Bible Figure
Nimrod
king of Shinar (Genesis 10)
Nimrod was a descendant of Cush described as a mighty man and hunter whose kingdom began with Babel and other cities in the land of Shinar.
Biography
Genesis 10 identifies Nimrod as a son or descendant of Cush who became mighty on the earth and was remembered as a mighty hunter before the Lord. His kingdom began with Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh in Shinar, and the passage also associates his sphere with cities connected to Assyria, though the Hebrew syntax has been interpreted in more than one way. First Chronicles repeats his identification as one who became mighty on earth.
Biblical Significance
Nimrod is the first individual in Genesis explicitly associated with a kingdom after the flood. Later traditions greatly expanded his biography, especially linking him personally with the Tower of Babel, but Genesis itself does not explicitly say that Nimrod built the tower.