Abstract
This chapter looks afresh at Nimrod and attempts to restore his dignity and that of black people. This will be done in five stages below. First, we briefly highlight the identity of Noah’s children in order to place into context Nimrod, who is the focus of this study. Second, we examine the negative portrayal of Nimrod by certain scholars. Third, we discuss the use of Ham/Nimrod’s story in the oppression or enslavement of black people. Furthermore, we will critique such a use of the story to oppress black people. Fourth, we discuss Nimrod’s achievements. The focus here will be on his major achievements as a great ruler, mighty hunter, and builder. The aim of this section is to counter the negative interpretation that Nimrod has previously received. In addition, we will offer a positive interpretation of the curse on Ham/Cush/Nimrod. Fifth and finally, we will spell out the significance of the Nimrod story for those who have been oppressed and enslaved on the basis of this text. The focus here will be on South Africa.
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Notes
K. A. Mathews, Vol. 1A: Genesis 1–11:26 (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; K. A. Mathews, The New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001), 439;
R. Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and D. Brown, A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments. On Spine: Critical and Explanatory Commentary (Oak Harbor, OH: Logos Research Systems, 1997).
H. L. Willmington, Willmington’s Bible Handbook (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1997), 13.
C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol. 1 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2002), 107; Willmington, Willmington’s Bible Handbook, 13; J. C. Laney and R. B. Hughes, Tyndale Concise Bible Commentary, rev. edition of The New Bible Companion (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001), 14; Mathews, New American Commentary, 458.
L. Richards, The Bible Reader’s Companion (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1991), 31.
J. C. L. Gibson, Genesis: The Daily Study Bible Series, Vol. 1 (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001), 201.
Mathews, New American Commentary, 443; Jamieson et al., Commentary, Critical and Explanatory; D. A. Carson, New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition (Leicester, UK: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994).
Stephen Haynes, Noah’s Curse: The Biblical Justification of American Slavery (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), 42.
Ibid., 42ff.; Louis Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jews, Vol.1 (Philadelphia, PA: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1968), 174–180.
James L. Kugel, The Bible as It Was (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997), 128.
Ibid.; Stephen Gero, “The Legend of the Fourth Son of Noah,” Harvard Theological Review 73 (1980): 321–330.
Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), 76–77; Haynes, Noah’s Curse, 57.
Clifford, Nimrod, 1985; J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983), 43.
Gibson, Genesis, 203; R. J. Clifford, “Nimrod,” in Harper’s Bible Dictionary, ed. Paul J. Achtemeier (San Francisco, CA: Harper & Row, 1985).
See Warren Wiersbe, Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1993).
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© 2008 Anthony B. Pinn and Allen Dwight Callahan
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Farisani, E.B. (2008). Nimrod: Reading the Bible with South African Eyes. In: Pinn, A.B., Callahan, A.D. (eds) African American Religious Life and the Story of Nimrod. Black Religion/Womanist Thought/Social Justice. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230610507_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230610507_8
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