Haran or Aran ( Hebrew : הָרָן Hārān ) is a man in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible . He was a son of Terah , brother of Abraham , and father of son Lot and daughters Milcah and Iscah . He died in Ur of the Chaldees . Through Lot, Haran was the ancestor of the Moabites and Ammonites .
78-800: Terah , a descendant of Shem son of Noah , was the father of Abram/Abraham, Nahor , and Haran. Their home's location is not certain, but it is usually supposed to have been in Mesopotamia . Besides Lot and Milcah , Haran fathered a daughter Iscah . After Haran died in Ur of the Chaldees 'before his father Terah', his family travelled towards Canaan , the Promised Land . However, Terah stopped at Charan (or Haran [Hebrew חָרָן, Ḥārān]) and settled there, as did Nahor and Milcah, whereas Lot accompanied Abraham and others onwards to Canaan. The name Haran possibly comes from
156-601: A German one, according to Dr Antal Endrey in an article published in 1979). The 16th-century Hungarian prelate Nicolaus Olahus claimed that Attila took for himself the title of Descendant of the Great Nimrod . The hunter god or spirit Nyyrikki , figuring in the Finnish Kalevala as a helper of Lemminkäinen , is associated with Nimrod by some researchers and linguists. The Nimrod Fortress (Qal'at Namrud in Arabic) on
234-485: A chariot driven by birds. The story attributes to Abraham elements from the story of Moses ' birth (the cruel king killing innocent babies, with the midwives ordered to kill them) and from the careers of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who emerged unscathed from the fire. Nimrod is thus given attributes of two archetypal cruel and persecuting kings – Nebuchadnezzar and Pharaoh . Some Jewish traditions also identified him with Cyrus , whose birth according to Herodotus
312-514: A fiery furnace, yet Abram miraculously escaped ( Genesis Rabbah 38:13). The Zohar says that when God saved Abram from the furnace, Terah repented ( Zohar Genesis 1:77b) and Rabbi Abba B. Kahana said that God assured Abram that his father Terah had a portion in the World to Come (Genesis Rabbah 30:4; 30:12). Rabbi Hiyya relates this account in the Genesis Rabbah: Terah left Abram to mind
390-690: A new lineage distinct from his ancestors. In the Samaritan Pentateuch Terah dies aged 145 years and Abram leaves Haran after his death. In the Christian tradition Abram left Haran after Terah died. The Christian views of the time of Terah come from a passage in the New Testament at Acts 7:2–4 where Stephen said some things that contrast with Jewish rabbinical views. He said that God appeared to Abraham in Mesopotamia, and directed him to leave
468-549: A new star in heaven. A herald is then said to have appeared in the land announcing "the coming of Abraham". Nimrod is also mentioned in one of the earliest writings of the Báb (the herald of the Baháʼí Faith). Citing examples of God's power, he asks: "Has He not, in past days, caused Abraham, in spite of His seeming helplessness, to triumph over the forces of Nimrod?" The story of Abraham's confrontation with Nimrod did not remain within
546-582: A passage of the Quran, which mentions that the sons of Yaʿqūb (Jacob) referred to his uncle Ismāʿīl (Ishmael), father Is-ḥāq (Isaac) and grandfather Ibrāhīm (Abraham) as his ābāʾ ( Arabic : آبَـاء ): Were you there to see when death came upon Ya'qub? When he said to his sons, "What will you worship after I am gone?" they replied, "We shall worship your God and the God of your abaʾ , Ibrahim, Isma'il, and Is-haq, one single God: we devote ourselves to Him." Therefore,
624-659: A synonym for Assyria or Mesopotamia , is mentioned in the Micah 5 :6: Who will shepherd Assyria’s land with swords, The land of Nimrod in its gates. Thus he will deliver [us] From Assyria, should it invade our land, And should it trample our country. Genesis 10:10 says that the "mainstays of his kingdom" ( רֵאשִׁית מַמְלַכְתּוֹ rēšit̲ mamlak̲to ) were Babylon , Uruk , Akkad and Calneh in Shinar ( Mesopotamia )—understood variously to imply that he either founded these cities, ruled over them, or both. Owing to an ambiguity in
702-610: A tyrannical king. In rabbinical writings up to the present, he is almost invariably referred to as "Nimrod the Evil" ( Hebrew : נמרוד הרשע ). Nimrod is mentioned by name in several places in the Baháʼí scriptures , including the Kitáb-i-Íqán , the primary theological work of the Baháʼí Faith . There it is said that Nimrod "dreamed a dream" which his soothsayers interpreted as signifying the birth of
