This sheet on Genesis 10 was written by Tsachi Lev Ran for 929 and can also be found here
In our chapter, Chapter 10, we find a list of the genealogy of Noah's sons. In it is also Nimrod, who is the is given special attention: "Cush also begot Nimrod, who was the first man of might on earth. He was a mighty hunter by the grace of the Lord; hence the saying, ‘Like Nimrod a mighty hunter by the grace of the Lord’” (Genesis 10: 8-9).
From the plain sense of the text, it seems that Nimrod's description is a positive one. Nimrod is a hero in the land, a hero before God, a mighty hunter before God. But the Midrash and many other commentators explained the description of Nimrod to be negative. Nimrod would hunt down people with his words and would taunt God rebelling against Him, and more. Nimrod is also the one who threw Abraham, according to the Midrash, into the furnace of fire. Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra noted the gap between the plain sense and the midrash: "And meaning of “before the Lord” (our translation has “by the grace of the Lord”) is that Nimrod built altars and offered sacrifices there, which is the plain sense of the verse but the Midrash understood it differently."
First, it must be clarified: the author of the Midrash has a different goal, i.e. to convey a message to his listeners, and he is not obligated to the plain sense of the text. The one delivering the midrashic sermonette and his listeners knew that they were engaged in sermons rather than in the plain sense of the text, and their words did not come to nullify the literal text, but rather to add to it an additional layer, which relates, generally, to their present times.
The preacher(s) presenting the Midrash, who understood that Nimrod must be a special character, since he is the only one among the sons of Noah and Abraham that the text elaborates upon, did not consider Nimrod as an exemplary figure. They apparently chose to focus on his name (Nimrod in Hebrew is related to the Hebrew root “to rebel”) and his occupation as a hunter and to condemn him for his rebellion against God that has no mention whatsoever in the text.
An interesting point that arises from here is the very reference to the character that the text expands on. We know nothing about Tarshish, Kittim, Put, Seba, Havilah and dozens of other nations whose birth is described in chapter 10.
About Nimrod, we know a lot: Perhaps he worshiped God or perhaps he rebelled against Him, perhaps he was a positive figure and perhaps negative, but either way, he remains for generations, a famous figure.
Dr. Tsachi Lev Ran is on the staff of Avney Rosha, a Jerusalem-based institute that provides training for school principals
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