Bible Strands
Genesis 10:9
He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; so it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator inserts this note within the Table of Nations, tracing the lineage from Cush to his son Nimrod. The remark appears immediately after stating Nimrod began to be a mighty one on the earth and directly before listing the cities that formed his kingdom.
The words — The compound phrase גִבֹּר צַיִד (gibbor tsa-yid) literally renders "mighty hunter." The locative expression לִפְנֵי יְהוָה (li-penei Yahweh) translates to "before the LORD," marking the arena in which his prowess was acknowledged.
The thread — The designation of a "mighty one" on a violent earth links directly to Genesis 6:4 and Genesis 6:11, where human strength and corruption characterize the pre-flood world. The pattern of earthly power operating in defiance or distress parallels the trajectory recorded in 2 Chronicles 28:22.
Why it lands — The text states that Nimrod’s hunting authority was recognized in the presence of God and that his political power originated in Shinar. It asks the reader to observe that human dominance is recorded within divine history rather than standing apart from it.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.
Cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 28:22 In the time of his distress, King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the LORD.
- Genesis 6:4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and afterward as well—when the sons of God had relations with the daughters of men. And they bore them children who became the mighty men of old, men of renown.
- Genesis 6:11 Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and full of violence.
- Genesis 13:13 But the men of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against the LORD.
- Genesis 25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home.
- Genesis 27:30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing him and Jacob had left his father’s presence, his brother Esau returned from the hunt.
- Psalms 52:7 “Look at the man who did not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his wealth and strengthened himself by destruction.”
- Jeremiah 16:16 But for now I will send for many fishermen, declares the LORD, and they will catch them. After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down on every mountain and hill, even from the clefts of the rocks.
- Ezekiel 13:18 and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: Woe to the women who sew magic charms on their wrists and make veils for the heads of people of every height, in order to ensnare their souls. Will you ensnare the souls of My people but preserve your own?
- Micah 7:2 The godly man has perished from the earth; there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; they hunt one another with a net.