This is a resource book that provides Biblical and Archaeological evidence that Nimrod built the Tower of Babel around 2850 BC at Tel Eridu (Tel Abu Shahrain). It also defines new standard archaeological ages in keeping with young earth creation. Although it is written for the average Christian, it is invaluable to professional archeologists. The high-quality graphics are intended to be used by church preachers and teachers as quick aids in understanding and expounding Genesis 10-11.

Author’s note:

This book is available free on line at: www.bible.ca/nimrod
Due to multiple requests for a printed copy, this book has been provided. Over time, updates and corrections will be made to the on-line version. Original resolution images are available free online. Any part of this book or the online version may be used for public presentations, PowerPoint slides, printed and distributed as class notes to students as long as they are provided at no cost. No part of this book or the online version are permitted to be put online or on the internet or any electronic information access and retrieval system without the authors written permission.

Cover: Nimrod in his first mudbrick Temple (XVII) offering a Goatfish sacrifice to Enki dating to 3200 BC as per excavations at Eridu (Babel, Tel Abu Shahrain) in 1946 AD.

Edited by Judith Farrar and Julia Page

How to become a Christian:

Read the Gospel of Matthew and believe Jesus died on the cross for your sins and rose the third day. Repent of your sins by becoming morally obedient to Jesus Christ. Confess to others that you believe Jesus is the Son of God. Be immersed in water for the remission of your sins. Then: Attend a Bible Believing church every Sunday.

Map of Nimrod’s kingdom in 3200 BC

"The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, Calneh, in the land of Shinar." (Gen 10:10)

Index of People, Places, Idol gods and Earliest Archaeological Ages:

People:

1. Anzud bird: Lion-faced mythical bird; guardian of the mountain ranges between Sumer and Aratta.

2. Cush: Father of Nimrod, Son of Ham, Grandson of Noah.

3. Enmerkar: King of Uruk in Sumerian literature: “Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta”.

4. Ensuhgirana: King of Mt. Ararat in in Sumerian literature “Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta”.

5. Lugalbanda: son of Enmerkar in in in Sumerian literature “Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta”.

6. Nimrod: Founder of Babel and Uruk and the entire Assyrian nation.

7. Noah: Father of Ham, grandfather of Cush, great-grandfather of Nimrod.

8. Sargon I of Akkad: Assyrian king (2320-2265 BC)

Idol gods:

1. Anu/An: Supreme god and father of all gods including Enlil, Enki and Inana. Patron god of Nippur. Decreed the global flood in conjunction with his firstborn son Enlil.

2. Adad: Weather god

3. Assur: god of war empire. Patron god of Assur.

4. Easter: Alternate English name for Inanna/Ishtar derived from Saxon/Germanic “Eostre”, that Christians use for resurrection day of Christ celebrations. Eostre was spring fertility goddess who brought new light at the vernal equinox.

5. Enki/Ea: Freshwater god. Patron god of the Tower of Babel (Eridu), son of Anu, brother to Inana. In Sumerian literature, Enki defied the supreme gods and warned “Noah” to build ark and was responsible for the division of languages.

6. Enlil/Ellil/Bel/Marduk: god of Jupiter. Petitioned his father An/Anu to decree “noisy man” be destroyed with flood so he could sleep. Brother of Enki and Inana/Ishtar.

7. Inana/Inanna/Ishtar/Astarte/Venus/Eostre/Easter: Goddess of war, strife, fertility and sexual love; patron god of Uruk (Unug).

8. Nanna/Nammu/Namma/Sin: moon god; patron god of Ur.

9. Nebo/Nabu: god of Mercury and writing and scribes, son of Enlil/Marduk

10. Nergal: god of the underworld and Mars

11. Ninurta: god of Saturn

12. Shamash/Utu: Sun god

Places:

1. Accad: Unknown southern city founded by Nimrod in 3200 BC (Gen 10:10)

2. Akkad: or Agade, an unknown city founded in 2300 BC by Sargon I of Akkad. Located near new Babylon.

3. Aratta: Aratta = Urartu = Ur of Ararat = city of Aratta and/or Mt. Ararat region.

4. Babel: (Tel Eridu) Babylon, Southern city founded by Nimrod in 3200 BC (Gen 10:10). Archeological site name is Tel Abu Shahrain.

