The first among the leaders of the corrupt men was Nimrod.[77] His
father Cush had married his mother at an advanced age, and Nimrod, the
offspring of this belated union, was particularly dear to him as the
son of his old age. He gave him the clothes made of skins with which
God had furnished Adam and Eve at the time of their leaving Paradise.
Cush himself had gained possession of them through Ham. From Adam and
Eve they had descended to Enoch, and from him to Methuselah, and to
Noah, and the last had taken them with him into the ark. When the
inmates of the ark were about to leave their refuge, Ham stole the
garments and kept them concealed, finally passing them on to his
first-born son Cush. Cush in turn hid them for many years. When his son
Nimrod reached his twentieth year, he gave them to him.[78] These
garments had a wonderful property. He who wore them was both invincible
and irresistible. The beasts and birds of the woods fell down before
Nimrod as soon as they caught sight of him arrayed in them,[79] and he
was equally victorious in his combats with men.[80] The source of his
unconquerable strength was not known to them. They attributed it to his
personal prowess, and therefore they appointed him king over
themselves.[81] This was done after a conflict between the descendants
of Cush and the descendants of Japheth, from which Nimrod emerged
triumphant, having routed the enemy utterly with the assistance of a
handful of warriors. He chose Shinar as his capital. Thence he extended
his dominion farther and farther, until he rose by cunning and force to
be the sole ruler of the whole world, the first mortal to hold
universal sway, as the ninth ruler to possess the same power will be
the Messiah.[82]
His impiousness kept pace with his growing power. Since the flood there
had been no such sinner as Nimrod. He fashioned idols of wood and
stone, and paid worship to them. But not satisfied to lead a godless
life himself, he did all he could to tempt his subjects into evil ways,
wherein he was aided and abetted by his son Mardon. This son of his
outstripped his father in iniquity. It was their time and their life
that gave rise to the proverb, "Out of the wicked cometh forth
wickedness."[83]
The great success that attended all of Nimrod's undertakings produced a
sinister effect. Men no longer trusted in God, but rather in their own
prowess and ability,[84] an attitude to which Nimrod tried to convert
the whole world.[85] Therefore people said, "Since the creation of the
world there has been none like Nimrod, a mighty hunter of men and
beasts, and a sinner before God."[86]
And not all this sufficed unto Nimrod's evil desire. Not enough that he
turned men away from God, he did all he could to make them pay Divine
honors unto himself. He set himself up as a god, and made a seat for
himself in imitation of the seat of God. It was a tower built out of a
round rock, and on it he placed a throne of cedar wood, upon which
arose, one above the other, four thrones, of iron, copper, silver, and
gold. Crowning all, upon the golden throne, lay a precious stone, round
in shape and gigantic in size. This served him as a seat, and as he
sate upon it, all nations came and paid him Divine homage.[87]