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NileAid to Bible Understanding
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against invasion. Its cataracts to the S made the land difficult to attack from the direction of Nubia-Ethiopia, while the swampy land around the delta region hindered the entrance of large armies from the Asiatic continent. Some scholars suggest that Assyrian King Sennacherib’s boast of drying up all the Nile canals with his feet signified his confidence of being able to overcome defensive water-filled moats around Egyptian cities and strongholds.—2 Ki. 19:24.
The Nile’s cycles served as the basis for the seasonal calendar of the Egyptians, with three four-month seasons: ʼAkhet or Inundation; Peret, the Coming Forth (evidently of the land as the waters returned to their banks); and Shomu, the Dry season (summer). The period just after the waters were highest was that of the greatest activity; when low water levels prevailed, construction work was programmed to provide a measure of employment.
The symbol of a “great sea monster lying stretched out in the midst of [the] Nile canals,” applied to Pharaoh in the book of Ezekiel, is thought to be drawn from the crocodiles that have inhabited the Nile from ancient times. (Ezek. 29:3-5) Frequent, too, was the hippopotamus, generally identified with the animal designated as “Behemoth” at Job 40:15.
The Egyptians worshiped the Nile as a god of fertility under the name of Hapi. This god was depicted as basically male but with large feminine breasts, the head crowned with aquatic plants and a fisherman’s girdle being around the plump waist. Festivals, with accompanying sacrifices, were held annually in his honor at the beginning of each inundation period. Some scholars suggest that Pharaoh’s going out to the Nile, mentioned at Exodus 7:15, relates to some morning devotional act, though it may have been merely for a morning walk or to examine the height of the river.
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Nile CanalsAid to Bible Understanding
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NILE CANALS
See CANALS; NILE.
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NimrahAid to Bible Understanding
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NIMRAH
(Nimʹrah) [leopard, or, pure water].
A town E of the Jordan built or rebuilt by the Gadites; a shortened form of Beth-nimrah.—Num. 32:3-5, 34, 36; see BETH-NIMRAH.
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NimrimAid to Bible Understanding
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NIMRIM
(Nimʹrim) [wholesome water].
In prophecies directed against Moab, both Isaiah and Jeremiah refer to the “waters of Nimrim.” (Isa. 15:5-9; Jer. 48:34, 35) On the basis of the fertility of the surrounding region, some identify the waters of Nimrim with the Wadi Nimrim, whose waters flow into the Jordan N of the Dead Sea. (See BETH-NIMRAH.) The order in which places are named in the prophecies, however, seems to indicate a location in the S of Moab. Thus many authorities prefer identification with the Wadi en-Numeirah, which flows down into the Dead Sea about eight and a half miles (14 kilometers) from its southern end. The prophecies foretell that these waters will become “sheer” or “mere desolations,” either in a figurative sense due to the desolating of the land or perhaps due to a damming up of their streams by enemy forces.
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NimrodAid to Bible Understanding
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NIMROD
(Nimʹrod) [possibly, we will rebel, or, let us rebel].
Son of Cush, who was a principal progenitor of the dark-complexioned branch of the human family. (1 Chron. 1:10; compare Jeremiah 13:23.) Nimrod was the founder and king of the first empire to come into existence after the Flood. He distinguished himself as a mighty hunter “before” (in an unfavorable sense; Heb., liph·nehʹ; “against” or “in opposition to”; compare Numbers 16:2; 1 Chronicles 14:8; 2 Chronicles 14:10) or “in front of” Jehovah. (Gen. 10:9, NW, 1953 ed., ftn.) Although in this case some scholars attach a favorable sense to the Hebrew preposition meaning “in front of,” the Jewish Targums, the writings of the historian Josephus and also the context of Genesis chapter 10 suggest that Nimrod was a mighty hunter in defiance of Jehovah.
The beginning of Nimrod’s kingdom included the cities of Babel, Erech, Accad and Calneh, all in the land of Shinar. (Gen. 10:10) Therefore it was likely under his direction that the building of Babel and its tower began. This conclusion is also in agreement with the traditional Jewish view. Wrote Josephus: “[Nimrod] gradually changed the government into tyranny,—seeing no other way of turning men from the fear of God, but to bring them into a constant dependence upon 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 be able to reach! . . . Now the multitude were very ready to follow the determination of Nimrod, and to esteem it a piece of cowardice to submit to God; and they built a tower.”—Antiquities of the Jews, Book I, chap. IV, pars. 2, 3.
It appears that after the building of the Tower of Babel Nimrod extended his domain to the territory of Assyria and there built “Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah and Resen between Nineveh and Calah: this is the great city.” (Gen. 10:11, 12; compare Micah 5:6.) Since Assyria evidently derived its name from Shem’s son Asshur, Nimrod, as a grandson of Ham, must have invaded Shemite territory. So it would seem that Nimrod made the start in becoming a mighty one or hero, not only as a hunter of animals, but also as a warrior, a man of aggression. (Gen. 10:8) Observes the Cyclopædia by M’Clintock and Strong (Vol. VII, p. 109): “That the mighty hunting was not confined to the chase is apparent from its close connection with the building of eight cities. . . . What Nimrod did in the chase as a hunter was the earlier token of what he achieved as a conqueror. For hunting and heroism were of old specially and naturally associated . . . The Assyrian monuments also picture many feats in hunting, and the word is often employed to denote campaigning. . . . The chase and the battle, which in the same country were connected so closely in aftertimes, may therefore be virtually associated or identified here. The meaning then will be, that Nimrod was the first after the flood to found a kingdom, to unite the fragments of scattered patriarchal rule, and consolidate them under himself as sole head and master; and all this in defiance of Jehovah, for it was the violent intrusion of Hamitic power into a Shemitic territory.”
If Nimrod’s name is correctly defined as “we will rebel” or “let us rebel,” doubtless it came to be applied to him after he began his rebellion.
Concerning the deification of Nimrod, see GODS AND GODDESSES (Babylonian Deities).
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NimshiAid to Bible Understanding
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NIMSHI
(Nimʹshi) [drawn out, saved].
Father of Jehoshaphat (not the king) and grandfather of Jehu. (1 Ki. 19:16; 2 Ki. 9:2, 14, 20; 2 Chron. 22:7) The name has been found inscribed on a fragment of ancient pottery excavated in Samaria.
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NinevehAid to Bible Understanding
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NINEVEH
(Ninʹe·veh).
A city of Assyria founded by Nimrod, “a mighty hunter in opposition to Jehovah.” Together with Rehoboth-Ir, Calah and Resen it constituted the “great city.” (Gen. 10:9, 11, 12; Mic. 5:6) Much later it became the capital of the Assyrian Empire. As such, Nineveh was a “city of bloodshed” (Nah. 3:1), for the Assyrians waged many wars of conquest and employed brutal methods in killing captured warriors. Doubtless the military campaigns contributed greatly to the city’s wealth. (Nah. 2:9) The principal deity of Nineveh appears to have been Ishtar, a goddess of love and war.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION
Quyunjiq and Nebi Yunus (“the prophet Jonah”), two mounds located on the E bank of the Tigris River, mark the site of what was once the great city of Nineveh. A modern village, with a cemetery and a mosque, occupies Nebi Yunus. This mound has therefore not been extensively investigated. At Quyunjiq, however, excavations have brought to light much that testifies to Nineveh’s past glory. The findings include
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