5. Babylon: two locations: 1. Babel (Uridu) founded by Nimrod. 2. New Babylon founded in 2300 BC by Sargon I, later occupied by Nebuchadnezzar.

6. Cairo Egypt: A city founded after Tower of Babel in 2850 BC, pyramid built in 2660 BC.

7. Caleh: Calah = Nimrud = Fort Shalmaneser. City founded by Nimrod in 3000 BC (Gen 10:11). Located 50 km south of Nineveh.

8. Calneh: Unknown southern city founded by Nimrod in 3200 BC (Gen 10:10)

9. Choga Mish: Nimrod’s bread factory where 250,000 Bevel Rim Bowls were found. Located 30 km east of Susa.

10. Değirmen Tepe: Northern city under Kingdom of Ararat. Founded c. 3250 BC and invaded by Nimrod in 3000 BC. Located near source of Euphrates River.

11. El-Beidha: En Mishpat (Gen 14:7), Kadesh Barnea, later Petra. Founded after Tower of Babel in 2850 BC.

12. Erech = Uruk: Southern city founded by Nimrod in 3200 BC (Gen 10:10). Located east of Babel.

13. Eridu: (Babel) Southern city founded by Nimrod in 3200 BC (Gen 10:10). Alternate Sumerian name for Biblical Babel and location of the Tower of Babel. Archaeological site name is Tel Abu Shahrain.

14. Habuba Kabria: Walled city founded after Tower of Babel in 2850 BC at the Uruk 3 Expansion with Uruk assemblages.

15. Hacinebi Tepe: Twin walled cities each speaking different languages. Founded in 3000 BC at Ubaid 3 Expansion and invaded at Uruk 3 Expansion. Located near source of Euphrates. Located 75 km east of Aleppo on the Euphrates.

16. Hamoukar: Unwalled city founded in 3000 BC at the Ubaid 3 Expansion. Ubaid assemblages were replaced by Uruk assemblages at the Uruk 3 expansion when the city was burned, and a wall was built. Located 100 km NW of Nineveh.

17. Halaf/Habor: Archeological type city for the Halaf assemblage and Archaeological Age. Located 100 km east of Haran.

18. Hassuna: Archeological type city for the Hassuna assemblage and Archaeological Age. Located 20 km NW of Nineveh.

19. Jericho: Founded after Tower of Babel in 2850 BC. City destroyed in 1406 BC by Joshua when the walls fell down.

20. Jerusalem: Founded after Tower of Babel in 2850 BC.

21. Kish: City founded in 2700 BC. Located east of Nineveh.

22. Nineveh: (Mosel) Northern city founded by Nimrod in 3000 BC (Gen 10:11)

23. Peru South America: A city founded after Tower of Babel in 2850 BC, pyramid built in 2600 BC.

24. Rehoboth-Ir: City of Rehoboth. Unknown northern city founded by Nimrod in 3000 BC (Gen 10:11)

25. Tepe Gawra: Founded under Kingdom of Ararat c. 3250 BC, invaded by Nimrod in 3000 BC. Located beside Nineveh.

26. Tel Abu Shahrain: Archaeological site name for ancient Eridu (Tel Eridu), biblical Babel. Alternate archaeological name is Tel Eridu.

27. Ubaid: Southern city founded by Nimrod in 3200 BC located near Babel (Eridu). The Ubaid Archaeological Ages are based upon pottery and object assemblages found during excavations at Tel Ubaid.

28. Unug: City of Uruk in Sumerian literature: “Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta”.

29. Urartu: Ur of Ararat = City/region of Ararat

30. Uruk: (Erech) Southern city founded by Nimrod in 3200 BC (Gen 10:10) located near Babel (Eridu). The Uruk Archaeological Ages are based upon pottery and object assemblages found during excavations at Tel Uruk.

