babel division STOP MARKER	Only children of Cush, Mizraim, Canaan are listed including Nimrod “Babel Vets” who eye witnessed the Tower of Babel division. STOP MARKER	Nimrod Nimrod BUILT the Tower of Babel STOP MARKER
Generation 3 Babel Baby Boomers	Generation 3 were “Babel Baby boomers” born after division of languages and lands	Only grandchildren of Cush through Raamah are listed: Sheba and Dedan were “Babel Vets” who eye witnessed the Tower of Babel division. The other children of Cush were Babel Baby boomers. Sheba and Dedan are STOP MARKERS	Descendants of Nimrod are’t listed because we know he founded Assyria before the division and continued as king of Assyria after the division of languages.
Generation 4		Children of Sheba and Dedan were “Babel Baby boomers” born after division of languages and lands
The last descendants listed were eyewitnesses of the Tower of Babel. All subsequent unnamed descendants were Babel Baby Boomers born into divided world.

1. Gen 10-11 is specifically designed by the Holy Spirit in order to create a time marker for the tower of Babel by listing 2 generations of descendants of Ham and Japheth who were eyewitnesses of the great division of the tower of Babel, then stop.

a. Gen 10-11 functions as a “marker indicating a qualitative difference between” those alive who personally witness the tower of Babel, and the Babel Baby boomers born afterwards!

b. Gen 10-11 therefore uses the genealogy narrative as time marker to identify the date for the Tower of Babel from those born after the second generation following the flood.

2. Babel Vets vs. Babel Baby Boomers:

a. Babel Vets: The descendants list of Ham and Japheth only include those who lived before the Tower of Babel or Babel Vets who were alive when their own language they spoke was changed, being eyewitnesses.

b. Babel Baby Boomers: Any descendants of Ham and Japheth not listed were Babel Baby Boomers born after the division of languages and lands and were born into the divided world and learned the new language as infants.

3. Remember, the primary theme of Gen 10-11 is the great division and the genealogies are the tool used to tell us EXACTLY when the tower of Babel happened in time.

a. Gen 10-11 is a single unit that both identifies who was alive to see the tower of Babel in order to explain the DIVISION of languages and land.

b. The fact that we do not know any of the descendants of either Ham or Japheth born AFTER the division of the Tower of Babel demonstrates the purpose of the section is to identify WHEN the tower of Babel was constructed.

4. The key to decoding the date for the tower of Babel is not what information is given in the Japheth/Ham list, but where the information stops!

a. Gen 10-11 identifies the “Babel veterans” as second generation after Ham and Japheth who were eyewitnesses of the division, then stops.

b. These Babel Vets experienced for themselves the change of their own spoken language and as a result dispersed away from Babel into the various divided lands.

c. No Babel Baby boomers are listed in the Japheth/Ham genealogy because the division of language and lands is fully described through their parents.

d. No new information would be provided by listing Babel Baby Boomers by name because they spoke the language of their parents and lived away from Babel with their parents in separate geographic areas.

5. Decoding the time window for the tower of Babel using the Japheth/Ham list

Timing window for the Tower of Babel using the Japheth/Ham list
	Japheth/Ham list	Shem list
1^st generation	No dates in Bible	Arpachshad: 3298-2731 BC
2^nd generation	No dates: Eyewitnesses	Kainan: 3161-2701 BC
The 2^nd generation time window in the Japheth/Ham list is: 3161-2701 BC

a. Since there is no chronology of years in the Japheth/Ham list we cross-referenced the second generation of Shem to get approximate dates.

b. The 2^nd generation of the Japheth/Ham list corresponds to Kainan in the Shem list.

c. Using the last-named descendant in the Japheth/Ham list provides a broad timing window for the great division of languages between 3161-2701 BC, which is the lifetime of Kainan.

d. If Kainan lived as an eyewitness to the Tower of Babel, then 2701 BC is the lowest possible date for the tower of Babel according to the Japheth/Ham list of descendants.

6. Sargon I of Akkad (2300 BC) cannot be Nimrod because he is out of context and violates the principle of listing descendants of Japheth and Ham down to the eyewitnesses of the Tower of Babel, then STOP:

a. In Gen 10, Ham and Japheth extend with a three generational limit down to the Tower of Babel in 2850 BC.

b. Without exception, every descendant tree extends to the second generation (grandchildren) then stops because they lived before and after the tower of Babel and experienced firsthand, the division of languages and geography.

c. If Nimrod is Sargon I born almost 1000 years later this would be an an exception to the pattern of giving the descendant list down to the second generation from the flood. We also would expect there to be other “distant notables” thrown into the narration as well. But there are none and this presents a powerful contextual proof that Nimrod was indeed born around 3225 BC and not 1000 years later as Sargon I.

d. There is no detail of Sargon I’s life that would warrant his inclusion in the a Biblical contextual unit describing the confounding of languages and the tower of Babel.

e. Nimrod falls directly inside the three generational limit and was alive in 2850 BC. There is a strong inference that he is the one who built the tower in the city of Babel which he founded!

BIBLE MARKER 5: Heber had his language changed to “Hebrew” at the Tower of Babel

1. A “Hebrew” is a son of Heber.

a. The etymology of “Hebrew/Heber” means “wanderer”, implying someone who has no home.

b. When Abraham was called “the Hebrew” in Gen 14:13, it directly ties back to Heber, son of Peleg in Gen 10:21

c. Calling Abraham “the Hebrew” in Gen 14:13 has a secondary meaning because it was first applied to him when he was in fact a “wanderer without a home.

d. Christians, like Abraham, are wanderers on earth because our citizenship is in heaven.

i. "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;" (Philippians 3:20)

ii. "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen" (1 Peter 1:1)

iii. "Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul." (1 Peter 2:11)

2. Two decoding tools for the Japheth/Ham list and the Shem list:

a. Japheth/Ham list: In the Japheth and Ham list, we marked the building of the tower of Babel at the last named descendant.

b. Shem list: The Shem list continues after the Tower of Babel down to Heber as the eyewitness then lists all the Babel Baby boomers: 2 sons of Heber: Peleg, Joktan (and sons of Joktan).

3. Identifying Babel Vets vs. Babel Baby boomers in the Shem list:

a. By decoding the Shem list in Gen 10 it appears that Joktan must have been Peleg’s older brother. We know Peleg was born when Heber was 134 years old in 2767 BC, which is about 100 years after the Tower of Babel.

b. The key to decoding the date for the tower of Babel is not what information is given in the Shem list, but where the information stops!

c. The Shem list information stops at Peleg and the 13 sons of Joktan (Peleg’s older brother)

d. This means that Heber and his oldest son Joktan were eyewitnesses to the Tower of Babel.

e. This means that Peleg and Joktan’s 13 children were Babel Baby Boomers.

Babel Vets vs. Babel Baby boomers in the Shem list in Gen 10

Heber: Babel Vet

Joktan

Eldest son of Heber (Babel Vet)

Tower of Babel 2850 BC

Peleg born in 2767 BC when Heber was 134

13 Sons of Joktan

Babel Baby Boomers

STOP

Peleg (Youngest son of Heber)

Babel Baby Boomer

STOP

A single (unknown) settlement: Genesis 10:30

4. Heber (Hebrew) was an eyewitness to the Tower of Babel and experienced the language change.

a. Heber was the first listed descendant of Shem to speak Hebrew.

b. Etymologically, “Heber” is identical to “Hebrew” in the Hebrew language.

c. In consonantal Hebrew. Heber = HBR = Hebrew.

d. Heber was the first descendant of Shem to speak Hebrew.

5. Modern scholars say Heber (alternate: Eber) was the first Hebrew speaker:

a. “Eber is the name that gives rise to the term Hebrew, which is first used of Abraham in 14:13. Such a name is patronymic (a father name). Eber is mentioned at the head of the list because of his importance to the Hebrew people.” (NIBC, Gen 10:21, 1999 AD)

b. “A similar example of this dynamic is the ethnic Habiru/Apiru (or SA.GAZ, the Sumerian logographic equivalent of Habiru), who appear in cuneiform texts in c. 2500 BC, long before Abram’s time. In light of this pre-Abrahamic attestation, and the geographical discrepancy (Abram/Hebrews in Canaan, but earlier Habiru in Mesopotamia), many have been unwilling to associate the Habiru/Apiru with the Hebrews. The solution to the dilemma is that the two non-guttural consonants found in the triconsonantal root of ‘bri, the exact consonants that appear in Akkadian and Ugaritic (br, possibly meaning “cross over, go beyond”), also are found in “Eber” (Gen 10:21), the ancestor of Abram from whom the word undoubtedly derives. Thus Abram is one of numerous Eberite peoples who were named after a distant ancestor (Eber), all of whom are known as Habiru (or Apiru in Egyptian) due to their retention of Eber’s ancient namesake” (Identifying Nimrod of Genesis 10 with Sargon of Akkad by exegetical and archaeological means, Douglas Petrovich, JETS 56/2, p294, fn 101, 2013 AD)

c. “ʿIbrî clearly goes back to Abraham’s ancestor Eber (ʿĒber). A Hebrew thus was an Eberite. This seems almost certain in light of Genesis 10:21, which states that “Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber.” The Shemite genealogy of 11:10–26 begins with Shem and ends with Abraham, but near its midpoint focuses on Eber (11:14–17). It is as though the genealogist is saying that Abraham was a Shemite whose ancestry had specific roots in Eber, making Abraham an Eberite, that is, a Hebrew.” (Kingdom of Priests, E. Merrill, p 118, 2008 AD)

d. “The name [Hebrew] is derived, according to some, from Eber (Gen. 10:24), the ancestor of Abraham. The Hebrews are “sons of Eber” (10:21).” (Easton’s Bible dictionary, Hebrew, 1893 AD)

e. “One of the most striking correspondences is between the name of the great king of Ebla, Ebrium, which is semantically and linguistically equivalent to the name Eber in Genesis 10:26 (and other places), who is one of the ancestors of Abram (= Abraham); the name Eber gives rise to the gentilic form Ibri (= Hebrew, the general term for Abraham and his descendants). The correlation is intriguing, although there is no evidence from the [Ebla] tablets linking the two persons or, to be sure, from the Bible.” (Biblical Archaeologist, A Letter to Our Readers, Vol 40, 1977 AD)

6. Heber’s son Peleg and his 13 grandchildren through his son Joktan were all Babel Baby Boomer children who all learned to speak Hebrew as babies and lived in the same geographic area:

a. Heber and his oldest son Joktan (older brother of Peleg) eye-witnessed the tower of Babel.

b. Peleg and Joktan’s 13 children were born after the division of language.

c. Eber and Joktan both had their language changed to Hebrew but Peleg and Joktan’s 13 children learned it as infants.

d. Notice that all of Joktan’s children are described not as different languages and different geographical domains, but as a single “settlement”.

e. "Joktan became the father of Almodad and Sheleph and Hazarmaveth and Jerah and Hadoram and Uzal and Diklah and Obal and Abimael and Sheba and Ophir and Havilah and Jobab; all these were the sons of Joktan. Now their settlement (singular) extended from Mesha as you go toward Sephar, the hill country of the east." (Genesis 10:26–30)

f. The Hebrew language originated from two Hebrew speaking children of Eber, Peleg and Joktan, AND we are told where they lived:

i. Joktan’s Hebrew speaking children lived in a single geographic area which today, we cannot identify (Gen 10:30)

ii. The Hebrews of Moses’ time all knew exactly what happened to the children of Peleg because THEY were the children of Peleg camped at Mt. Sinai as outlined in Gen 11.

BIBLE MARKER 6: The Shem Chronology begins by skipping forward 4 generations

to the first dynasty of natural born Hebrew language speakers:

children of Heber (ie. Peleg): Genesis 10:21

1. "Also to Shem, the father of all the children of Heber, [Shem being the brother of Japheth his elder brother], children were born." (Genesis 10:21)

a. Gen 10 narrates the three sons of Noah based upon their birth order: Japheth (the oldest), Ham and finally Shem.

b. After starting with the oldest (Japheth), then continuing with the middle child (Ham), the narration then moves to the youngest but most important child: Shem

2. The unique structure of the start of the Shem list in Gen 10:21

a. The VERY FIRST fact we learn about Shem is that he was the father of Eber’s descendants.

b. Why would this fact be highlighted as centrally important at the start?

c. Something big is being pointed out here.

3. This verse is giving us the exact point at which the tower of Babel was built.

a. Moses is with the “Hebrews” at Mt. Sinai in 1446 BC.

b. Moses shows his fellow Hebrews that their “Hebrew” language is traced back to “Heber”.

c. Moses associates the natural born Hebrew speakers at Sinai with the first natural born Hebrew speakers: the children of Heber (Peleg)

d. Specifically, Moses makes a connection between Peleg, who was the first to learn Hebrew as a native language from birth and the Jews with Moses at Mt. Sinai.

4. When Abraham was called “the Hebrew” in Gen 14:13, it directly ties back to Heber in Gen 10:21 as the first “Hebrew”!

BIBLE MARKER 7: Peleg was a Babel Baby Boomer born AFTER the division of language: Gen 10:25

1. "Two sons were born to Heber; the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan." (Genesis 10:25)

a. Etymologically the name Peleg literally means “Divided”.

b. Gen 10:25 literally reads: “Eber/Heber (whose name means Hebrew) named his son “Divided” as a memorial of the division at the Tower of Babel.

2. Two interpretations of “for in his days the earth was divided”:

a. Wrong: The division took place while Peleg was alive and he was an eyewitness to the Tower of Babel.

i. While many ancient literary sources like Josephus and Philo took this view, they missed one important fact.

ii. “Shelah’s son was Heber, from whom they originally called the Jews “Hebrews”. Heber begat Joktan and Peleg; he was called Peleg, because he was born at the dispersion of the nations to their several countries; for Peleg, among the Hebrews, signifies division.” (Josephus Antiquities 1.146)

iii. If Peleg was born BEFORE the Division at the Tower of Babel, he never would have named him division.

b. Right: Heber named his son “Divided” because the division took place before Peleg was born.

i. Peleg was born into a world ALREADY DIVIDED into languages and lands which is the reason Heber named him “Division”.

ii. Heber named his son Peleg as a memorial of the Division that occurred at the Tower of Babel.

3. Peleg is a memorial name of a major historic event that preceded his birth: the division of languages and land resulting from the failed attempt to build the Tower of Babel.

4. Gen 10:21 says that Shem THROUGH Heber is the father of the Hebrew people (Heber’s children):

a. "Shem, the father of all the children of Heber." (Genesis 10:21)

b. Here at the beginning of the genealogy of Shem, Moses jumps forward to Eber to show those at Mt. Sinai that they trace their Hebrew identity and language back to Eber not Abraham!

BIBLE MARKER 8: 200-year lifespan reduction of those born after the tower of Babel

1. There is a dramatic, noticeable and consistent drop in lifespan of those born after the tower of Babel.

2. In Gen 6:3, God proclaimed the limit of man’s lifespan will be 120 years. (This number has nothing to do with how long Noah preached or how long it took Noah to build the ark. We can be certain that it took NO LONGER than 75 years to build the ark and as little as 25.)

3. Before the Tower of Babel: Sons of Shem: Arpachshad 565, Kainan 460, Shelah 533, Eber 504

4. After the Tower of Babel: Peleg 339, Rue 339, Serug 330, Nahor 208, Terah 205, Abraham 180, Isaac 180, Jacob 147.

5. What might account for this reduction in lifespan?

a. Perhaps the physiology of man was changed when God performed the miracle of changing man’s spoken languages.

b. Perhaps the food supply of a large single population in the land of Shinar provided better, nutrition than those who traveled to distant geographic places and had to produce their own food with a smaller population from scratch.

6. Nimrod was “2^nd generation” who was born in 3225 BC with a life expectancy of ~500 years:

a. The life span of those born before 2850 BC averaged 500 years: Sons of Shem: Arpachshad 565, Kainan 460, Shelah 533, Eber 504

b. The life span of the same two generations

c. Nimrod’s corresponding 2^nd generation counterpart was Kainan who lived to be 460 years.

d. Nimrod was born about 65 year before Kainan, so his lifespan may be higher.

e. Shelah was the generation AFTER Nimrod and lived to 533 years.

f. It is reasonable that Nimrod, born in 3225 BC was alive in 2850 BC at the age of 375 years.

7. Nimrod was only 375 years old in 2850 BC:

a. The duration from flood 3298 BC to tower of Babel 2868 BC is 448 years.

b. Ham was aboard the ark in 3298 BC.

c. Cush was born the year after they got off the ark in 3297 BC, earlier if his wife was pregnant on the ark.

d. As early as 3283 BC, Cush either married his sister or cousin like Cain married his sister.

e. As early as 3282 BC Nimrod could have been born, if he was firstborn.

f. As early as 3273 BC, all five of children of Cush were born.

g. As early as 3265 BC two of Cush’s grandchildren (sons of Raamah) were born.

8. Regardless of WHY the 200 year drop in life occurred, it corresponds directly with the tower of Babel in 2850 BC.

CHAPTER 3: Christian Archaeological Dating (CAD)

III. Archaeological Chronology of Nimrod and Tower of Babel:

A. Christian Archaeological Dating (CAD) Tables by Steven Rudd 2019 AD

The Archaeological Tables

“Christian Archaeological Dating” (CAD) was first conceived and published in 2006 AD by Steven Rudd as a concept, then developed over the next 13 years. CAD was first published in its detailed final form in 2019 AD. CAD is founded upon the truth that no archaeology exists older than the global flood in 3298 BC. Pre-flood civilizations from Adam to Methuselah were demolished by this world-wide catastrophe and are mixed within a 2 km deep layer of sedimentary rock laid within a few months by the Noahic flood. This flood deposit is visible in many places around the world, most notably the Grand Canyon. The pre-flood global greenhouse combined with gigantism of fauna and rapid growth contributed to the formation of the current “fossil fuels” like oil, gas and coal when the antediluvian world was destroyed in the year 3298 BC. Evolutionary geological ages of the earth are as misguided as evolutionary archaeological ages. When God created the world in 6 literal 24-hour days, He was taking His time. The Earth is 7572 years old.

This Christian world view of a young earth requires the compression of “evolutionary” archaeological ages beginning at the flood. This corrects the deliberate expansion of currently accepted archaeological ages based upon a world faith-view that the earth is 4.5 billion years old.

Evolutionary Archaeology Ages were artificially and arbitrarily lengthened in order to harmonize with their faith that human civilization began 400,000 years ago when Neanderthal man first used a “tool” and clubbed the girl over the head and dragged her off by her hair to his cave. For Evolutionary Archaeologists, this romantic event marked the beginning of the earliest archaeological Stone Age.

Christian Archaeological Dating (CAD)

Creation: 5444 BC (LXX)

Noahic Flood: 3298 BC

Tower of Babel 2850 BC

Steven Rudd: January 2019

Chronological notes:

1. Creation to Flood = 2146 years

2. 430 years in Egypt (Ex 12:40, Gal 3:17)

3. Exodus 1446 BC, Conquest 1406 BC

4. Shiloh destroyed in 1096 BC

5. Solomon’s temple begun in 967 BC

6. Terah 130 years old when Abraham born in 2166 BC (Acts 7:4)

7. Kainan 130 years old when his son Shelah was born (Lxx: Gen 11:12; 10:24; 1 Chr 1:17; Lk 3:36)

Date BC

Archaeological Age

Rationale for Archaeological age and notes

GLOBAL FLOOD 3298 BC (LXX)

Population 8

3298-3200

Stone age:

(Paleolithic

Neolithic

Chalcolithic)

Halaf

Hassuna

1. Noahic Flood: Oldest possible Archaeology on earth.

a. Pre-flood man encased in a 2 km flood deposit (Grand Canyon)

b. Most early Archaeological ages were concurrent rather than consecutive and represent geographic or individual pottery maker’s differences in quality rather than evolutionary transitions in long periods of time.

2. First Inana goddess figurines near Ararat before Nimrod but no temples.

3. Sites such as Tepe Gawra, Değirmen Tepe were founded.

4. Nimrod born 3225

5. Population Calculator: 6 Persons (Noah had no other children).

3200 BC: Nimrod founds Babel: Ubaid 1

Population 800

3200-3000

Paleolithic

Neolithic Chalcolithic

Halaf, Hassuna

Ubaid 1,2

1. 3200: Nimrod, age 25, founds Babel (Eridu), Uruk/Erech, Accad and Calneh in the southern land of Shinar.

2. Nimrod builds first mudbrick temples (XVII to VII) built for Enki at Eridu (water god and patron god of Eridu) and another mudbrick temple built for Inana at Uruk (sex and war goddess and patron god of Uruk).

3. Population: 800 (6 Persons @ 5% growth 100 yrs. after flood, Breeding lifespans over 400 years. In 2018 Somalia had a 3.8% growth rate.)

3000 BC: Nimrod founds Nineveh: Ubaid Peaceful Expansion

Population 300,000

3000-2850

Paleolithic

Neolithic Chalcolithic

Halaf, Hassuna

Ubaid 3 Expansion

Ubaid 4:2950 BC

Uruk 1,2: 2900 BC

1. Friendly expansion 1800 km north from Babel (Eridu)

2. First trade networks created by Nimrod.

3. Nimrod’s pagan gods transmitted north to Ararat.

4. Nimrod, age 225, founds Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah in the north

5. Excavations at Nineveh date the origin of the city to the Ubaid 3 (late Neolithic and early Hassuna culture period).

6. Eridu temples VI to II

7. Nimrod invents the bevel-rim bowl (BRB) and mass produces food.

8. Population: 300,000 (800 Persons @ 3% growth 200 years: 3200-3000 BC)

2850 BC: Nimrod builds Tower of Babel: Late Uruk Colonial Expansion

FIRST WRITTEN LANGUAGES

Sumerian Cuneiform, Egyptian Hieroglyphic

Population 12 million

2850-2800

“Late Uruk 3 Expansion”

Early Bronze (EB I)

Naqada I

Egypt Dynasty 0

1. Nimrod, age 375, builds Tower of Babel: 2850 BC

a. Eridu temple I, dedicated to Enki, the water god, included a huge flat platform for the tower of Babel.

b. The Tower of Babel may have been started on this platform, but construction was abandoned until 2100 BC when the Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu at Eridu was constructed.

2. Nimrod’s bevel-rim bowl (BRB) is distributed rapidly all over the world.

3. Founding of Jerusalem (Gihon), Jericho (Spring), Egypt (Nile), Byblos, Tyre, Sidon, Ashkelon (ocean), Dan (spring), Beidha/Petra (Spring)

4. First written languages in 2850 BC when men had to use known symbols to communicate as seen in pictorial cuneiform, hieroglyphs and Chinese.

5. Population: 12 million

a. 300,000 Persons @ 3% growth 150 years: 3000-2850 BC.

b. Using Somalia’s 2018 AD growth rate of 3.8% for 400 years with a starting population of 6 equals a final population of 14 million.

2800-2700

Late Uruk,

Naqada II: 2800

Jemdet Nasr; Early Bronze II (EB II), Naqada III: 2750

Egypt Dynasty 1

Kish founded: 2700

Egypt Dynasty 2: Begins after 2750

2700-2320

Early Bronze III

(EB III)

Egypt Dynasty 3

First Pyramids:

1. Egypt: Djoser’s (Dynasty 3, start of Old Kingdom) Stepped Pyramid with hieroglyphs: 2660 BC

2. Egypt: Sneferu’s built 3 pyramids (1^st king of Dynasty 4)

a. Bent Pyramid at Dahshur: 2600 BC

b. Meidum Pyramid: 2^nd built by Sneferu

c. Red Pyramid: 3^rd built by Sneferu

3. Peru: Caral Pyramids: 2600 BC. Oldest city in the Americas.

4. Egypt: Pyramid of Khufu at Giza: 2^nd king, Dynasty 4: 2580–2560 BC

2320-1886

Early Bronze age IV

(EB IV)

1. Sargon I of Akkad 2320-2265 (Not Nimrod of Gen 10)

2. 2300 New Babylon founded (Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar in 605 BC).

3. Birth of Abraham in 2166 BC

4. Abraham, age 25, leaves Haran for Canaan in 2091 BC after the death of his father Terah age 205.

5. Destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah in 2067

6. Ziggurat of Amar-Sin: Eridu 2040 BC

7. Ur of Chaldees destroyed in 1940 BC when the third dynasty of Ur fell to the Elamites

Middle Bronze Age: 1885 BC

First Alphabet (Hebrew) in 1850 BC

1886–1750

Middle Bronze age (MB I, same as: MB IIA)

Joseph in Egypt: 1886 BC and world famine 1879-1872 BC

Between 1859-1842 BC, Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh invented the world’s first alphabet for the Hebrew spoken language shortly after they moved to Avaris also known as Tel el Dab’a.

1750-1656

Middle Bronze II (MB II, same as MB IIB)

1728 BC: 1^st year of Hammurabi’s reign. (Low Chronology)

Phoenician alphabet invented, based upon Hebrew: 1700

1656-1556

Middle Bronze III (MB III, same as IIC)

Hyksos rule in Egypt for 100 years and were finally defeated at Avaris (Tel el-Dab’a = Ancient Goshen) by Amoses I, “who knew not Joseph, (Ex 1:8) which triggered the first oppression of the Hebrews.

Late Bronze Age: 1556 BC 18^th Egyptian Dynasty
1556-1464 BC	Late Bronze Age IA (LB IA)	18^th Dynasty: Ahmoses 1556-1532 (LC) Pharaoh who killed Hebrew children: Amunhotep I: 1532-1511 BC Pharaoh's Daughter who adopted Moses: Hatshepsut: 1526 BC Pharaoh of Moses' flight to Midian: Thutmoses II/Hatshepsut: 1498-1485 BC
1464–1406	Late Bronze IB (LB IB)	Pharaoh of the Exodus: Thutmoses III was coregent with his mother Hatshepsut from 1485-1464 BC. Thutmoses III’s first conquest of Canaan in his 22^nd year: 1464 (LC). Thutmoses III’s last of 17 annual conquests ended at the Exodus in 1446 BC when his army drowned in the Red Sea at the Straits of Tiran. In 2006 AD, Steven Rudd adjusted the 18^th dynasty LC by synchronizing the 17^th annual campaign of Thutmoses III to the year of the Exodus in 1446 BC. Rudd’s Egyptian LC adds 6 years to Kitchen’s LC start date for Thutmoses III of 1479 BC to a corrected “synchronized” start date of 1485 BC.
1406–1295	Late Bronze II (LB II, same as LB IIA)	Joshua’s conquest of Canaan in 1406 Amarna tablets record the Hebrew conquest of Joshua
1295–1177	Late Bronze III (LB III, same as LB IIB)	Campaign of Seti I in Canaan in 1295 (Year 1, 3rd month of 3^rd season, day 10)
Iron Age: 1177 BC Philistines conquer the world
1177-1051	Iron IA	Philistine invasion in the 8th year of Ramses III in 1177 (LC) After Ehud died, Shamgar killed Philistines in Judges 3:31
1051-1010	Iron IB	Saul 1051–1010
1010-841	Iron IIA	David in Hebron 1010–1003 David in Jerusalem 1003-969 Solomon 971-932 Shishak’s conquest of Canaan in 925
841-723	Iron IIB	Conquest of Jehu: 841 BC
723-605	Iron IIC	Assyrian captivity 723 Sennacherib attacks Jerusalem 701
Babylonian: 605 BC
605-539	Babylonian (Iron III)	Babylonian captivity first attack on Jerusalem: 605 Edomites enter Judean Negev: 605 Fall of Jerusalem in 587
Persian: 539 BC
539-333	Persian	Darius & Cyrus capture Babylon in 539 Decree of Cyrus ending 70 year captivity in 536
Greek: 333 BC
333-167	Greek (EH)	Ascent of Alexander the Great in 333
167-63	Late Hellenistic (LH)	Antiochus IV and the rise of the Maccabees in 167
Roman: 63 BC
63 BC- AD 135	Early Roman (ER)	Pompey arrived in Judea Herod dies in 1 BC
AD 135-325	Late Roman (LR)	End of 2^nd Jewish War
Byzantine: AD 325
325-636	Byzantine (B)	Constantine
Islamic: AD 636
636-661	Pre-caliphate	Battle of Yarmouk
661-750	Umayyad	Umar 1^st Dynasty
750-970	Abbasid	Abdallah Dynasty
970-1099	Fatimid	Descendants of Muhammad’s daughter Fatimah
1099-1291	Crusader	Christians
1291-1360	Ayyubib	Saladin founder of Ayyubid (Lit: Kurdish) Dynasty wins battle of Arsuf
1360-1517	Mamluk	Mamluk (Lit: owned slave) Dynasty
1517-1917	Ottoman	Empire
1917-present	Modern	1^st world war
Archaeological Table Notes: 1. The oldest Archaeology on earth dates back to the Global flood of Noah in 2298 BC 2. Kris J. Udd argues that Early Bronze Age IV dates need to be lowered substantially. (Has Radiocarbon Artificially Raised Bronze Age Dates?, Near Eastern Archaeological Society Bulletin, Vol 58, 2013 AD) 3. Early Bronze Age begins after the Tower of Babel in 2850 BC which was built during the Uruk 3 Expansion. If EB I predates the Tower of Babel or starts 100 years after, it is a simple adjustment that does not affect the overall CAD sequence. 4. The initial occupation strata (oldest) should be the same for all cities founded immediately after the Tower of Babel (Jerusalem, Jericho, El Beidha/Petra, Egypt) on virgin ground. It is expected that these virgin sites founded after 2850 BC would have Uruk 3, EB I and “stone-age” (Paleolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic) assemblages. Some cultures today continue to use stone tools. 5. Collapse of the Late Bronze age & dawn of the Iron age was triggered by the global invasion of the Philistines that came to Judah in 1177 BC. 6. Rise of the Hyksos a. From ancient times, Goshen (Avaris, Tel el-Dab'a) was the main shipping hub at the beginning of the “Way of Horus” coastal road north to Tyre. The Hebrews were very prosperous until the Hyksos arrived and took over the management of Avaris. Like modern port cities with millions of containers being loaded and offloaded from ocean tanker ships, Avaris needed huge storage areas for all the goods. The Hyksos were expelled by the 18^th dynasty Pharaohs of Egypt who “Knew not Joseph”. The Hebrews were stripped of their financial control and became oppressed slaves who built two storage cities of Pithom and Raamses (Ex 1:11). b. Ahmoses I (1557-1532 BC) was only 10 years old when he ascended the throne after the death of his brother. Excavations at Tel el Dab’a (Avaris) by Bietak and synchronisms with day book entry in year 11 of Khamudi (the last Hyksos king) in the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus indicate the Hyksos were finally defeated at Avaris in the 15th year of Ahmoses I in 1542 BC. This seems to be confirmed by records of Ahmoses I first military campaigns which began after his 10^th regnal year in 1547 BC at age 20. Inscriptions on the wall of a cliff-tomb at El Kab, located 100 km south of Luxor, of a naval officer named Ahmoses (who served under three pharaohs: Ahmoses I, Amenhotep I, and Thutmose I,) contains the biography of Ahmoses I. The El Kab inscription records a sequence of three successive sieges of Avaris that were interrupted by a Nubian offensive which was defeated. Avaris finally fell after the 4^th attack. Khamudi, the defeated Hyksos king then fled from Avaris to the biblical city of Sharuhen (Joshua 19:6) in the Simeon Negev where the inscription records a six-year siege until Sharuhen finally fell in the 31^st regnal year (1536 BC). This marks the end and final expulsion of the Hyksos by Ahmoses I. The inscription then records the first foreign offensive campaign south into Nubia against the Troglodytes and two successive counter attacks that were defeated. Another inscription found in the ancient Egyptian mining town of Tura located 15 km south of Cairo on the east bank of the Nile, indicate the latest possible date for the defeat of the Hyksos was in the 22^nd regnal year of Ahmoses I. “Ahmoses must have conquered Avaris by [sometime before] the 18th or 19th year of his reign. This is suggested by a graffito in the quarry at Tura whereby, “oxen from Canaan were used at the opening of the quarry” in Ahmoses’s regnal year 22. Since the cattle would probably have been imported after Ahmoses’s siege of the town of Sharuhen, which followed the fall of Avaris, this means that the reign of Khamudi must have terminated by year 18 or 19 of Ahmoses’ 25-year reign at the very latest.” (Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times, Redford, Donald, Bronze Age Collapse, Ch 8, 1992 AD) 7. Low Egyptian Chronology (LC) is favored. Kris J. Udd notes that the trend is towards the Low Chronology of the 18^th dynasty Egypt which makes Thutmoses III the pharaoh of the Exodus because LC start of his reign was 1485 BC. (Has Radiocarbon Artificially Raised Bronze Age Dates?, Near Eastern Archaeological Society Bulletin, Vol 58, 2013 AD)
By Steven Rudd January 2019

B. Notes about the Christian Archaeological Dating (CAD)

1. Steven Rudd, after 14 years of research and analysis, harmonizes and redefines, the standard evolutionary Archaeological ages with an “oldest possible” date of the Noahic flood (3298 BC).

a. It is well accepted by conservative Biblical Archaeologists that the oldest Archaeology on earth is no older than the Noahic Flood.

b. Therefore, the evolutionary Archaeological ages of 80,000-30,000 BC for the “Middle Paleolithic Age” are fiction and wrong because they predate the creation of Earth itself by 70,000 years.

c. The earliest “pre-historical stone age” Archaeology cannot be dated any older than the flood at 3298 BC.

