Genesis 10:9
in Genesis 10He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; so it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He was a mighty hunter before Jehovah: wherefore it is said, Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before Jehovah.
KJV
He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.
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This verse in Genesis 10
Commentary
10 notes on this verseNote, Great conquerors are but great hunters. Alexander and Cesar would not make such a figure in scripture-history as they do in common history; the former is represented in prophecy but as a he-goat pushing, Dan. viii. Nimrod was a mighty hunter against the Lord, so the LXX; that is, (1.) He set up idolatry, as Jeroboam did, for the confirming of his usurped dominion.
This site's exposition
who began to be a mighty one on the earth
on Genesis 10:8-9
Nimrod is the one man in this chapter given a story. The son of Cush, he began as a mighty one on the earth, and a saying was made of him, a mighty hunter before the LORD. Matthew Henry takes before the LORD as defiance, a hunter against the LORD, and others hear plain emphasis, the greatest hunter anywhere.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
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.
Concerning Nimrod, Moses said, "He was a mighty hunter before the Lord," because, according to the will of the Lord, it was he who fought with each of these nations and chased them out from there, so that they would go out and settle in …
Then sacred Scripture goes on from this point to tell of the children born to the sons in these words: "Now, Ham became the father of Cush"; and further, "Now, Cush became the father of Nebrod (Nimrod), who began to be a giant on earth. He was a giant hunter before the Lord." While some people say the phrase "before the Lord" means being in opposition to God, I on the contrary do not think sacred Scripture is implying this. Rather, it implies that [Nimrod] was strong and brave. But the phrase "before the Lord" means created by him, receiving from him God's blessing. Or it may mean that God was on the point of arousing our wonder through him by creating such a remarkable creature and displaying him before us on the earth.
The Medieval Church2 voices
From whom even today remains the proverb, so that it is said: Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord. With those imitating the devil who are on his side, it can very truly be said, because such people, when they hunt the souls of …
From him came the proverb: Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord. It turned into a proverb because his deeds were unprecedented in his time; and the phrase before the Lord was added to magnify the crime, since it was evidently quite reckless and …
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Note, Great conquerers are but great hunters. Alexander and Caesar would not make such a figure in scripture history as they do in common history. The former is represented in prophecy but as a he-goat pushing, Dan. viii, 5.
Note, Great conquerers are but great hunters. Alexander and Caesar would not make such a figure in scripture history as they do in common history. The former is represented in prophecy but as a he-goat pushing, Dan. viii, 5.
He was a mighty hunter before the Lord,.... Which might be literally true; for, from the time of the flood to his days, wild beasts might increase very much, and greatly annoy men who dwelt very likely for the most part in tents scattered up and down in divers places: so that he did a good office in hunting and destroying them.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֽוּא־ | hu'- | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| הָיָ֥ה | hayah | he was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| גִבֹּֽר־ | gibor- | a mighty [man] of | H1368 → | 158 times |
| צַ֖יִד | tzayid | hunting | H6718 → | 19 times |
| לִפְנֵ֣י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | there- | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כֵּן֙ | ken | -fore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| יֵֽאָמַ֔ר | yeamar | it is said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| כְּנִמְרֹ֛ד | kenimrod | like Nimrod | H5248 → | |
| גִּבּ֥וֹר | gibor | a mighty [man] of | H1368 → | 158 times |
| צַ֖יִד | tzayid | hunting | H6718 → | 19 times |
| לִפְנֵ֥י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
הֽוּא־he
hu'-H1931 →1879 times
הָיָ֥הhe was
hayahH1961 →3559 times
גִבֹּֽר־a mighty [man] of
gibor-H1368 →158 times
צַ֖יִדhunting
tzayidH6718 →19 times
לִפְנֵ֣י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
עַל־there-
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כֵּן֙-fore
kenH3651 →771 times
יֵֽאָמַ֔רit is said
yeamarH559 →5305 times
כְּנִמְרֹ֛דlike Nimrod
kenimrodH5248 →
גִּבּ֥וֹרa mighty [man] of
giborH1368 →158 times
צַ֖יִדhunting
tzayidH6718 →19 times
לִפְנֵ֥י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 6:4The 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…
it leads to
- Numbers 13:33
We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak that come from the Nephilim! We seemed like grasshoppers in our own sight, and we must have seemed the same to them!”
- Deuteronomy 3:11
(For only Og king of Bashan had remained of the remnant of the Rephaim. His bed of iron, nine cubits long and four cubits wide, is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites.)
- 2 Samuel 21:15–22
Once again the Philistines waged war against Israel, and David and his servants went down and fought against the Philistines; but David became exhausted.
- 1 Samuel 17:4
Then a champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was six cubits and a span in height,
- Deuteronomy 2:20–21
(That too was regarded as the land of the Rephaim, who used to live there, though the Ammonites called them Zamzummites.
- Numbers 13:33
Through
Genesis 25:27When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home.
it leads to
- Genesis 21:20
And God was with the boy, and he grew up and settled in the wilderness and became a great archer.
- Hebrews 11:9
By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.
- Genesis 28:10–11
Meanwhile Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran.
- Genesis 21:20
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 8.1.2; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 29.29; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Prudentius, ORIGIN OF SIN 143-48.