Earliest Archaeological ages: Flood to first pyramids (3298-2660 BC)

1. Noahic Flood: 3298 BC: Oldest possible archaeological age.

2. Stone Age: [3298-2500 BC] Assemblage of the earliest period immediately after flood and also some later cities founded after Uruk 3 Expansion, same as Paleolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic.

3. Halaf: [3298-3000 BC] Assemblage based upon Tel-Halaf/Habor type site dating immediately after the flood, concurrent with Stone Age in Kingdom of Ararat. Concurrent with Ubaid 3 Expansion, Stone Age, Hassuna.

4. Hassuna: [3298-3000 BC] Assemblage based upon Tel-Hassuna type site dating immediately after the flood, concurrent with Stone Age in Kingdom of Ararat. Concurrent with Ubaid 3 Expansion, Stone Age, Halaf.

5. Ubaid: [3200-2950 BC] The Ubaid Archaeological Ages are based upon pottery and object assemblages found at during excavations at Tel Ubaid. Archaeological assemblage of a southern city founded by Nimrod that invaded north beginning 3150 BC.

6. Ubaid 3 Expansion: [3000 BC] Archaeological assemblages originally found at Tel Ubaid, and also found at other sites after the friendly expansion of Nimrod’s kingdom north in 3000 BC (Gen 10:11). Concurrent with Stone Age, Halaf, Hassuna.

7. Uruk: [3000-2700 BC] Assemblage of a southern city founded by Nimrod that invaded north after 2900 BC.

8. Uruk 3 Expansion: [2850 BC] Archaeological assemblages originally found at Tel Uruk, and also found at other sites after the great division of languages and lands at the Tower of Babel in 2850 BC (Gen 11) and the great global dispersion. Concurrent with Early Bronze Age 1 (EB I), Naqada I and Egypt Dynasty 0.

9. Early Bronze Age I (EB I): [2850-2800 BC] Begins after the Tower of Babel in 2850 BC, concurrent with Naqada I, Uruk 3 Expansion and Egypt Dynasty 0.

10. Early Bronze Age II (EB II): [2800-2700 BC] Begins after 2800 BC, concurrent with Jemdet Nasr and Egypt Dynasty 1.

11. Early Bronze Age III (EB III): [2700-2320 BC] Begins after 2700 BC, concurrent with Egypt Dynasty 3.

12. Early Bronze Age IV (EB IV): [2320-1886 BC] Begins after 2300 BC at the ascent of Sargon I of Akkad, concurrent with Egypt Dynasty 3. Ends at the great famine when Jacob enters Egypt.

13. Naqada: [2850-2700 BC] Assemblages immediately after the Tower of Babel in 2850 BC, concurrent with Early Bronze Age I (EB I), Uruk 3 Expansion and Egypt Dynasty 0.

14. Jemdet Nasr: [2800-2700 BC] Assemblages after 2800 BC, concurrent with Early Bronze age II and Egypt Dynasty 1.

15. Egypt Dynasty 0: [2850-2800 BC] Begins after tower of Babel in 2850 BC, concurrent with Early Bronze Age I (EB I)

16. Egypt Dynasty 1: [2800-2700 BC] Begins after 2800 BC, concurrent with Early Bronze age II (EB II).

17. Egypt Dynasty 2: [2750-2700 BC] Begins after 2750 BC, concurrent with Egypt Dynasty 1 and Early Bronze age II (EB II).

18. Egypt Dynasty 3: [2700-2600 BC] Begins after 2700 BC, concurrent with Early Bronze age III (EB III).

Archaeological terms:

1. Assemblage: A collection of pottery and objects excavated at a single site or within one or more stratum which sometimes become diagnostic at other sites for dating. Assemblages found at Ubaid, Uruk

2. Christian Archaeological Dating (CAD): The oldest possible archeological age can be no older than the Noahic global flood in 3298 BC. God created the world in 6 literal 24-hour days in the year 5554 BC.