2. This approach has an accordion effect of greatly compressing the oldest ages between the flood and the Tower of Babel (3298-2850 BC).

a. Flood to Tower of Babel: 3298-2850 BC: Stone age: (Paleolithic Neolithic Chalcolithic) Halaf, Hassuna, Ubaid 1,2, Ubaid 3 Expansion, Ubaid 4:2950 BC, Uruk 1,2: 2900 BC, “Late Uruk 3 Expansion”.

b. The Early Bronze Age I (EB I) begins in 1850 BC at the tower of Babel and is concurrent with the “Uruk Expansion” and “Naqada I”.

c. In other words, while evolutionary Archaeologists date the Uruk Expansion at 3750 BC, Christians know this is impossible because both precedes the Noahic Flood by 350 years.

4. Archaeologically, the site of Tepe Gawra provides proof that Halaf and Ubaid happened at the same time. Halaf and Ubaid assemblages are both found together in strata 19-15 at Tepe Gawra, proving these two Archaeological ages are concurrent rather than consecutive. (see details below)

C. Bible chronology of Archaeological ages and Bible events

1. The flood was in 3298 BC based upon the Septuagint (LXX).

a. The chronology of the MT was altered by the Jews in Zippori in AD 160 and is corrupted.

b. Creation 5554 BC: Kainan in autograph +130 years, Terah was 130 when Abraham born, Jacob entering Egypt till Exodus = 430 years

c. Archaeological ages: Stone age: (Paleolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic), Halaf, Hassuna

d. Most early Archaeological ages were concurrent rather than consecutive and represent geographic or individual pottery maker’s differences in quality rather than evolutionary transitions in long periods of time.

2. 3225 BC: Nimrod is the Son of Cush, the grandson of Ham is born.

3. 3200 BC: Nimrod (possibly Gišur) age 25, founds several cities including Babel (Eridu), Erech (Uruk), Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar based upon the Archaeological sequence at the site from the Ubaid 1 to the Ubaid expansion.

a. Population: 800 (6 Persons @ 5% growth 100 yrs. after flood)

c. Nimrod builds the first mudbrick temple to Enki (freshwater god) at Eridu (temple XVII)

4. 3000 BC: Nimrod, age 225, founds Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah in the north based upon the Archaeological sequence at the site from the Ubaid expansion to the Uruk 1.

d. World population in 3000 BC is 300,000 (800 Persons @ 3% growth 200 years: 3200-3000 BC)

5. 2850 BC: Nimrod builds the Tower of Babel at Eridu when he was 375 years old.

a. The Tower of Babel was a pagan Temple to Enki, the fresh water god.

b. The dispersion that occurred at the Tower of Babel is witnessed Archaeologically in the Uruk Expansion.

c. World population in 2850 BC is 12 million (300,000 Persons @ 3% growth 150 years: 3000-2850 BC) Using Somalia’s 2018 AD growth rate of 3.8% for just 400 years with a starting population of 6 equals a final population of 14 million.

d. Founding of ancient cities because of water and food supplies: Jerusalem (Gihon), Jericho (Spring), Egypt (Nile), Byblos, Tyre, Sidon, Ashkelon (ocean), Dan (spring), Beidha/Petra (Spring)

e. Pre-Dynastic Egypt: 2850 (dynasty 0)

f. First written languages in 2850 when men had to use symbol and drawings of known objects to communicate as seen in hieroglyphs.

g. Archaeological ages: Beginning of Early Bronze age (EB I) and Naqada I in 2850 BC; Late Uruk, Naqada II begins in 2800 BC.

6. 2750 BC: Egyptian Dynasty 1

a. Archaeological ages: Naqada III and Early Bronze age II (EB II) begin in 2750 BC.

7. 2660 BC: First Pyramids: Archaeological ages: Early Bronze III (EB III)

a. Egypt: Djoser’s (Dynasty 3, start of Old Kingdom) Stepped Pyramid with hieroglyphs: 2660 BC

b. Egypt: Sneferu’s built 3 pyramids (1^st king of Dynasty 4)

i. Bent Pyramid at Dahshur: 2600 BC

ii. Meidum Pyramid: 2^nd built by Sneferu

iii. Red Pyramid: 3^rd built by Sneferu

c. Peru: Caral Pyramids: Oldest city in the Americas with many pyramids. Oldest is 2600 BC

d. Egypt: Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza: 2^nd king of Dynasty 4: 2580–2560 BC

e. Archaeological age: Early Bronze IV (EB IV) 2320-1850 BC

8. Events during Early Bronze age IV (EB IV)

a. 2320-2265 BC: Sargon I king of Akkad. (Sargon is considered by some as a candidate as Nimrod, but this is misguided. See below)

b. 2166 BC: Abraham born

c. 2100 BC: Ur-Nammu starts construction of a temple to Enki (Ziggurat) at Eridu on the abandoned foundation of the original Tower of Babel.

d. 2100 BC: Ur-Nammu starts construction of a second Ziggurat at Ur. (The most famous Ziggurate in the world that you can visit today.)

e. 2100 BC: Terah and Abraham leave Ur for Canaan but end up stopping at Haran.

f. 2091 BC: Abraham, age 75, leaves Haran for Canaan after his father Terah dies at age 205.

g. 2067 BC: Destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah

h. 1940 BC: Ur of Chaldees destroyed when the third dynasty of Ur fell to the Elamites

9. 1859-1842 BC, Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh invented the world’s first alphabet for the Hebrew spoken language shortly after they moved to Avaris also known as Tel el Dab’a.

a. Archaeological age: Middle Bronze age (MB I, same as: MB IIA)

10. 1446 BC: The Exodus

a. Archaeological age: Late Bronze IB (LB IB)

D. Historical search for the date of the Flood and the Tower of Babel

1. AD 70, Josephus and Philo used a Hebrew copy of the scriptures that matches our Septuagint chronology. Both date creation to 5467 BC and the flood to 3211 BC.

a. Josephus used scripture alone but was totally ignorant of Archaeology.

b. Josephus teaches that Nimrod built the Tower of Babel, Heber was the father of the Hebrew language as well as an eyewitness to the tower of Babel, and Peleg was born at the time of the confusion of languages or shortly thereafter.

2. 400-1800 BC: Christians from Augustine to AD 1800 continued to teach that Nimrod built the Tower of Babel etc. but followed the corrupt Masoretic Text Chronology of a flood dating to about 2518 BC, unaware this was flatly contradicted by Archaeology in the ground.

3. AD 1800-2010: With the dawn of the age of Archaeology, the earliest Pyramids around the world are correctly dated to about 2660 BC. This directly contradicts the chronology in the MT chronology. Five solutions developed to explain the contradiction between the Bible and Archaeology, that is, how the pyramids of Egypt could be built 300 years before the flood of Noah. Five branches of thinking arose:

a. Bible Skeptics misused Archaeology to prove the Bible was a myth and not real history, when the problem stemmed from the corrupted reduced chronology of MT. Using the correct chronology of the LXX, these Bible skeptics would have been silenced.

b. Liberal Christians, following the chronology of the MT, accepted the resurrection of Jesus as a fact but viewed many of the stories of the Old Testament as allegorical and not literal.

c. Fundamentalist Christians rejected archology as bogus science like evolution and banned sermons or classes on the subject of Archaeology in the church. This is more common today than you might think. The reasoning is “We have the Bible, we do not need Archaeology to believe… The church is told to teach the bible not Archaeology or nursing or business or physics or how to fix a car.” This sad and misguided view stems from the fact that in the last 100 years, church leaders investigated Archaeology and noticed that the conclusions of Archaeologists attacked the historical integrity of the Bible. Examples include: Pyramids existed before the Noahic flood. Agnostic Kathleen Kenyon concluded that the walls of Jericho had fallen over 150 years before Joshua was supposed to arrive. Ai had been in ruins for centuries before Joshua was supposed to destroy it.

d. Fundamentalist Christians accepted both the chronology of the MT and the science of Archaeology as valid but taught that the pyramids were built before the flood.

e. Fundamentalist Christians, as early as AD 1900, accepted the science of Archaeology and the chronology of the MT flood date of 2400-2518 BC and began teaching that Nimrod who built the Tower of Babel was actually Gilgamesh or Sargon I is Nimrod at 2330 BC and down-dated the first pyramids from 2700 to 2275 BC.

4. AD 2010: Fundamentalist Christians began to reject the “Ussher” Chronology of the Masoretic Text as corrupt in favour of the Septuagint Chronology but rejected Kainan/Cainan son of Arphachshad as a scribal gloss/addition in Luke 2:36. Removing Kainan from the Chronology of patriarchs resulted in a flood date of 3168 BC, which is an error of 130 years too late. This error has a direct impact on the date of the tower of Babel by shifting it from 2850 BC down to about 2700 BC. This 130-year shift causes serious problems because Archaeology shows that the first pyramids around the world were built in 2660 BC. The solution for some, is the down-dating of the first pyramids to 2400 BC, which is impossible and undefendable.

5. AD 2016: Some Conservative Bible-believing scholars conclude that Kainan was in the original chronology of Luke and therefore also the Hebrew autograph of Genesis, which sets the flood to 3298 BC and the Tower of Babel to 2800-2900 BC. Henry Smith offered an argument pointing to Kainan’s inclusion in the original text of Genesis. He acquired a high-resolution photograph from the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, (Suppl. Gr. 1120) of the oldest extant manuscript fragment of Luke known as “P4” (Papyrus 4). It may have been used as filler in making copies of codex Philo of Alexandria, indicating it was much older and worn out from use, hence used as scrap. This important fact allowed Steven Rudd to add the 130 years with confidence to the Flood date of 3298 BC and Tower of Babel of 2850 BC.

Kainan is found in these ancient manuscripts and literary sources:

a. Papyrus 4 of Luke 3:36, is the earliest fragment of Luke dating to 150 AD and includes Kainan. “Papyrus 4 [P4], containing Luke 3:20 through 4:2. Dated to the second century AD, this is the oldest known extant manuscript preserving Luke 3:36 and the surrounding text mirroring the genealogies of Genesis 5 and 11. On the middle-right side of the papyrus, the names of the patriarchs from Comfort's reconstruction above can easily be seen. The enlarged section irrefutably reveals Kainan the son of Arpachshad as being extant. Over 40 other NT manuscripts of Luke 3:36 also contain Kainan. This evidence from P4, not previously cited in academic discussions on Kainan, nullifies the theory that his name originated as a scribal error in a manuscript of Luke in the mid to late third or early fourth century AD and then was inserted by Christian scribes into all known manuscripts of Luke across the entire Mediterranean world. This theory mitigates against the basic principles of text criticism, are violations of the text itself, and cannot be supported by the total evidence.” (New Evidence for Kainan in New Testament and LXX Papyri, Henry Smith)

b. Kainan is found in all New Testaments in Luke 2:36 and three places in the Septuagint: Gen 10:24; Genesis 11:12-13 (but lacking in 1 Chronicles 1:17-24).

c. The Book of Jubilees 8:1-7 (170 BC) has an entire paragraph describing the life of “Cainan, son of Arpachshad, who begot Shelah”.

d. Demetrius the Chronographer (ca. 225 BC): “The period from the Flood to Abraham in Genesis 11:10-32 in the LXX with Kainan included equals exactly 1072 years This is the same figure derived from Demetrius’ post - Flood chronology (1362 minus 290 [215+75] equals 1072). In order for Demetrius’ chronological calculations to work, the Genesis 11 LXX text in his possession had to include Kainan and his 130 - year begetting age. The 1072 - year calculation is independently affirmed by the post - Flood chronology in the Samaritan Pentateuch. The SP excludes Kainan, but matches the rest of the LXX ’s begetting ages, yielding a total of 942 years from the Flood to Abraham’s birth. Eusebius’ calculation from his manuscript(s) of the LXX, sans Kainan, also equals 942 years (Chronicle 27). When Kainan’s 130 is added to 942 from the SP and Eusebius, we reach the exact same total as the LXX and Demetrius: 1072 years. Because of Demetrius’ chronological precision, we can conclude that Kainan necessarily appeared in his manuscript(s) of LXX Genesis 11:13b–14 b in ca . 220 BC. This first external witness to the LXX was written just a few decades after its origin. Demetrius long predates the Gospel of Luke, providing irrefutable external evidence for Kainan’s presence in LXX Genesis 11 in the late third century BC, and annulling the theory that Kainan originally arose as a scribal error in Luke” (New Evidence for Kainan in New Testament and LXX Papyri, Henry Smith)

6. November 2017: the author published his book on the Septuagint which proved that the chronology of the Masoretic Text was corrupted by Jews in AD 160 at Zippori. Once the Septuagint chronology was accepted as correct with creation to 5554 BC and the Noahic flood to 3298 BC, the date of 2850 BC for the Tower of Babel was almost automatic and unquestionably correct. Suddenly it is realized that Josephus got it right all along with the tower of Babel to 2850 BC which fits perfectly with the science of Archaeology dating the first pyramids to about 2660 BC. The Sumerian King List, directly confirms the Bible in that Cush, the father of Nimrod, “was the first king” after the flood. “Then the Flood swept over. After the Flood had swept over, and the kingship had descended from heaven, the kingship was in Kiš. [Kush or Cush] In Kiš, Gišur became king; he ruled for 1,200 years.” Cush’s son Nimrod became a world famous king for founding Babel and Nineveh and building the tower of Babel. Heber was an eyewitness to the tower of Babel and was first to speak Hebrew. His son Peleg was born into a “divided earth”.

7. January 2019: Final tables for Christian Archaeological Dating (CAD) are published, which compress the earliest Archaeological ages within the 450 years between the flood (3298 BC) and the Tower of Babel (2850 BC). Early Bronze I (EB I) begins at the Tower of Babel. The author, after 14 years of research and analysis, harmonizes and redefines, the standard evolutionary Archaeological ages with an “oldest possible” date of the Noahic flood (3298 BC). It is well accepted by conservative Biblical Archaeologists that the oldest Archaeology on earth is no older than the Noahic Flood.

CHAPTER 4: Sumerian Flood Stories

The author was a member of the professional archaeological team in search of Noah’s Ark at the 5100-meter (3 miles) summit of Mt. Ararat in 2012-2013 AD and was featured in the movie “Finding Noah”.

A. Noahic Flood: Flood and Tower of Babel stories found all over the world: “In Burma, for example, the Gherko Karens tell of a story in which the people decided to build a pagoda that would reach to heaven. Their god, in his wrath, came down, confused their language, and scattered the people about the earth. In Congo, they balanced on poles, and in Mexico, they built a tower out of clay. Each of these versions tells of a god who becomes angry at their endeavors and scatters them abroad. In India, a Hindu legend tells of a group of demons that attempted to build an altar that would reach the sky, but whose completion was thwarted by Indra, the sky-god.” (Flood Legends: Global Clues of a Common Event, Charles Martin, p29, 2009 AD)

Catalogue of global flood stories in ancient literature


Exhibit
Name	Sumerian Eridu	Sumerian Kings	Shuruppak	Atra-hasis	Gilgamesh	Berossus
Date of tablet	2150 BC	2119-2112 BC	2100 BC	1635 BC	1150 BC	280 BC
Language	Sumerian Cuneiform	Sumerian Cuneiform	Akkadian Cuniform	Akkadian Cuneiform	Akkadian Cuneiform	Greek
Noah figure	Zi-ud-sura "he obtained immortality"	Cush, Noah's grandson	Zi-ud-sura "he obtained immortality"	Atra-Hasis "he who is very wise"	Ut-napištim "he obtained immortality"	Xisuthrus "he obtained immortality"
Country	Šuruppuk	Šuruppuk	Šuruppuk (man)	Šuruppak	Šuruppak	Sippar
Destroyer Gods	An and Enlil	-	-	An and Enlil	An and Enlil	-
Mutinous god who warned of flood	Enki	-	-	Enki	Enki	-
Where tablets found	Nippur, Iraq	Larsa, Iraq	Abu Salabikh Iraq	Sippar, Iraq	Nabu, Iraq Nineveh, Turkey	Quoted by Josephus etc.
Museum	Pennsylvania Museum: Object B10673	Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England	Iraq Museum, Baghdad (looted 2003)	British Museum Room 56	British Museum, Room 55	No originals.
Details	Sumerian Eridu	Sumerian Kings	Shuruppak	Atra-hasis	Gilgamesh	Berossus

1. Ut-napištim as Noah:

a. Noah's counterperson in the Epic of Gilgamesh (1150 BC) is "Ut-napištim”.

b. "Ut-napištim" means "he obtained immortality".

2. Atra-Hasis as Noah:

a. Noah's counterperson in Atra-Hasis (1635 BC) is "Atra-Hasis".

b. "Atra-Hasis" means "he who is very wise".

3. Xisuthrus as Noah:

a. Noah's counterperson in Berossus (280 BC) is "Xisuthrus" (or Sisithrus)

b. "Xisuthrus" means "he obtained immortality".

4. Zi-ud-sura as Noah:

a. Noah's counterperson in Sumerian Eridu (2150 BC) and Shuruppak (2100 BC) is "Zi-ud-sura".

b. "Zi-ud-sura" means "he obtained immortality".

c. Zi-ud-sudra is called “the king, the gudug priest” and is a real historical king who was the "Noah-like" character the Greek flood account by Berossus (280 BC)

d. Zi-ud-sudra's counterpart in the Epic of Atra-Hasis (1635 BC) was Atra-Hasis.

e. Zi-ud-sudra's counterpart in the The Epic of Gilgamesh (1150 BC) was Ut-napištim.

5. Important quotations from Flood stories:

a. "To him [Xisuthrus] the deity Cronus foretold that on the fifteenth day of the month Desius there would be a deluge of rain ... after the cessation of the rain Xisuthrus sent out birds, by way of experiment, that he might judge whether the flood had subsided. But the birds passing over an unbounded sea, without finding any place of rest, returned again to Xisuthrus. This he repeated with other birds. And when upon the third trial he succeeded, for the birds then returned with their feet stained with mud, the gods translated him from among men. With respect to the vessel, which yet remains in Armenia, it is a custom of the inhabitants to form bracelets and amulets of its wood." (Abydenus: 200 BC On the flood: Read the full text of (Georgius Syncellus Chronicle 38. (800 AD) quoting Eusebius [325 AD] Praeparatio Evangelica [preparation for the gospel] 9. -Eusebius Chronicle 5. 8. who quotes from Abydenus [200 BC], who quotes from “Babyloniaca” by Berossus [380 BC])

b. The building of a boat 2 x 5 stadia, gathering all the animals into the boat. After the flood birds were released four times. The ark existed in Berossus' time for he says: "some part of it yet remains in the Corcyræan mountains of Armenia; and the people scrape off the bitumen, with which it had been outwardly coated, and make use of it by way of an alexipharmic and amulet." (Alexander Polyhistor: 50 BC, On the flood: Read the full text of, Georgius Syncellus Chronicle 28. [800 AD] who quotes Eusebius Chronicle 5. 8., [325 AD] who quotes Polyhistor [50 BC], who quotes “Babyloniaca” by Berossus [380 BC].)

c. “In those days Zi-ud-sura the king, the gudug priest … [the gods said to him] … A flood will sweep over the … A decision that the seed of mankind is to be destroyed has been made. The verdict, the word of the divine assembly, cannot be revoked. The order announced by An and Enlil cannot be overturned. … All the windstorms and gales arose together, and the flood swept over the … After the flood had swept over the land, and waves and windstorms had rocked the huge boat for seven days and seven nights, Utu the sun god came out, illuminating heaven and earth. Zi-ud-sura could drill an opening in the huge boat and the hero Utu entered the huge boat with his rays. Zi-ud-sura the king prostrated himself before Utu. The king sacrificed oxen and offered innumerable sheep. … Zi-ud-sura the king prostrated himself before An and Enlil. An and Enlil treated Zi-ud-sura kindly ......, they granted him life like a god, they brought down to him eternal life.” (Sumerian Eridu Genesis and Flood: 2150 BC)

d. “In Šuruppak, Ubara-Tutu [possibly Noah] became king; he ruled for 18,600 years. Then the Flood swept over. After the Flood had swept over, and the kingship had descended from heaven, the kingship was in Kiš. [Cush, son of Ham, father of Nimrod] In Kiš, Gišur [possibly Nimrod] became king; he ruled for 1,200 years.” (Sumerian King List, Weld-Blundell Larsa Prism, ends with Sin-magir, 1827-1817 BC)

e. "Enlil grew restless at their racket, he had to listen to their noise. Enlil opened his mouth to speak and addressed the assembly of all the gods: 'The noise of mankind has become too much, I am losing sleep over their racket. Come now, let us all take an oath to bring disease, then famine then a flood. … [gods command Atra-Hasis:] Dismantle the house, build a boat, Reject possessions, and save living things. The boat that you build Roof it like the Apsu So that the Sun cannot see inside it! Make upper decks and lower decks. The tackle must be very strong, The bitumen strong, to give strength. I shall make rain fall on you here, A wealth of birds, a hamper (?) of fish.' He opened the sand clock and filled it, He told him the sand (needed) for the Flood was Seven nights' worth. Atra-hasis received the message. He gathered the elders at his door. Atra-hasis made his voice heard And spoke to the elders, … He selected [and put on board.] [The birds] that fly in the sky, Cattle … Wild animals … he put his family on board. .. Bitumen was brought and he sealed his door. While he was closing up his door Adad [god] kept bellowing from the clouds. The winds were raging even as he went up (And) cut through the rope, he released the boat. … Anzu [god] was tearing at the sky with his talons … The kafigu-weapon went against the people like an army [everyone outside the ark died]. No one could see anyone else, They could not be recognized in the catastrophe. The Flood roared like a bull, Like a wild ass screaming the winds [howled] The darkness was total, there was no sun … of the Flood.” (The epic of Atra-Hasis, 1635 BC)

f. “Gilgamesh spoke to Ut-anapishtim [Noah like figure] Tell me, how is it that you stand in the Assembly of the Gods [transformed from man into god], and have found [eternal] life!" Ut-anapishtim spoke to Gilgamesh, saying: "I will reveal to you, Gilgamesh, a thing that is hidden, a secret of the gods I will tell you! Shuruppak, a city that you surely know, situated on the banks of the Euphrates, that city was very old, and there were gods inside it. The hearts of the Great Gods moved them to inflict the Flood. … Ea [Enki-god], the Clever Prince, was under oath with them so he repeated their talk to the reed house: 'Reed house, reed house! Wall, wall! O man of Shuruppak, son of Ubartutu: Tear down the house and build a boat! Abandon wealth and seek living beings! Spurn possessions and keep alive living beings! Make all living beings go up into the boat. The boat which you are to build, its dimensions must measure equal to each other: its length must correspond to its width. Roof it over like the Apsu. Just as dawn began to glow the land assembled around me- the carpenter carried his hatchet, the reed worker carried his (flattening) stone, ... the men ... The child carried the pitch, the weak brought whatever else was needed. On the fifth day I laid out her exterior. It was a field in area, its walls were each 10 times 12 cubits in height, the sides of its top were of equal length, 10 times 12 cubits each. I laid out its (interior) structure and drew a picture of it (?). I provided it with six decks, thus dividing it into seven (levels). The inside of it I divided into nine (compartments). I drove plugs (to keep out) water in its middle part. I saw to the punting poles and laid in what was necessary. Three times 3,600 (units) of raw bitumen I poured into the bitumen kiln, three times 3,600 (units of) pitch ...into it, The boat was finished by sunset. The launching was very difficult. … All the living beings that I had loaded on it, I had all my family and friend go up into the boat, all the beasts and animals of the field and the craftsmen I had go up. Shamash had set a stated time: 'In the morning I will let loaves of bread shower down, and in the evening a rain of wheat! Go inside the boat, seal the entry!' … I watched the appearance of the weather-- the weather was frightful to behold! I went into the boat and sealed the entry. For the caulking of the boat, to Puzuramurri, the boatman, … Just as dawn began to glow there arose from the horizon a black cloud. Adad [god] rumbled inside of it, before him went Shullat [god] and Hanish [god], heralds going over mountain and land. Erragal [god] pulled out the mooring poles, forth went Ninurta [god] and made the dikes overflow. … The... land shattered like a... pot. All day long the South Wind blew ..., blowing fast, submerging the mountain in water, overwhelming the people like an attack. No one could see his fellow, they could not recognize each other in the torrent. The gods were frightened by the Flood, and retreated, ascending to the heaven of Anu [god]. The gods were cowering like dogs, crouching by the outer wall. Ishtar [god] shrieked like a woman in childbirth, the sweet-voiced Mistress of the Gods wailed: … ordering a catastrophe to destroy my people!! … Six days and seven nights came the wind and flood, the storm flattening the land. When the seventh day arrived, the storm was pounding, the flood was a war--struggling with itself like a woman writhing (in labor). The sea calmed, fell still, the whirlwind (and) flood stopped up. I looked around all day long--quiet had set in and all the human beings had turned to clay! The terrain was as flat as a roof. I opened a vent and fresh air (daylight!) fell upon the side of my nose. I fell to my knees and sat weeping, tears streaming down the side of my nose. I looked around for coastlines in the expanse of the sea, and at twelve leagues there emerged a region (of land). On Mt. Nimush [Ararat] the boat lodged firm, Mt. Nimush held the boat, allowing no sway. One day and a second Mt. Nimush held the boat, allowing no sway. A third day, a fourth, Mt. Nimush held the boat, allowing no sway. A fifth day, a sixth, Mt. Nimush held the boat, allowing no sway. When a seventh day arrived I sent forth a dove and released it. The dove went off, but came back to me; no perch was visible so it circled back to me. I sent forth a swallow and released it. The swallow went off, but came back to me; no perch was visible so it circled back to me. I sent forth a raven and released it. The raven went off, and saw the waters slither back. It eats, it scratches, it bobs, but does not circle back to me. Then I sent out everything in all directions and sacrificed (a sheep). I offered incense in front of the mountain-ziggurat. Seven and seven cult vessels I put in place, and (into the fire) underneath (or: into their bowls) I poured reeds, cedar, and myrtle. The gods smelled the savor, the gods smelled the sweet savor, and collected like flies over a (sheep) sacrifice. Just then Belet-Ili arrived. She lifted up the large flies (beads) which Anu had made for his enjoyment(!): 'You gods, as surely as I shall not forget this lapis lazuli around my neck, may I be mindful of these days, and never forget them! The gods may come to the incense offering, but Enlil may not come to the incense offering, because without considering he brought about the Flood and consigned my people to annihilation.' Just then Enlil [god] arrived. He saw the boat and became furious, he was filled with rage at the Igigi gods: 'Where did a living being escape? No man was to survive the annihilation!' Ninurta spoke to Valiant Enlil, saying: 'Who else but Ea [god-Enki] could devise such a thing? It is Ea [Enki] who knows every machination!' La spoke to Valiant Enlil, saying: 'It is yours, O Valiant One, who is the Sage of the Gods. How, how could you bring about a Flood without consideration Charge the violation to the violator, charge the offense to the offender, but be compassionate lest (mankind) be cut off, be patient lest they be killed. Instead of your bringing on the Flood, would that a lion had appeared to diminish the people! Instead of your bringing on the Flood, would that a wolf had appeared to diminish the people! Instead of your bringing on the Flood, would that famine had occurred to slay the land! Instead of your bringing on the Flood, would that (Pestilent) Erra had appeared to ravage the land! It was not I who revealed the secret of the Great Gods, I (only) made a dream appear to Atra-hasis, and (thus) he heard the secret of the gods. Now then! The deliberation should be about him!' Enlil went up inside the boat and, grasping my hand, made me go up. He had my wife go up and kneel by my side. He touched our forehead and, standing between us, he blessed us: 'Previously Ut-anapishtim was a human being. But now let Ut-anapishtim and his wife become like us, the gods! Let Ut-anapishtim reside far away, at the Mouth of the Rivers.' They took us far away and settled us at the Mouth of the Rivers." (Epic of Gilgamesh , Tablet 9, 1150 BC)

B. The Flood and Nimrod as “Enmerkar” in Sumerian King List: 2119 BC:

1. Sumerian King List: “This [Sumerian King List] is a so-called historiographic document, drawn up during the Isin-Larsa period (2017–1763 b.c.e.) or possibly during the Ur III period (2112–2004 b.c.e.).” (Epics of Sumerian Kings: The Matter of Aratta, H. L. J. Vanstiphout, Jerrold S. Cooper, Vol. 20, p4, fn11, 2003 AD)

2. Specific reference to the flood and Cush the grandson of Moses:

a. “Then the Flood swept over. After the Flood had swept over, and the kingship had descended from heaven, the kingship was in Kiš. [Kush or Cush]. In Kiš, Gišur became king; he ruled for 1,200 years.” (Sumerian King List)

3. The Sumerian King List preserves Enmerkar as the son of Meš-ki'ag-gašer.

a. “In Eanna, Meš-ki'ag-gašer, son of Utu, became lord and king; he ruled for 324 years. Meš-ki'ag-gašer entered the sea and disappeared. Enmerkar [possibly Nimrod-literally means Enmek the hunter like nimrod who also founded Uruk], son of Meš-ki'ag-gašer, the king of Uruk, who built Uruk, became king; he ruled for 420 years.” (Sumerian King List, Weld-Blundell Larsa Prism, ends with Sin-magir, 2119 BC)

b. Notice that Enmerkar’s father did not rule at Uruk but was overthrown and then “disappeared” which may mean death or banishment.

c. The Sumerian King List states that Enmerkar was “the king of Uruk, who built Uruk, became king; he ruled for 420 years” Surprisingly, this is pretty close to an accurate time period for Nimrod to live.