780-660: A version similar to that in the Cave of Treasures , but the crown maker is called Santal , and the name of Noah's fourth son who instructs Nimrod is Barvin . However, Ephrem the Syrian (306–373) relates a contradictory view, that Nimrod was righteous and opposed the builders of the Tower. Similarly, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (date uncertain) mentions a Jewish tradition that Nimrod left Shinar in southern Mesopotamia and fled to Assyria in northern Mesopotamia, because he refused to take part in building
858-505: Is also found in the Talmud , and in rabbinical writings in the Middle Ages . In some versions, such as Flavius Josephus , Nimrod is a man who sets his will against that of God. In others, he proclaims himself a god and is worshipped as such by his subjects, sometimes with his consort Semiramis worshipped as a goddess at his side. A portent in the stars tells Nimrod and his astrologers of
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#1732852232928936-678: Is considered the leader of those who built the Tower of Babel in the land of Shinar, although the Bible never states this. Nimrod's kingdom included the cities of Babel, Uruk, Akkad, and perhaps Calneh, in Shinar (Gen 10:10). Josephus believed that it was likely under his direction that the building of Babel and its tower began; in addition to Josephus, this is also the view found in the Talmud ( Hullin 89a, Pesahim 94b, Erubin 53a, Avodah Zarah 53b), and later midrash such as Genesis Rabba . Several of these early Judaic sources also assert that
1014-441: Is identified as the person who arranged and led the family to embark on a mysterious journey to Canaan. It is shrouded in mystery to Jewish scholars as to why Terah began the journey and as to why the journey ended prematurely. It is suggested that he was a man in search of a greater truth that could possibly be found in the land of Canaan, and that it was Abram who picked up the torch to continue his father's quest, that Terah himself
1092-504: Is mentioned in Genesis 11:26–27, Book of Joshua 24:2, and 1 Chronicles 1:17–27 of the Hebrew Bible and Luke 3 :34–36 in the New Testament . Terah is mentioned in Genesis 11:26–27, Joshua 24:2, and 1 Chronicles 1:17–27 of the Hebrew Bible and Luke 3:34–36 in the New Testament . Terah is mentioned in Genesis 11:26–32 as a son of Nahor, the son of Serug , descendants of Shem . He
1170-547: Is now called Nisibis; and in Chalanne [Calneh], which was later called Seleucia after King Seleucus when its name had been changed, and which is now in actual fact called Ctesiphon." However, this traditional identification of the cities built by Nimrod in Genesis is no longer accepted by modern scholars, who consider them to be located in Sumer , not Syria . The Ge'ez Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan (c. 5th century) also contains
1248-560: Is said to have had three sons: Abram (better known by his later name Abraham), Haran , and Nahor II , and one daughter: Sarai (better known by her later name Sarah). The family lived in Ur of the Chaldees . His grandchildren were Lot , Milcah and Iscah , whose father, Haran, had died at Ur. In the Book of Joshua , in his final speech to the Israelite leaders assembled at Shechem , Joshua recounts
1326-417: Is said to have taken place. Some stories bring them both together in a cataclysmic collision, seen as a symbol of the confrontation between Good and Evil, or as a symbol of monotheism against polytheism . Some Jewish traditions say only that the two men met and had a discussion. According to K. van der Toorn and P. W. van der Horst, this tradition is first attested in the writings of Pseudo-Philo . The story
1404-419: Is sometimes interpreted as an escape from Nimrod's revenge. Accounts considered canonical place the building of the Tower many generations before Abraham's birth (as in the Bible, also Jubilees ); however in others, it is a later rebellion after Nimrod failed in his confrontation with Abraham. In still other versions, Nimrod does not give up after the Tower fails, but goes on to try storming Heaven in person, in