3. Evolutionary Archaeology Ages: The artificial fabrication of excessively long archaeological ages in order to harmonize with Evolutionary Geologic ages of the earth and a world faith-view that the earth is 4.5 billion years old. Often distinct Archaeological ages separated by thousands of years are fabricated which are based upon concurrent regional differences in localized assemblages.

4. Levant: The historic lands of the Bible starting at Greece then sweeping through Turkey, Syria, Judea and Egypt

5. Khirbet Kerak Ware: A distinctive and high-quality Early Bronze I pottery style found at ancient Tel Khirbet Kerak (Philoteria) located on the southern shore of the sea of Galilee.

6. Locus: (Plural = Loci) A depth layer of dirt or stone where all the objects and pottery found within are expected to be from a single date. In archeological excavations multiple loci often date to the same period.

7. Sealed Locus: A layer of archeological matrix that has not been disturbed since the time it was laid and can be dated earlier than the layer above. For example, a stone floor seals the pottery and objects that lay below from intrusion materials and can be dated earlier than the floor itself.

8. Stratigraphy: The vertical sequence of stratum and loci from a single archeological site.

9. Stratum Levels: One or more loci considered to be part of a single archeological age and given a single number, usually a Roman Numeral. Since excavations begin on the surface, this youngest stratum level is given a designation of Stratum Level I. At Eridu, the oldest/lowest stratum level for the first temple built on virgin soils is Stratum Level XVII. This inversion of numbers is sometimes confusing because we naturally would expect the first temple built would be designated Stratum I. Stratum levels are assigned in the order from the surface they are excavated, not the order of original construction.

10. Babel Veteran: Someone (ie. Heber) who eye witnessed Tower of Babel and had their natural born language changed.

11. Babel Baby Boomer: Someone (ie. Peleg) who was born after the Tower of Babel and learned a new language from birth.

12. Tell (Tel): An archeological site.

Master Bible Chronological Chart: Creation: 5554 BC, Flood: 3298 BC, Tower of Babel: 2850 BC, Abraham: 2166 BC

Map of the Northern Kingdom of Ararat and the Southern Kingdom of Nimrod: 3298-2850 BC

Master Bible Chronological Chart: Abraham to the Exodus: 2166-1446 BC

INTRODUCTION

Introduction:

When you get the chronology right, the cartography right and the archaeology right, you will get the Bible text right. What you read in the book you find in the ground! Let’s dig up another Bible story!

This is the Bible account of the origin of civilization after the global Noahic flood. Archaeology indicates that the Tower of Babel closely resembled the Stepped Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara in Egypt. Although excavations at biblical Babel (Tel Abu Shahrain = Eridu) have not found any evidence of the Tower itself, there is evidence of the 300 x 300 meter square elevated platform upon which the Tower of Babel was going to be built. The city of Eridu (Babel) and the platform were abandoned for 750 years until Ur-Nammu built a Ziggurat upon the vacant platform in 2100 BC.

Scripture dates creation to 5554 BC and the Flood to 3298 BC using the Septuagint. Eight Bible markers in Genesis 10-11 decode the date of the Tower of Babel to around 2850 BC. The founding principle of Christian Archaeological Dating (CAD) is that there is no Archaeology older than the flood which marks the beginning of the earliest Archaeological Stone ages including: Paleolithic, Neolithic and Chalcolithic. Archaeological assemblages excavated at Tepe Gawra provide evidence that the earliest Archaeological ages were concurrent not consecutive. Pre-flood Human civilization is encased in a 2 km layer Noahic flood deposit of sedimentary rock laid down in a few months as seen in the geology of the Grand Canyon.