4. Gilgamesh is a descendant of Nimrod (Enmerkar):

a. In the Sumerian King List, Gilgamesh held the kingship over Uruk, as the fifth king of the First Dynasty of Uruk.

b. After Enmerkar lived Gilgamesh of the famous flood story: The Epic of Gilgamesh (1150 BC)! “Gilgameš, whose father was an invisible being, the lord of Kulaba, ruled for 126 years. Ur-Nungal, son of the divine Gilgameš, ruled for 30 years.” (Sumerian King List, Weld-Blundell Larsa Prism, ends with Sin-magir, 2119 BC)

C. The Tower of Babel in Berossus: 380 BC

1. Berossus written around 380 BC was from a much older flood story dating back to 2000 BC

2. “They say that the first inhabitants of the earth, glorying in their own strength and size, and despising the gods, undertook to raise a tower whose top should reach the sky, in the place in which Babylon now stands: but when it approached the heaven, the winds assisted the gods, and overthrew the work upon its contrivers: and its ruins are said to be still at Babylon: and the gods introduced a diversity of tongues among men, who till that time had all spoken the same language: and a war arose between Cronus and Titan. The place in which they built the tower is now called Babylon, on account of the confusion of the tongues; for confusion is by the Hebrews called Babel.” (Abydenus: 200 BC On the tower of Babel: (Read the full text of Georgius Syncellus Chronicle 44. [800 AD] quoting Eusebius [325 AD] Praeparatio Evangelica [preparation for the gospel] 9. -Eusebius Chronicle 13. who quotes from Abydenus [200 BC], who quotes from Berossus 380 BC)

D. Nimrod as Enmerkar, Tower of Babel in Enmerkar vs. the king of Ararat: 2100 BC

1. Most important is that Enmerkar vs the lord of Aratta documents the tower of Babel division of languages of mankind:

a. Here Enmerkar calls himself “Nudimmud” which is his alternate “shaman/priestly” name used in Sumerian Creation story of Eridu , seg. B, lines 6-11: “It is the spell of Nudimmud [Enmerkar himself-priest name]! “One day there will be no snake, no scorpion, “There will be no hyena, nor lion, “There will be neither (wild) dog nor wolf, and thus there will be neither fear nor trembling, For man will then have no enemy. On that day the lands of Šubur and Hamazi, As well as twin-tongued Sumer—great mound of the power of lordship— Together with Akkad—the mound that has all that is befitting— And even the land Martu, resting in green pastures, 145 Yea, the whole world of well-ruled people, Will be able to speak to Enlil in one language! For on that day, for the debates between lords and princes and kings Shall Enki, for the debates between lords and princes and kings, For the debates between lords and princes and kings, 150 Shall Enki, Lord of abundance, Lord of steadfast decisions, Lord of wisdom and knowledge in the Land, Expert of the gods, Chosen for wisdom, Lord of Eridug, Change the tongues in their mouth, as many as he once placed there, And the speech of mankind shall be truly one!’” (Submission of Ararat to Uruk #2: Enmerkar vs. Lord of Ararat: EPSK 2:135–155)

b. Notice how Enmerkar desires the time when men spoke ONE language to be restored as existed before the Tower of Babel.

c. The “good old days” before the flood when animals and man peacefully co-existed will also be restored! “In the Sumerian poem “Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta,” there seems to be an allusion to a time when animals did not prey on one another or attack humans. This description of peaceful coexistence is somewhat similar to biblical descriptions of Eden. The poem also mentions an instance in which all people used a single language, which calls to mind the account of the tower of Babel in Gen 11” (LBD, Sumerian Literature)

d. Enki, the patron freshwater god of Eridu not only warned “Noah” about the flood in 3298 BC, Enki is also responsible for the division of languages at Babel in 2850 BC.

e. “S. N. Kramer in JAOS, March 1968, “The Babel of Tongues: A Sumerian Version,” p. 217, a fragment of 27 lines from “The Golden Age”: records “Once upon a time there was no snake, no scorpion, hyena or lion …” (1.145): “the whole universe, the people in unison, (spoke] to Enlil in one tongue.… All the world worshipped one God, Enlil, and spoke to him in the one and same tongue.” Kramer comments: “Our new piece puts it beyond all doubt that the Sumerians believed that there was a time when all mankind spoke one and the same language, and that it was Enki, the Sumerian god of wisdom who confounded their speech.” The reasons for confusing their language are not stated in the fragment.” (A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, Gleason L. Archer, p227, footnote 20, 1998 AD)

2. This is a collection of four ancient stories where Enmerkar closely resembles Biblical Nimrod:

a. EPSK 1: Submission of Ararat to Uruk #1: Enmerkar vs. Ensuhgirana

b. EPSK 2: Submission of Ararat to Uruk #2: Enmerkar vs. Lord of Ararat

c. EPSK 3: Enmerkar’s Siege of Ararat #1: Lugalbanda’s sickness/recovery in cave

d. EPSK 4: Enmerkar’s Siege of Ararat #2: Lugalbanda’s miraculous speed from Ararat to Uruk

3. Nimrod = Enmerkar similarities in the four stories:

a. Nimrod and Enmerkar were both eyewitnesses to the confusion of languages in 2850 BC

b. Nimrod and Enmerkar were both eyewitnesses to the invention of writing in 2850 BC

c. Nimrod and Enmerkar were both born in Ararat

d. Nimrod and Enmerkar were both mighty hunters

e. Nimrod and Enmerkar were both former vegans converted to meat-eating:

f. Enmerkar and Nimrod were both kings at Uruk

g. Nimrod and Enmerkar both share the same consonants in cuneiform and Hebrew: “NMR”

h. Etymology of Mt. Ararat = Aratta in the four stories

i. Nimrod and Enmerkar both built the First shrines built at Eridu (Babel) and Eruk

4. These 4 ancient stories highlight the period immediately after the flood (3298 BC) when Nimrod, born in 3225 BC in the Mt. Ararat area, moves south to found Babel (Eridu) and Uruk. He rises in power rapidly and a conflict ensues between himself and the patriarchs who rule in the Mt. Ararat region to the North.

5. Nimrod was one who “rebelled” in these four stories where he invents (or reestablishes the pagan gods known before the floor) the entire Sumerian pagan pantheon of idol gods so ubiquitous in ancient times. Enmerkar boasts that he built the first mud brick and bitumen temple for the pagan sex goddess Inana, who was a forerunner to Ishtar, Venus, Eostre and Easter. She was the goddess of war, strife, and sexual love and was the patron goddess of Unug (Uruk) and Aratta (Ararat), but her preference was for Enmerkar at Uruk. Today Inana is spoken by the lips of millions of Christians every year when they say “Happy Easter” which is equal to saying, “Happy pagan Nimrod’s Inana day”.

CHAPTER 5: Nimrod in Ancient Literary Sources

V. Ancient Literary Sources on Nimrod, Eber and Tower of Babel:

A. Ancient Christian Patristic sources

1. Introductory Summary:

a. Nimrod built the Tower of Babel in 2850 BC.

b. Eber was the first Hebrew speaking person who had his language changed to speak Hebrew.

c. Peleg was born after the Tower of Babel and naturally learned Hebrew as a child.

d. “The narrative of Genesis mentions only those descendants of Japheth, Ham and Shem who were able to form their own families and to spread in different areas of the Middle East (AUGUSTINE). One of the descendants of Ham was Nimrod, who chased out the different nations, so that they settled down in various regions that the Lord had assigned to them (EPHREM). Nimrod was the first to seize despotic rule over the people (JEROME) and was a slave of ambition; he wanted to become a ruler and a king (CHRYSOSTOM). Nimrod was not a servant of God but a tyrant who acted cruelly against his brothers (PRUDENTIUS). The passages in Genesis 10:20, 10:31 and 10:32 (see also 10:5), in which the different nations formed by the descendants of Japheth, Ham and Shem are described, refer to the period following the fall of the tower, when these nations already spoke their own languages (AUGUSTINE). One of the descendants of Shem was Eber, from whom the Hebrews originate (JEROME).” (Ancient Christian Commentary On Scripture, Gen 10:1, 2001 AD)

2. Augustine: AD 354 “Some one will say: If the earth was divided by languages in the days of Peleg, Heber’s son, that language, which was formerly common to all, should rather have been called after Peleg. But we are to understand that Heber himself gave to his son this name Peleg, which means Division; because he was born when the earth was divided, that is, at the very time of the division, and that this is the meaning of the words, “In his days the earth was divided.” For unless Heber had been still alive when the languages were multiplied, the language which was preserved in his house would not have been called after him. We are induced to believe that this was the primitive and common language, because the multiplication and change of languages was introduced as a punishment, and it is fit to ascribe to the people of God an immunity from this punishment. Nor is it without significance that this is the language which Abraham retained, and that he could not transmit it to all his descendants, but only to those of Jacob’s line, who distinctively and eminently constituted God’s people, received His covenants, and were Christ’s progenitors according to the flesh. In the same way, Heber himself did not transmit that language to all his posterity, but only to the line from which Abraham sprang. And thus, although it is not expressly stated, that when the wicked were building Babylon there was a godly seed remaining, this indistinctness is intended to stimulate research rather than to elude it. For when we see that originally there was one common language, and that Heber is mentioned before all Shem’s sons, though he belonged to the fifth generation from him, and that the language which the patriarchs and prophets used, not only in their conversation, but in the authoritative language of Scripture, is called Hebrew, when we are asked where that primitive and common language was preserved after the confusion of tongues, certainly, as there can be no doubt that those among whom it was preserved were exempt from the punishment it embodied, what other suggestion can we make, than that it survived in the family of him whose name it took, and that this is no small proof of the righteousness of this family, that the punishment with which the other families were visited did not fall upon it? But yet another question is mooted: How did Heber and his son Peleg each found a nation, if they had but one language? For no doubt the Hebrew nation propagated from Heber through Abraham, and becoming through him a great people, is one nation. How, then, are all the sons of the three branches of Noah’s family enumerated as founding a nation each, if Heber and Peleg did not do so? It is very probable that the giant Nimrod founded also his nation, and that Scripture has named him separately on account of the extraordinary dimensions of his empire and of his body, so that the number of seventy-two nations remains. But Peleg was mentioned, not because he founded a nation (for his race and language are Hebrew), but on account of the critical time at which he was born, all the earth being then divided. Nor ought we to be surprised that the giant Nimrod lived to the time in which Babylon was founded and the confusion of tongues occurred, and the consequent division of the earth. For though Heber was in the sixth generation from Noah, and Nimrod in the fourth, it does not follow that they could not be alive at the same time. For when the generations are few, they live longer and are born later; but when they are many, they live a shorter time, and come into the world earlier. We are to understand that, when the earth was divided, the descendants of Noah who are registered as founders of nations were not only already born, but were of an age to have immense families, worthy to be called tribes or nations. And therefore we must by no means suppose that they were born in the order in which they were set down; otherwise, how could the twelve sons of Joktan, another son of Heber’s, and brother of Peleg, have already founded nations, if Joktan was born, as he is registered, after his brother Peleg, since the earth was divided at Peleg’s birth? We are therefore to understand that, though Peleg is named first, he was born long after Joktan, whose twelve sons had already families so large as to admit of their being divided by different languages. There is nothing extraordinary in the last born being first named: of the sons of Noah, the descendants of Japheth are first named; then the sons of Ham, who was the second son; and last the sons of Shem, who was the first and oldest. Of these nations the names have partly survived, so that at this day we can see from whom they have sprung, as the Assyrians from Assur, the Hebrews from Heber, but partly have been altered in the lapse of time, so that the most learned men, by profound research in ancient records, have scarcely been able to discover the origin, I do not say of all, but of some of these nations. There is, for example, nothing in the name Egyptians to show that they are descended from Misraim, Ham’s son, nor in the name Ethiopians to show a connection with Cush, though such is said to be the origin of these nations. If we take a survey of the names, we shall find that more have been changed than have remained the same.” (Augustine, City of God, 16.11.2-3, 354 AD)

3. Ephrem the Syrian: AD 363 “Let us confuse their tongues, so that they will not understand one another’s language.” It is likely that they lost their common language when they received these new languages, for if their original language had not perished their first deed would not have come to nought. It was when they lost their original language, which was lost by all the nations, with one exception, that their first building came to naught. In addition, because of their new languages, which made them foreigners to each other and incapable of understanding one another, war broke out among them on account of the divisions that the languages brought among them. Thus, war broke out among those who had been building that fortified city out of fear of others. And all those who had been keeping themselves away from [the city] were scattered throughout the entire earth. It was Nimrod who scattered them. It was also he who seized Babel and became its first ruler. If Nimrod had not scattered them each to his own place, he would not have been able to take that place where they all [had lived before].” (Ephrem the Syrian, Commentary on Genesis 8.3.2–8.4.2, 363 AD)

4. Jerome: AD 347 “Eber, from whom the Hebrews descended, because of a prophecy gave his son the name Peleg, which means “division,” on account of the fact that in his days the languages were divided up in Babylon.” (Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis 10.24–25, 347 AD)

B. Ancient Jewish sources

1. Introductory Summary:

a. The unanimous opinion of all ancient Jewish literary sources is that:

i. Nimrod was the second generation from Ham.

ii. Nimrod rebelled against God.

iii. Nimrod founded Babel

iv. Nimrod built the tower Babel

v. Heber was an eyewitness of the Tower of Babel and the first Hebrew speaker.

vi. Peleg was born during or after the great dispersion of the Tower of Babel.

b. Varied opinion of ancient Jewish literary sources included:

i. Nimrod was a giant.

ii. Giants built the tower of Babel.

iii. After the Tower of Babel, Nimrod ruthlessly ruled his kingdom through threat of death.

c. Not a single Jew in history connects Nimrod with Sargon I

i. Not a single Jew in the first century connected Nimrod with Sargon I.

ii. "He was a giant in sin before the Lord, wherefore is it said: “Like Nimrod, a giant in sin before the Lord.”" (Genesis 10:9, The Aramaic Bible, Volume 1A: Jewish Targum Neofiti 1: Genesis, 350 AD)

iii. "He was a powerful potentate before the Lord, therefore it is said: Like Nimrod a powerful potentate before the Lord." (Genesis 10:9, The Aramaic Bible, Volume 6: The Jewish Targum Onqelos to Genesis)

2. Book of Jubilees: 170 BC

a. Note: Book of Jubilees is universally recognized as a corrupt chronology that sets the tower of Babel to 2598 BC using the birth of Peleg as a marker.

b. “Thirty-second jubilee in the seventh week in its third year. ⁸And in its sixth year she bore a son for him. And he called him Peleg because in the days when he was born the sons of Noah began dividing up the earth for themselves. Therefore he called him Peleg. ⁹And they divided it in an evil (manner) among themselves, and they told it to Noah.” (Book of Jubilees 8:7, 170 BC)

3. Philo: AD 40 Philo viewed Nimrod as the direct son of Cush as one of the first giants after the flood. Obviously, he NEVER connected Nimrod with Sargon I because Sargon I was NOT a giant. Further, Philo viewed Nimrod as someone who opposed God through Idol worship:

a. “Why was Cush the father of Nimrod, who began to be a giant and a hunter before the Lord: on which account they said, “Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord?” (Genesis 10:8). The father in this case, having a nature truly dissolute, does not at all keep fast the spiritual bond of the soul, nor of nature, nor of consistency of manners, but rather like a giant born of the earth, prefers earthly to heavenly things, and thus appears to verify the ancient fable of the giants and Titans; for in truth he who is an emulator of earthly and corruptible things is always engaged in a conflict with heavenly and admirable natures, raising up earth as a bulwark against heaven [ie. through idols and the tower of Babel]; and those things which are below are adverse to those which are above. On which account there is much propriety in the expression, he was a giant against God, which thus declares the opposition of such beings to the deity; for a wicked man is nothing else than an enemy, contending against God: on which account it has become a proverb that everyone who sins greatly ought to be referred to him as the original and chief of sinners, being spoken of “as a second Nimrod.” Therefore his very name is an indication of his character, for it is interpreted Aethiopian, and his art is that of hunting, both of which things are detestable: an Aethiopian because unmitigated wickedness has no participation in light, but imitates night and darkness: and the practice of the huntsman is as much as possible at variance with rational nature, for he who lives among wild beasts wishes to live the life of a beast, and to be equal to the brutes in the vices of wickedness.” (Philo Questions on Genesis II 82)

b. “But the sons of earth removing their minds from contemplation, and becoming deserters so as to fly to the lifeless and immovable nature of the flesh, “for they two became one flesh,” as the lawgiver says, adulterated the excellent coinage, and abandoned the better rank which had been allotted to them as their own, and deserted to the worse rank, which was contrary to their original nature, Nimrod being the first to set the example of this desertion; (66) for the lawgiver says, “that this man began to be a giant upon the earth:” and the name Nimrod, being interpreted, means, desertion; for it was not enough for the thoroughly miserable soul to stand on neither side [ie. remain neutral], but having gone over to its enemies [the devil], it took up arms against its friends, and resisted them, and made open war upon them; in reference to which fact it is that, Moses calls the seat of Nimrod’s kingdom Babylon, and the interpretation of the word Babylon is “change;” a thing nearly akin to desertion, the name, too, being akin to the name, and the one action to the other; for the first step of every deserter is a change and alteration of mind, (67) and it would be consistent in the truth to say that, according to the most holy Moses, the bad man, as being one destitute of a home and of a city, without any settled habitation, and a fugitive, is naturally a deserter also; but the good man is the firmest of allies.” (Philo On the Giants 65-67)

4. Josephus: AD 70

a. “Shelah’ son was Heber, from whom they originally called the Jews “Hebrews”. Heber begat Joktan and Peleg; he was called Peleg, because he was born at the dispersion of the nations to their several countries; for Peleg, among the Hebrews, signifies division.” (Josephus Antiquities 1.146)

b. “Now the sons of Noah were three,—Shem, Japheth, and Ham, born one hundred years before the Deluge. These first of all descended from the mountains into the plains and fixed their habitations there; and persuaded others who were greatly afraid of the lower grounds on account of the floods and so were very reluctant to come down from the higher place, to venture to follow their examples. (110) Now the plain in which they first dwelt was called Shinar. God also commanded them to send colonies abroad, for the thorough peopling of the earth,—that they might not raise seditions among themselves, but might cultivate a great part of the earth, and enjoy its fruits after a plentiful manner: but they were so ill instructed, that they did not obey God; for which reason they fell into calamities, and were made sensible, by experience, of what sin they had been guilty; (111) for when they flourished with a numerous youth, God admonished them again to send out colonies; but they, imagining the prosperity they enjoyed was not derived from the favor of God, but supposing that their own power was the proper cause of the plentiful condition they were in, did not obey him. (112) Nay, they added to this their disobedience to the divine will, the suspicion that they were therefore ordered to send out separate colonies, that, being divided asunder, they might the more easily be oppressed. 2. (113) 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 was through his means they were happy, but to believe that it was their own courage which procured that happiness. (114) 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 upon 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 be able to reach! and that he would avenge himself on God for destroying their forefathers! 3. (115) 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 anyone could expect; (116) 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 growing wiser by the destruction of the former sinners; (117) 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. (118) The Sibyl also makes mention of this tower, and of the confusion of the language, when she says thus:—“When all men were of one language, some of them built a high tower, as if they would thereby ascend up to heaven; but the gods sent storms of wind and overthrew the tower, and gave everyone his peculiar language; and for this reason it was that the city was called Babylon.” (119) But as to the plain of Shinar, in the country of Babylonia, Hestiaeus mentions it when he says thus:—“Such of the priests as were saved took the sacred vessels of Jupiter Enyalius, and came to Shinar of Babylonia.” (Josephus Antiquities 1.109–119)

5. Seder Olam: AD 160

a. Note: Seder Olam is universally recognized as a corrupt Chronology. For example, it has Noah and Abraham both alive at the Tower of Babel. What is important is that they view Peleg as a marker for the date of the division of languages. While they even got that wrong by saying the Tower of Babel occurred in the last year of Peleg’s life, they correctly connected his name “Peleg = division” with the great division of languages at the Tower of Babel. The Seder Olam is wrong because if the language split occurred in the last days of Peleg’s life, he would never have been called “division”. This is a name given him at birth. Since Abraham was alive, why not call him Division (Peleg)?

b. “From the Deluge to the Language Split 340 years. It follows that Noah survived the Language Split by 10 years. Our father Abraham was 48 years old at the Language Split. Rebbi Yose said: Eber was a great prophet that he called his son Peleg ("split") "because in his days the earth was split" (Gen. 10:25). You cannot say this happened when Peleg was born since his younger brother Yoqtan had 13 families as his descendants at the Language Split. You cannot say that this happened during Peleg's middle life since Scripture does not come to hide but to explain. Therefore, the verse must mean that the Split occurred during Peleg's last year.” (Seder Olam Rabbah 1:1, 160 AD)

CHAPTER 6: Nimrod founds Babel in 3200 BC (Gen 10:10)

VI. Nimrod begins his kingdom: Babel and Uruk in 3200 BC:

A. Nimrod founds Babel (Eridu): 3200 BC

1. In 1998 AD, David Rohl proposed Biblical Babel was located at Sumerian Eridu at Tel Abu Shahrain. (Legends: The Genesis of Civilization, David Rohl, p222, 1998 AD).

2. Nimrod began his powerful kingdom at Babel.

a. The northern Kingdom of Ararat formed after the flood (3298 BC) with a population of 8.

b. Nimrod was born around 3225 BC and was rebellious to authority of his parents Kingdom.

c. It is not known if the pagan gods Ana and Enki were worshipped before the flood or if those born after the flood invented the myths of Enki warning Noah to build the ark because Ana was going to destroy all mankind.

d. It is possible that Nimrod himself invented the myth of Enki and that was the flash point of rebellion that may have gotten him banished.

3. In 3200 BC Nimrod migrated south and founded Babel.

a. He built the first mudbrick temple after the flood to Enki in 3200 BC.

b. Nimrod built a formal mudbrick temple to Enki, in which he sacrificed fish on altars and had an image of Enki set up in a niche on a raised platform.

c. Over the next 350 years, Nimrod rebuilt the “temple of Enki” 17 times, each one on top of the previously destroyed temple by possible sandstorms, floods, Tsunami’s and earthquakes.

d. Each of the new temples was larger and built directly over the previous temple to Enki.

4. The Tower of Babel was Nimrod’s final, but unfinished “Temple to Enki” in 2850 BC.

a. Nimrod build a large platform upon which he was going to build the Tower of Babel.

b. This platform was abandoned for 750 years after the division of languages in 2850 BC.

c. The city of Babel (Eridu) was abandoned for 750 years according to archeology.

5. Primal historical importance of Eridu (Babel) of later Assyrian kings:

a. Hammurabi was crowned as king in Eridu and reigned 1728-1686 BC (low chronology)

b. “The later kings of Babylon sometimes bear the title “king of Êridu,” as though rulers of the domain of Paradise.” (ISBE, Sinar)

c. In 2100 BC, Ur-Nammu builds a Temple of Enki (The Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu) on top of Nimrod’s abandoned Tower of Babel platform.

B. Uruk founded by Nimrod in 3200 BC

Nimrod Founds Uruk in 3200 BC Tel Uruk Archaeological levels
Archaeological Stratum levels	Archaeological period	Date	Bible/event
XVII (17), XVI (16)	Ubaid 1	3200 BC	Nimrod founds Uruk and Babel: Gen 10:10 Urbanism-first cities
XV (15), XIV (14)	Ubaid 2	3100 BC
XIII (13)	Ubaid 3 Expansion	3000 BC	Nimrod founds Nineveh: Gen 10:11
XII (12), XI (11), X (10), XI (9), VIII (8)	Ubaid 4/Early Uruk	2950 BC	Mass production bread factories using Bevel rim bowls in cupola (dome) ovens.
VII (7), VI (6), V (5), IV (4)	Late Uruk Expansion	2850 BC	Tower of Babel: Gen 11 and Invention of writing
III (3)	Egyptian Dynasty 0; Jemdet Nasr	2750 BC	Surge/peak of written Inscriptions
II (2), I (1)	Early Dynastic 1	2700 BC	First Pyramids

CHAPTER 7: Enki & Inana, Patron gods of Babel & Uruk

VII. Enki and Inana were the patron gods of Babel and Uruk in 3200 BC:

A. Enki, Nimrod, Babel and the Tower of Babel at Eridu:

1. Enki: Sumerian = Ea: Akkadian = Dagon, Philistine = Oannes/Poseidon: Greek = Neptune: Roman

2. Enki/Ea was the fresh-water god and the patron god of Eridu (Nimrod’s Babel) because Babel was swampy and had a high-water table.

a. Nimrod founded the city of Babel (Eridu) and immediately built what would be the very first mudbrick temple (Temple XVII) every built. This temple was dedicated to Enki the water god.

b. Nimrod also founded nearby Uruk and built a mudbrick temple there dedicated to Inana, the goddess of war and sex and the forerunner of Ishtar/Venus.

3. Goatfish were sacrificed to Enki/Ea the freshwater god:

a. Excavations at Eridu documented altars with burnt mudbricks, fishbones and ashes in the Temple of Enki at Eridu.

b. “Since its appearance in the Ur III period [2200 BC], the goat-fish is associated with water, flowing vases, and Ea [Enki]. This association is confirmed by the texts (LKU 45:16, MDP 2 Pl. 17 iv 5). Especially interesting is a Late Bronze Sumerian text of Middle Bronze origin, where he is called “sanga-mah-abzu-ke₄”, "the lofty purification priest of the apsû [freshwaters]". Associated with seals is the Carp-Goat of a bit méseri incantation in which Piriggalabzu, the sage of Adab, hangs his seal on it, angers Ea [Enki], and gets killed (by a fuller) with the same seal in consequence. The inscription prescribed for representations of this being in ritual II (II.A.3.24) indicates intercessory activity.” (Mesopotamian Protective Spirits- The Ritual Texts, F. A. M. Wiggermann, p184, 1992 AD)

c. “Nungalpiriggaldim, the apkallu [wise man] of Enmerkar [Nimrod], who brought down Ištar [Inana] from heaven into the sanctuary [at Uruk]. Piriggalnungal, born in Kiš, who angered the god Adad in heaven, so he allowed neither rain nor growth in the land for three years. Piriggalabzu, born in Adab, who hung his seal on a “goat fish” and thereby angered the god Ea [Enki] in the fresh water sea, so that a fuller struck him with his own seal [killed him]. The fourth, Lu-Nanna, two-thirds apkallu, who expelled a dragon from É-Ninkiagnunna, the Ištar temple of Šulgi; The four apkallus [wise man], of human descent, whom the Lord Ea [Enki] has endowed with broad understanding. (Bīt mēseri, Tablet 3, lines 1’-29’, House of Confinement, 660 BC)

4. The temple of Enki at Eridu was called “the House of Subterranean waters”:

a. Fish were sacrificed as burnt offerings on mudbrick altars to Enki.

b. To Nimrod, Enki, “the god of drinkable water” was a savior god

c. Savior Jesus Christ offered living waters: "Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” She said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? “You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?” Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”" (John 4:10–14)

5. Nimrod saw himself in, and identified with Enki:

a. Nimrod’s kingdom began at Babel (Eridu)

b. Nimrod rebelled against his parent’s northern kingdom of Ararat.

c. Enki was God of freshwater: Babel was surrounded by swampy wetlands.

d. Enki was the Son of supreme god Anu rebelled against parents like Nimrod.

e. In Sumerian literature, Enki betrays the top god Anu and warns “Noah” of the flood and orders him to build the ark and save himself and the animals. (see below). Enki warned “Noah” to build the ark because Anu was sending a flood

f. “Rebel” Nimrod identified with “rebel Enki” who thwarted his parents will. (Flood decree)

g. Enki was the patron god of Nimrod’s city of Babel.

h. Over 300 years Nimrod built/rebuilt the temple to Enki at Babel 18 times.

i. Enki was symbolized by a goat, goatfish, carp fish with goat like whiskers.

j. Goatfish were offered as burnt sacrifices on altars in the Babel mudbrick temple.

k. The Tower of Babel was the last temple to Enki Nimrod built but never completed.

l. Josephus says Nimrod built the Tower of Babel to survive a second global flood: “Now it was Nimrod … the grandson of Ham … said he would be revenged on God, if he should have a mind to drown the world a second time; so he build a tower too high for the waters to be able to reach and that he would avenge himself on God for destroying their forefathers! (Josephus Antiquities 1.109-114)

m. Enki is responsible for division of language at Tower of Babel

n. Enki plays a central role in understanding the city of Babel and the tower of Babel.

o. At the tower of Babel Enki was responsible for the division of languages. (see below)

p. Nimrod therefore hated the one true God who caused the flood and loved Enki who betrayed God’s will in destroying mankind.

q. It is a great showdown between the one true Almighty YHWH God who caused the flood vs. rebel/betrayer lower god Enki who became the false savior of mankind.

r. Enki therefore represents Satan as a liar and false savior and Judas who betrayed God.

s. Reversal of reality: YHWH/Saviour/true vs. Enki/destroyer/Satan/Judas/ betrayer

t. “Rebel” Nimrod hated true God YHWH and loved false god Enki the “rebel”

B. Enki and Eridu in ancient literary sources:

1. The Sumerian King List starts by listing Eridu as the first kingship on earth BEFORE the global flood

a. “After the kingship descended from heaven, the kingship was in Eridu. In Eridu, Alulim became king; he ruled for 28,800 years.” (Sumerian King List lines 1-2)

b. It is amazing that this ancient list directly confirms the Genesis account that the beginning of Nimrod’s kingdom was at Babel (Eridu) even if the SKL has the timing wrong.

c. The Sumerian King List also records the flood.