1482-631: The Babylonian captivity . Judaic interpreters as early as Philo and Yohanan ben Zakkai in the 1st century interpreted "a mighty hunter before the Lord" ( גבר ציד לפני יהוה gibbor-ṣayiḏ lip̄nē Yahweh , lit. "in the face of Yahweh ") as signifying " in opposition to the Lord"; a similar interpretation is found in Pseudo-Philo , as well as later in Symmachus . Some rabbinic commentators have also connected
1560-429: The Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles . The son of Cush and therefore the great-grandson of Noah , Nimrod was described as a king in the land of Shinar ( Lower Mesopotamia ). The Bible states that he was "a mighty hunter before the Lord [and] ... began to be mighty in the earth". Some later (non-biblical) traditions, interpreting the story of Jacob's dream in the Bible (Genesis 28:11–19), identified Nimrod as
1638-851: The Genesis Rabbah (Chapter 38, 13), is considered to date from the sixth century. נטלו ומסרו לנמרוד. אמר לו: עבוד לאש. אמר לו אברהם: ואעבוד למים, שמכבים את האש? אמר לו נמרוד: עבוד למים! אמר לו: אם כך, אעבוד לענן, שנושא את המים? אמר לו: עבוד לענן! אמר לו: אם כך, אעבוד לרוח, שמפזרת עננים? אמר לו: עבוד לרוח! אמר לו: ונעבוד לבן אדם, שסובל הרוחות? אמר לו: מילים אתה מכביר, אני איני משתחוה אלא לאוּר - הרי אני משליכך בתוכו, ויבא אלוה שאתה משתחוה לו ויצילך הימנו! היה שם הרן עומד. אמר: מה נפשך, אם ינצח אברהם - אומַר 'משל אברהם אני', ואם ינצח נמרוד - אומַר 'משל נמרוד אני'. כיון שירד אברהם לכבשן האש וניצול, אמרו לו: משל מי אתה? אמר להם: משל אברהם אני! נטלוהו והשליכוהו לאור, ונחמרו בני מעיו ויצא ומת על פני תרח אביו. וכך נאמר: וימת הרן על פני תרח אביו. (בראשית רבה ל"ח, יג) (...) He [Abraham]
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#17328522329281716-522: The Golan Heights - actually built during the Crusades by Al-Aziz Uthman , the younger son of Saladin - was anachronistically attributed to Nimrod by later inhabitants of the area. There is a very brief mention of Nimrod in the Book of Mormon : "(and the name of the valley was Nimrod, being called after the mighty hunter)". In Jewish and Islamic traditions, a confrontation between Nimrod and Abraham
1794-538: The Great Flood . After the catastrophic failure of that most ambitious endeavour and in the midst of the confusion of tongues , Nimród the giant moved to the land of Evilát , where his wife, Enéh gave birth to twin brothers Hunor and Magyar (aka Magor ). Father and sons were, all three of them, prodigious hunters, but Nimród especially is the archetypal, consummate, legendary hunter and archer. Hungarian legends held that twin sons of King Nimród, Hunor and Magor were
1872-754: The Kitab al-Magall , except that Nisibis, Edessa and Harran are said to be built by Nimrod when Reu was 50, and that he began his reign as the first king when Reu was 130. In this version, the weaver is called Sisan , and the fourth son of Noah is called Yonton . Jerome , writing c. 390, explains in Hebrew Questions on Genesis that after Nimrod reigned in Babel, "he also reigned in Arach [Erech], that is, in Edissa; and in Achad [Accad], which
1950-582: The Phoenician personal name hr-b`l , and also in the Israelite personal name hryhw from Gibeon . Haran is the English name of two other people mentioned in the Bible. Terah Terah or Terach ( Hebrew : תֶּרַח Teraḥ ) is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis . He is listed as the son of Nahor and father of the patriarch Abraham . As such, he is a descendant of Shem 's son Arpachshad . Terah
2028-567: The White Stag [ Fehér Szarvas ] or Silver Stag), King Nimród ( Ménrót ), often described as "Nimród the Giant" or "the giant Nimród", descendant of Noah, is the first person referred to as forefather of the Hungarians. He, along with his entire nation, is also the giant responsible for the building of the Tower of Babel—construction of which was supposedly started by him 201 years after the biblical event of
2106-638: The fourth son of Noah . In the Recognitions (R 4.29), one version of the Clementines, Nimrod is equated with the legendary Assyrian king Ninus , who first appears in the Greek historian Ctesias as the founder of Nineveh. However, in another version, the Homilies (H 9:4–6), Nimrod is made to be the same as Zoroaster . The Syriac Cave of Treasures (c. 350) contains an account of Nimrod very similar to that in
2184-565: The 16th century Sefer haYashar , which adds that Nimrod had a son named Mardon who was even more wicked. In the History of the Prophets and Kings by the 9th century Muslim historian al-Tabari , Nimrod has the tower built in Babil, God destroys it, and the language of mankind, formerly Syriac , is then confused into 72 languages. Another Muslim historian of the 13th century, Abu al-Fida , relates
