Genesis 10:8

And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Cush	וְכ֖וּשׁ ve.Khush	H3568	Cush (or Ethiopia) · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
begat	יָלַ֣ד ya.Lad	H3205	to bear young · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Nimrod	נִמְרֹ֑ד nim.Rod	H5248	Nimrod · proper noun, a man's name
began	הֵחֵ֔ל he.Chel	H2490	properly · verb, hiphil perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
be	לִֽהְי֥וֹת lih.Yot	H1961	to exist · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
one	גִּבֹּ֖ר gi.Bor	H1368	powerful · noun, common masculine singular absolute
earth	בָּאָֽרֶץ ba.'A.retz	H776	the earth (at large · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Micah 5:6 And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 10:6-14

That which is observable and improvable in these verses is the account here given of Nimrod, Gen 10:8-10. He is here represented as a great man in his day: He began to be a mighty one in the earth, that is, whereas those that went before him were content to stand upon the same level with their neighbours, and though every man bore rule in his own house yet no man pretended any further, Nimrod's aspiring mind could not rest here; he was resolved to tower above his neighbours, not only to be eminent among them, but to lord it over them. The same spirit that actuated the giants before the flood (who became mighty men, and men of renown, Gen 6:4), now revived in him, so soon was that tremendous…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 10:8

Nimrod--mentioned as eclipsing all his family in renown. He early distinguished himself by his daring and successful prowess in hunting wild beasts. By those useful services he earned a title to public gratitude; and, having established a permanent ascendancy over the people, he founded the first kingdom in the world [Gen 10:10].

Adam Clarke on Genesis 10:8

Nimrod - Of this person little is known, as he is not mentioned except here and in Ch1 1:10, which is evidently a copy of the text in Genesis. He is called a mighty hunter before the Lord; and from Gen 10:10, we learn that he founded a kingdom which included the cities Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Though the words are not definite, it is very likely he was a very bad man. His name Nimrod comes from מרד, marad, he rebelled; and the Targum, on Ch1 1:10, says: Nimrod began to be a mighty man in sin, a murderer of innocent men, and a rebel before the Lord. The Jerusalem Targum says: "He was mighty in hunting (or in prey) and in sin before God, for he was a hunter of th…

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John Gill on Genesis 10:8

And Cush begat Nimrod,.... Besides the other five sons before mentioned; and probably this was his youngest son, being mentioned last; or however he is reserved to this place, because more was to be spoken of him than of any of the rest. Sir Walter Raleigh (i) thinks that Nimrod was begotten by Cush after his other children were become fathers, and of a later time than some of his grandchildren and nephews: and indeed the sons of Raamah, the fourth son of Cush, are taken notice of before him: however, the Arabic writers (k) must be wrong, who make him to be the son of Canaan, whereas it is so clear and express from hence that he was the son of Cush. In the Greek version he is called Nebrod,…

The Church Fathers

(Verse 8) And Cush begot Nimrod. He began to be powerful in the land. And after a little while:
— Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis

(Verse 8) And Cush begot Nimrod. He began to be powerful in the land... Nimrod, the son of Chus, first seized an unprecedented tyranny among the people.
— Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis

A Nimrod, who goes round the world, made rough With deep ravines and wooden crags, and strives To waylay some by fraud and secret wiles, To vanquish others by his giant arms And spread his deadly triumphs far and wide.
— Prudentius, ORIGIN OF SIN 143-48

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Arabia — Arid, an extensive region in the south-west of Asia. It is bounded on the west by the Isthmus of Suez and the Red Sea, on the south by the Indian Ocean, and on the east by the Persian Gulf and the…
Babel — (confusion), Bab’ylon (Greek form of Babel), is properly the capital city of the country which is called in Genesis Shinar, and in the later books Chaldea, or the land of the Chaldeans. The first…
Canaanites — The descendants of Canaan, the son of Ham. Migrating from their original home, they seem to have reached the Persian Gulf, and to have there sojourned for some time. They thence “spread to the west,…
Cush — Black. (1.) A son, probably the eldest, of Ham, and the father of Nimrod (Gen. 10:8; 1 Chr. 1:10). From him the land of Cush seems to have derived its name. The question of the precise locality of…
Dodanim — Leaders, a race descended from Javan (Gen. 10:4). They are known in profane history as the Dardani, originally inhabiting Illyricum. They were a semi-Pelasgic race, and in the ethnographical table…
Gihon — A stream. (1.) One of the four rivers of Eden (Gen. 2:13). It has been identified with the Nile. Others regard it as the Oxus, or the Araxes, or the Ganges. But as, according to the sacred narrative,…
Ham — Warm, hot, and hence the south; also an Egyptian word meaning “black”, the youngest son of Noah (Gen. 5:32; comp. 9:22, 24). The curse pronounced by Noah against Ham, properly against Canaan his…
Japheth — Wide spreading: “God shall enlarge Japheth” (Heb. Yaphat Elohim le-Yephet, Gen. 9:27. Some, however, derive the name from yaphah, “to be beautiful;” hence white), one of the sons of Noah, mentioned…
Nimrod — Firm, a descendant of Cush, the son of Ham. He was the first who claimed to be a “mighty one in the earth.” Babel was the beginning of his kingdom, which he gradually enlarged (Gen. 10:8-10). The…
Assyria · An empire foun — An empire foun

Genesis 10:8

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 10:6-14

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 10:8

Adam Clarke on Genesis 10:8

John Gill on Genesis 10:8

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 10:8

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 10:6-14

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 10:8

Adam Clarke on Genesis 10:8

John Gill on Genesis 10:8

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Genesis 10:8-9

Keil & Delitzsch on Genesis 10:6-20

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 10:8-12

Rashi on Genesis 10:8