2. The Sumerian Creation story of Eridu names Nimrod and Eridu as the first city then lists Enlil as the destroyer god and Enki as the god who saved mankind by warning Zi-ud-sura (Noah) to build the ark.

a. Enki is also the savior “water god” who warns Noah of the flood and order him to build the ark in the three flood stories of Atra-hasis, Gilgamesh, and Berossus.

b. “After the exalted crown and throne of kingship had descended from heaven, the divine rites and the exalted powers were perfected, the bricks of the cities were laid in holy places, their names were announced and the ...... were distributed. The first of the cities, Eridu, was given to Nudimmud the leader.” (The Sumerian Creation story of Eridu , segment B, lines 6-11)

c. “Holy Inana [pagan goddess whose temple Nimrod built at Uruk] made a lament for the people. Enki took counsel with himself. … In those days Zi-ud-sura was both the king and gudug priest who was humble, committed, reverent, Day by day, standing [serving] constantly at [altar of the gods] … Zi-ud-sura, standing at its side, heard: [Enki speaks] "I will speak words to you; take heed of my words, pay attention to my instructions. A flood will sweep over the land in all the kingdoms. A decision that the seed of mankind is to be destroyed has been made. The verdict, the word of the divine assembly, cannot be revoked. The order announced by An and Enlil cannot be overturned. Their kingship, their term has been cut off; their heart should be rested about this.” (The Sumerian Creation story of Eridu , segment C, lines 1-27)

d. Enki was the fresh-water god and the patron god of Eridu (Nimrod’s Babel) because Babel was swampy and had a high water table.

e. Inana/Inanna: (Ishtar, Venus) Goddess of war, strife, and sexual love; city goddess of Unug (Uruk) and Aratta (Ararat) in Enmerkar vs. the king of Ararat (2100 BC).

f. “Enki made his voice heard And spoke to his servant [Atrahasis=Noah], 'You say, "I should find out in bed (?)". Make sure you attend to the message I shall tell you! Wall, listen constantly to me! Reed hut, make sure you attend to all my words! Dismantle the house, build a boat, Reject possessions, and save living things. The boat that you build Roof it like the Apsu So that the Sun cannot see inside it! Make upper decks and lower decks. The tackle must be very strong, The bitumen strong, to give strength. I shall make rain fall on you here, A wealth of birds, a hamper (?) of fish.' He opened the sand clock and filled it, He told him the sand (needed) for the Flood was Seven nights' worth. Atrahasis received the message. He gathered the elders at his door. Atrahasis made his voice heard And spoke to the elders, 'My god is out of favour with your god. Enki and Enlil have become angry with each other.” (Atra-hasis, tablet 1, column 1, lines 14-32)

g. Notice that both Inana (patron goddess of Eruk) and Enki (patron god of Eridu) were distressed about the flood and are both listed in the Sumerian Eridu creation story.

h. It is also interesting that the “Noah” figure Zi-ud-sura is said to have migrated to the eastern orient. The connection between the Chinese language and the first 11 chapters of Genesis have been a cause for speculation that Noah founded the Chinese race. No other language employs pictograms so deeply connected with the flood story: “the gods settled Zi-ud-sura the king in an overseas country, in the land Dilmun, where the sun rises.” I.e. orient… indicating Noah had a role in the Chinese language connection with the flood. Notice that the Chinese word for large boat is a composite of three pictograms of a SHIP that can hold EIGHT PEOPLE. It is incredible that an “8 person boat” is how the Chinese write the word for a large “ocean freighter”.

3. Bīt mēseri, Tablet 3 shows that Enki’s sacred symbol was Goatfish:

a. “Nungalpiriggaldim, the apkallu [wise man] of Enmerkar [Nimrod], who brought down Ištar [Inana] from heaven into the sanctuary [at Uruk]. Piriggalnungal, born in Kiš, who angered the god Adad in heaven, so he allowed neither rain nor growth in the land for three years. Piriggalabzu, born in Adab, who hung his seal on a “goat fish” and thereby angered the god Ea [Enki] in the fresh water sea, so that a fuller struck him with his own seal [killed him]. The fourth, Lu-Nanna, two-thirds apkallu, who expelled a dragon from É-Ninkiagnunna, the Ištar temple of Šulgi; The four apkallus [wise man], of human descent, whom the Lord Ea [Enki] has endowed with broad understanding. (Bīt mēseri, Tablet 3, lines 1’-29’, House of Confinement, 660 BC)

C. Inana was the patron goddess of Uruk:

1. Inana/Inanna: (Ishtar, Venus) Goddess of war, strife, and sexual love; city goddess of Unug (Uruk) and Aratta (Ararat) in Enmerkar vs. the king of Ararat (2100 BC).

a. Christian “Easter” directly derives from Nimrod’s pagan goddess Inanna.

b. Eostre is the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring fertility and birth of new light at the vernal equinox.

c. Ishtar, Venus, Eostre, Astarte are all derived from Nimrod’s Inana.

d. Later traditions added to the original fertility connection with rabbits, notoriously fertile because they have a new litter of bunnies every 30 days and eggs, the symbol of newborn life. Spring time became connected with Inanna because it represented the birth of new light for the coming year at the vernal equinox.

e. Early Christians borrowed all these symbols and applied them to the resurrection of Christ during Jewish Passover.

2. Nimrod built a mudbrick temple for Inana at Uruk (Enmerkar vs. the king of Ararat) but in the northern kingdom of Ararat they merely worshipped Inana with figurines and did not have formal temples of mudbrick.

a. Enmerkar vs. the king of Ararat confirms that Nimrod was the first man after the flood to build actual pagan temples from mudbricks.

b. This is further validated at Tel Tepe Gawra by the progressive sequence of goddess figurines used from the earliest time of the Halaf Archaeological age to the introduction of mudbrick/niched pagan temples in the Ubaid Archaeological age that followed Nimrod’s founding of Babel and Uruk. (see Tepe Gawra Excavation chart below)

3. In tablet 3 of Bīt mēseri notice that Enmerkar is credited with bringing Inana (later Ishtar) to the mudbrick temple of the goddess at Uruk:

a. “Nungalpiriggaldim, the apkallu [wise man] of Enmerkar [Nimrod], who brought down Ištar [Inana] from heaven into the sanctuary [at Uruk]. (Bīt mēseri, Tablet 3, lines 1’-29’, House of Confinement, 660 BC)

4. Inana provides smoking gun to prove Nimrod built the first pagan temples for idol gods from ancient literary sources confirmed by Archaeology:

a. Moses in the Bible calls Nimrod one who rebelled: Gen 10

b. Enmerkar vs. the king of Ararat dates to 2100 BC and confirms that Nimrod at Uruk boasted he had mudbrick temples for Inana but the northern kingdom at Ararat had none, but instead used figurines carried in the pocket or set up in a house. These figurines would be similar to the “household gods” Rachel stole from her father Laban (Gen 31:34) and those Jacob confiscated (Gen 35:4).

c. Excavations at Tel Tepe Gawra prove that before the Ubaid expansion from Nimrod’s southern kingdom in 3000 BC, the northern cities that were part of the Ararat kingdom were already using idol figurines of Inana the pagan goddess.

d. Excavations at Tel Tepe Gawra evidence that after the Ubaid expansion from Nimrod’s southern kingdom in 3000 BC, that the pagan mudbrick temples invented by Nimrod were imported north into the kingdom of Ararat.

CHAPTER 8: Tower of Babel at Eridu (Tel Abu Shahrain)

VIII. Archaeology of Tower of Babel at Eridu (Babel) and the 17 Temples of Nimrod:

In chapter 8 the excavation reports from Biblical Babel known in Sumerian literature as Eridu (Tel Abu Shahrain) will be examined. A series of 17 temple were excavated, one on top of the other or a period of time. The first temple (XVII) was quite small (3 x 3 meters) but it featured a burnt offering table made of mudbricks and an architectural niche at one end in which was a mudbrick platform to place an idol god. The last completed temple (I) was quite large. Finally a large platform (300 x 300 meters) was excavated that lay abandoned for some time after which Ur Nammu constructed a ziggurat on the platform in 2100 BC. It is proposed that Nimrod was the designer and builder of all these temples between 3225 – 2875 BC and that the abandoned platform was the foundation of the biblical Tower of Babel in 2850 BC.

A. The Archaeology of Nimrod’s 17 Temples dedicated to Enki over 350 years

1. Nimrod’s Babel is Eridu (Tel Abu Shahrain) and has been excavated four times. Early digs were sloppy, and some kept no records at all but were conducted more like treasure hunts. The greatest insights came from the last and most professional dig under Safar and Lloyd. However, by today’s standards even the last dig was sloppy and rushed and a large amount of valuable information was lost forever. Fortunately, the Archaeological stratigraphy was rather simple, given Eridu was founded shortly after the flood and only a few assemblages existed (Halaf, Ubaid, Uruk, Ur III etc.). Therefore, the data the Archaeologists collected was correct and their conclusions provide powerful truth understood by later Christian Archaeologists as the Tower of Babel even if their archeological dating was wrong.

a. John George Taylor in 1855 AD

b. R. Campbell Thompson in 1918 AD

c. H.R. Hall in 1919 AD

d. Fuad Safar and Seton Lloyd: 1946 – 1949 AD

2. Nimrod built one temple of Enki and rebuilt it 16 times for a total of 17 temples. The Tower of Babel would have been the 18^th temple of Enki constructed.

a. Each new temple was built directly on top of the previous older temple. Each subsequent temple was built on a larger and higher elevated platform over top of the old temple to Enki.

b. From 3200- 2850 BC, the succession of 17 temples progressed from simple/small to complex/large and reflected the rapidly growing population and increasingly available manpower over the 350-year period.

c. By being the first to construct formal mudbrick pagan temples, Nimrod kindled the devotion of pagan gods into a raging fire that spread north and infected the entire world. Temples built with unfired mudbrick are easily damaged by floods and earthquakes.

d. After the flood, Eridu was located on the shoreline of the Persian Gulf and the temples could have been damaged by storm surges, tsunami’s and general flooding. Today the shoreline is over 200 km away from Babel because of much lower sea levels due to polar caps icing.

3. Archaeological strata of the 17 temples from professional excavations:

a. “Christian Archaeological Dating” (CAD) First published in its detailed final form in 2019 AD. CAD is founded upon the truth that no Archaeology exists older than the global flood in 3298 BC. The archaeological dating systems of the excavators at Eridu were updated to harmonize with CAD.

b. The four excavation teams at Eridu never understood they were digging Nimrod’s tower of Babel at the time because they were using evolutionary Archaeological timescales that predated the creation of the earth in 5554 BC by 80,000 years!

c. While the excavation strata must be accepted, the dating of each is wrong in all the reports.

d. We have assigned proper dates to each of the stratum to fit stone age, Halaf, Ubaid and Uruk within the 450-year window from the Flood in 3298 BC to the Tower of Babel in 2850 BC.

e. The Tower of Babel marks the beginning of the Early Bronze I age (EB I).

Nimrod Founds Babel (Eridu) in 3200 BC Nimrod’s Temple Archaeological levels at Tel Abu Shahrain, Eridu/Babel
Archaeological Stratum levels of Nimrod’s Temple	Archaeological period	Date	Bible/event
XVII (17), XVI (16), XV (15),	Ubaid 1	3200 BC	Nimrod founds Uruk and Babel: Gen 10:10 Urbanism-first cities
XIV (14), XIII (13), XII (12)	Ubaid 2	3100 BC
XI (11), X (10), XI (9), VIII (8)	Ubaid 3 Expansion	3000 BC	Nimrod founds Nineveh: Gen 10:11
VII (7), VI (6)	Ubaid 4	2950 BC	Mass production bread factories using Bevel rim bowls in cupola (dome) ovens.
V (5), IV (4), III (3), II (2)	Early Uruk 1, Uruk 2	2900 BC
I (1)	Early Uruk 3	2875 BC	last Temple of Enki before Tower of Babel
Tower of Babel enlarged platform.	Late Uruk 3 Expansion	2850 BC	Tower of Babel: Gen 11 Invention of writing
Abandoned temple platform	Jemdet Nasr	2750 BC	Surge/peak of written Inscriptions
Abandoned temple platform	Early Dynastic 1	2700-2300 BC	First Pyramids: 2700 BC
Abandoned temple platform	Akkadian	2300-2121 BC	New Babylon founded that is later occupied by Nebuchadnezzar.

Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu built on Nimrod abandoned platform.	Ur III	2100 BC	2100 BC Ur-Nammu builds famous Ziggurat after it lay vacant and abandoned by Nimrod for 750 years.

4. The isometric drawing below illustrates the sequence of the 17 temples which were built, one directly on top of the other, but are spread out sideways like a deck of stacked cards as a visual aid:

a. The graphic spreads the temples right to left to show each of the 17 strata layers.

b. Temple 17 is the first temple Nimrod build and the oldest at the far bottom right: 3200 BC

c. Temple 1 is the last temple completed by Nimrod and is the youngest: 2875 BC.

d. No Archaeological traces have been discovered of the Tower of Babel but the platform upon which it was going to be built has been excavated and documented: 2850 BC

e. Nimrod’s platform for the Tower of Babel was abandoned for 750 years.

f. Pictured in red is the Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu at Eridu which was built on the vacant and unfinished platform for the tower of Babel in 2100 BC.

g. The Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu at Eridu is not the Tower of Babel, but it was also a pagan temple to the god Enki.

5. Temples grew in size with the population and time:

a. PINK: In 3200 BC, Nimrod’s first mudbrick temple of Enki was about 8x8 feet in size. It had a niche to set up the idol of Enki and a sacrificial altar to offer burnt offerings of Goatfish.

b. Between 3200 and 2875 BC, 15 more temples were built each on top of the previous one. Each new temple grew larger but retained the niche and burnt offering table.

c. Green: In 2875 BC Nimrod built and completed his last mudbrick temple: “Temple I (1)”.

d. Yellow: 2850 BC Nimrod starts building the Tower of Babel. The platform was completed and he may have started laying the mudbricks of the tower itself. Archaeologically we have evidence that the platform was built in the Late Uruk 3 Expansion period (2850 BC) but it lay abandoned for 750 years until Ur-Nammu built a Ziggurat on the vacant platform in 2100 BC.

B. Temple XVI/XVII (16,17): 3200/3175 BC: Nimrod founds Babel, Uruk: Gen 10:10

1. The first two temples that Nimrod built to Enki were about the size of a guest bedroom in a modern home (3x3 meters).

a. The excavation found remnants of the first/oldest temple but the second temple XVI (16) was well preserved and is pictured above.

b. All of Nimrod’s temples featured a niche with a raised platform and a sacrificial burnt offering table.

c. An idol of Enki would have been placed upon the raised platform inside the niche at the north end of the temple for worship.

d. Niches were common in ancient pagan temples as seen in the story of when Eli died in 1094 BC and the Philistines captured the Ark and set it in front of the god Dagon: "Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon. When the Ashdodites arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and set him in his place again." (1 Samuel 5:2-3)

e. Niches are found in the most ancient synagogues (Gamla) where a wooden cabinet called the “Ark of the scrolls would be placed. Early church apses are architectural echoes of these synagogue niches.

f. The excavators found the mudbricks of the alter to have burnt marks and large amounts of ash surrounding the altar.

g. There were two mudbrick pedestals opposite the central altar and beside the inside walls of the building which served as roof support foundations. Poles would have been set on these pedestals to support a wooden beamed, thatched roof.

2. “The so-called "temple" at Level XVI (10.90 m. beneath datum) was built directly upon the ruins of the building just described [temple XVII @11.70 m. beneath datum], and may probably be taken to be a reconstruction of it, on slightly more sophisticated lines. The walls were of well-tempered Iiben, whose average dimensions were 54-32 x 20 x 6-7 cm., and their thickness corresponded to the width of a brick. They showed traces of having been plastered inside. The main part of the chamber was rectangular, measuring 2.10 x 3.10 m. inside. In the northwest wall there was a recess [niche for idol of Enki], measuring 1.10 m. wide 1.00 m. deep. in which stood a small liben [mudbrick] pedestal, 24 cm. high [Enki idol placed on top of this “bema” platform]. Another similar pedestal [for burnt offerings] occurred in the centre of the main part of the chamber. In this case, bearing traces of fire and being surrounded by a conspicuous deposit of ashes. The doorway was placed off-centre, in the southeastern wall, and Its jambs were strengthened by projections of the brick-work inside. There were also projections, equal in dimensions to a single brick (40 cm long), in the centre. of the southwest and northeast walls almost certainly for the purpose of supporting a main ceiling-beam. To the left as one approached the doorway from outside, a fragment of brickwork had survived, which might have been a third pedestal. To the right, a narrow wall was built against the east corner of the building, and, near the south corner, a new circular kiln had been built, exactly resembling that in Level XVII. The occupation-level corresponding to Level XVI was extremely rich in painted pottery: especially in the neighbourhood of the entrance-doorway. But there were few other objects of Interest.” (Eridu, Fuad Safar Mohammad Ali Mustafa, Seton Lloyd, p88, 1981 AD)

KEY CONTENT FOUND ONLY IN BOOK:

C. Temple VIII (8) 3000 BC: during the ‘Ubaid 3 Expansion Archaeological Age when Nimrod

founds Nineveh: Gen 10:11

6. Bevel-rimmed bowls: the “type-fossil” of the Uruk Archaeological Period:

D. Temple VI (6): 2950 BC: Ubaid 4

E. Temple ll: Uruk 2 [second last temple built by Nimrod]

F. Temple I: 2875 BC: Early Uruk 3 [last temple built and completed by Nimrod]

G. Tower of Babel: 2850 BC Nimrod’s 300x300 meter Platform for the Tower of Babel

CHAPTER 9: Origin of Written Language in 2850 BC

KEY CONTENT FOUND ONLY IN BOOK:

IX. 2850 BC: Origin of the first written language in history:

A. No known written language before the Tower of Babel

B. Beginnings of a written language: 2700 BC

C. Pictographs in the Chinese language connected to flood and the Tower of Babel

One of the most stunning and impressive evidences that Noah's Ark and the Tower of Babel are real Bible history, is coded directly into the Chinese language. With the absence of any migration or genealogical information of Noah, it appears that Noah or his “other children” migrated to China and spoke Chinese after the Tower of Babel. Noah died 50-100 years before the Tower of Babel. He would have been a power witness to the global flood as real history, transmitted down through the legends of time. Many key words in the Chinese language today are made up of composite words that directly invoke the imagery of the first 11 chapters of Genesis. See detailed outline on the book of Genesis embedded in the Chinese language.

1. LARGE SHIP: Notice that the Chinese word for large boat is a composite of three pictograms of a SHIP that can hold EIGHT PEOPLE. It is incredible that an “8 person boat” is how the Chinese write the word for a large “ocean freighter”.

2. TELL/SPEAK: The Chinese word shuō helps us to know how the ancient Chinese knew about the pre-Babel history of mankind. The word means to TELL or SPEAK or SAY. It's etymology identifies WORDS from EIGHT ELDERS. I would suggest that would be Noah and his wife, along with his three sons and their wives. They were, after the flood, the oldest (elder) people on the earth.

3. TRADITION: Just in case we're not certain that these eight elders who shared words with the ancient Chinese people were in fact Noah and his family, a word used for HANDING DOWN or PASSING DOWN also reveals the source of their knowledge. This word pictures EIGHT WATER PEOPLE! Who could that be, but the eight people who were saved through water (1 Peter 3:20), Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives?

4. TOWER: A Chinese word for TOWER (ta) is descriptive of both the materials use to build the tower and the unity of the people who were making it. The components used to make bricks for the tower were DUST and GRASS. All the PEOPLE involved in the project were of ONE MOUTH or language.

5. BABEL: The Hebrew word for Babel literally means confusion. The Chinese word for BABEL (ba bié) speaks of the reason behind the confusion. It records God's DESIRE for man to SEPARATE or DEPART from the plain of Shinar, that the whole earth might be populated.

6. NOAH’S NAME:
Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son. And he called his name Noah, saying, 'This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed.' (Genesis 5:28-29, NKJV) There are over 15 words that could be used in the Chinese language to convey the idea of a promise. That the ancient Chinese used nuò is significant. The etymology reveals WORDS spoken about a MAN through whom the WEEDS curse would be removed, and LIFE would be restored to the EARTH. Notice, that is the very thing Lamech said in Genesis 5:28-29 when he named Noah. This promise would be fulfilled in Noah, for after the flood, when he and his family had exited the ark, we read: ...Noah built an altar to the LORD ...and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, 'I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. (Genesis 8:20-21, NKJV) In this text, not only does the LORD say that He will not again destroy all flesh with a flood again, but He also indicates that He will no longer curse the ground for man's sake. This is not a statement about the flood, but about the weed curse which resulted from Adam's sin in the garden (Genesis 3:17-19). It was in the days of Noah, when he came forth from the ark that the weed curse was no more. The cursed ground was rapid vegetation growth not difficulty in growth. The ground was over productive not under productive and that was a lot of work! The plants grew too rapidly to control for farming with dense overgrowth, 500-foot vegetation canopies and weeds that would grow much faster than today. Notice that as late as the birth of Noah, the people were working very hard to control the weeds so they could farm their food. Before the flood the world was a global greenhouse and it never rained. We know that all oil, gas and coal deposits were created at the time of the flood when a massive amount of vegetation, up to 100,000 times what is present on the earth today was destroyed in the flood and buried under a 2 km deep flood deposit. Gigantism is well documented in paleontology. Not only did things grow larger, they grew MUCH faster making it very difficult for man to farm. After the flood the plants grew at the rate we see today. While today, growing a vegetable garden is a lot of work, nobody bitterly complains how hard it is to grow food. Noah was the one who brought about relief from the curse of the rapid plant growth because after the flood the curse was removed by God. What we do not know, is if the woman’s curse of increased pain during childbirth was also removed. If it was, it would result in an increased fertility rate and a more rapid global population growth.

7. PROMISE: There are over 15 words that could be used in the Chinese language to convey the idea of a promise. That the ancient Chinese used nuò is significant. The etymology reveals WORDS spoken about a MAN through whom the WEEDS curse would be removed, and LIFE would be restored to the EARTH. Notice, that is the very thing Lamech said in Genesis 5:28-29 when he named Noah.

8. FLOOD: Hóng, meaning FLOOD, reveals the extent of the flood. It was not a localized flood; God would bring TOTAL WATER upon the land. The word for TOTAL here is significant also. It is a record of what would be left after the flood was finished. There would remain EIGHT TOGETHER upon the EARTH. Only Noah, his wife, their three sons, and their wives would survive.

D. ORIGIN OF ALPHABET: Joseph and Manasseh invent the world’s first alphabet

1. See details: Hebrew is the world’s first alphabet: The World's Oldest Alphabet: Hebrew As the Language of the Proto-consonantal Script, Douglas Petrovich, 2016 AD

2. Between 1859-1842 BC, Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh invented the world’s first alphabet shortly after they moved to Avaris also known as Tel el Dab’a.

3. Hebrew is the mother Alphabet of all other languages including English. English, Phoenician and Arabic are derived directly from Hebrew.

4. The Hebrews selected 22 of the 734 Egyptian hieroglyphic symbols as their alphabet “character set”, one for each of the 22 phonic sounds in Hebrew. Although each of the 22 Egyptian hieroglyphs had an Egyptian word associated with it, the Hebrews ignored this and assigned a corresponding Hebrew word to represent the hieroglyph. The first letter of each word represented that sound in their alphabet (acrophony). For example, the Egyptian word for cow is KA but the Hebrew word for cow is ALEPH. The Egyptian hieroglyph for cattle was a cow head with horns and is pronounced “KA”, but the Hebrew word for cattle was “ALEPH”. Since the first letter/sound was “A”, the ox head became the symbol for the Hebrew letter A. We can therefore prove that our English alphabet is derived directly from the Hebrew Alphabet because our “rotated” letter A represents a cow. Cow = the letter C not A in English.

5. Further, we can prove English (and all other alphabets) is derived from Hebrew phonograms and NOT Egyptian phonograms, because each letter of the English alphabet “echos” the corresponding word-picture in Hebrew, NOT Egyptian. For example, the English letter “A” is derived directly from the Egyptian pictograph of a “cow head” (F1) and has a “K” sound. As we can see the phonic correspondence is broken, even though the same pictograph is used. Yet in Hebrew the letter “A” corresponds to the Hebrew word for “cow/cattle”: Aleph. It is obvious then, that the sound of the English letter A was derived from Hebrew not Egyptian, even though all three languages use a cow to represent the letter A.

E. Four Hebrew Scripts and the Transmission of the Hebrew Bible

1. Mosaic-Hieroglyphic 1859-1050 BC

The first Hebrew alphabetic script was hieroglyphic in appearance because it borrowed 22 of the 756 Egyptian hieroglyphs and assigned them a new phonic sound. The Pentateuch and the Ten Commandments were written in this script.

2. Paleo-Hebrew 1050-458 BC

The second Hebrew script was perfected by Samuel at his Naioth prophet’s school. He converted the five books of Moses into this script. During the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BC, many bulla were excavated in this script. The famous High Priestly benediction silver scroll is also written in this script.

3. Aramaic-Hebrew 458-AD 70

Ezra converted all bible books into this new format. Paradoxically, although the Jews invented the first alphabet, they adopted the latter Aramaic form of the alphabet. While the shape of each letter was different, they sounded exactly the same for the most part. The great readings of scripture on Ezra’s little podium were the unveiling of this new script.

4. Masoretic-Hebrew AD 600-present

Vowel accents were added to the Hebrew alphabet for correct soundings. In the 1880’s when the long extinct Hebrew was re-introduced into the infant state of Israel, the vowel accents were critical in teaching ancient Hebrew to a modern generation.

CHAPTER 10: Uruk 3 Urban Expansion after 2850 BC

KEY CONTENT FOUND ONLY IN BOOK:

X. The great Uruk 3 Urban Expansion after tower of Babel

A. Urbanism’s origin in southern Mesopotamia during the Uruk period

B. Expansion/invasion of south into north

Map of Uruk 3 Expansion after the Tower of Babel in 2850 BC

C. Northern Uruk Expansion 3 sites

1. Hacinebi Tepe: The Split language City: Distinct language twin walled cities

2. Habuba Kabira: Settled after the Tower of Babel (Due east of Aleppo)

3. Hamoukar (Ubaid colony invaded by southern Uruk colony after Tower of Babel)

CHAPTER 11: Egyptian mirror of Nimrod’s Eridu Temple

XI. Architectural mirror of Nimrod’s Eridu temple by Djoser in 2650 BC

1. One of the most stunning discoveries of the author was made on a research trip to Egypt in 2019 AD

a. The author was standing beside the oldest pyramid in the world (Djoser-2660 BC) and in front of the oldest stone temple in the world (Djoser-2650 BC).

b. Although the author had been at the same site ten years earlier in 2009, having just finished the first rough draft of this book, the architectural similarity between the excavated temple at Eridu and this temple of Djoser immediately became apparent.

c. The author realized right then, that the last temple Nimrod built at Babel (Eridu) was an almost identical design to the first temple built by Djoser 200 years later.

d. There appears to be a direct architectural connection between the oldest/first stone temple in Egypt and the last mudbrick temple in Babel (Eridu).

e. Note: The author is not saying that others may not have already noticed this connection, just that the author was unaware of any previous connection being made when he visited the site in 2019. If others have already made this connection, as the proverb goes, “cursed be the man who discovers something before I did.”

2. Three ways that Djoser’s Egyptian temple echoes that of Nimrods Eridu (Babel) temple in architectural design.

a. The outer wall of both temples features a niched/notched/zig zag design.

b. Both temples feature a high vertical decorative inset.

c. The doors of both temples are high and feature a recessed niche.

3. It seems obvious that when Djoser built the first stone temple on earth in Egypt, he borrowed directly from the architectural design of Nimrod.

a. We have the excavation report of the temple of Enki at Eridu and know what it looked like.

b. We can visit the temple of Djoser today in Egypt and photograph the surviving portion of the in situ outer wall of that temple.

4. There is a clear architectural synchronism between the mudbrick Temple VI of Nimrod that was excavated at Eridu and the stone temple of Djoser in Egypt.

CHAPTER 12: Pyramid Echoes of the Tower of Babel

XII. Pyramid echoes of the Tower of Babel: 2660 BC

With the mass exodus of population away from the Tower of Babel construction site, its design and form was almost universally understood. Within 200 years of the Tower of Babel a collection of huge monumental pyramids and ziggurats are constructed. These likely echo and replicate the architectural design of the Tower of Babel. If can be concluded that the Tower of Babel had an appearance similar to the Stepped Pyramid of Djoser in Egypt and the Caral Ziggurat in Peru.

A. Worlds 5 oldest Pyramids

1. Dynasty 3 = First pyramid ever built: Djoser’s Stepped Pyramid with hieroglyphs at Djoser (D3 = start of Old Kingdom) 2667–2648 BC. built in the 27th century BC during the Third Dynasty for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser by his vizier, Imhotep.

2. 1st king of Dynasty 4, Pharaoh Sneferu

a. Bent Pyramid at Dahshur: built under the Old Kingdom Pharaoh Sneferu: c2600 BC

b. Meidum, Maydum or Maidum Pyramid: 2^nd built by Sneferu

c. Red Pyramid, also called the north Pyramid (3^rd built by Sneferu)

3. Peru: Caral Ziggurat: Oldest city in the Americas with many pyramids, oldest to 2600 BC

4. 2^nd king of Dynasty 4 = Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza: 2670 BC (2580–2560 BC, 4th dynasty)

B. Ziggurats of Ur-Nammu [2112-2095 BC MC], at Eridu and Ur: 2100 BC

Pictured above is the location of the Tower of Babel, the mound is the Ziggurat of Ur Nammu (2100 BC)

1. Ur-Nammu [2112-2095 BC] built two Ziggurats in 2100 BC at Eridu and Ur

Pictured above is the Ziggurat of Ur, built by Ur-Nammu in 2100 BC

2. The Ziggurat of Ur is the most famous Ziggurat in the world and the best preserved in the middle east. In the 1980’s Saddam Hussein rebuilt the façade and the monumental staircases. The Ziggurat at Ur is important because it provides an architectural blueprint for the Ziggurat at Eridu he built.

3. Both Ziggurat’s are almost identical in design except for a small variant in size. The excavation report at Eridu (Babel) documents the monumental staircase, which is essentially identical to the Ziggurat at Ur.

4. The Ziggurat at Eridu (Nimrod’s Babel) is not the Tower of Babel but was built on the platform where the Nimrod’s tower of Babel was going to be built.

5. Construction of the Ziggurat at Babel (Eridu), although started by Ur-Nammu, may have continued down to the time of his grandson, Amar-Sin because we find his stamped mudbricks.

6. Eridu Ziggurat: “In Mound 1, the Ziggurat (É‑u₆‑nir) was similar in shape and almost in size to the ziggurat of Ur‑Nammu at Ur (62.50 x 43). Its length is estimated in 61.8 m and its width most probably in 46.5.” (The Iraqi‑Italian Archaeological Mission at the Seven Mounds Of Eridu/Amer, Marco Ramazzotti, p12, 2015 AD)

C. Excavations of the Babel Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu and Amar-Sin: Eridu 2100 BC

Above: Monumental staircase excavated at Eridu is identical to that at Ur.