2262-524: The Chaldeans—whereas most rabbinical commentators see Terah as being the one who directed the family to leave Ur Kasdim from Genesis 11:31: "Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai (his son Abram's wife), and his grandson Lot (his son Haran's child) and left Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan." Stephen asserts that Abram left Haran after Terah died. Some Sunni scholars are of
2340-588: The Earth, east and west, two believers and two disbelievers. The two believers were Solomon ( Sulayman in Islamic texts) and Dhul Qarnayn , and the two disbelievers were Nebuchadnezzar II and Nimrod. No one but they gained power over it." The following version of the confrontation between Abraham and Nimrod appears in the Midrash Rabba , a major compilation of Jewish Scriptural exegesis . The part in which this appears,
2418-521: The Hebrew word har , = "mountain", with a West Semitic suffix appearing with proper names, anu/i/a . Thus, it has been suggested that Haran may mean "mountaineer". Personal names which resemble Haran include ha-ri and ha-ru , from texts of second millennium BC Mari and Alalakh , and ha-ar-ri , from one of the Amarna letters —but their meanings are uncertain. The initial element of Haran can be found in
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2496-510: The Islamic era), several sites of ruins in the Middle East have been named after Nimrod. The first biblical mention of Nimrod is in the Generations of Noah . He is described as the son of Cush , grandson of Ham , and great-grandson of Noah ; and as "a mighty one in the earth" and "a mighty hunter before the Lord". This is repeated in the 1 Chronicles 1 :10, and the "Land of Nimrod" used as
2574-555: The Nimrod of biblical texts and real historically attested figures in Mesopotamia. No king named Nimrod or with a similar name appears anywhere on any pre-biblical, extra-biblical or historic Sumerian , Akkadian , Assyrian or Babylonian king list, nor does the name Nimrod appear in any other writings from Mesopotamia itself or its neighbours in any context whatsoever during the Bronze Age , Iron Age or pre-Christian Classical Age . Since
2652-839: The Roman Emperor Titus , destroyer of the Temple in Jerusalem ). In some versions, Nimrod repents and accepts God, offering numerous sacrifices that God rejects (as with Cain ). Other versions have Nimrod give to Abraham, as a conciliatory gift, the giant slave Eliezer , whom some accounts describe as Nimrod's own son (the Bible also mentions Eliezer as Abraham's majordomo , though not making any connection between him and Nimrod; Genesis 15:2). Still other versions have Nimrod persisting in his rebellion against God, or resuming it. Indeed, Abraham's crucial act of leaving Mesopotamia and settling in Canaan
2730-714: The Sun up from the East, and so he asks the king to bring it from the West. The king is then perplexed and angered. The commentaries on this Surah offer a wide variety of embellishments of this narrative, one of which by Ibn Kathir , a 14th-century scholar, adding that Nimrod showed his rule over life and death by killing a prisoner and freeing another. Whether or not conceived as having ultimately repented, Nimrod remained in Jewish and Islamic tradition an emblematic evil person, an archetype of an idolater and
2808-649: The Tower—for which God rewarded him with the four cities in Assyria, to substitute for the ones in Babel. Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer (c. 833) relates the Jewish traditions that Nimrod inherited the garments of Adam and Eve from his father Cush, and that these made him invincible. Nimrod's party then defeated the Japhethites to assume universal rulership. Later, Esau (grandson of Abraham ), ambushed, beheaded, and robbed Nimrod. These stories later reappear in other sources including
2886-778: The ancestors of the Huns and the Magyars (Hungarians) respectively, siring their children through the two daughters of King Dul of the Alans , whom they kidnapped after losing track of the silver stag whilst hunting. Both the Huns' and Magyars' historically attested skill with the recurve bow and arrow are attributed to Nimród. ( Simon Kézai , personal "court priest" of King Ladislaus the Cuman , in his Gesta Hungarorum , 1282–1285. This tradition can also be found in over twenty other medieval Hungarian chronicles, as well as