During this earliest period of post-flood civilization, “rebel” Nimrod plays a key and central role in almost every area. The identity of Nimrod is unknown, but he is best represented by the character of Enmerkar in Sumerian literary sources. Ancient Jewish, Christian and secular literary sources unanimous record that Nimrod built the Tower of Babel. It is chronologically impossible for Nimrod to be Sargon I of Akkad (~2300 BC). It is unlikely that God would allow idol worshippers on the Ark, therefore it was likely Nimrod who fabricated a new complex pantheon of pagan gods to worship like the supreme Anu who decreed the flood and his children Enlil, Enki and Inana. It will be shown using 20 direct parallels between the “rebel” Nimrod and the god Enki that Nimrod seems to have invented Enki as a “god in his own image”. In Sumerian flood stories, Enki was the rebel god who warned “Noah” to build an ark because An and his son Enlil sent a flood to wipe out mankind. The Gilgamesh flood story records mankind’s anger towards the supreme god who decreed the flood and portray him as unjust, impatient and evil. Enki, the son of An, is portrayed as a savior/hero of mankind for warning Noah of the decree and instructing him to build the ark. This hostility is surfaces in the scene where all the gods are invited to Noah’s incense offering except An and Enlil.

Nimrod’s first mudbrick temple at Eridu (Babel) was dedicated to Enki, as was his Tower of Babel, as was the Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu in 2100 BC at Eridu. In Sumerian myths, it was Enki who caused the division of languages (Gen 11) at Eridu (Babel). Nimrod satisfied the human need to worship by inventing and/or promoting a complex hierarchy of pagan gods, idols and temples. These were the “gods beyond the river” that Moses and Joshua warned about. Nimrod won over the people, not through violence but through improved living conditions, better technology and idol worship. Under Nimrod, food was mass produced in bread factories using Bevel Rim Bowls to feed workers, the first trade routes were established, the first mudbrick temples were built and fine pottery was made. Contrary to popular opinion, the earliest pottery after the flood was finely made bichrome ware with intricate designs. After the Tower of Babel, when the Early Bronze Age I (EB I) began, the quality of pottery is noticeably reduced with the exception of Khirbet Kerak Ware in the Levant.

Noah and his sons founded a kingdom in the Mt. Ararat region as the world population grew from 8 to 800 men during the first 100 years after the flood. Nimrod, second generation from the flood, was born in the northern Ararat Kingdom around 3225 BC. Being a rebel, he migrated south in 3200 BC and founded Babel (Eridu), Uruk and Ur (Gen 10:10). Archaeological excavations at Biblical Babel (Eridu) were conducted in the 1940’s have been re-evaluated by Christian Archeologists with some stunning results! From these 80 year old excavations, we now know that Nimrod likely built his first pagan temple in 3200 BC. Temple XVII (3x3 meters) was dedicated to the god Enki at Eridu (Babel) which featured a niched altar room in which to place an idol of Enki and a burnt offering table for Goatfish (carp) in the middle of the room (see book cover). From 3200 – 3000 BC Nimrod would build at Eridu 9 temples (XVII-IX) one on top of the other in increasing size and complexity as the world population grew from 800 people in 3200 BC to 300,000 in 3000 BC. Immediately following the division of languages at the Tower of Babel, the first written languages are invented (while Nimrod was alive) by employing pictograms to communicate. The earliest Sumerian cuneiform, Egyptian Hieroglyphs and Chinese symbols were pictographic.

In the first 450 years from the flood down to the Tower of Babel, Archaeology has demonstrated an older culture being replaced by a new culture, not once, but twice. First, we see the founding “post flood” Halaf culture of the Northern Ararat kingdom of Noah’s sons, being suddenly replaced by the Ubaid culture of Nimrod’s southern kingdom in 3000 BC during the Ubaid 3 Expansion Archaeological Age. This occurred when Nimrod founded Nineveh (Gen 10:11). Second, after the Tower of Babel in 2850 BC, Archaeology demonstrates an explosion of urbanism during the Uruk 3 Expansion Archaeological Age, when the confusion of languages caused men to disperse to the corners of the earth in Gen 11.