1. Excavations 1945-1949 AD concluded the Ziggurat was built by Ur-Nammu, Amar-Sin: 2100 BC

a. “Judging from its remains, the ziggurat of Eridu was oblong, similar in shape and almost in size to the ziggurat of Ur-Nammu at Ur. Its length is estimated 61.8 m. and its width most probably 46.5 m. The length is estimated on the basis of the eastern corner (Fig. 11) which is fortunately found intact at its bottom, giving the length of the south-eastern side of the ziggurat. The distance between this corner and the central staircase is 27.4 m. The southern corner is denuded completely, but it is supposed that it lay at a similar distance (i.e. 27.4 m.) from the central staircase. The total length of the southeastern side wall thus is 61.8 m. including 7 m. which is the width of the central staircase (Fig. 3). It is astonishingly almost equal to the length of the ziggurat of Ur, which is 62.5 m. long. But the estimated width of the ziggurat of Eridu is 3.5 m. wider. Further comparison between the two buildings proves that the ziggurat of Eridu had its own following general peculiarities: 1. Instead of the northeastern side, the staircases are at the southeastern side, probably for facing the direction of the lagoons in the depression, where Abzu the sea was the abode of Enki the chief god of Eridu. 2. There are no two bastions in between the two lateral staircases and the central staircase. 3. The only side surviving to a considerable height, namely the southeastern side, does not show any of the weeper holes which are common in the encasing walls or the [other] ziggurat of Ur [20 km east]. The steps of the two lateral staircases are half as wide as the steps of the central staircase which are 5 m. wide. 5. The ziggurat is not built on levelled ground. The northern corner is almost 3 m. lower than the southern corner. Figure 11 shows how the bottom of seven courses of bricks, steps down at the extreme end of the southeastern side taking the shape of the contour of the ground. (Eridu, Fuad Safar Mohammad Ali Mustafa, Seton Lloyd, p60, 1981 AD)

b. “It has already been explained at length, how, at some time in the historic period, the mound at Eridu, representing building remains or the. Uruk and Proto-literate periods, superimposed on an 'Ubaid settlement, had been surrounded by a stone ·retaining-wall, and the enclosed space levelled to form an emplacement for a new group of religious buildings. There was little difficulty in tracing the outline of the acropolis thus formed. It was represented on the surface by an irregular line of limestone boulders, breaking away from the gypsum mortar in which they were originally laid” (Eridu, Fuad Safar Mohammad Ali Mustafa, Seton Lloyd, p54, 1981 AD)

2. Stamped mudbricks from Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu, Amar-Sin, Nur-Adad, Nebuchadnezzar

a. “A stamped brick of Amar-Sin is found in situ against the north-eastern side of libn [mudbrick] core only 1.5 m. from the eastern corner at the libn core. Four other bricks of Amar-Sin were also discovered in situ at 36.0 m. from the eastern corner of the north-eastern wall.” (Eridu, Fuad Safar Mohammad Ali Mustafa, Seton Lloyd, p63, 1981 AD)

Above: Locations of stamped mudbricks that were excavated at Eridu.

3. Catalogue of mudbricks excavated at Eridu:

Stamped mudbricks assist us in determining who first constructed the Ziggurat at Eridu (Babel), who repaired and occupied it.

a. Ur-Nammu [2112-2095 BC MC], king of Ur, he who has built the temple of Enki In Eridu.

b. For Enki his king, Ur-Nammu [2112–2095 MC] the mighty man. king of Ur, king of Sumer and Akkad, his temple has built.

c. Amar-Sin [2046-2038 BC MC], who was appointed by Enlil at Nippur, the permanent benefactor to the temple of Enlil, the mighty king, king of Ur, king of the four quarters, has built for Enki, his beloved king. his beloved Apzu

d. Nur-Adad [1865 BC-1849 BC MC], the mighty man, the true cultivator of Ur, king of Larsa, who looks after the purity of the Divine might (me) of the sanctuary E-babbar, for building Eridu which was left since long ago, wished it to be in harmony with his just reign. For Enki his beloved dwelling place, he built and reconstructed it in its original plan and place.

e. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon [605-562 BC], who looks after Esagila and Ezida, the first-born son, of Nabopolassar, the king of Babylon.

CHAPTER 13: Nimrod as Enmerkar

Enmerkar as Nimrod

Enmerkar vs. the king of Ararat: 2100 BC

Documents the Tower of Babel Division of Languages in 2850 BC

Civil war between Nimrod and his elders: North vs. South

King Nimrod of Uruk defeats Ensuhgirana king of Ararat

THE FOUR STORIES:

EPSK 1: Submission of Ararat to Uruk #1: Enmerkar vs. Ensuhgirana

EPSK 2: Submission of Ararat to Uruk #2: Enmerkar vs. Lord of Ararat

EPSK 3: Enmerkar’s Siege of Ararat #1: Lugalbanda’s sickness/recovery in cave

EPSK 4: Enmerkar’s Siege of Ararat #2: Lugalbanda’s miraculous speed from Ararat to Uruk

These four Sumerian stories on clay cuneiform tablets are considered some of the oldest poetry on earth and date to about 2100 BC. The stories revolve around two kings, Enmerkar the southern king and Ensuhgirana the northern king. The stories match closely what we would expect from the Bible story of Nimrod in Genesis. Although some of the details and timing conflict with Genesis, Enmerkar is an excellent candidate for Nimrod of the Bible. It is not important if Enmerkar is the real historical figure of Nimrod or a folk tale passed down through the generations like the many Noahic flood stories found all over the world. These four stories were composed over 1000 year after the events actually took place, so the “myths” were not always entirely technically accurate although they preserved the feel of the true historic events. These four poems clearly echo earth history between the flood and the Tower of Babel in the Bible.

Excerpt that documents division of languages:

“For man will then have no enemy. On that day the lands of Šubur and Hamazi, As well as twin-tongued Sumer—great mound of the power of lordship— Together with Akkad—the mound that has all that is befitting— And even the land Martu, resting in green pastures, 145 Yea, the whole world of well-ruled people, Will be able to speak to Enlil in one language! For on that day, for the debates between lords and princes and kings Shall Enki, for the debates between lords and princes and kings, For the debates between lords and princes and kings, 150 Shall Enki, Lord of abundance, Lord of steadfast decisions, Lord of wisdom and knowledge in the Land, Expert of the gods, Chosen for wisdom, Lord of Eridug, Change the tongues in their mouth, as many as he once placed there, 155 And the speech of mankind shall be truly one!’” (EPSK 2:144–155)

Names and Places in Enmerkar vs. the King of Ararat

I. Cast of characters and places in the four ancient stories recorded on clay cuneiform tablets.

1. Unug: City of Uruk

2. Aratta: City of Aratta and/or Mt. Ararat and the kingdom whose capital city is close by or at the Mt. Ararat.

3. Enmerkar: King of Uruk located near the Persian Gulf and a good candidate for Nimrod based upon Gen 10:7-12

4. Ensuhgirana: King of Mt. Ararat only named in story one, but referred to as the “king of Ararat” in stories 2-4.

5. Lugalbanda: son of Enmerkar in stories 3-4.

6. Inana/Inanna: (Ishtar, Venus) Goddess of war, strife, and sexual love; city goddess of Unug (Uruk) and Aratta (Ararat).

7. Anzud bird: Lion-faced mythical bird; guardian of the mountain ranges between Sumer and Aratta.

8. Nimrod: Founder of Babel and Uruk and the entire Assyrian nation.

a. "The sons of Cush were Seba and Havilah and Sabtah and Raamah and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.” The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city." (Genesis 10:7–12)

b. "They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, The land of Nimrod at its entrances; And He will deliver us from the Assyrian When he attacks our land And when he tramples our territory." (Micah 5:6)

9. Three main characters in the four stories: Enmerkar king of Uruk, his son Lugalbanda, and Ensuhgirana the King of Ararat.

a. “The main actors in the cycle are Enmerkar, Lugalbanda, and the Lord of Aratta. The first two appear in the Sumerian King List as rulers of Unug. While Lugalbanda was the recipient of a cult, especially in Nippur, from the Ur III period right through the Old Babylonian period (i.e., right through about 1600 b.c.e.), his only literary survival outside the cycle is found in a few royal hymns and a few mentions in the Gilgamesh epic. In the Sumerian cycle of the Gilgamesh stories Lugalbanda is mentioned as Gilgamesh’s father. In the Akkadian epic Lugalbanda is called Gilgamesh’s (personal) god. To be sure, there is a very old (c 2500 BC) text describing how Lugalbanda won his wife Ninsun, but this story is not reflected in our cycle. Enmerkar, however, had more of a literary afterlife. He is mentioned in one of the legends of the Kings of Akkad,in a mythical story about Adapa, and in a so-called chronicle of the earliest times.Furthermore, there is a still enigmatic composition apparently dealing with Enmerkar’s construction of a house for Inana. (Epics of Sumerian Kings: The Matter of Aratta, H. L. J. Vanstiphout, Jerrold S. Cooper, Vol. 20, p6, 2003 AD)

II. The four storylines in Enmerkar vs. the king of Ararat (Ararat “RRT”= city “R” of Aratta “RT”)

1. Submission of Ararat to Uruk #1: Enmerkar vs. Ensuhgirana [EPSK 1]

a. After a boasting match between two kings as to who is the idol goddess Inana’s preferred sexual partner, followed by competing wizardry spells and counter-spells to cause and break famine in Urek, Ensuhgirana the king of Ararat submits to Enmerkar king of Uruk.

b. “In the days when Enmerkar rules over the splendid and awesome city of Unug, the lord of Aratta, Ensuhgirana by name, claiming to be the recipient of Inana’s favors, demands Enmerkar’s submission to Aratta. Enmerkar refuses, pointing out that it is obvious that he himself is Inana’s true and constant lover. The lord of Aratta apparently admits that he has been beaten in this part of the game, but, although criticized by his own people, he in turn refuses to submit to Unug. A sorcerer from Hamazi offers his services to break the stalemate: he claims to be able to bring Unug to submission. The lord of Aratta accepts the offer. The wizard travels to the city of Ereš, where he casts a spell on the cattle of the goddess Nisaba. They stop giving milk, and there is famine in Sumer. A cowherd and a shepherd implore the sun god, who sends a wise woman. She catches up with the wizard on the banks of the Euphrates. They start a competition in magic. Five times the wizard throws fish spawn in the river and draws out an animal; five times the wise woman draws out another animal, which catches the wizard’s animal and presumably eats it. Then the wise woman accuses the wizard of black magic, since his magic is draining away the life force of Sumer. He admits that he has been beaten at his own game and pleads for his life. She refuses, takes away his vital force, and thus reenlivens the city of Ereš. Upon hearing this, the lord of Aratta admits defeat and submits to Enmerkar.” (Epics of Sumerian Kings: The Matter of Aratta, H. L. J. Vanstiphout, Jerrold S. Cooper, Vol. 20, p23, 2003 AD)

2. Submission of Ararat to Uruk #2: Enmerkar vs. Lord of Ararat [EPSK 2]

a. The great trade dispute: Ensuhgirana the king of Ararat refuses to supply the new rival king Enmerkar (Nimrod) with precious metals and stones needed to build Uruk. As in the first story [EPSK 1], Enmerkar demands the submission of Ararat because the goddess Inana (Venus) prefers to go to bed with Enmerkar. This time, however, Inana sends a message through Enmerkar to Ensuhgirana the king of Ararat that she indeed prefers Enmerkar and therefore must supply the trade goods. In a kind of “Battle of Wits”, like in the Princess Bride, the ranking king of Ararat creates three unsolvable challenges for Enmerkar, which of course, he solves. Enmerkar supplies two reasons why Ensuhgirana the king of Ararat must submit to his authority, become a vassal king and send the gold and precious stones. First, Enmerkar points out that he is the first one to build a mud brick temple to the pagan goddess in Uruk and that there is no temple building anywhere else in the world including the kingdom of Ararat. Here the Nimrod = Enmerkar synchronism strongly supports that Nimrod was a rebeller, not only for political insurrection to human powers, but for being the first person to invent and propagate an entire pantheon of idol gods. To the Hebrews at Mt. Sinai in 1446 BC, Nimrod’s Assyrian pagan gods were in fact “the gods of your fathers beyond the river”. Second, Enmerkar argues that he invented the first written form of language on earth i.e. cuneiform. He wishes for the world to be restored like it was before the Tower of Babel when all men spoke a single language. In the end a dog fight is proposed to determine who is the top king but Inana herself then orders Ensuhgirana the king of Ararat to both submit and trade with the uprising fledgling kingdom of Enmerkar in the south.

b. “The story seems deceptively simple. Enmerkar, king of Unug, wants to embellish his city and the whole of Sumer with precious metals and stones- goods that are not to be found in Sumer but only in the fabulously wealthy city Aratta, which lies behind the mountains. Since trade does not as yet exist, he asks the goddess Inana what he should do: Inana is the goddess of Aratta as well. She favors Enmerkar and advises him to send a messenger with a challenge to Aratta, requisitioning what he wants and enforcing his claim by stating that she favors him. He does so, but the (unnamed) lord of Aratta refuses, claiming that Inana is his goddess as well and that anyway his mountain city is an impregnable fastness. Still, he is willing to enter into a contest with Enmerkar in order to see whose side Inana is really on. This results in a counterchallenge that takes the form of an unsolvable riddle: if Enmerkar succeeds in carting grain to Aratta in open nets instead of bags, he might reconsider. Enmerkar finds a solution: he uses sprouting barley to close the interstices of the nets so that no grain is spilled. Sending off the grain, he repeats his challenge. This time the lord of Aratta asks him to bring him a scepter made of no existing material. Enmerkar solves this riddle as well: he prepares a gluelike plastic substance that he pours into a hollow reed; after this mass has hardened, which takes a long time, he breaks away the reed mould and sends off the scepter with a renewed challenge. Finally, the lord of Aratta requests a dog of no known color to fight his own dog. Enmerkar again finds a solution: he weaves a cloth of no known color. When this is sent off to Aratta the messenger complains that the message has become too long and difficult for him to remember and reproduce. Thereupon Enmerkar invents writing—which throws the lord of Aratta in despair. At this point Iškur, the god of storm and rain, intervenes, and the famine and drought that was scourging Aratta at the time is over. The fight between the two dogs now appears as part of a festival. Inana reappears, confirms her predilection for Enmerkar, but also tells him to institute peaceful trade with Aratta from now on.” (Epics of Sumerian Kings: The Matter of Aratta, H. L. J. Vanstiphout, Jerrold S. Cooper, Vol. 20, p49, 2003 AD)

3. Enmerkar’s Siege of Ararat #1: Lugalbanda’s sickness/recovery in cave [EPSK 3]

a. These two stories revolve around Enmerkar’s son Lugalbanda. Again, Ensuhgirana [named in EPSK 1] the northern king of Ararat refuses to submit to the southern kingdom of Enmerkar at Uruk. Lugalbanda joins the army in marching from Uruk to Mt. Ararat but becomes sick along the way. He is left in alone in a cave with provisions to die. He begs to be healed and offers four successive prayers to the sun god, moon god, star god and once again to the sun god. All the god’s gather with him for a feast and they heal Lugalbanda so that he can now travel north to join the siege the city of Aratta (Urartu = Ur-Artu = Ur of Aratta. Note: Ur = city as in Ur of Chaldees = City of the Chaldeans]. Here we see the narrative invoking the memory of when city walls had first been built, which indicates the story is after the tower of Babel. At the feast of gods a group of competing gods arrive and a battle between “darkness and light” ensues (in reality a battle of darkness and darkness). After the opposing gods are defeated, Lugalbanda begins to travel to join the military siege at the mudbrick city wall of the capital city of the King of Ararat.

b. “Enmerkar of Unug [Eruk] wants to conquer Aratta. During the march, Lugalbanda (his son?) falls mortally ill and is abandoned in a cave in the mountains. He prays to the great luminaries, who save his life. Being all alone, he reinvents fire, cooking, and baking. He captures a wild bull and a wild goat. Acting on a portentous dream, he sacrifices these animals to the great gods. A band of spirits arrives. The hero masters them with the help of Utu. There seems to follow a battle between the forces of light and the forces of darkness. The former seem to win this battle.” (Epics of Sumerian Kings: The Matter of Aratta, H. L. J. Vanstiphout, Jerrold S. Cooper, Vol. 20, p97, 2003 AD)

4. Enmerkar’s Siege of Ararat #2: Lugalbanda’s miraculous speed: Ararat to Uruk [EPSK 4]

a. In a continuation of the first installment, Enmerkar’s son Lugalbanda, now healed by the gods in the cave begins to travel to join the military siege of his father at the mudbrick city wall of the capital city of the King of Ararat. On route he gains the favour of the mythical Anzud bird by feeding its chicks and is granted miraculous powers of speed-travel. After arriving at the siege, which lasted a year without success, he uses his new found super speed to run alone, back to the mudbrick temple of Inana at Uruk to ask for her help. Ensuhgirana [named in EPSK 1] the king of Ararat submits to Enmerkar without bloodshed.

b. “Lugalbanda is now stranded in the highlands. He decides to go and look for the Anzud bird, who rules over that region. He feasts Anzud’s chick so well that it is stuffed with food and probably asleep when its parents return from foraging; therefore, it does not answer their call. The frightened parents are very happy when Lugalbanda appears and tells them what has happened. Anzud rewards him with the gift of superhuman speed. He returns to his companions, who are laying siege to Aratta. To force a decision, Enmerkar sends Lugalbanda back to Unug in order to ask for Inana’s advice. In a single day Lugalbanda reaches Unug, and Inana gives her advice. Aratta seemingly submits peacefully.” (Epics of Sumerian Kings: The Matter of Aratta, H. L. J. Vanstiphout, Jerrold S. Cooper, Vol. 20, p97, 2003 AD)

KEY CONTENT FOUND ONLY IN BOOK:

III. Introduction to Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta

2. Archaeological Provence:

b. Nimrod’s (Enmerkar) South vs. North civil war:

4. Refusal to trade triggered the civil war:

5. Origin of Trade: Ararat’s trade war with Nimrod resolved:

6. Etymology of Aratta = Urartu = Mt. Ararat

7. Immediately after the flood those on the ark, built dwellings near and around Mt. Ararat.

8. Events between the Flood and the Tower of Babel were “pre-military warfare times”:

9. Development of city walls over time historically validated through Archaeology:

10. Inana’s (goddess) love for Enmerkar grows cold in old age proving that Nimrod lived long into old age and was a worshipper of the pagan goddess Inana.

11. Supernatural power to run like Elijah to Tirzah and Mt. Sinai:

12. Intertwining of ancient Sumerian literature with the Bible stories of creation, the flood and the tower of Babel

IV. Enmerkar as Nimrod

David Rohl proposed Enmerkar as Nimrod on page 222 of his book, Legends: Genesis of Civilization in 1998 AD.

1. Nimrod and Enmerkar were both born in Ararat

a. Nimrod: Nimrod was born in the northern Mt. Ararat region but migrated south to found Babel in the south:

b. Enmerkar is twice said to be born in Ararat: “To him [Enmerkar] who grew up on the soil of Aratta” (Submission of Ararat to Uruk #2: Enmerkar vs. Lord of Ararat: EPSK 2:211 and EPSK 2:529)

2. Nimrod and Enmerkar were both mighty hunters

a. Enmerkar the mighty hunter: “Enmerkar” literally means “Enmer” the hunter “kar”: ‘Enmer the Hunter’

b. Nimrod was a mighty hunter = "He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.” (Genesis 10:9)

c. Nimrod: The phrase “mighty hunter” most naturally refers to the hunting of animals for food. While men after the flood were vegans who feared animals, Nimrod showed uncharacteristic fearless bravery in not only hunting animals but also eating them. Nimrod therefore, encouraged men to starting eating meat and change their diets from vegan to omnivore. Echoing the bravery and hunting skills of Nimrod, their founder, many ancient Assyrian inscriptions and reliefs of Assyrians kings are pictured as “fearless hunters of animals”.

d. Moses points out to the children of Abraham at Mt. Sinai that in 3200 BC, Nimrod, second generation from Noah, when the world population was 800, was the first king, the first to be brave and not fear animals but to kill them, the first to eat animals, the founder of all the Assyrian cities of their ancestors (Abraham called from Ur) and of course the first to invent pagan gods which created the great historic dichotomy between worshipers of YHWH at Sinai and the “gods of your forefathers beyond the river” they were all familiar with.

e. Nimrod, the mighty hunter king, became the proto-type for all Assyrian kings as witnessed in countless reliefs and roller seals of later Assyian kings being called “mighty hunter” and depicted as hunting. Since Nimrod lived before and after the Tower of Babel, this explains how Nimrod also became the prototype of the great HUNTER KING in Egypt as well!

3. Nimrod and Enmerkar were both former vegans converted to meat-eating

a. Enmerkar:

i. Allusion to the early vegan/meat eating of Nimrod as the first meat eater.

ii. Notice the vegan slur that meat eating humans are like dogs who eat rotten dead animals. In other worlds, only dogs eat meat. ‘Will you then truly have cast out Aratta as a carrion-eating dog! [if Enmerkar succeeds in bringing a donkey load of grain in nets to Aratta, the lord of Aratta will submit to Enmerkar] (Submission of Ararat to Uruk #2: Enmerkar vs. Lord of Ararat: EPSK 2:290)

b. Nimrod, born in 3225 BC might be identified as the first non-vegan to make meat eating popular 75 years after the flood.

i. All eight on the ark had lived their life as vegans, never eating meat. For one hundred years before the flood, they had never eaten meat! Like every human alive today, a person’s life long cuisine is highly resistant to change. Hence it is likely the former dietary habits would continue after they exited the ark. God did tell Noah to start eating meat but their resistance was likely very “vegan-like”!

ii. Identifying Nimrod as a person who ate a large amount of meat in Gen 10 contextually expands upon God’s command to start eating meat in the previous chapter of Genesis: “The fear of you and the terror of you will be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given. “Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant." (Genesis 9:2–3)

iii. After the flood, man feared the animals. When God put the “fear of man” in animals, this marked a changed relationship that transformed from a peaceful coexistence where “the lion lays down with the lamb and never harmed man” into a mutual “dog eat dog” world where man hunted animal and ANIMAL HUNTED MAN. We can be certain this is true because the very next statement is that God decreed death to animals who kill man!!! "Surely I will require your lifeblood; from every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every man’s brother I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed." (Genesis 9:5) This is why bears, lions and dogs that kill or hurt men today are hunted and killed.

iv. The idea Nimrod was a “mighty hunter of animals” highlights his uncharacteristic bravery in the new post flood world. While other men were terrified of animals and certainly didn’t eat animals, Nimrod was famous for his lack of fear of being killed by the animals and was one of the first persons to eat them!

v. The association of Nimrod as the first Assyrian king in history who founded all the major Assyrian cities, as a brave, fearless and skilled hunter of animals (while other men cowered) is confirmed in the many ancient inscriptions of Assyrian, Babylonian and Egyptian kings portraying him as a mighty hunter of animals.

4. Enmerkar and Nimrod were not only both kings at Uruk, they both founded Uruk!

a. Nimrod: "The beginning of Nimrod’s kingdom was Babel and Erech [Uruk] and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar." (Genesis 10:10)

b. Enmerkar: Enmerkar is the king of Uruk in the four ancient stories where the king of Ararat submits to him. (ie. Enmerkar and Ensuhgirana; Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta; Lugalbanda 1 & 2)

c. Enmerkar in the Sumerian King List: 2119 BC:

i. Sumerian King List: “This [Sumerian King List] is a so-called historiographic document, drawn up during the Isin-Larsa period (2017–1763 b.c.e.) or possibly during the Ur III period (2112–2004 b.c.e.).” (Epics of Sumerian Kings: The Matter of Aratta, H. L. J. Vanstiphout, Jerrold S. Cooper, Vol. 20, p4, fn11, 2003 AD)

ii. Specific reference to the flood and Cush the grandson of Noah:

a) “Then the Flood swept over. After the Flood had swept over, and the kingship had descended from heaven, the kingship was in Kiš. [Kush or Cush]. In Kiš, Gišur became king; he ruled for 1,200 years.” (Sumerian King List)

iii. The Sumerian King List preserves Enmerkar as the son of Meš-ki'ag-gašer.

b) The Sumerian King List states that Enmerkar was “the king of Uruk, who built Uruk, became king; he ruled for 420 years”.

c) Surprisingly, this is realistically plausible time period for Nimrod to have lived.

d) “Enmekar [possibly Nimrod-literally means Enmek the hunter like Nimrod who also founded Uruk], son of Meš-ki'ag-gašer, the king of Uruk, who built Uruk, became king; he ruled for 420 years.” (Sumerian King List, Weld-Blundell Larsa Prism, ends with Sin-magir, 2119 BC)

e) After Enmerkar lived Gilgamesh of the famous flood story: The Epic of Gilgamesh (1150 BC)! “Gilgameš, whose father was an invisible being, the lord of Kulaba, ruled for 126 years. Ur-Nungal, son of the divine Gilgameš, ruled for 30 years.” (Sumerian King List, Weld-Blundell Larsa Prism, ends with Sin-magir, 2119 BC)

5. Nimrod and Enmerkar both share the same consonants in cuneiform and Hebrew: “NMR”

a. Nimrod = NMR-D [Hebrew] = “rebeller”. (verb)

b. Enmerkar = NMR [cuneiform] = “Enmer the Hunter” (noun)

6. Etymology of Mt. Ararat = Aratta in the four stories

a. Both are spelled identically in Cuneiform. (Matthew Glassman, email, 2019)

b. “Aratta = biblical Ararat = Assyrian Urartu = Uru-Mania = classical Armenia. Language wise, and geographically/historically. If you are asking for a further suggestion, you might want to consider that the first element of Ararat is Ar/Ur which has the meaning ’settlement’ and later ‘city’ (as in Ur of the Chaldees and Urushalayim). Similarly, Urartu is a later rendition of Ur-Aratu. So Ar-Arat could be ’settlement or city of Arat[ta]’. This would be the multi-coloured walled city mentioned in the Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta text.” (David Rohl, text, 2019)

7. Nimrod and Enmerkar were both eyewitnesses to the confusion of languages in 2850 BC

a. Nimrod:

i. Nimrod was an eyewitness to the tower of Babel (2850 BC) at age 375 years old.

ii. All other men at this period in history live to be around 500 years old. Gen 11

iii. Nimrod was born around 3225 BC and probably died around age 500 c. 2725 BC.

iv. The origin of writing was triggered BECAUSE OF the confusion of languages at Babel.

v. Men would draw pictures of known things as an aid to communicate.

vi. Pictographic communication is Archaeologically validated in the earliest forms of cuneiform, Egyptian hieroglyphs and Chinese languages.

b. Enmerkar: (EPSK 2:144–155)

i. The stories express a longing for the restoration of one language again.

ii. “For man will then have no enemy. On that day the lands of Šubur and Hamazi, As well as twin-tongued Sumer—great mound of the power of lordship— Together with Akkad—the mound that has all that is befitting— And even the land Martu, resting in green pastures, 145 Yea, the whole world of well-ruled people, Will be able to speak to Enlil in one language! For on that day, for the debates between lords and princes and kings Shall Enki, for the debates between lords and princes and kings, For the debates between lords and princes and kings, 150 Shall Enki, Lord of abundance, Lord of steadfast decisions, Lord of wisdom and knowledge in the Land, Expert of the gods, Chosen for wisdom, Lord of Eridug, Change the tongues in their mouth, as many as he once placed there, 155 And the speech of mankind shall be truly one!’” (Submission of Ararat to Uruk #2: Enmerkar vs. Lord of Ararat: EPSK 2:144–155)

iii. The second story: “The poem tells of a time when there is no fear or rivalry among men and describes how with “one tongue” (language) all the countries worship the high god Enlil.” (New American Commentary, Genesis 11)

8. Nimrod and Enmerkar were both eyewitnesses to the invention of writing in 2850 BC

a. Nimrod:

i. Nimrod lived before and after the tower of Babel (2850 BC)

ii. Nimrod was born around 3225 BC and died around age 500 c. 2725 BC.

iii. Archaeology strongly suggests that writing began around 2850 BC.

iv. Therefore it is plausible that Nimrod not only lived to see the invention of writing, he may be the one who did the inventing.

v. In the Sumerian stories, Enmerkar (possibly Nimrod) is the inventor of writing.

b. Enmerkar:

i. Enmerkar’s Invention of writing after the tower of Babel took place in the south where Nimrod was king.

ii. Writing was invented in the south, not in the north near Ararat.

iii. His [Enmerkar] speech was very grand, its meaning very deep; The messenger’s mouth was too heavy; he could not repeat it. Because the messenger’s mouth was too heavy, and he could not repeat it, The lord of Kulab patted some clay and put the words on it as on a tablet. Before that day, there had been no putting words on clay; But now, when the sun rose on that day—so it was: The lord of Kulab had put words as on a tablet—so it was! (Submission of Ararat to Uruk #2: Enmerkar vs. Lord of Ararat: EPSK 2:500–506)

iv. “O lord of Aratta, when you have read this tablet, learned the gist of the message” Submission of Ararat to Uruk #2: Enmerkar vs. Lord of Ararat: EPSK 2:525

v. “The lord of Arratta took from the messenger. The tablet (and held it) next to a fireplace. The lord of Aratta inspected the tablet. The spoken words were mere wedges—his brow darkened. The lord of Aratta kept looking at the tablet (in the light of) the brazier.” (Submission of Ararat to Uruk #2: Enmerkar vs. Lord of Ararat: EPSK 2:537–541)

vi. “It can no longer be doubted that the Sumerians, after giving humankind the most precious technological and cognitive tool ever invented, namely, writing, by that token gave us the first highly articulated system of literature. The poems translated here, as we have them, are some four thousand years old, and they still impress us with their clever and agile structure, with their consummate mastery of a highly stylized and poeticized language that was already obsolete if not extinct when they were composed, with their lively and multifaceted stylistic tactics, with their deft handling of many-layered imagery, and with their sheer exuberance in rhetoric.” (Epics of Sumerian Kings: The Matter of Aratta, H. L. J. Vanstiphout, Jerrold S. Cooper, Vol. 20, p15, 2003 AD)

vii. “On the other hand, as will be discussed below, the poems show no sense of time perspective: the times of Enmerkar are in many ways pretty much identical to the times of the conception of the stories, the passage describing the invention of writing (including its basic economic rationale) suggests remote antiquity.(Epics of Sumerian Kings: The Matter of Aratta, H. L. J. Vanstiphout, Jerrold S. Cooper, Vol. 20, p4, 2003 AD)

9. Nimrod and Enmerkar both built the First shrines at Eridu (Babel) and Eruk

a. Nimrod: “the rebeller”: inventor of Sumerian pagan gods:

i. The entire system of pagan gods may be a fabrication of Nimrod and date back to before the Tower of Babel.

ii. The series of pagan shrines excavated at Eridu (Babel of Nimrod) validate this.

iii. The ancient story in “Submission of Ararat to Uruk #2: Enmerkar vs. Lord of Ararat” records that the first pagan shrines were in fact built in Babel of Nimrod!

b. Enmerkar built the first pagan temple from mud bricks and bitumen:

i. The “Submission of Ararat to Uruk #2” records a constant contrast between Aratta (northern kingdom of Ararat) that has no shrine and Eruk (Eruk of Nimrod) which has a brick built Kulab (temple)! Shrine in Uruk but not at Aratta: “For Inana did the lord of Aratta don his golden crown and diadem, But he did not please her as well as did the lord of Kulab, For nothing even resembling the shrine Eana [main temple of Inana in Uruk], or the Gipar, the holy place, Did Aratta ever build for Holy Inana, unlike brickwork Kulab!” (Submission of Ararat to Uruk #2: Enmerkar vs. Lord of Ararat: EPSK 2:28–32)

ii. “Who had her installed as the divine Queen of the Eana! ‘O lord, Aratta shall bow in deep submission!’ “This she has promised in brick-built Kulab!” (Submission of Ararat to Uruk #2: Enmerkar vs. Lord of Ararat: EPSK 2:233–235)

iii. The Nimrod temple is called: The Brickwork! “he stepped into Kulab, the Brickwork”. (Submission of Ararat to Uruk #2: Enmerkar vs. Lord of Ararat: EPSK 2:299)

V. Mount Ararat in Ancient Sumerian cuneiform inscriptions:

A. Graphical replication of twin peaks of Ararat: Shamash, the sun god depicted between twin peaks:

1. From Archaeology, we know that the sun god "Shamash" lived in between the twin peaks of Mt. Mashu where Ut-napištim lives.