2964-608: The better one.." Likewise, in Ziyarat Arbaeen , a recitation with which Shiite Muslims pay respect to Imam Husayn , it is recited "I bear witness that you were a light in the sublime loins and purified wombs..", through which it is believed that none of his ancestors up to Adam were impure, which includes Muhammad, Imam Ali and Lady Fatimah and hence including Abraham's biological father. The Twelver Shi'ite website Al-Islam.org treats Azar as being Abraham's uncle, not his biological father. To justify this view, it references
3042-423: The biblical King Nimrod. An early Arabic work known as Kitab al-Magall or the Book of Rolls (part of Clementine literature ) states that Nimrod built the towns of Hadāniūn, Ellasar , Seleucia , Ctesiphon , Rūhīn, Atrapatene , Telalān, and others, that he began his reign as king over earth when Reu was 163, and that he reigned for 69 years, building Nisibis , Raha ( Edessa ) and Harran when Peleg
3120-434: The biblical texts). Historians have failed to match Nimrod with any historically attested figure, or to find any historical, linguistic or genetic link between Mesopotamia and the kingdom of Cush, although in 2002 one scholar suggested that there might be a connection between the biblical Nimrod and one of the exclusively Mesopotamian historical figures, Naram-Sin of Akkad, grandson of Sargon . In more recent times (during
3198-431: The biggest bonfire the world had ever seen. Yet when the fire is lit, Abraham walks out unscathed. In some versions, Nimrod then challenges Abraham to battle. When Nimrod appears at the head of enormous armies, Abraham produces an army of gnats which destroys Nimrod's army. Some accounts have a gnat or mosquito enter Nimrod's brain and drive him out of his mind (a divine retribution which Jewish tradition also assigned to
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3276-409: The city of Akkad was destroyed and lost with the destruction of its Empire in the period 2200–2154 BC ( long chronology ), the much later biblical stories mentioning Nimrod seem to recall the late Early Bronze Age . The association with Erech ( Sumero-Akkadian Uruk ), a city that lost its prime importance around 2000 BC as a result of struggles between Isin , Ur , Larsa and Elam , also attests
3354-509: The confines of learned writings and religious treatises, but also conspicuously influenced popular culture. A notable example is " Quando el Rey Nimrod " ("When King Nimrod"), one of the most well-known folksongs in Ladino (the Judeo-Spanish language), apparently written during the reign of King Alfonso X of Castile . Beginning with the words: "When King Nimrod went out to the fields/ Looked at
3432-406: 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 any one could expect; but the thickness of it was so great, and it was so strongly built, that thereby its great height seemed, upon
3510-420: The early 4th century, noting that the Babylonian historian Berossus in the 3rd century BC had stated that the first king after the flood was Euechoios of Chaldea (in reality Chaldea was a small state historically not founded until the late 9th century BC), identified him with Nimrod. George Syncellus (c. 800) also had access to Berossus, and he too identified the also historically unattested Euechoios with
3588-518: The early provenance of the stories of Nimrod. Several Mesopotamian ruins were given Nimrod's name by invading 8th-century AD Muslim Arabs , including the ruins of the Assyrian city of Kalhu (the biblical Calah ), which contrary to biblical claims was in reality built by Shalmaneser I (1274–1244 BC) A number of attempts to connect him with historical figures have been made without any success. The Christian Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea as early as
3666-594: The first king of Babylon, and states that he dug great canals and reigned 60 years. Still elsewhere, he mentions another king Nimrod, son of Canaan , as the one who introduced astrology and attempted to kill Abraham. In Armenian legend, the ancestor of the Armenian people, Hayk , defeated Nimrod (sometimes equated with Bel ) in a battle near Lake Van. In the Hungarian legend of the Enchanted Stag (more commonly known as
