The Watchtower Society and John and Morton Edgar - A2Z.org

Although the Scriptures do not directly allude to thenature of the influence exerted by Nimrod, we maysafely infer from the character of his parentage, andfrom other circumstances, that it was evil. That hisgrandiather,Ham,had a depraved disposition is provedin Gen. 9 : 18-25 ; while in the same connection Shemwas given a special blessing because of his purity(verse 26). Thus we gather that very shortly after thedeluge the human race was divided into two camps,one for the Lord and righteousness among whom Shemtook the leading part, the other for unrighteousnesswith Ham as the principal apostate. Of the latterbranch of the race Nimrod was descended.It is improbable, therefore, that the declaration thatNimrod was a "mighty hunter before the Lord " signifiesthat he in any way sought thus to honour theLord. In such a connection the phrase "before theLord" rather implies a belittling ad the Lord's powerto protect His own. Perceiving the menaced conditionof the race, Nimrod, trusting to his own prowess, cameforward as the bold saviour of the world, and becominga mighty one in the earth attracted men's attentionaway from the Lord. The natural result of theadmiration of a man of Nimrod's character mustnecessarily have been to destroy reverence for God,and thus lead to the adoration and worship of thecreature instead of the Creator. That the world didfall into infidelity shortly after the flood is provedfrom the first part of the eleventh chapter of Genesis.The great Jewish historian Josephus says in conflrmation:"The multitude were very ready to follow thedetermination of Pu'imrod, and to esteem it a piece ofcorndice to submit to God " (Ant. 1 : 4 : 2).we cannot suppose, however, that the saintly fewwould permit this evil without exerting some effort to