Sunday, April 2, 2023

Nimrod's Empire

"After the language splitting at Babel, many patriarchs who were listed at Babel came out with multiple names (due to the multiple languages). One variation of “Nimrod” was “Ninus,” which is where the name Ninevah comes from—Nineveh and Nimroud.
 
After Nimrod’s death, his kingdom fell apart into petty kingdoms in
certain local areas. Eusebius relates that event closer to home, stating that
Queen Semiramis (which some suggest was the wife of Nimrod) retained power, reigning for 42 years in Assyria, and was known for building projects in Babylon.
Many of the local rulers vied for power in Nimrod’s broken kingdom, controlling bits and pieces of it. Sometime in the aftermath of Nimrod’s death (and possibly Semiramis’ death), a war broke out between two groups of vying kings, as mentioned in Genesis 14:1–9.
And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations, that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).
All these joined together in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him came and attacked the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim, and the Horites in their mountain of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is by the wilderness.
Then they turned back and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and attacked all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who dwelt in Hazezon Tamar. And the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. (NKJV)
This is the war that Abraham was dragged into and fought to successfully rescue his nephew Lot (Genesis 14:12–16). By this point in history, these smaller kingdoms were setting the stage for later empires like the Assyrian Empire and so on." AIG