3744-427: The furnace and survived, Haran was asked: "Whose [follower] are you?" and he answered: "I am Abraham's!". [Then] they took him and threw him into the furnace, and his belly opened and he died and predeceased Terach, his father. [The Bible , Genesis 11:28, mentions Haran predeceasing Terach, but gives no details.]|— Historians, Orientalists , Assyriologists and mythographers have long tried to find links between
3822-421: The government into tyranny, seeing no other way of turning men from the fear of God, but to bring them into a constant dependence on 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 reach. And that he would avenge himself on God for destroying their forefathers. Now the multitude were very ready to follow
3900-417: The heavens and at the stars/He saw a holy light in the Jewish quarter/A sign that Abraham, our father, was about to be born", the song gives a poetic account of the persecutions perpetrated by the cruel Nimrod and the miraculous birth and deeds of the savior Abraham. The Quran states, "Have you not considered him who had an argument with Abraham about his Lord, because God had given him the kingdom (i.e. he
3978-470: The history of God's formation of the Israelite nation, beginning with "Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, who lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods." Terah is also mentioned in a biblical genealogy given in 1 Chronicles . In the Genesis narrative, Terah took his family and left Ur to move to the land of Canaan . Terah set out for Canaan but stopped in the city of Haran along
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#17328522329284056-491: The impending birth of Abraham, who would put an end to idolatry . Nimrod therefore orders the killing of all newborn babies. However, Abraham's mother escapes into the fields and gives birth secretly. At a young age, Abraham recognizes God and starts worshipping him. He confronts Nimrod and tells him face-to-face to cease his idolatry , whereupon Nimrod orders him burned at the stake. In some versions, Nimrod has his subjects gather wood for four whole years, so as to burn Abraham in
4134-474: The king Amraphel , who wars with Abraham later in Genesis, is none other than Nimrod himself. Josephus wrote: 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 were through his means they were happy, but to believe that it was their own courage which procured that happiness. He also gradually changed
4212-424: The minister of Namrud. There is a consensus among Shia Muslim scholars and exegetes that Azar was not the biological father of Abraham but rather his paternal uncle while Terah is believed to be his father. Shaykh Tusi maintained that Azar was not Abraham's father and cited a hadith from Muhammad according to which none of the prophet's ancestors up to Adam were polytheists. By this he argued that since Azar
4290-515: 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 ... Since Akkad was destroyed and lost with the collapse of the Akkadian Empire in the period 2200–2154 BC ( long chronology ),
4368-412: The name Nimrod with a Hebrew word meaning 'rebel'. In Pseudo-Philo (dated c. 70 CE), Nimrod is made leader of the Hamites, while Joktan as leader of the Semites, and Fenech as leader of the Japhethites, are also associated with the building of the Tower. Versions of this story are again picked up in later works such as Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius (7th century). The Book of Jubilees mentions
4446-413: The name of "Nebrod" (the Greek form of Nimrod) only as being the father of Azurad , the wife of Eber and mother of Peleg (8:7). This account would thus make Nimrod an ancestor of Abraham, and hence of all Hebrews . The Babylonian Talmud ( Gittin 56b) attributes Titus 's death to an insect that flew into his nose and picked at his brain for seven years in a repetition of another legend referring to
4524-399: The opinion that Azar (mentioned in the Qur'an ) is not the father of Ibrahim . For some, the actual name of the father of Ibrahim is Tarakh, thus cannot be Azar. Ibn Hajar 's position is that in fact Azar is the paternal uncle of Ibrahim and that Arabs use the term " ab " to refer to the paternal uncle also and that Allah used this expression in the Qur'an 2:133 where Isma'il ,
