Nimrod and the Return of the Nephilim

Last fall I did an episode asking “What was the big deal about a tower that reaches to heaven?”

And that episode ended up setting records. At the time, it was probably my most popular episode ever, and it held that position for many months. If I were smart, I probably would have followed it up with 10 more episodes right then about the Tower of Babel. There was clearly a lot of interest in this subject to know what exactly was going on there.

And yet, for me, that was one of my not-so-favorite episodes. Why? Because I really asked more questions than I provided answers. I was questioning why the builders at Babel thought they could somehow make it to heaven by building a tower all the way up there. Were they really that stupid- or was there something more spiritual going on with this tower?

And most puzzling to me of all: what was it about this structure that caused God to say in

Genesis 11:6

…this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.

That’s a big claim. Made by no less than God Himself.

So I had a lot of questions about this Babel incident, and I didn’t want to explore them further on the podcast until I had time to do. my. research. And that’s what I’ve been up to, for a whole year now, preparing for this series- until today. And here we go.

And it starts with a look at the architect of Babel, a guy named Nimrod, who shows up in a few verses in a genealogy of Genesis 10. And yet—if you listen all the way to the end of today’s episode—you will find out why he is actually one of the most significant figures of the story of the Old Testament.

Genesis 10:8 says

Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man.

A mighty man, huh? He sounds important, but on first glance, that description is kinda mysterious and vague.