The Beginning of Babylon

Nimrod was the son of Noah’s grandson Cush. Genesis 10:9 states that he was "a mighty hunter before the Lord." By reading this passage, you may be given the impression that Nimrod was a good man, but he was not. If he had been the scriptures would have said "a mighty hunter of the Lord." Some Scholars claim that he married his mother.

Verse 10 states that he went into the land of Shinar, (Mesopotamia or Babylon) and founded four kingdoms. The names of these kingdoms were Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh. Afterwards he went into Asshur, (Assyria) and founded Nineveh, Rehoboth, and Calah.

At this time in Biblical History, all the people of the world lived close together, and spoke one language. The city of Babel was the heart of civilization. In Genesis 11, the people decided to build a great tower in Babel. The tower would serve as temple to their strange gods. They also wanted to stand back and say, "Look what we have done with our own hands." While they were building the tower, God came down to Earth and confused their language. The construction of the tower stopped and the people of Earth scattered.

Many Bible scholars believed that the people were divided into three main groups.
They base this on Noah’s three sons, Shem, Japheth, and Ham. The descendants of Shem go into to Asia, Japheth’s settle in Europe, and Ham’s in Africa

After God scattered the people, a group at Babel remained. In Genesis 14, Amraphel of Shinar is one of the Kings who allies with Chedorlamer, King of Elam. They go to war against Sodom, Gomorah, Admah, Zeboiium, and Zoar. This is the first war recorded in the Bible. Some Scholars believe that Amraphel was an ancestor to Nebuchadnezzar.

While this war is taken place, Abraham’s nephew Lot is taken captive. When Abraham heard of this, he led three hundred and eighteen of his arm servants into battle. They kill the captors, rescue Lot, and all his possessions.

The area eventually became know as Babylon. The city is not mentioned again until II Chronicles 33:11. Manasseh was King of Judah, and Babylon belonged to the Assyrian Empire.
Here are some more interesting facts. The definition of Babel means confusion. The word we know today as babble or babbling derived from the city of Babel. After the flood, Babel was the place where paganism began. For example, Nimrod worshiped the sun god. We are more familiar with its Greek name, Apollo.

My next article will be about Babylon and Judah.