4602-461: The original Hebrew text, it is unclear whether it is he or Ashur who additionally built Nineveh , Resen , Rehoboth-Ir and Nimrud (Kalaḥ) ; both interpretations are reflected in various English versions . Walter Raleigh devoted several pages in his History of the World (1614) to reciting past scholarship regarding the question of whether it had been Nimrod or Ashur who built the cities in Assyria. In Jewish and Christian tradition , Nimrod
4680-490: The paternal uncle of Ya'qub , is referred to as an " ab ". Some commentators said: Terah's, had two names: Azar and Terah, as Al-Tabari narrated in Jami’ al-Bayan (11/466) with his chain of transmission on the authority of Saeed bin Abdul Aziz. He said: He is Azar, and he is Terah, such as “Israel” and “ Jacob ”. It is also maintained by some that Azar's real name was Nakhoor, and that though Azar earlier worshipped Allah , he abandoned his forefathers' religion when he became
4758-425: The ruler who had commissioned the construction of the Tower of Babel or of Jacob's Ladder , and that identification led to his reputation as a king who had been rebellious against God. There is no evidence that Nimrod was an actual historical person in any of the non-biblical historic records, registers, or king lists (including any of the Mesopotamian ones, which are considerably older and more comprehensive than
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#17328522329284836-420: The same story, adding that the patriarch Eber (an ancestor of Abraham) was allowed to keep the original tongue, Hebrew in this case, because he would not partake in the building. The 10th-century Muslim historian Masudi recounts a legend making the Nimrod who built the tower to be the son of Mash, the son of Aram, son of Shem , adding that he reigned 500 years over the Nabateans . Later, Masudi lists Nimrod as
4914-491: The singular word ab does not always mean progenitor, and can be used for an adopter, uncle, step-father, or caretaker, unlike the word wālid ( Arabic : وَالِـد , progenitor). Thus, Al-Islam.org denies that Abraham's biological father was 'Azar', and instead agreed with Ibn Kathir that he was the biblical figure 'Terah', who nevertheless treated him as a polytheist. In contrast to Al-Islam.org , Shi'ite scholar and jurist Mohammad Taqi al-Modarresi believed Terah to be
4992-503: The store while he departed. A woman came with a plateful of flour and asked Abram to offer it to the idols. Abram then took a stick, broke the idols, and put the stick in the largest idol’s hand. When Terah returned, he demanded that Abram explain what he'd done. Abram told his father that the idols fought among themselves and the largest broke the others with the stick. "Why do you make sport of me?" Terah cried, "Do they have any knowledge?" Abram replied, "Listen to what you are saying!" Terah
5070-421: The stories mentioning Nimrod seem to recall the late Early Bronze Age . The association with Erech (Babylonian Uruk ), a city that lost its prime importance around 2000 BCE as a result of struggles between Isin , Larsa and Elam , also attests the early provenance of the stories of Nimrod. According to some modern-day theorists, their placement in the Bible suggests a Babylonian origin—possibly inserted during
5148-431: The uncle of Abraham, not his father. Terah is portrayed by Vittorio Gassman in the film Abraham (1993). Nimrod#Evil Nimrod vs. the righteous Abraham Nimrod ( / ˈ n ɪ m r ɒ d / ; Hebrew : נִמְרוֹד , Modern : Nīmrōd , Tiberian : Nīmrōḏ ; Classical Syriac : ܢܡܪܘܕ ; Arabic : نُمْرُود , romanized : Numrūd ) is a biblical figure mentioned in
5226-419: 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 grown wiser by the destruction of the former sinners; but He caused a tumult among them, by producing in them diverse languages, and causing that, through
5304-633: The way, where he died. Genesis 11:26 states that Terah lived 70 years, "and begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran". The Talmud says that Abraham was 52 years old at year 2000 AM ( Anno Mundi ), which means that he was born in the year 1948 AM. According to rabbinic literature Terah was a wicked ( Numbers Rabbah 19:1; 19:33), idolatrous priest ( Midrash HaGadol on Genesis 11:28) who manufactured idols ( Eliyahu Rabbah 6, and Eliyahu Zuta 25). Abram, in opposition to his father's idol shop, smashed his father's idols and chased customers away. Terah then brought his unruly son before Nimrod , who threw him into