2. Shamash, the Akkadian sun god, stepping through the mountains at dawn with rays springing from his shoulders; cylinder seal impression, ca. 2400 bce.

3. Notice that the written language symbols for "Shamash" in Cuneiform, Chinese and Egyptian all show a god living between two mountain peaks.

4. The association with the sun god and the kingdom of Aratta (Ararat), which is where the first kingdom existed after the flood, is significant!

B. Mt. Ararat in the Epic of Gilgamesh: Mt Nimush and Mt. Mashu:

1. A very high mountain:

a. Noah’s ark rested on the highest mountain because after the ark landed, no other mountains or dry ground were visible. People who propose other lower candidate mountains for Mt. Ararat overlook this critical Bible fact.

b. Mt. Ararat is the highest mountain peak in the entire middle east.

c. “The mountain is called Mashu. Then he reached Mount Mashu, which daily guards the rising and setting of the Sun, above which only the dome of the heavens reaches, and whose flank reaches as far as the Netherworld below, there were Scorpion-beings watching over its gate.” (Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet 9)

d. “The mountain is called Mashu. Then Gilgamesh reached Mount Mashu [seeking Ut-napištim who was in the ark” (Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet 9)

e. Gilgamesh said to Urshanabi, the ferryman: "Go up, Urshanabi, onto the wall of Uruk and walk around. Examine its foundation, inspect its brickwork thoroughly-- is not (even the core of) the brick structure of kiln-fired brick, and did not the Seven Sages themselves lay out its plan! (Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet 11)

2. Mt. Nimush = Mt Ararat 5300 meters elevation: Ark rested on this mountain

a. Noah’s Ark Rested on Mt. Nimush

b. Mt. Nimush: [Sumerian: “N-MSH”]

c. Mt. Mashu where the flood survivor, Ut-napištim lives.

d. “On Mt. Nimush the boat lodged firm, Mt. Nimush held the boat, allowing no sway. One day and a second Mt. Nimush held the boat, allowing no sway. A third day, a fourth, Mt. Nimush held the boat, allowing no sway. A fifth day, a sixth, Mt. Nimush held the boat, allowing no sway. When a seventh day arrived I sent forth a dove and released it. The dove went off, but came back to me; no perch was visible so it circled back to me. I sent forth a swallow and released it.” (Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet 11)

3. Mt. Mashu: Smaller peak of Mount Ararat. (the smaller twin)

a. Mt. Mashu literally means "twin". Mt. Mashu is the twin peak beside Mt. Ararat.

b. [Sumerian: “MSH”]

c. Home of Ut-napištim (who was in the Ark)

d. Both Mt. Ararat and Mt Mashu are twin-mountains.

4. Distance between Mt. Ararat and Mt. Mashu: 12 leagues in a mystic travel tunnel of darkness led by scorpion demons:

a. Gilgamesh arrives at the foot of Mt. Ararat (Mt. Mashu) and tells a guardian scorpion what he wants: "I have come on account of my ancestor Ut-anapishtim, who joined the Assembly of the Gods, and was given eternal life. About Death and Life I must ask him." The scorpion grants Gilgamesh full access to the "Mashu mountains", which are the twin peaks of Mt. Ararat. The scorpion guides him through a long, scary, dark tunnel into the mountain that opened up to a beautiful garden with precious stones at Mt. Mimush.

b. The distance between Mt. Ararat and Mt. Mashu where Ut-napištim lived was “Twelve leagues he traveled and it grew brilliant [at Mt. Mashu]” (Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet 9)

c. Mt Nimush is the mountain that the ark rested upon and Mt. Mashu is the twin peaked mountain (Ararat) where Ut-napištim's home is located. You must enter a tunnel at the foot of Mt. Nimush and travel “12 leagues”

d. 12 leagues = 120,000 cubits @ 22.6 inches, = 2,712,000/12 inches = 226,000 feet = 70 km from Mt Ararat to Ut-napištim's home on Mt. Mashu “twin mountain”.

e. This is a mystical journey not to be taken literally as 70 km because a demon-scorpion led Gilgamesh in total darkness in a kind of “travel-tunnel portal – wormhole”.

f. So, Mt. Nimush is Mount Ararat is the 17000 foot mountain where the ark of Noah landed and the twin is Mt. Mashu, the lower peak beside Mt. Ararat where Ut-napištim lived.

5. “Let Ut-anapishtim [ie. his relatives-seed] reside far away [ie. Uruk], at the Mouth [Persian Gulf] of the Rivers [Tigris & Euphrates]. They took us far away and settled us at the Mouth of the Rivers." (Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet 11)

C. Mt. Ararat in Enmerkar vs. Aratta:

1. Ararat described as a very high mountain:

a. “This great mountain range [Aratta] is a MES-tree grown high into the skies” (Submission of Ararat to Uruk #2: Enmerkar vs. Lord of Ararat: EPSK 2:243)

b. “This mountain range is a warrior, tall and fierce” Submission of Ararat to Uruk #2: Enmerkar vs. Lord of Ararat: EPSK 2:268

c. “It is I [king of Aratta], being the lord proper for the lustrations, ‘I, whom the great neck-stock of heaven, the Queen of Heaven and Earth, ‘The goddess of the myriad powers, Holy Inana ‘Brought to Aratta, the mountain of the inviolate powers; ‘I whom she made block the entrance to the highlands as a great door! 225 ‘Why then should Aratta submit to Unug? ‘There can be no submission of Aratta to Unug! Tell him that!’” (Submission of Ararat to Uruk #2: Enmerkar vs. Lord of Ararat: EPSK 2:220–226)

2. Location of Aratta and the geographic terrain between Aratta to Uruk:

a. The trip from Uruk to Mt. Ararat starts out in lowlands but enters a series of mountain ranges near Lake Van, which is a perfect fit for the “crossing 7 mountain ranges”.

b. The story has the messenger making 7 return trips between Unub and Aratta over 7 mountain ranges. While this is a literary device, it is most likely that the 7 trips were created to match the factual 7 mountain ranges between Uruk near the Persian Gulf and Mt. Ararat.

c. “From the foot of the highlands, through the mountain ranges, to the plains, From the far border of Anšan to the upland of Anšan He crossed five, six, seven mountain ranges. Enmerkar’s Siege of Ararat #1: Lugalbanda’s sickness/recovery in cave: EPSK 3.2:342–344

d. “Furthermore, the lord gave these instructions to the messenger Who was to go to the highlands, to Aratta: “Messenger, at night, run swiftly as the south wind; “At daybreak, rise like the dew!” 160 The messenger heeded the words of his king. At night he journeyed by starlight; By day he traveled with the sun in the sky. Whither and to whom should he carry the grave word of word-wise Inana? He carried it up into the Zubi range; 165 He carried it down from the Zubi range. Šušin and the land of Anšan Saluted her humbly, like small mice. In the great mountain ranges the teeming multitudes Groveled in the dust before her. 170 Five, six, seven mountain ranges he crossed, And when he lifted his eyes, he had arrived in Aratta. Overjoyed he stepped into the courtyard of Aratta” (Submission of Ararat to Uruk #2: Enmerkar vs. Lord of Ararat: EPSK 2:156–172)

e. “The threefold series of challenges and replies going to and fro between Unug and Aratta works out naturally at a total of seven journeys, since the series starts at Unug but ends in Aratta and is not merely a sequence of challenge-and-response: the responses carry their own challenges. The messenger also has to travel over seven mountain ranges. This is a fine instance of the very sophisticated interpretation or reuse of a common folktale technique.” (Submission of Ararat to Uruk #2: Enmerkar vs. Lord of Ararat: EPSK 2:171, fn22)

D. Mt. Ararat and the ancient theme of man becoming divine and immortal:

1. Connection of Enmerkar and Shamash and Utu

a. Enmerkar was claiming to be divine son of the “Sun God” twice in the poems.

b. “Enmerkar, son of the Sun, sent me to you!” Submission of Ararat to Uruk #2: Enmerkar vs. Lord of Ararat: EPSK 2:379

c. Sun god: Utu [Sumerian] = Shamash [Akkadian ]

2. Only certain Mesopotamian gods were identified with celestial objects: sun [Shamash], moon [Nanna], Venus [Inanna/Ishtar].

a. “In Babylonia, the Sumerian counterparts were alternated with the Akkadian names: Bel was also Enlil and Nunamnir (Prologue of Lipit-Ishtar Code); Anum was Ilum, Sin was Nanna, Ea was Enki, Utu was Shamash, and Ishtar was Inanna or Telitum (cf. Prologue to Hammurabi’s Code). At Ugarit, Baal was also called Aliyan, El was Latpan, and Kothar-wa-Khasis (“the artificer god”) was Hayyin (cf. Aqhat, ANET, p. 151). In Egypt, Osiris (the judge of the dead and lord of the netherworld) was also Wennefer, Neb-Abdu, and Khentamentiu (cf. the Ikhernofret Stela in the Berlin Museum); his son Horus was also Re-Harakhti, and so on throughout the Egyptian pantheon. In Greece, the king-god Zeus was known also as Kronion and Olympios, Athena was Pallas, Apollo was Phoebus and Pythius—titles which appear in parallelism in Homer’s epics without requiring any theory of diverse sources. (Survey of Old Testament Introduction, Gleason Archer, p128, 1994 AD)

b. “Yhwh takes the place of the “great gods” of Assyria, because those famous kings are now subject to his curse. This theme is explored symbolically in the book of Nahum in terms of what Hudson (2000) has described as a “tuning metaphor.” In terms of the matrix model as understood by McClain (1976), Yhwh indeed takes his place on the “throne” in the place of the “great gods” of Assyria, who are understood as the numbers 10 (Marduk), 15 (Ishtar/Inanna), 20 (Shamash/Utu), 30 (Nanna/Sin), 40 (Ea/Enki), 50 (Enlil/Ellil), and 60 (Anu/An) in the sexagesimal system of Mesopotamian mythology (see McLain 1976: 132; 1994: 29; cf. Black and Green 1992). The three “greatest gods” (Ea-Enki = 40; Bel-Enlil = 50; and Anu-An = 60), in the ratio 4:5:6 “actually generate the whole tonal universe” (McClain 1976: 133). Yhwh displaces them all and subsumes their various functions in the process, along with those of all the lesser gods as well. That is what the book of Nahum is about.” (AYBC, Nahum 1:14)

D. Sumerian roller seals depict the ancient submission of Ararat to Nimrod:

1. Roller seal #1: Sun god with knife between peaks of Mt. Ararat: Here we see Shamash, the sun god with a knife between the twin peaks of Mt. Ararat looking at the feet of Inanna (Ishtar, Venus). Two faced Enki is standing at the right. Shamash has cut with his knife, the twin peaks of Ararat, indicating the defeat and submission of the northern kingdom of Ararat to Enmerkar king of Uruk.

2. Roller seal #2: Sun God cuts down kingdom of Ararat: Here we see Shamash, the sun god with a knife between the twin peaks of Mt. Ararat looking at the feet of Inanna (Ishtar, Venus). Two faced Enki is standing at the right. Shamash has cut with his knife, the twin peaks of Ararat, indicating the defeat and submission of the northern kingdom of Ararat to Enmerkar king of Uruk.

3. Details of Roller seal #2:

a. A Babylonian cylinder seal and impression showing a mythological scene. The sun-god šamaš rises between two mountains with his sword of judgment raised. The two gods nearest him are probably Ishtar and Ea (surrounded by water and holding the Anzû-bird). In the field are Ninurta-Nimrod, god of the hunt (left), and the two-faced god. The inscription reads “Adda the Scribe”. (ca 2300 b.c.)

b. Greenstone cylinder seal. A hunting god (full-face) has a bow and an arrow (?) over his shoulder; a quiver with tassel attached hangs on his back. On the left hand mountain stands a small tree and Ishtar/Inanna/Venus (full-face) who is winged and armed with weapons including an axe and a mace rising from her shoulders. She is holding a bush-like object, probably a bunch of dates, above the sun-god's head. The sun-god Shamash with rays, holding a serrated blade, is just beginning to emerge from between two square topped mountains. The water god Enki/Ea stands to the right with one foot placed on the right-hand mountain. Enki was originally patron god of the city of Eridu, but later the influence of his cult spread throughout Mesopotamia. He stretches out his right hand towards possibly an Anzud bird, which is a Lion-faced mythical bird who is the guardian of the mountain ranges between Sumer and Aratta. The Anzud bird is the same demonic character in the later Akkadian Anzu myth. This bird could also be the Zu bird who stole the tablets of destiny. A couchant bull lies between his legs and streams of water and fish flow from his shoulders. Behind him stands his two-faced attendant god Isimud/Usimu with his right hand raised. All wear the multiple-horned head-dresses of deities. The male figures are bearded and Isimud/Usimu has a double beard and wears a flounced skirt. Enki/Ea and Ishtar both wear flounced robes and the fourth complete figure wears a striped skirt which either has a cod-piece or is hitched up in front. This god wears his hair in a long curl down the left side, reminiscent of those worn by bull-men and Ishtar has two similar curls hanging down, one on either side, while Ea and Shamash wear their hair in a triple bun. The scales of the mountain are continued in a horizontal band all round the lower part of the seal and it is on this band that the figures are standing. There is a two line inscription in a frame that reads “Adda, the scribe”. A lion is pacing towards the right and roaring. The cylinder is slightly concave in shape.

VI. Conclusion to Nimrod as Enmerkar chapter

1. The oldest Sumerian poetry on earth documents the extant memory in 2100 BC of the ancient earlier events involving Nimrod:

2. Noah’s Ark: 3298 BC

a. Stone age Archaeological age: 3225 BC: Birth of Nimrod second generation from the flood: Gen 10:7-8

b. Nimrod known as a “mighty hunter”: Gen 10:8-9

c. Ubaid 1 Archaeological age: 3200 BC: Nimrod’s founding of the first major kingdom at Babel and Urek: Gen 10:10

d. Ubaid Expansion age: 3000 BC: Nimrod’s expansion to Nineveh: Gen 10:11-12

3. Nimrod is a possible historic figure in the four stories of Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta:

a. Nimrod and Enmerkar were both born in Ararat

b. Nimrod and Enmerkar were both mighty hunters

c. Nimrod and Enmerkar were both former vegans converted to meat-eating:

d. Enmerkar and Nimrod were both kings at Uruk

e. Nimrod and Enmerkar both share the same consonants in cuneiform and Hebrew: “NMR”

f. Etymology of Mt. Ararat = Aratta in the four stories

g. Nimrod and Enmerkar were both eyewitnesses to the confusion of languages in 2850 BC

h. Nimrod and Enmerkar were both eyewitnesses to the invention of writing in 2850 BC

i. Nimrod and Enmerkar both built the first shrines built at Eridu (Babel) and Eruk

CHAPTER 14: Nimrod is not Sargon I of Akkad

XV. Nimrod is not Sargon I of Akkad (2320-2265 BC)

Overview:

Over the last century efforts have been made to identify Nimrod with a specific historic king of Assyria. Many have historically suggested that Nimrod was Sargon I of Akkad because they were using the corrupted Masoretic Text Chronology which had every descendant of Shem down to Terah (father of Abraham) alive at the Tower of Babel. Such a huge red flag should be sufficient for rejecting the MT chronology in favour of the correct Septuagint Chronology. According to the corrupted MT chronology, the flood dates to 2518 BC, so if Sargon 1^st reigned 2320-2265 BC, it appears reasonable to suggest he might be Nimrod, but the problem is the Chronology. This chapter examines and rejects Sargon I of Akkad as a possible candidate for Nimrod.

A. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it: The consensus view that Nimrod son of Cush in 3225 BC is a perfect fit!

1. We challenge those who advocate Sargon I as Nimrod of the Bible to provide a single contradiction to the consensus view that Nimrod was born in 3225 BC or a single advantage.

2. There is zero advantage in proposing Nimrod as Sargon I over Nimrod being the son of Cush.

3. The consensus view that Nimrod of the son of Cush fits perfectly with the Bible:

Nimrod Cannot be Sargon I of Akkad
	Nimrod	Sargon I
The great grandson of Noah
The literal son of Cush born in 3225 BC
2nd generation from the flood in 3298 BC
Pictured as a mighty hunter of animals
Founded Babel (Eridu) and Eruk on virgin soil during the Halaf Archaeological age.
Founded Nineveh on virgin soil during the Ubaid 3 expansion Archaeological age.
375 years old in 2850 BC when he built the tower of Babel.
The first great king on earth.

4. Sargon I fails all these Biblical descriptors of Nimrod.

5. Sargon I contradicts scripture because Nimrod founded Babel on virgin soil and Sargon I merely rebuilt New Babylon later used by Nebuchadnezzar which is located 260 km north of Nimrod’s Babel at Eridu.

6. It is a puzzle why anyone would propose Sargon I as a Nimrod since there are no advantages over the consensus view and several huge contradictions.

7. Placing the birth of Nimrod in 3225 BC is a far better choice than Sargon I of Akkad.

B. Chronologically impossible for Sargon I to be Nimrod

1. The only reason scholars in the past have suggested Sargon I is Nimrod is because they follow the corrupt Masoretic Chronology in Gen 5 and 11 which shows Nimrod along with Noah, Shem and every other descendant down to Abraham to have been alive in 2300 BC when Sargon I lived. In the MT chronology, Nimrod was alive down to the birth of Jacob! So, when historians searched for who Nimrod would be, Sargon I was a rather simple and obvious choice. Thousands of pages have been devoted in peer reviewed journals highlighting the historic and Archaeological parallels between the Nimrod of the Bible (literal son of Cush) and Sargon I (literal son of Cush) using the Masoretic Text as the chronological undergirding! The volumes of scholastic writing all appeared very convincing to the naive and uniformed who were unaware that the MT Chronology dated the flood 800 years later (2518 BC) than it really was (3298 BC). As you can see from the MT chronology chart, Sargon I was alive at the same time as most of the post flood patriarchs. Using the correct Septuagint Chronology, it is clearly impossible for Sargon I to be Nimrod because Nimrod had been dead for no less than 400 years BEFORE Sargon I was even born.

2. Since the corruption of the Hebrew Masoretic text in Gen 5,11 took place around AD 160 at Zippori, no ancient literary source before this connected Nimrod with Sargon I because they understood it to be chronologically impossible. Josephus and Philo both state that Nimrod was the literal son of Cush (great grandson of Noah) who built the tower of Babel 2^nd generation from the flood.

3. Notice how Jewish thought in AD 700 understood that Nimrod was the first human kingdom that preceded the founding of Egypt:

a. “The first kingdom that ruled is that of the Lord of Hosts—may it be speedily revealed to us. The second kingdom is that of Nimrod, the third is that of the Pharaoh, the fourth kingdom is that of Israel, the fifth that of Nebukhadnezzar, king of Babylonia, the sixth that of Xerxes, the seventh that of Rome, the eighth that of Greece, the ninth that of the son of David, the Messiah, the tenth that of the Lord of Hosts again, may it be speedily revealed to all the inhabitants of the earth.” (The Aramaic Bible, Volume 18: The Two Targums of Esther 1:1, 700 AD)

4. Using the newly corrupted MT chronology, Jewish Rabbis living after AD 200 began suggesting Shem was actually Melchizedek! Of course, this too is impossible using the autograph chronology reflected in the LXX because Shem had been dead for 600 years before Abraham was even born.

5. In AD 900 Jewish scholars actually fabricated a story (which likely dated back hundreds of years earlier) that Nimrod cast Abraham into a furnace of fire in the Ur of Chaldees. This was because their MT chronology had Nimrod living down to the time of Abraham. Notice however, they NEVER suggested Nimrod was Sargon I of Akkad. In fact, even with their compressed chronology in the MT, Sargon I had been dead 100 years (d. 2265 BC) before Abraham was born (b. 2166 BC). Therefore it is impossible to say that these Jewish stories are actually referring to either Sargon I or Nimrod:

a. “Another nail in Nimrod’s coffin in Jewish tradition was his clash with Abraham. Having read Abraham’s birth in the stars and knowing that Abraham would challenge his arrogance, he massacred seventy thousand innocent children, hoping thereby to prevent his survival. Later, when Abraham smashed Nimrod’s idols, Nimrod tried to burn him. (In Tg. 2 Chr 23:8 God delivers Abraham from the fiery furnace into which he had been cast because of his refusal to worship an idol.) The reference to Nimrod’s shedding innocent blood in Tg. Chr may be a reference to the massacre of the innocents at the time of Abraham’s birth. For this expression: “he shed innocent blood,” cf. also Tg. Psalms 5:7; Tg. Onq. and Tg. Ps.-J. Deut 19:13.” (The Aramaic Bible, Volume 19: The Targum of Ruth and The Targum of Chronicles, 1 Chronicles 1:11, modern Footnote 31, 1000 AD)

b. “It came to pass, when Nimrod cast Abram into the furnace of fire because he would not worship his idol, the fire had no power to burn him. Then Haran was undecided, and he said: “If Nimrod triumphs, I will be on his side; but if Abram triumphs, I will be on his side.” And when all the people who were there saw that the fire had no power over Abram, they said to themselves: “Is not Haran the brother of Abram full of divination and sorcery? It is he who uttered charms over the fire so that it would not burn his brother. Immediately fire fell from the heavens on high and consumed him; and Haran died in the sight of Terah his father, being burned in the land of his birth in the furnace of fire which the Chaldeans had made for Abram his brother.” (The Aramaic Bible, Volume 1B: Targum Pseudo-Jonathan: Genesis 11:28, AD 900)

c. "Better is Abraham who was a poor boy but had in him the spirit of wisdom from the Lord and whose Master became known to him when he was three years old and did not want to worship idols that the wicked Nimrod who was an old and foolish king. And because Abraham did not want to worship idols, he threw him into a burning fiery furnace but a miracle was performed for him by the Master of the World and He saved him from there. But even afterwards Nimrod still did not have the sense to heed the warning not to worship idols which he previously worshipped. For Abraham came out of a family of idol worshippers and reigned over the whole land of Canaan. For in the days of the kingdom of Abraham, Nimrod became poor in the land." (Ecclesiastes 4:13–14, The Aramaic Bible, Volume 15: The Targum of Job and The Targum of Proverbs and The Targum of Qohelet, 200 BC, see Dead Sea Scroll: 11QtargJob)

6. Until about 10 years ago, 100% of those who had proposed that Nimrod was Sargon 1^st also believed that Nimrod was the literal begotten son of Cush because the MT chronology showed the two to be contemporaneous.

a. Example: “The scope of Nimrod’s kingdom-building recorded in Genesis 10:8–12. Nimrod was two generations removed from Ham and therefore parallel with Shelah of the line of Shem. Shelah’s dates are roughly 2506–2073 BC. If Nimrod is Sargon the Great of Akkad—and it seems he is—then this “blood-thirsty tyrant” was responsible for wreaking havoc, physically and spiritually, on both lower and upper Mesopotamia.” (Bibliotheca Sacra Volume 172, Number 685, J. Paul Tanner, 2015 AD)

b. Notice: the above author follows the MT chronology for the flood date BUT also dates Shelah to living at the same time as Sargon I!

c. This author searched his 11,000 volume Logos library and found only 16 books suggesting a connection between Nimrod and Sargon I, but all of them also viewed Nimrod as Noah’s great grandson.

7. Very recently, Conservative Biblical scholars correctly recognized the chronology in the MT as corrupt and that the LXX reflects the autograph chronology. Strangely, some of these have begun to propose that Nimrod is Sargon I of Akkad using the LXX chronology. To resolve the problem that Nimrod (literal son of Cush) died 400 years before Sargon I was born, they fabricated, for the first time in history, the idea that Nimrod was NOT the literal son of Cush (great grandson of Noah) but was in fact a distant relative! In other words, when Moses said, "Cush became the father of Nimrod" in Gen 10:8 what he really meant was “One of Cush’s distant relatives (son of a son of a son of a son etc.) became the father of Nimrod". Well that solves it! NOT! This allowed them to keep the thousands of “Peer Reviewed” pages that list and discuss the synchronisms between Sargon I and Nimrod of the Bible, in spite of the fact that all those scholars used the MT chronology and therefore thought Nimrod was alive to meet even Abraham! In other words, all past scholarship that says Nimrod is Sargon I of Akkad, believed that Nimrod was the literal son of Cush and literal great grandson of Noah!

8. Fabricating, for the first time in history, the fiction that Nimrod was a distant relative of Cush and not his literal son has some additional serious consequences.

a. Nimrod DID NOT build the Tower of Babel because Sargon I clearly lived long after the great division of languages.

b. They must reject 4500 years of literary sources that say Nimrod, the great-grandson of Noah, built the Tower of Babel. We must “burn” our copies of Philo and Josephus as wrong!

c. Not a single Jew in history understood Moses to say in Gen 10:8 that Nimrod was a distant relative of Cush. In fact, the opposite it true because 100% of ancient and modern Jewish literary sources interpreted Gen 10:8 to mean that Nimrod was Noah’s great-grandson.

d. A bizarre and new translation of Gen 10:9 was required to support their novel fiction that no other Bible translation on earth even comes close to.

9. In summary, while it is not new that scholars have proposed that Nimrod is Sargon I, it is new to say Nimrod WAS NOT the great-grandson of Noah who did not build the tower of Babel. If these scholars had been using the correct LXX chronology the “Nimrod=Sargon” association would never have entered their mind, nor would they have written the volume of thousands of pages of synchronisms between Nimrod of the Bible and Sargon I of Akkad.

10. It is therefore chronologically impossible for Nimrod to be Sargon I without incurring a huge cost of credibility.

C. In Gen 10:8 Moses failed miserably in communicating that Nimrod was a distant relative of Cush

1. Advocates of Sargon being Nimrod, must make Nimrod a distant relative of Cush.

a. No ancient literary source understood Nimrod to be Sargon I of Akkad.

b. Modern sources who connect Nimrod with Sargon I of Akkad, view Sargon as the great grandson of Noah because they use the MT chronology.

c. The idea that Nimrod as Sargon I was NOT the great grandson of Noah but a distant relative had NEVER been proposed before AD 2000.

2. 100% of ancient literature including Christian and Jewish writings (Philo, Josephus, Babylonian Talmud and Targums) state that Nimrod was the literal son of Cush, great-grandson of Noah and builder of the tower of Babel.

a. “But the idolaters are not [humble] like this. I bestowed greatness upon Nimrod and he said, ‘Come let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves …’ (Gen. 11:4).” (Babylonian Talmud, b. Hul. 6:7, I.7.E)

b. “Said R. Jeremiah bar Abba said Rab, “The Temple of Nimrod [the Tower of Babel] lo, it is in the classification of an idol, the worshippers of which have abandoned it in time of peace, and so it is permitted. “For, even though when the All-Merciful scattered them, it was as though it were a time of war, had they wished to come back and lay claim they could have done so; since they did not return, they must have nullified the idol.” (Babylonian Talmud, b. Abod. Zar. 4:6, I.1.A–B)

3. Moses’ use of a nickname “Nimrod=rebel” made it impossible to identify Nimrod if he was not the great grandson of Moses:

a. “Nimrod may not be the character's name at all. It is more likely a derisive term of a type, a representative, of a system that is epitomized in rebellion against the Creator, the one true God. Rebellion began soon after the Flood as civilizations were restored. At that time this person became very prominent.” (Who Was Nimrod?, Dr. David Livingston, Bible and Spade, Vol. 14, No. 3, Pg 67, 2001 AD)

b. “Nimrod is a dysphemism (i.e. the opposite of a euphemism), which denotes a (nick)name with a harsh or negative connotation (e.g. snail mail).” (Identifying Nimrod of Genesis 10 with Sargon of Akkad by exegetical and archaeological means, Douglas Petrovich, JETS 56/2, p277, 2013 AD)

c. If Nimrod was not the literal son of Cush, the Hebrews at Sinai would have been left guessing and scratching their heads to his identity, as much as we do today!

d. “Nimrod” is found in zero ancient inscriptions and is Archaeologically unknown.

e. Moses’ use of a nickname “Nimrod” requires Moses to tell us Cush was his actual father which gives us an exact time of when Nimrod lived.

f. If Nimrod is not the literal son of Cush but a distant relative, why use a nick name instead of naming him as Sargon I of Akkad.

4. Moses was able to exactly place in time, the mysterious great king Melchizedek, whose father and mother were unknown, to the meeting with Abraham around 2070 BC!

5. “Rebel” includes the idea of Idol worship:

a. The entire pantheon of Idol gods (Enlil, Anu, Enki, Nabu) had been worshipped from 3200 BC, long before Sargon I.

b. There were many kings who could be viewed as “Nimrods” (rebels against YHWH) because of their idol worship!

D. Nimrod as Sargon I in the Genesis 10 narrative is irrelevant, superfluous and pointless

1. Since the context of Gen 10-11 is how the world was divided in language and land, the reign of Sargon I, 1000 years after the flood and 600 years after the Tower of Babel, is pointless.

a. Gen 10-11 is a coherent unit that focuses on the division of mankind into distinct languages and lands as a result of the Tower of Babel in 2850 BC. The account is 100% disconnected with anything Sargon I of Akkad did in 2300 BC. It is bad enough that Moses inserted a random, “off topic anonymous man” nicknamed the “rebel” who was born 500 years after the Tower of Babel into Gen 10-11. It is worse that the Nimrod narration takes up more words by volume, than any other person in all of Gen 10-11. Moses’ Ph.D. Supervisor would give him an “F” for bad writing and strike it out of the Tanakh manuscript! Remember, everybody on earth is related to Shem, Ham and Japheth, so for Moses to survey the 1852 years from the flood to the exodus (3298-1446 BC), and cherry pick Sargon I out the distant random future, is bizarre to the extreme.

b. Moses gives us zero information as to who founded Assyria in 3200 BC. It is unthinkable that in a context of explaining the origins of nations, that Moses would ignore naming the men who initially founded Assyria and Babel, then jump forward 1000 years and make an obscure anonymous reference to Sargon I as “Nimrod”, who was many generations removed from the actual founders of Assyria.

c. The Assyrian language and cuneiform writing had been in use for 600 years before Sargon I.

d. The Assyrian land had been continuously occupied by the same people for 900 years.

e. Every city listed in Gen 10:7-8 had existed for 700 years before Sargon I was born.

f. Babel (Eridu) was founded 1000 years before Sargon I was born.

