And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the
earth.
He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said,
Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.
And the beginning of
his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad,
and Calneh, in the land of
Shinar.
Genesis 10:8-10
"He sought to establish great
cities on each river, the Tigris and the
Euphrates, in an attempt to
control trade and commerce in the region.
As he built up his vast network of cities, both on the Tigris
and Euphrates rivers, he began to institute religious practices that
were directly at odds with the worship of the true God.
Nimrod himself was later deified as Merodach, or Marduk, the chief god of Babylon.
According to the Babylonian tradition Marduk is a monster-slayer and therefore he can be described as a hero and a great hunter, as is Nimrod in Genesis.
Naturally the stars, and planets, the "heavenly host", became
involved with these deities and pagan practices. The sun began to occupy
a central place of importance.
The zodiac was created. Astrology became
spiritism, and soothsaying, and using the stars to predict events and
dates in the future."
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