5382-401: The west." This causes the king to exile him, and he leaves for the Levant . Although Nimrod's name is not specifically stated in the Quran, Islamic scholars hold that the "king" mentioned was him. Other traditional stories also exist around Nimrod, which have resulted in him being referenced as a tyrant in Muslim cultures. According to Mujahid ibn Jabr , "Four people gained control over
5460-481: The wind! [Abraham] said to him: And shall we worship the human, who withstands the wind? Said [Nimrod] to him: You pile words upon words, I bow to none but the fire—in it shall I throw you, and let the God to whom you bow come and save you from it! Haran [Abraham's brother] was standing there. He said [to himself]: what shall I do? If Abraham wins, I shall say: "I am of Abraham's [followers]", if Nimrod wins I shall say "I am of Nimrod's [followers]". When Abraham went into
5538-498: Was 50. It further adds that Nimrod "saw in the sky a piece of black cloth and a crown". He called upon Sasan the weaver and commanded him to make him a crown like it, which he set jewels on and wore. He was allegedly the first king to wear a crown. "For this reason people who knew nothing about it, said that a crown came down to him from heaven ." Later, the book describes how Nimrod established fire worship and idolatry, then received instruction in divination for three years from Bouniter,
5616-455: Was a reflection of his character, a man who was unable to go "all the way". Although on a journey in the right direction, Terah fell short at arriving to the divine destination—in contrast to Abram, who did follow through and achieved the divine goal, and was not bound by his father's idolatrous past. Abram's following God's command to leave his father, thus absolved him from the mitzvah of honoring parents, and as Abraham, he would go on to create
5694-551: Was accompanied by portents, which made his grandfather try to kill him. A confrontation is also found in the Quran , between a king, not mentioned by name, and Ibrahim (Arabic for "Abraham"). Some Muslim commentators assign Nimrod as the king. In the quranic narrative Ibrahim has a discussion with the king, the former argues that God is the one who gives life and causes death, whereas the unnamed king replies that he gives life and causes death. Ibrahim refutes him by stating that God brings
5772-525: Was an idolater and Abraham was one of the prophet's ancestors, it is not possible for Azar to be Abraham's father. According to Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi in Tafsir Nemooneh , all Shiite exegetes and scholars believe that Azar was not Abraham's father. Allamah Tabatabai in his Tafsir al-Mizan appealed to the Quranic verses in which Abraham prayed for his parents, that they show that his father
5850-456: Was given over to Nimrod. [Nimrod] told him: Worship the Fire! Abraham said to him: Shall I then worship the water, which puts off the fire! Nimrod told him: Worship the water! [Abraham] said to him: If so, shall I worship the cloud, which carries the water? [Nimrod] told him: Worship the cloud! [Abraham] said to him: If so, shall I worship the wind, which scatters the clouds? [Nimrod] said to him: Worship
5928-402: Was prideful)?" Abraham says, "My Lord is He Who gives life and causes death." The king answers, "I give life and cause death". At this point some commentaries add new narratives like Nimrod bringing forth two men, who were sentenced to death previously. He orders the execution of one while freeing the other one. Then Abraham says, "Indeed, God brings up the sun from the east, so bring it up from
6006-422: Was someone other than Azar. In Dua Umm Dawood, a supplication recited by Shi'ite Muslims cited to be from Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq , the supplicant sends blessings on a person by the name of 'Turakh'. In Nahj al-Balagha , Imam Ali is reported to have said in a sermon, "I testify that Muhammad is His servant and messenger, and the chief of His creation; whenever Allah divided the line of descent, He put him in
6084-541: Was unable to achieve. In Jewish tradition, when Terah died at age 205, Abraham (70 years younger) was already 135 years old. Abram thus left Haran at age 75, well before Terah died. The Torah, however, relates Terah's death in Haran before Abram continues the journey to Canaan as an expression that he was not remiss in the Mitzvah of honoring a parent by leaving his aging father behind. The significance of Terah not reaching Canaan
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