2. Anonymously referring to Sargon I via the nickname “Nimrod” is meaningless and irrelevant because it provides zero specific information.

a. Anonymously referring to Sargon I as “Nimrod-the rebel” provides no information about the origin of national languages and geography.

b. At best, it tells us that at a later period of time, long after Assyria was a nation with its own distinct written language, a king would arise and “rebuild” existing cities to greatness.

3. It would be impossible for Moses to use Sargon I to teach some sort of “lesson in life” or “example” for the Hebrews at Mt. Sinai. To the Hebrews at Mt. Sinai he was an unknown historical person. Even worse, the Hebrews would never connect Nimrod with Sargon I because Nimrod is likely a nick name and not his actual name.

a. Sargon I died 100 years before Abraham was born.

b. When the Hebrews entered Egypt in 1876 BC, Sargon I had been dead for 400 years.

c. At Sinai, when Moses wrote Genesis, Sargon I had been dead for a whopping 800 years.

d. The Egyptians had formed an equally powerful nation and the Hebrews lived in Egypt.

e. Any lesson taught by unknown Sargon could be better taught through one of the known Egyptian Pharaohs.

f. There is no special value to any Hebrew at Mt. Sinai in 1446 BC, in learning Sargon I had rebuilt Assyria some 900 years earlier.

g. If Nimrod is Sargon I, we are puzzled why he is the focus of so much attention by Moses in Genesis. Sargon I was one in a long lists of world rulers whose life accomplishments were indistinguishable. There is nothing really unique or remarkable about him that differentiates him from other world leaders or Egyptian Pharaohs who were equally powerful and ruthless.

4. Summary:

a. There is zero relevance of plopping a random historical figure like Sargon I into the context of Gen 10-11 narration story of the origin of languages and nations.

b. Any “spiritual lesson” warning of the sin of idolatry and rebellion (Nimrod = rebel) against God that Moses taught the Hebrews at Mt. Sinai (Mt. Lawz in North Saudi Arabia) through the character of Sargon I (whom they had probably never even heard of) could have been taught more powerfully through Thutmoses III, the Pharaoh of the Exodus who Moses had just defeated in the Red Sea crossing at the Straits of Tiran. See: Exodus route restored.

c. It is impossible to explain why more words are devoted to Sargon I (Nimrod) than any other person in Gen 10-11. Nimrod son of Cush, on the other hand makes perfect sense.

E. Correct translation of Gen 10:9 eliminates Sargon I as Nimrod

1. The Correct translation of Gen 10:9: “He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.” (NASB)

2. Nimrod as Sargon 1st advocates have created a unique “one-up” translation of Gen 10:9 to support their view

a. Nimrod/Sargon translation: “That one acted irreverently, in order to become powerful on the earth; he became a powerful slaughterer in the sight of Yahweh.”

b. Notice the change from killing animals to a genocidal murderer of men, which is required and essential for Nimrod to be Sargon I. In fact Nimrod was born about 3225 BC at a time when world population was less than 800 human and such murdering would be extremely unlikely. The four stories of Enmerkar vs. the king of Aratta bear this out in the fact that their conflicts were always solved though non-violent means.

3. This author checked over 60 English translations of Gen 10:9 in Logos Bible Software and the vast majority of renderings of the passage is best represented in the NASB.

a. Almost without exception they all read very close to the NASB.

b. None of the 60 translations came even close to the above new translation proposed by Nimrod/Sargon advocates.

c. Nimrod/Sargon advocates believe their translation is the “only correct” translation!

d. In fact, their translation is a mush of possible, but unlikely meanings, at the extreme limits of etymological meaning. We see the exact same thing in the New World Translation of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and their beloved Emphatic Diaglott Greek-English interlinear.

e. We found one translation that differed slightly, but still did not come close to this new translation: “"He was an overbearing tyrant in Jehovah’s sight; wherefore the saying: “Even as Nimrod the overbearing tyrant in Jehovah’s sight.”" (Genesis 10:9, HSOT, 1885 AD) What is the HSOT? It is the Helen Spurrell Old Testament and the foreword says this: “Helen Spurrell taught herself Hebrew after her 50^th birthday… the translation is made from the unpointed Hebrew; that being the Original Hebrew… with dependence upon the guidance and teaching of the Holy Spirit”.

f. So, Bible translations agree with the NASB and the only one that differed (HSOT) not only clearly mistranslated the Hebrew, but the translator claimed she was guided by God in her translation. When people who think God talks to them attempt to translate the bible the result is unreliable.

4. The Greek Septuagint from Codex Vaticanus:

a. "Cush begat Nimrod. He was the first to be a giant on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord God; because of this they will say, “As Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the Lord.”" (Genesis 10:8-9, Codex Vaticanus, 325 AD)

b. The only difference is the deliberate use of the word “giant”, as in 9-foot-tall men.

c. Philo (AD 50) echoes this translation in that he believed Nimrod was a Giant like Goliath in height (Philo On the Giants 65-67’ Philo Questions on Genesis II 82)

d. The Book of Enoch was a popular and widely read Jewish apocryphal book from 150 BC down to the Byzantine age that discussed 50-foot giant.

5. Ancient Jewish Translations of Gen 10:9 dating to AD 225 and AD 900:

a. "Now Cush begot Nimrod; he started to be a potentate on earth. He was a powerful potentate before the Lord, therefore it is said: Like Nimrod a powerful potentate before the Lord. Now the beginning of his kingdom was Babylon, and Erekh, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Babylonia. From that land he went forth to/Assyria and he built Nineveh, and the city of Rehoboth, and Calah. As well as Resen between Nineveh and Calah, which was the great city." (Genesis 10:8–12. The Aramaic Bible, Volume 6: The Targum Onqelos to Genesis, 225 AD)

b. “Kush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty sinner and rebel on earth before the Lord. He was a mighty rebel before the Lord. Therefore it is said: “From the day the world was created there has not been a mighty hunter and rebel like Nimrod before the Lord.” The beginning of his kingdom was Babylon the Great, Edessa, Nisibis, and Ctesiphon, in the land of Pontus. From that land Nimrod went forth and ruled over Assyria, because he did not wish to participate in the scheme of the generation of the Division. So he left those four cities. Therefore the Lord gave him (another) place and he built four (other) cities, Nineveh, Streets-of-the-City, Hadiath,and Talsar, which is built between Nineveh and Hadiath; that is the great city." (Genesis 10:8–12, The Aramaic Bible, Volume 1B: Targum Pseudo-Jonathan: Genesis, 900 AD)

6. By mistranslating the Hebrew text, Nimrod/Sargon advocates change Nimrod from a mighty hunter of animals to a genocidal man-killing, warrior-king. Their mistranslated text is different from 100% of all other translators and makes the text say something the Hebrew doesn’t support.

a. The reason for changing “mighty hunter” to “powerful slaughterer” is obvious: Sargon I is not pictured or described as a hunter of animals and this is an attempt to preemptively address this huge problem.

b. The change the focus from killing animals to killing humans contradicts the archaeological history of the friendly Ubaid Expansion period in 3000 BC.

c. Archaeologically, history shows Nimrod to be a great organizer into cooperative cities not a killer of the precious few alive at this early post flood history.

d. Archaeologically, the “Ubaid Expansion” is a perfect match for the Nimrod in Genesis, who is portrayed as the first king in history who kills animals but never men in 3000 BC. Archaeologically, the earliest periods of Ubaid period, down to the Uruk expansion at the tower of Babel, found no objects of war of any kind.

7. The phrase “mighty hunter” most naturally refers to the hunting of animals for food.

a. At Mt. Sinai, Moses points out to the children of Abraham that in 3200 BC, Nimrod was second generation from Noah, when the world population was 800. Moses said that Nimrod was the first great king and the first to be brave. Moses implies that Nimrod was the first to have no fear of animals but instead killed and ate them. Moses implies that Nimrod was the founder of all the Assyrian cities of their ancestors such as Abraham who was called from Ur. Moses finally implies that Nimrod was the first to invent/promote pagan gods as the origin of the great historic dichotomy between worshipers of YHWH at Sinai and the “gods of your forefathers beyond the river”, with which they were all familiar.

b. Nimrod, born in 3225 BC might be identified as the first non-vegan to make meat eating popular 75 years after the flood. All eight on the ark had lived their life as vegans, never eating meat. For one hundred years before the flood, they had never eaten meat! Like every human alive today, a person’s life long cuisine is highly resistant to change and would continue after they exited the ark. While God did tell Noah that they could eat animals, they would initially be resistant to eating meat.

c. One-hundred-year-old people do not easily change their dietary habits. These habits will be transmitted to the children who will also do not easily change their tastes.

d. Identifying Nimrod as a person who ate a large amount of meat in Gen 10 contextually expands upon God’s command to start eating meat in Gen 9: "“The fear of you and the terror of you will be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given. “Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant." (Genesis 9:2–3)

e. After the flood, man feared the animals. When God put the “fear of man” in animals, this marked a changed relationship that transformed a peaceful coexistence where “the lion lays down with the lamb and never harms man” into mutual “dog eat dog” world where man hunted animal and ANIMAL HUNTED MAN. We can be certain this is true because the very next statement is that God decreed death to animals who kill man!!! "Surely I will require your lifeblood; from every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every man’s brother I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed." (Genesis 9:5) This is why bears, lions and dogs that kill or hurt men today are hunted and killed.

f. The idea that Nimrod was a “mighty hunter of animals” highlights his uncharacteristic bravery in the new post flood world. While other men were terrified of animals and certainly didn’t eat animals, Nimrod was famous for his lack of fear of being killed by the animals and was one of the first persons to eat them on a large scale.

g. The association of Nimrod as the first Assyrian king in history who founded all the major Assyrian cities, as a brave, fearless and skilled hunter of animals (while all other men cowered) is confirmed in the many ancient inscriptions of Assyrian, Babylonian and Egyptian kings who are portrayed as mighty hunters. This tradition began with Nimrod.

h. The excavation data at Tepe Gawra confirms that Nimrod’s southern kingdom consumed twice as much meat as the Ararat northern kingdom in 3100 BC.

8. Summary:

a. It is well known that certain religious groups who adopt new and unorthodox theologies are driven to produce their own sectarian translation of the Bible to aid in teaching of their false doctrine.

b. A better approach for these Nimrod/Sargon advocates, is to leave the “accepted translation” alone and explain possible metaphoric meanings behind Nimrod being a mighty hunter of Animals and extend it to human warfare. Of course, the larger problem is that Sargon I is never described or pictured as a hunter of animals.

F. Many historic kings exhibit strong synchronisms and parallels with Nimrod

1. Nimrod as Sargon I has been suggested because there is a superficial correspondence between the Bible events ascribed to Nimrod and the historic events of Sargon I as confirmed through Archaeology and literary sources.

a. Thousands of scholarly pages of text have been written in attempt to demonstrate a certain historic character is either literally Nimrod, or representative of him.

b. The list includes but is not limited to: Ninurta, Marduk, Gilgamesh, Enmerkar, Lugalbanda, Ninos, Sargon I of Akkad, Naram-Sin, Tukulti-Ninurta I of Assyria, Nazimaruttash, Amenophis III and Ben Hadad.

c. Remember, if scholars in the past had been using the correct Genesis 5,11 chronology where the flood is 3298 BC, none of these would have ever been considered possible candidates for the long dead Nimrod, great-grandson of Noah. Scholars used the MT date of the flood at around 2500 BC making it simple to propose that Nimrod, literal son of Cush, was still alive down to the time of Abraham.

d. “The identity of Nimrod has been much debated. Three different approaches have been pursued. The first identifies Nimrod as a god, usually the Mesopotamian Ninurta or Marduk. The second would find in Nimrod a legendary Mesopotamian hero, either Gilgamesh or Lugalbanda, or a legendary eponym of Mesopotamia, parallel to the Ninos of Greek tradition. In the third approach, Nimrod has been equated with an historical personage, especially the Mesopotamian kings Sargon of Agade or Tukulti-Ninurta I of Assyria; less often, Nazimaruttash, a Kassite king of Babylonia, the Egyptian pharaoh Amenophis III, or the Aramaean ruler Ben-Hadad.” (ABD, Nimrod)

2. Enmerkar from the four stories of Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta provide stronger synchronisms and parallels with Nimrod than Sargon I of Akkad.

a. See Enmerkar/Nimrod synchronisms: Enmerkar vs. the king of Ararat: 2100 BC

3. Enshakushanna: The Sumerian King List names many powerful Assyrian kings who lived long before Sargon I:

a. Enshakushanna was the father of Sargon I in the Sumerian King List.

b. Inscriptions record how Enshakushanna conquered Hamazi, Akkad, Kish, and Nippur as supreme ruler of all Sumer. This lowly gardener turned king, adopted a new Sumerian throne name en ki-en-gi lugal kalam-ma, which translates as "I am lord of Sumer and king of all the land". It is interesting that the generic “king of all the land” was later specified to mean “Akkad” in later kings who took the title “lugal ki-en-gi ki-uri” which translates as "King of Sumer and Akkad".

c. Although Archaeologically the location of the famous city of Akkad has never been located, an inscription by a king of Uruk named Enshakushanna describes how he conquered Akkad long before Sargon I was born. This is rather compelling evidence that Sargon I did not found Akkad, but Nimrod the great-grandson of Noah did around 3200 BC. The Sumerian King List says, “In Uruk, En-šakuš-ana became king; he ruled for 60 years.” Then after naming 26 kings of Uruk and 44 lines later, the list finally gets around to referencing Sargon I, “Then Uruk was defeated and the kingship was taken to Agade. In Agade, Sargon, whose father (Enshakushanna) was a gardener, the cupbearer of Ur-Zababa, became king, the king of Agade, who built Agade; he ruled for 56 years.” (2335-2279 BC)

4. Sargon I of Akkad has a serious dissonance as a representative of the Biblical Nimrod:

a. Nimrod of the Bible founds ancient cities whereas Sargon I simply governed these cities long after they were established.

b. Enshakushanna describes how he conquered Akkad long before Sargon I was born. Obviously then, Sargon I did not found Akkad, but Nimrod the great-grandson of Noah did around 3200 BC.

c. Scripture specifically says that Nimrod “built Nineveh” (Gen 10:11), which in every other place means he broke virgin ground. In Genesis 4:17 it says that “Cain built a city”. See also Judges 1:26 “Luz”, 1 Kings 16:24 “Samaria”. In Gen 11:4 “Come, let us build for ourselves a city” refers to the original founding in 3200 BC then periscopes the narrative down to the tower of Babel in 2850 BC. Gen 11:4 shows that the original intent of Nimrod was fame. We know that Nineveh long predated Sargon I.

d. Sargon I is not “history’s first empire-builder” because he could travel to Egypt and see the great pyramid of Giza and the Sphynx for “inspiration of greatness” back home in Assyria.

e. Sargon I is not pictured or described as a mighty hunter of animals. Perhaps one day such an inscription or relief will be excavated that does! Until then, the problem remains.

G. Nimrod’s Babel of Gen 10 is the same Babel of Gen 11 where Nimrod built the “Tower of Babel”

1. The author read over 92 commentaries of Genesis in his Logos Software library and found all of them said Nimrod built the Tower of Babel. Can they all be wrong? Yes, but unlikely!

2. In Gen 10-11, Nimrod/Sargon advocates are forced into the unpleasant and undefendable alligator-infested waters of having two different cities of Babel, in different locations, 250 km apart and founded at different historic times 1000 years apart.

a. Nimrod/Sargon advocates say the Nimrod’s Babel in Gen 10 is the latter Ur III period Babylon which eventually became the capital city of Nebuchadnezzar in 605 BC. The Babel of Gen 10, they say, is not the location of the tower of Babel.

b. Nimrod/Sargon advocates believe the Babel of Gen 10 and the Babel of Gen 11 are two different places. They say the Babel of Nimrod in Gen 10 is “New Babylon” which at a later period, Nebuchadnezzar would use as his capital city. They say the Babel in Gen 11 is the site of the tower of Babel at Eridu on the ancient shoreline of the Persian Gulf.

c. So, we are told, the word Babel is used twice in the Pentateuch in a single contextual unit (Gen 10-11) but it means two different cities separated by 1000 years in time and 250 km in distance. Ouch! In fact, Babel is not used again in scripture a single time until after the death of Solomon.

3. The Sargon I/Nimrod advocates are forced into creating two Babels/Babylons in scripture which are separated by 1000 of years and 250 km.

a. Nimrod’s Babel of Gen 10-11 was founded in 3200 BC and is where the Tower of Babel was built in 2850 BC.

b. Nebuchadnezzar’s Babel was founded in 2300 BC and destroyed in 536 BC.

4. Archaeology and literary sources show that city name-places migrate to new locations:

a. In 2100 BC Ai of Abraham was Et Tel.

b. In 1406 BC Ai of Joshua was a new city 1 km east at Khirbet el-Maqatir where the author spent 6 years as staff square supervisor.

c. In AD 30 Khirbet el-Maqatir was called Ephraim in John 11.

d. Jericho of Joshua (1406 BC) is located 2 km north of Jericho of Jesus (AD 30).

5. Migration of the name Babel from Eridu a new location:

a. Archaeology has demonstrated that Nimrod’s Babel at Eridu was abandoned for 750 years between 2850-2100 BC when Ur-Nammu constructed a Ziggurat on the vacant platform constructed for the Tower of Babel.

b. It is not surprising that after Eridu was abandoned and lay in ruins for 550 years (2850-2300 BC) that the name migrated north to “New Babylon” in 2300 BC.

c. It is no surprise that after Eridu was abandoned and lay in ruins for 750 years (2850-2100 BC) that the name had already migrated north to “New Babylon”. In 2100 BC Ur-Nammu constructed a Ziggurat at Eridu on the abandoned platform of the Tower of Babel.

6. The Babel in Gen 10 is the same identical city in Gen 11 because:

a. Gen 10-11 is a single unit of coherent thought about the great DIVISON. The contextual origin of languages and national boundaries in the literary unit reinforces the fact that two references to Babel are the same place and where the Tower of Babel was built.

b. The word Babel is only used twice in the Pentateuch and in a single unit of Gen 10-11:

i. "The beginning of Nimrod’s kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar." (Genesis 10:10)

ii. "Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth." (Genesis 11:9)

c. Moses provides the etymology of Babel: “Division”. A word used only twice in scripture and then within a single context of thought will always be the same location with the same meaning of “division”.

7. Until AD 2000 nobody had ever departed from “the natural reading” of Gen 10-11 and suggested two different cities.

a. Scholars and historians who suggested Nimrod was Sargon believed Nimrod’s Babel of Gen 10 was the same identical Babel where Nimrod built the Tower of Babel in Gen 11. To them, Nimrod = Sargon I = literal son of Cush born 2 generations after the flood date of ~2450 BC from the Masoretic Text.

b. Proponents of two different Babylons in Gen 10-11 ALWAYS follow the correct Septuagint chronology which dates the flood to 3298 BC.

c. It is truly puzzling why those who follow the correct LXX chronology force themselves into indefensible and dangerous waters of fabricating and inventing for the first time in history a “two Babylons” myth in Genesis 10-11.

H. Nimrod is the son of Cush (great-grandson of Noah) not a distant anonymous relative: Gen 10:8

1. "Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth." (Genesis 10:8)

2. This author searched his 11,000 book Logos library and found zero books that even suggested Nimrod was a distant relative of Cush, including the 16 books that suggested a connection between Nimrod and Sargon I. All viewed Nimrod as the literal son of Cush!

3. Some Nimrod/Sargon I advocates say that Nimrod was not the son of Cush, but a “distant relative”.

a. One author proclaimed his required “set of truths about Nimrod: Nimrod’s genealogical background requires him to have been a distant descendant of Cush” (Identifying Nimrod of Genesis 10 with Sargon of Akkad, Douglas Petrovich, JETS 56/2, p304, 2013 AD)

b. It seems odd that every ancient literary source and all modern commentaries on Genesis missed this “required truth” until very recently.

4. Nimrod/Sargon advocates use two arguments to evidence Nimrod was born long after Cush died:

a. The initial listing of Cush’s 5 sons does not include Nimrod, which is interpreted to mean that the first 5 sons are Cush’s actual children, but Nimrod is a distant relative.

b. Other Bible passages use “son of” and ‘father of” to refer to distant relatives: Gen 3:20 (Eve was mother of all the living); Gen 10:21 (Shem was the father of all the Hebrew speaking children born to Heber after the tower of Babel); Mt 1:1; 1 Chron 3:11-12 + Mt 1:8; 1 Chron 3:15-16 + Mt 1:11; Deut 4:25.

5. Although it is possible that Cush did not literally father Nimrod, based upon other scriptural precedents, such is far from “required truth”:

a. There is NOTHING in Hebrew etymology or Genesis or anywhere in the entire Bible that REQUIRES Nimrod to be a distant relative of Cush. It may be possible but it is not required!

b. Taking scripture alone, the natural reading and the weight of evidence, it is far more likely that Nimrod was the direct son of Cush, the literal great-grandson of Noah, born around 75 years after the flood in 3225 BC.

6. Scriptural examples that unquestionably refer to a distant relative:

a. Required Truth #1: Eve was the mother of every man or woman ever born (Gen 3:20). Comment: The meaning is clear since Eve was dead when Moses wrote this.

b. Required Truth #2: Shem was the father of the children of Heber/Eber who were first to speak Hebrew after the tower of Babel (Gen 10:21). Comment: The Hebrew word “begat” is not used here and it does not follow the standard “X begat Y” formula. The reading in Hebrew is very different in Gen 10:8 and Gen 10:21 even though the English seems to convey the same thought. We are certain this is a distant relative because we are specifically told a few verses later that Heber was the great-great-grandson of Shem.

c. Required Truth #3: Jesus being called the “Son of David and Abraham”. "The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham" (Mt 1:1) Comment: The only reason we know Jesus is a distant relative of David is because other Bible verses tell us, therefore a required truth.

d. Required Truth #4: 1 Chron/Mt 1: Comment: The only reason we know sons were skipped is because scripture tells us, therefore a required truth.

i. In 1 Chron 3:11-12: Joram, Ahaziah, Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah but Mt 1:8 lists Joram, Uzziah and skips over Ahaziah, Joash, Amaziah

ii. In 1 Chro 3:15-16 = Josiah, Jehoiakim, Jeconiah but Mt 1:11 lists Josiah, Jeconiah and skips over Jehoiakim

e. Required Truth #5: “When you become the father of children and children’s children and have remained long in the land" (Deut 4:25) Comment: Everybody understands they do not literally father their own grandchildren, therefore a required truth.

7. Scriptural examples that might or might not refer to a distant relative:

a. 2 Kings 20:18: “Some of your (Hezekiah’s) sons who shall issue from you, whom you will beget, will be taken away; and they will become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon.” Comment: Hezekiah died in 686 BC and the Babylonian captivity began in 605 BC therefore it is VERY POSSIBLE that this was literally fulfilled. If he conceived a child through one of his young wives before his death, the child would only be 81 years old when deported to Babylon. This may have been a key miraculous prophecy. However, it is possible that the specific reference is to Daniel, who was deported in 605 BC at the age of 15. This verse cannot be used as a certain “required truth” that the deported children of Hezekiah were not literally sired by him.

b. Gen 10:8: “Nimrod cannot be literally the son of Cush”. Comment: Yes, he can! There is nothing in scripture that indicates otherwise. To demand this conclusion BECAUSE there are other examples in scripture where “Son of, beget, fathers” refers to a distant relative, is bad exegeses. While it is possible that Nimrod is the distant relative of Cush, it is equally possible that Cush is the distant relative of Noah.

8. Evidences that Nimrod is the literal son of Cush:

a. X begat Y formula pattern: (Cush Begat Nimrod)

i. Most other descendants listed from Adam to Noah in Gen 5 and 11 are also connected with the formula “X begat Y”.

ii. The fact that the first five children of Cush are introduced in the narrative as “sons of Cush” but Cush “became the father” of Nimrod (two different Hebrew words) is in fact powerful evidence of a direct generation because he returns to the standard formula.

iii. There are no known exceptions when “X begat Y” refers to a distant relative. For example, the Hebrew word “begat” is not used in Gen 10:21 and does not follow the standard “X begat Y” formula. The reading in Hebrew is very different in Gen 10:8 and Gen 10:21 even though the English seems to convey the same thought.

b. Synonymous Hebrew words: In Genesis 10:7-8 two different synonymous Hebrew words are used to denote Cush’s descendants: “Sons of” vs. “became father of”:

c. False dichotomy (etymological gymnastics):

i. In order to equate Nimrod with Sargon I, one author fabricated a false dichotomy based upon the use of the two Hebrew words (son vs. fathered) describing the children of Cush, saying that the difference functioned as a marker indicating a qualitative difference between Cush’s siring of his sons and grandsons literally, versus Cush’s siring of Nimrod as a distant relative.

ii. The idea that these two Hebrew words create a contrast in meaning is eroded by the fact that the phrase “became the father of” is used in 6 other places in Gen 10 where it DOES NOT mean distant relative!

iii. The obvious problem is that the use of son/father as a “marker” to differentiate between immediate vs. distant relatives is found in no other passage of the Bible.

iv. Unlike the argument that these same two Hebrew words (son of, fathered) do in rare occasions (cf Genesis 10:21) indicate distant relatives in other Bible passages, there are zero other bible passages where both words are used together wherein “sons of” means actual sons and “became father of” means distant relative. This makes its usage in Gen 10:7-8 a “one up”, orphaned example.

d. White Elephant argument: While such a difference in the usage of son/fathered in Gen 10:7-8 may have function as a marker indicating a qualitative difference, so too you might occasionally think you see white elephants in the clouds above! If you see one cloud-elephant in the sky, this may or may not function as a marker, but probably not! Seeing 5 cloud-elephants holding trunk to tail and walking in a row is clearly a pattern. This white cloud elephant argument is speculative, uncertain and as ephemeral as the clouds in the sky!

e. Cherry picking (inconsistent argument):

i. Since both “fathered” and “son of” can refer to distant relatives in other passages, why not make all of Cush’s 5 “sons” and “grandsons” distant relatives?

ii. If “became the father of” proves Nimrod may be Sargon I, why not assign “distant relatives” to the descendants in the other 6 places in which the identical phrase is used in the same chapter!

f. Important vs. insignificant sons: The genealogy in Gen 5 describes descendants who “became the father of” the important child but the insignificant children are all thrown into the “other sons and daughters” category whose names are not even given.

i. Example: "Then the days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he had other sons and daughters." (Genesis 5:4).

ii. This actually shows a general but not exclusive pattern that important children are introduced as being “fathered” but the less important ones are “sons”.

g. Dual interchangeable formulas: "Joktan became the father of Almodad and Sheleph and Hazarmaveth and Jerah and Hadoram and Uzal and Diklah and Obal and Abimael and Sheba and Ophir and Havilah and Jobab; all these were the sons of Joktan." (Genesis 10:26–29)

i. Both formulas of “father of” and “sons” are applied to the SAME listed children.

ii. This dispels the false notion that something unique and special is indicated by the narrative using “two different Hebrew words” (sons, fathered) by listing the first five “sons” of Cush then he “fathered” Nimrod.

iii. Without exception in Gen 5, 10, 11, these two formulas that use distinct Hebrew words, always refer to a literal father/son descendant and are best viewed as interchangeable.

h. Birth order not distant relative: Nimrod was the youngest son of Cush

See outline on the pattern of the 2^nd born stealing the blessing of the firstborn.

i. Gen 10 follows birth order in the listing of relatives: First Japheth was the oldest, Second Ham the middle child and finally Shem the youngest.

ii. In 30 AD Philo followed the LXX: “Why among the three sons of Noah does Ham appear always to occupy the middle place, but the two extremities are varied; for when their birth is mentioned, Shem is placed in the first rank, in this manner, Shem, Ham, and Japheth; but when they are spoken of as fathers, then Japheth is mentioned first, and the beginning of the enumeration of the nations is derived from Japheth himself? (Genesis 10:1). Those who inquire into the literal nature of the divine writings think thus of the order in which these men are mentioned, looking upon him who is the first named, that is Shem, as the younger; and upon him who is named the last, that is Japheth, as the elder.” (Philo QG II 78–79, 30 AD)

iii. Nimrod is likely the youngest son of Cush and that is why he is listed last. Additionally, there may have been a large space of years between Nimrod and his 5 older brothers.

iv. Finally, Nimrod may have had a different mother from his five older brothers.

9. Summary: If Cush fathering Nimrod is the ONLY exception in Gen 5,10-11 where a distant relative is intended then:

a. The Holy Spirit could have used another word like “seed” but did not.

b. The Holy Spirit could have told us elsewhere that Nimrod lived hundreds of years after Cush died but did not.

c. We are left guessing and cannot be certain.

d. The more certain conclusion is to accept the natural reading. Remember, this argument of the “natural reading” is only negated when other specific revelation forces an alternative.

e. Without exception the use of the phrases “son of” or “became father of” in Gen 5,10-11 NEVER mean distant relative.

f. Gen 10:21 “Also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber” is a different formula and we know for certain within the text the descendants from Shem to Peleg.

g. Cush was born in 2297 BC the year after the flood and Nimrod was born in 2325 BC.

I. Land of Shinar refers to the south region of Assyria near Eridu and Uruk: Gen 10:10

1. Nimrod/Sargon advocates reference Dan 1:2 as proof that the northern “new” Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar, where Sargon I ruled, was included in “the land of Shinar”. They use Dan 1:2 as proof that Nimrod’s Babel in Gen 10 was in fact the later northern Babel instead of the original southern Babel where the Tower of Babel was built.

a. "The beginning of Nimrod’s kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar." (Genesis 10:10)

b. "The Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the vessels of the house of God; and he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and he brought the vessels into the treasury of his god." (Daniel 1:2)

1. It must be proved that in 2300 BC, the New Babylon of central Assyria was known as “the Land of Shinar”.

a. Everyone agrees that southern Assyria at Eridu, Uruk and Ur was known as the Land of Shinar from the founding of civilization based upon Sumerian and other ancient literary sources.

b. So, this is not an either/or problem: Dan 1:2 may prove that in 605 BC Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon in central Assyria was included in the “land of Shinar”.

2. Archaeology and ancient literary sources prove that city names and geographic references migrate over time:

a. As noted above, the city name “Babylon” migrated 250 km north from Eridu on the shoreline of the Persian gulf.

b. It is not surprising that after 2600 years [3200-605 BC] the ancient historic “Land of Shinar” expanded north to include “New Babylon.”

3. Dan 1:2 might not refer to Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon but Nimrod’s Babel at Eridu:

a. Using Dan 1:2 as proof that central Assyria is the land of Shinar is very weak, highly speculative and possibly not true.

i. The passage does not name a city or location other than, “the land of Shinar”.

ii. Taken at face value, this is enough to prove that Nebuchadnezzar’s house of God was located at Eridu or Uruk or Ur of Chaldees.

iii. While Nebuchadnezzar’s home base was in central Assyrian, he may have also had palaces in the south near in Eridu, Uruk and Ur of Chaldees.

iv. Stamped mudbricks of Nebuchadnezzar were excavated at the southern Babel (Eridu) proving he occupied the site at some point during his reign.

b. History is unclear whether Nabonidus founded the palace at Ur or refurbished a palace previously occupied by Nebuchadnezzar at Ur: “Finally one must mention a third, smaller palace built by Nebuchadnezzar outside Babylon, at the northern end of the perimeter wall. This is the so-called “Summer Palace.” Its official name appears in one inscription of Nebuchadnezzar: “Long live Nebuchadnezzar, provider of the Esagil temple”. The successors of Nebuchadnezzar added little to his palatial constructions. However, the last Neo-Babylonian king Nabonidus seems to have revived the practice of building palaces outside the capital. To him we owe a large residence in the northeastern section of Ur which has long, and probably erroneously been called the palace of his daughter En- nigaldi-Nanna, consecrated in the second year high-priestess of the moon-god of Ur. This palace, with a sizeable area of 5,743 square metres, more probably housed the provincial administration and local governor, and may also have served as lodgings for the king when he travelled to the area. Interestingly, the notion that no other royal residence should compete with Babylon is intimated by the Verse Account of Nabonidus, a pamphlet composed against him after his downfall. The Verse Account notes among his numerous alleged misdeeds that he built in Teima a palace “like the palace in Babylon” (Palaces of Babylon and Palaces of Babylonian Kings, Paul-Alain Beaulieu, CSMS Journal, Vol 11&12, 2017 AD)

4. Summary:

a. Dan 1:2 does not identify the location of the “house of his god” except that it was in the “land of Shinar”.

b. Eridu was still considered “in the land of Shinar” at the time of Nebuchadnezzar in 605 BC.

c. Even if New Babylon was said to be in “the land of Shinar” at the time of Nebuchadnezzar, this is not evidence that it was called the land of Shinar 700 years earlier the time of Sargon I (2300 BC).

d. Using Dan 1:2 to prove that Gen 10:10 locates the “land of Shinar” in central Assyria is speculative.

Nimrod as Sargon I: Final Comment

Nimrod=Sargon I advocates in essence claim that Nimrod conquered cities founded hundreds of years before his birth, through a vast slaughter of humans. Of course, this concept must be entirely rejected if Nimrod is the literal son of Cush and the population of the world at his birth might only be 1000 humans. Viewing Nimrod as a peaceful founder rather than a genocidal, bloodthirsty conqueror is exactly what we would expect for the world’s first powerful king. Such is actually born out in several ancient Sumerian inscriptions. There is also a direct correspondence with the Genesis sequence of first establishing several cities in the south (Babel/Eridu), then in a second stage, expanding his kingdom in founding cities in the north (Nineveh). Eridu is listed in Sumerian inscriptions as the first AND the oldest capital city on earth where the world’s first kingdom came down from the gods. Nimrod is not Sargon I of Akkad.

CHAPTER 15: Nimrod in Christianity: Hell and Easter

XV. Nimrod in Christianity: Eternal Hell and Easter

A. HATING A GOD WHO JUDGES: Global Flood and Eternal Hell-Fire

1. Sinful Man views God who judges as evil, unjust and unholy:

a. Nimrod: Refused to worship the God who destroyed sinful man in the Noahic Flood.

b. Agnostic: I cannot believe in a God who would send men to hell forever.

2. The Bible clearly teaches that God destroyed the world in the Noahic flood and he will destroy it again by fire at the second coming of Christ when wicked men are sent to hell for eternity.

3. An, the supreme pagan god, decreed the flood along with his firstborn son, Enlil.

a. “The order [flood] announced by An and Enlil cannot be overturned” (Sumerian Eridu, Segment C)

b. “What was Anu's intention as decision-maker? It was his command that the gods his sons [Enlil] obeyed. Anu was not cautious, but sent the Flood, Anu gathered the people to catastrophe.” (Atra-Hasis, Tablet 3, Column 3)

c. “The hearts of the Great Gods moved them to inflict the Flood. Their Father Anu uttered the oath (of secrecy), Valiant Enlil was their Adviser.” (Gilgamesh, Tablet 11)

d. “She went to the city whose fate was fixed by An and Enlil” (EPSK 1: Enmerkar vs. Ensuhgirana, 225, 250)

4. True flood story corrupted into a lie:

a. Enki betrayed his father Anu the same way Nimrod betrayed his parents.

b. Enki, the god of freshwater, warns “Noah” saying, “My father Anu is the supreme god but he is going to destroy all mankind with a flood. Go build an ark and put animals in it to save yourself.”

c. Anu represents the one true God YHWH, who decreed the global flood and Enki represents Satan the liar, deceiver and betrayer who rewrote the story to make himself look like the savior of Noah. Had the Sumerian flood tablets correctly told the story, Anu (representing YHWH) decreed the flood destroying wicked men and saved righteous innocent Noah by warning him to build an ark. Satan caused man to be destroyed in the flood, he was never the savior of Noah.

d. So, the Sumerian flood stories are corrupted, twisted lies that put the Supreme God at enmity with Noah rather than harmony.

e. Nimrod was in "accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness." (2 Thess 2:9–12)

f. The supreme God was the savior of Noah not a carved stone idol called Enki!

g. From the time of Nimrod (3200 BC) down to the time of Moses (1446 BC) Satan through Nimrod had deceived mankind into believing a lie, just like the serpent did in the garden of Eden.

5. The hostility of mankind toward the God who decreed the global flood is evident in the many ancient Sumerian flood myths.

a. The supreme god (An/Anu) decrees the destruction of mankind, which is carried out by Enlil Anu’s firstborn. Anu’s other two children (Enki and Inana) are horrified by the decree and secretly warn Noah to build the ark and load all the animals on board.

b. This common storyline in clay tablets, makes the god Anu who decreed the flood to be evil, heartless and unjust and his two children Enki and Inana the compassionate saviours of mankind who opposed the decree and secretly intervened.

c. The just God who condemns is evil and the betrayers are good.

6. Mankind’s feelings were made clear in the flood tablets that Anu is bad and unworthy of worship and Enki is the savior of mankind and worthy of worship.

a. The hostility of mankind towards the god Anu who decreed the flood was demonstrated in Sumerian cuneiform tablets by the fact that when “Noah” exited the Ark and made a sacrificial burnt offering, all the gods were invited except Anu and Enlil who tried to annihilate mankind: “The gods may come to the incense offering [of Noah], but Enlil may not come to the incense offering, because without considering he brought about the Flood and consigned my people to annihilation.' Just then Enlil arrived. He saw the boat and became furious, he was filled with rage at the Igigi gods: 'Where did a living being escape? No man was to survive the annihilation!'” (Gilgamesh, Tablet 11)

b. Enlil said: “Who else but Ea/Enki could devise such a thing [Ark]? It is Ea/Enki who knows every scheme!' Ea [Enki] spoke to Valiant Enlil, saying: 'It is yours, O Valiant One, who is the Sage of the Gods. How, how could you bring about a Flood without consideration? Charge the violation to the violator [An/Enlil], charge the offense to the offender [An/Enlil], but be compassionate lest (mankind) be cut off, be patient lest they be killed.” (Gilgamesh, Tablet 11, Fragment version #3)

7. An and Enlil “redeem themselves” and make atonement for their sin for wiping out mankind in the flood by granting “Noah” immortality.

a. This is actually a synchronism between the Flood stories and the Bible. When Nimrod was 25 years old, Noah was the oldest man on earth at 700 years old.

b. “Previously Ut-anapishtim [Noah] was a human being. But now let Ut-anapishtim and his wife become like us, the gods! Let Ut-anapishtim reside far away, at the Mouth of the Rivers.' They took us far away and settled us at the Mouth of the Rivers." (Epic of Gilgamesh , Tablet 9, 1150 BC)

c. In this way, the “bad” gods who caused the flood, “redeemed themselves” by granting Noah and his wife eternal life.

d. This preserves the true history that Noah was by far, the oldest man on earth who died at age 950 in 2948 BC.

e. Granting immortality to Noah allowed An and Enlil to be proper objects of worship because they “payed for their own sins” through “balance scale salvation” in doing good.

8. God destroyed “noisy man” who kept the god from sleeping:

In the Sumerian clay flood tablets, the God is portrayed as selfish, petty, unjust and cruel for drowning his own children simply because their innocent crying disturbed his sleep. This is how mankind viewed God for thousands of years after the flood.

"Enlil grew restless at their racket, he had to listen to their noise. Enlil opened his mouth to speak and addressed the assembly of all the gods: 'The noise of mankind has become too much, I am losing sleep over their racket. Come now, let us all take an oath to bring a flood.'" (Atra-Hasis)

9. Transference of evil from sinful man to holy God:

a. The Bible tells us that God destroyed the world in the flood because of man’s sin.

b. The Sumerian flood stories invert reality and make sinful man pure and holy God a sinner.

Bible: God Just, man is sinner

Sumerian: Man Just, God is selfish sinner

Flood for good reason: man’s sin:

"Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. … But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD." (Genesis 6:5–8)

Flood for bad reason: man’s noise kept god from sleeping:

God was righteous/patient, man evil:

"God did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;" (2 Pet 2:5)

"The Lord is … patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." (2 Pet 3:9)

God evil/impatient, Man innocent:

“Ea [Enki] spoke to Enlil, saying: How, how could you bring about a Flood without consideration? Charge the violation to the violator [An/Enlil], charge the offense to the offender [An/Enlil], but be compassionate lest (mankind) be cut off, be patient lest they be killed.” (Gilgamesh, Tablet 11, Fragment version #3)

10. The world into which Nimrod was born:

a. The social dynamic between three sons of Noah while aboard the ark for the year during the flood may have been stressed with discord

i. While it is unlikely that anybody aboard the ark was an idol worshipper, perhaps Ham and Japheth were angry with God while they were on the ark.

ii. Shem may have defended God’s actions while Ham and Japheth were angry with God.

b. While Noah was in harmony with God for punishing sinful men in the flood, perhaps his sons resented God.

i. The Sumerian Flood stories represent the negative feelings of mankind towards God’s judgement in decreeing the flood.

ii. In all the flood stories, the god who decreed the flood is the heartless, unjust, evil, bad guy.

iii. The ill feelings of Ham and Japheth towards God must have been quickly transmitted to their children during the first 100 years when the population of man grew from 8 to 800 men.

c. Nimrod hated God without a Cause:

i. Jesus, Noah and Christians are hated when they preach the truth: “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. “He who hates Me hates My Father also. “If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. “But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE.’" (John 15:22–25)

ii. Perhaps Ham and Japheth harbored resentment against God for killing their loved ones and destroying their wealth in the flood.

iii. Sometimes Christians today will be angry with God when a loved one dies in a traffic accident and they fall away in spite of the fact that God did not cause the death of their loved one. Like Nimrod, they falsely accuse God of being evil and are angry without a reason.

iv. Ham and Japheth may have left vast financial empires and a network of human workers behind when they entered the ark.

v. When they opened the doors of the ark it was a brand-new world, very different from the one they knew and they were penniless.

vi. Ham and Japheth may have resented leaving a life of opulent luxury before the flood where others served them, for a life of poverty and self-subsistence after the flood.

11. Nimrod capitalized on man’s hostility towards the destroyer God YHWH who sent the flood:

a. Nimrod was the one who fabricated the false flood storyline found in the flood tablets.

i. Sumerian flood stories portray the Supreme God (YHWH) as evil and unworthy of worship.

ii. They portray Enki and his sister Inana (goddess of sex and war: Ishtar/Easter) as heroes and worthy of worship but it is all based upon a lie and false history.

b. After the flood Nimrod builds the first mudbrick temples on earth to Enki and Inana:

i. “Rebel” Nimrod observed this hostility within the general population towards evil Anu and built the Tower of Babel to the kind, just, savior Enki at Babel and Inana at Uruk.

ii. Archeologically we know that Nimrod built pagan mudbrick temples to Enki at Babel and his sister, the goddess Inana at Uruk.

c. This new false flood storyline capitalized on the hostility men felt towards God because of the flood, combined with the first mudbrick temples may have been the reason Nimrod and the pantheon of pagan gods he invented, gained popularity so quickly.

12. Today, we often hear “I cannot worship a heartless, wicked and unjust God that would send someone to Hell for eternity”.

a. Today men accuse God of being evil for his promise of eternal Hell and view themselves as superior to God and more righteous than God because they would never send anyone to hell if they were God. Like Nimrod, these accusers of the True God have created a new fake idol god according to their own moral standards of what constitutes just.

b. This is exactly the sentiment of men immediately after the Noahic flood. Just as Nimrod resented and rejected God for destroying sinful man with a flood, so men today (“Neo-Nimrods”) resent and reject God for his promise to destroy the entire world at the second coming of Jesus Christ with fire.

c. Atheists will say the Bible doctrine of eternal conscious torment is cruel and violates basic laws of justice and therefore they refuse to believe in such a God.

13. TEN DOMINOES OF FALSE UNITARIAN THEOLOGY

The “slippery slope” of Nimrod’s Theology.

This is the sequential historical development of modern Unitarian theology in groups like Jehovah’s Witnesses. Each domino logically requires the next. The ten dominoes stand or fall together. They are either all false or all true. Of course, they are 10 false doctrines of Nimrod.

a. Domino #1: Jehovah’s Witnesses reject the Bible teaching of Hell on the basis of their own human reasoning and replace it with a new false doctrine of their own creation called “annihilation” because they view the Bible doctrine of eternal conscious torment as cruel and unusual punishment. They openly teach the doctrine of Eternal Conscious Torment in Hell is wrong because their “just god wouldn’t do it”. Like Nimrod, JW’s have invented a new god, a different God from the YHWH of the Bible.

b. Domino #2: When the early leaders of the Jehovah’s Witnesses rejected hell after the second coming, this led them to reject the torment of Hades before the second coming.

i. "“Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. “In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom." (Luke 16:22–23)

c. Domino #3: Rejecting Hades led the JW’s to reject the dichotomous nature of man, who they view a wholly flesh, without either spirit or soul like God.

d. Domino #4: Rejecting spirit and soul led JW’s to the false doctrine of Extinction and the rejection of the Bible doctrine that man consciously survives death.

e. Domino #5: The false doctrine of Extinction led JW’s to reject the Bible doctrine of Heaven. If man has no soul/spirit it is impossible for him to be in God’s spiritual presence in the spirit world. JW’s therefore teach that Heaven, like man, is wholly physical: A literal restored "garden of Eden" on earth. The Bible describes heaven as a spiritual place in the presence of the Father far beyond anything we could imagine. Two weeks on a tropical island is paradise but eternity is marooned. The JW’s doctrine of heaven on paradise earth is wrong because it does not require any dreaming. To them, what I see now I will get more of later, forever. How boring. The Bible teaches this world is not my home! Notice Jesus specifically says that our reward is in the presence of the Father, not on earth: "Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered, “Where I go, you cannot follow Me now [heaven]; but you will follow later [into heaven].” … “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again [second coming] and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. “And you know where I am going.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father [in heaven] but through Me." (John 13:36–14:6)

f. Domino #6: Rejecting the soul led the JW’s to reject the deity of Christ and turn Jesus into a creature! Jesus as God, can’t cease to exist for three days between cross and resurrection. The JW’s also teach that “Jesus the creature” is also “the Creator” but this contradicts Romans 1:25: "For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen." Jesus cannot be both creature and creator! Another “Nimrod false doctrine”!

g. Domino #7: Rejecting Jesus as God and making him into a creature/angel, destroys the Bible doctrine of the Trinity.

h. Domino #8: Rejecting the Trinity transforms the Holy Spirit from a person into a thing. Not only is the Holy Spirit no longer God, He doesn't even exist as a person, but is merely a personification of God's power. Unitarians change the Holy Spirit from the third person of God into God’s battery pack.

i. Domino #9: Rejecting the spiritual nature of man, Jesus and the Holy Spirit causes some Unitarians to reject the Bible doctrine of the Devil. Like the Holy Spirit, the Devil isn’t a person but is the personification of Sin.

j. Domino #10: Rejecting the Devil as a person logically forces unitarians to transform demons from evil spirit beings into the personification of human diseases. Today, when a Unitarian performs an exorcism to someone demon possessed, they give him a Tylenol or antibiotic to rid the person of their sickness.

14. Men today who say they cannot worship a “destroyer God” of sinful men in flood and eternal fire, have created a god in their own image based upon their own human reasoning of justice.

a. Like Nimrod, atheists, Unitarians and Jehovah’s Witnesses accuse YHWH of being cruel and unjust. They create a false pagan god whom they feel is moral and just in their “own image” of how they reason God should be.

b. Atheists unknowingly make themselves into their own gods because their own moral opinions supersede the Bible.

c. Jehovah’s Witnesses create a pagan god, who like Enki, would never destroy sinful mankind in a flood or send sinful men to Hell forever.

15. God who created man has the right to judge and destroy man. Man is a creature, not the creator.

a. "“For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him." (John 5:22–23)

b. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." (2 Corinthians 5:10)

16. What God does is always Holy, Just and Good. Let not man create a false image of what he thinks God is.

a. "Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation" (2 Peter 3:3-15)

B. NIMROD IN EASTER: Nimrod’s pagan fertility goddess Inana and Easter:

1. The word “Easter” derives directly from the “Eostre” the goddess of fertility and is an alternate name for Ishtar, Astarte, Venus and ultimately Nimrod’s pagan goddess of sex and war “Inana” who is the forerunner of all pagan fertility goddesses.

a. Eostre is the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring fertility and birth of new light at the vernal equinox.

b. Eostre, Ishtar, Astarte and Venus are merely alternate versions of the same ancient goddess Inana of Nimrod from different times and cultures.

2. Easter and Deviled Eggs:

a. While Christians clearly are NOT worshipping Inana or Ishtar, it is shocking that Christians chose to name their annual celebration of the Resurrection of Christ “Easter”.

b. But it gets worse. Christians engage in rituals at Easter that further invoke the meaning behind the pagan goddess of fertility through rabbits laying “Ishtar/Easter Eggs”. Our children learn the ritual of Easter Egg hunts long before they comprehend that Easter is really all about the Resurrection of Christ. While it is harmless to let kids engage in Easter egg hunts, it is truly creepy that the name of Inana/Ishtar/Easter is spoken hundreds of millions of times every year by Christians.

c. Scripture teaches that demons are behind all idol worship. The demon behind the idol goddess Inana is enjoying all the publicity that comes out of the mouths of Christians.

d. Everybody loves “Deviled Eggs” (known as Devil’s Eggs) but the Devil doesn’t deserve any credit for anything that tastes so good. We need to call this party favorite “Angeled Eggs”.

3. Christians are told to celebrate “Easter” 52 times a year on Sundays: The Bible doesn’t instruct Christians to remember the resurrection of Christ once a year at “Easter”. Instead Christians are commanded to assemble on the “Lord’s Day”, the first day of the week, the day Jesus rose from the dead. Christians celebrate the Resurrection weekly on Sunday, not yearly on Easter!

a. Weekly Assembly: "Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near." (Hebrews 10:24–25)

b. "I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet," (Revelation 1:10)

c. “The apostles further appointed: On the first day of the week let there be service, and the reading of the Holy Scriptures, and the oblation: because on the first day of the week our Lord rose from the place of the dead, and on the first day of the week He arose upon the world, and on the first day of the week He ascended up to heaven, and on the first day of the week He will appear at last with the angels of heaven.” (Teaching of Addæus the Apostle, 2, 225 AD)

d. “And on the day of our Lord’s resurrection, which is the Lord’s day, meet more diligently, sending praise to God that made the universe by Jesus, and sent Him to us, and condescended to let Him suffer, and raised Him from the dead. Otherwise what apology will he make to God who does not assemble on that day to hear the saving word concerning the resurrection, on which we pray thrice standing in memory of Him who arose in three days, in which is performed the reading of the prophets, the preaching of the Gospel, the oblation of the sacrifice, the gift of the holy food?” (Constitution of the Apostles 2.59, 290 AD)

e. “We also celebrate [assemble] with joy the eighth day on which Jesus also rose from the dead, was made manifest, and ascended into heaven” (Epistle of Barnabas 15.9, 100 AD)

4. Christians memorialize the death, not the birth of Christ: The Bible does not instruct Christians to remember the birth of Christ. Instead Christians are commanded to remember the death of Christ every first day of the week (Sunday).

a. Weekly communion: "On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight." (Acts 20:7)

b. "When Jesus had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes." (1 Corinthians 11:24–26)

c. The Lord’s Supper or communion has five elements:

i. Christians

ii. First day of the week

iii. Assembly

iv. Unleavened bread

v. Unleavened grape juice. The Jewish Elephantine Papyrus, dating to 419 BC, shows that Passover wine was leaven-free. This follows the command of Moses to remove all leaven from your houses in Ex 12 and proves that Jesus used grape juice for the Lord’s Supper. The New Testament never calls it wine (Greek: oinos) and always calls it the “Fruit of the vine”. (Luke 22:18) Leaven-free grape juice will naturally ferment to 3% alcohol content. Using wine for the Lord’s Supper is wrong not because of the alcohol content but the leaven content.

d. The Lord’s Supper has five meanings:

i. Fellowship, Sharing, Communion: Acts 2:42; 1 Cor 10:16-17

ii. Memorial: “In remembrance of Me”: 1 Cor 11:24-25

iii. Thanksgiving/Eucharist: “give thanks for the bread and the cup”: 1 Cor 11:24

iv. Proclamation of the death of Christ: “This is my body, blood” 1 Cor 11:26

v. Anticipation of the Second coming: “till He comes”: 1 Cor 11:26

e. “And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought [communion], and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen … But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead. For He was crucified on the day before that of Saturn (Saturday); and on the day after that of Saturn, which is the day of the Sun, having appeared to His apostles and disciples, He taught them these things, which we have submitted to you also for your consideration.” (Justin Martyr, Apology 67, 140 AD)

5. Christians give freewill offerings every Sunday: The Bible forbids the Christian to tithe (2 Cor 9:7). The Bible does not instruct the church to make money through business ventures, raffle tickets or bake sales. Instead Christians are commanded to make freewill offerings while assembled every first day of the week (Sunday):

a. Weekly giving: "On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come." (1 Corinthians 16:2)

b. “And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place … And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who helps the orphans and widows, and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds, and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need. … Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly” (Justin Martyr, Apology 67, 140 AD)

6. Water Baptism by full immersion is Christian’s personal “Easter resurrection day”: Full immersion baptism began in 280 BC, in Alexandria when the Synagogue movement was born as a result of the translation of the Septuagint. Synagogues served as God’s providential prophetic bridge between Temple worship of Mosaic Judaism and the Christian Church. The vision of Daniel 2 marks the opening of the Messianic window in 49 BC when Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon River. The prophecy of Daniel 9:24 closes the Messianic window by counting 490 years to the very solar day starting in 5^th April 458 BC and ending on 5^th April AD 33, the day Jesus rose from the dead. At the time of Christ, there were thousands of Synagogues all over the world, including over 400 in Jerusalem, each equipped with a Greek translation of the Old Testament (Tanakh) and a water baptism tank called a Mikveh. The ritual purity movement of the first century motivated Jews to immerse every Sabbath before entering the Synagogue “cleansed of impurity”. They would enter the mikveh naked and immerse themselves. As they climbed up the stairs, they would put on a clean white robe and enter the Synagogue. Some Jewish sects today continue with this tradition. When John the Baptist began immersing in the Jordan for the remission of sins, it was immediately accepted as the continuation of the ancient tradition that dates back to Alexandria. Jesus the Nazarene expanded the Jewish ritual purity doctrine by describing in detail, 5 metaphors of full immersion water Baptism.

Five Ritual Purity Metaphors of Christian Baptism:

a. 1. Washing and forgiveness of sins: Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1 Pe 3:21

b. 2. Clothed with Christ’s robes of righteousness: Gal 3:27; Isa 61:10

c. 3. Circumcision: Col 2:11–13

d. 4. New Birth: John 3:3–7

e. 5. Death, burial and Resurrection (Personal Easter): Rom 6:3–7

Baptism saves: Mk 16:16; Mt 28:18–20

Have you been born again?

CONCLUSION

Conclusion

1. The discovery of the Tower of Babel is possible today: Tel Eridu (Tel Abu Shahrain) is remote, desolate and abandoned and would be quite easy to excavate with modern excavation equipment and a professional team! Perhaps in God’s providence, no modern structures have been built upon it.

2. The excavators at Tel Eridu (Tel Abu Shahrain) start with the Ziggurat built in 2100 BC by Ur-Nammu, then they conclude that the 300x300 meter platform upon which this Ziggurat was built, was in fact an ancient platform built 750 years earlier for a temple at that time. They conclude that the Ziggurat DISPLACED a previous ancient temple of the same age as the ancient platform. The excavators understood that a temple DIFFERENT FROM TEMPLE 1 (which was located outside the platform) had existed IN THE MIDDLE of the 300 x 300 foot platform, on top of which, the new ziggurat was built in 2100 BC. This means that the remnants of Nimrod’s Tower of Babel might lay under the middle of the later Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu built 750 years later in 2100 BC.

3. Idol worship is demon worship:

a. Nimrod appears to be the early creator of pagan gods. His progressive rebuilding of temples at Eridu which climaxed in his failed attempt to build the Tower of Babel show him to be a strong promoter of idolatry. Each of the temples had a burnt offering table opposite a large niche for an idol. Nimrod therefore became the prime evangelist for the earliest and widespread pagan beliefs after the flood which came in direct conflict with the Hebrew people.

b. "They sacrificed to demons who were not God, To gods whom they have not known, New gods who came lately, Whom your fathers did not dread." (Deuteronomy 32:17)

c. "They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons," (Psalm 106:37)

d. "No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons." (1 Corinthians 10:20)

e. "And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty." (Revelation 16:13–14)

f. "The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk;" (Revelation 9:20)

4. Goats as symbols of Satan derive from Nimrod who sacrificed “Goat fish” (Bearded carp).

a. We know from excavations at Tel Eridu that Nimrod sacrificed “Goat Fish”. This species of fish have several long Catfish-like protrusions hanging from their mouths like the beard of a goat.

b. While the descendants of Shem sacrificed goats, the rebel Nimrod changed the “goat like” sacrifice from a mammal to a fish.

c. There are several references to “goat-gods” in the Bible:

i. "He set up priests of his own for the high places, for the satyrs and for the calves which he had made." (2 Chronicles 11:15)

ii. "They shall no longer sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat demons with which they play the harlot. This shall be a permanent statute to them throughout their generations.” ’" (Leviticus 17:7)

5. Like Nimrod, men today hate a God who judges and tells them they are wrong:

a. Satan delighted in the fact that for 2000 years after the Noahic flood, Nimrod’s lies caused mankind to hate the God who decreed the flood as cruel, selfish, abusive and unjust. God downing mankind because the “noise” robbed him of sleep, is as evil as a parent murdering their crying newborn wakes them up at 3 am.

b. Nimrod fanned the flames of “God-hate” because he wiped out every human except 8 at the Noahic flood.

c. Today men hate being told they are destined for eternal conscious torment in hell if they do not believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, rose the third day and ascended to the right hand of God in heaven.

d. Unitarian Christian groups shaped their entire doctrinal system by initially rejecting the Bible teaching on hell, saying, “Eternal conscious torment is cruel and unjust and contrary to the nature of God.”

6. What you read in the Book you find in the ground:

a. The various inscriptions and roller seals archaeologically validate the story of the Noahic flood, the rise of Nimrod and the attempted building of the Tower of Babel.

b. The four Sumerian poetry stories called Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta, validate the confusion of languages in Genesis and the origin of writing as a consequence.

c. The two roller seals are graphically correct in picturing Mt. Ararat as twin peaks, where one is smaller the other.

"Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time." (1 Corinthians 15:1–6)

By Steven Rudd: Contact the author for comments, input or corrections

Steve.Rudd@bible.ca

www.Bible.ca/nimrod

Special thanks to

1. Associates for Biblical Research

2. Near Eastern Archaeological society

3. Matthew Glassman

4. Doug Petrovitch

5. David Rohl

6. Andrew Steinmann

7. Henry Smith

8. Scott Stripling

9. Bryant Wood

10. Rodger Young

11. Logos Bible Software library

Bibliography

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1. Abydenus: On the flood and Tower of Babel: Georgius Syncellus Chronicle 38. 800 AD quoting Eusebius [325 AD] Praeparatio Evangelica [preparation for the gospel] 9. -Eusebius Chronicle 5. 8. who quotes from Abydenus [200 BC], who quotes from “Babyloniaca” by Berossus [380 BC], 200 BC

2. Alexander Polyhistor: On the flood: Georgius Syncellus Chronicle 28. [800 AD] who quotes Eusebius Chronicle 5. 8., [325 AD] who quotes Polyhistor [50 BC], who quotes “Babyloniaca” by Berossus [380 BC], 50 BC

3. Augustine, City of God, 16.11.2-3, 354 AD

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5. Berossus, 280 BC

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8. Book of Jubilees: 170 BC

9. Codex Vaticanus, 350 AD

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11. Dead Sea Scroll: 11QtargJob, 50 BC

12. Demetrius the Chronographer, 225 BC

13. Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta, Context of Scripture, 1997 AD, 2100 BC

14. Enmerkar’s Siege of Ararat #1: Lugalbanda’s sickness/recovery in cave, 2100 BC

15. Enmerkar’s Siege of Ararat #2: Lugalbanda’s miraculous speed from Ararat to Uruk, 2100 BC

16. Ephrem the Syrian, 363 AD

17. Epic of Atra-hasis, tablet 1, column 1, lines 14-32, 1635 BC

18. Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet 9, 1150 BC

19. Epistle of Barnabas, 100 AD

20. Jerome, 347 AD

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28. Submission of Ararat to Uruk #2: Enmerkar vs. Lord of Ararat, 2100 BC

29. Sumerian Creation story of Eridu , segment B, lines 6-11, 2119-2112 BC

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25. Palaces of Babylon and Palaces of Babylonian Kings, Paul-Alain Beaulieu, CSMS Journal, Vol 11&12, 2017 AD

26. Rethinking World-Systems: Diasporas, Colonies, and Interaction in Uruk Mesopotamia, Gil J. Stein, 1999 AD

27. Survey of Old Testament Introduction, Gleason Archer, p128, 1994 AD

28. The Iraqi Italian Archaeological Mission at the Seven Mounds of Eridu/Amer, Marco Ramazzotti, 2015 AD

29. The Uruk bevel-rim bowl: production-line technology in design and function, Jill Goulder, 2018 AD

30. The World's Oldest Alphabet: Hebrew as the Language of the Proto-consonantal Script, Douglas Petrovich, 2016 AD

31. Trade and Power in the Fifth and Fourth Millennia BC: New Evidence, Joan Oates, World Archaeology 24, 1993 AD

32. Uruk Colonies and Anatolian Communities: Report on the 1992-1993 Excavations at Hacinebi, Gil Stein, 1996 AD

33. Who Was Nimrod?, Dr. David Livingston, Bible and Spade, Vol. 14, No. 3, 2001 AD

By Steve Rudd May 2019: Contact the author for comments, input or corrections.

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Paperback: 160 pages

Publisher: Bible.ca inc. (May 16, 2019)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1092122311

ISBN-13: 978-1092122313

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