Immediately after the Tower of Babel is when some of the oldest cities in the world were founded on virgin soil or small populations were swarmed by a new wave of mass migration. Cairo was founded around 2850 BC by sailing south on the Persian Gulf then back up the Red Sea to the Gulf of Suez and migrating west. In 2660 BC Pharaoh Djoser built the oldest pyramid in the world (Stepped) and the oldest stone temple in the world at Saqqara. This temple in Egypt is an architectural mirror of Nimrod’s Temple VI at Eridu (Babel). Peru was founded around 2850 BC by sailing down the Persian Gulf, following the ocean currents around the Horn of Africa and across the Atlantic Ocean, then west through Panama (submerged by much higher ocean levels), then south to Peru. In 2600 BC the Peruvians built one of the oldest Pyramids in the world. Jerusalem, Jericho and El-Beidha (En-mishpat, Kadesh, Petra) were founded around 2850 BC when migrants followed the Euphrates north, then travelled down the coast.

Abraham left Ur the very year that Ur-Nammu begins construction of two almost identical Ziggurats at Ur and Babel in 2100 BC. The Ziggurat at Ur was a temple to Nanna the moon god. The Ziggurat at Babel (Eridu) was built upon Nimrod’s 300x300 meter platform for the Tower of Babel that lay abandoned for 750 years. In 2850 BC, Nimrod had tried to build the Tower of Babel, which was a pagan Temple to Enki but God caused construction to be stopped by the division of languages. In 2100 BC, Ur-Nammu began to construct his own “ziggurat version” of Nimrod’s ancient Tower of Babel as a pagan temple of Enki. The year construction begins of the two ziggurats at Babel and Ur, God calls Abraham out of Assyria to Canaan.

To the Christian Nimrod is antitypical of Satan, Absalom and Judas as the epitome of rebellion, treason and betrayal against the One True God. The Tower of Babel represents false world religions and false Christian doctrines.

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:3–6)

A. The historic identity of Nimrod

1. The historic identity of Nimrod is unknown but is possibly: Nimrod = Nudimmud = Enmerkar.

2. Nimrod may have been Enmerkar in literature Sumerian “Enmerkar vs. lord of Aratta” 2100 BC.

3. Nimrod may have been known as Nudimmud the leader according to the Sumerian Creation story of Eridu:

a. “After the exalted crown and throne of kingship had descended from heaven, the divine rites and the exalted powers were perfected, the bricks of the cities were laid in holy places, their names were announced and the ...... were distributed. The first of the cities, Eridu, was given to Nudimmud the leader.” (The Sumerian Creation story of Eridu , segment B, lines 6-11)

b. Nimrod was Nudimmud the Shaman priest. Enmerkar refers to himself as Nudimmud: (See Submission of Ararat to Uruk #2: Enmerkar vs. Lord of Ararat: EPSK 2:135–155)

4. Nimrod may be Gišur:

a. The Sumerian King’s List shows that Eridu (Babel) was the first city on earth before the flood: “After the kingship descended from heaven, the kingship was in Eridu.” (Sumerian King List, Larsa prism version G)

b. Then after the flood it names Gišur (possibly Nimrod) as ruling at a city named Cush, after his father Cush: "After the Flood had swept over, and the kingship had descended from heaven, the kingship was in Kiš. [Cush] In Kiš, Gišur became king; he ruled for 1,200 years. " (Sumerian King List, Larsa prism version G)

c. In the Sumerian King List, a possible coincidence, there are 10 kings before the flood which match the 10 generations from Adam to Noah in the Bible chronology of Gen 5.

5. Nimrod is not:

a. Nimrod was not Sargon I of Akkad: 2320-2265 BC

b. Nimrod was not Gilgamesh

B. Overview of Nimrod

1. What the Bible says about Nimrod: (only three passages)

a. "The sons of Ham were Cush and Mizraim and Put and Canaan. The sons of Cush were Seba and Havilah and Sabtah and Raamah and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.” The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city." (Genesis 10:6–12)

b. "The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raama and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. Cush became the father of Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one in the earth." (1 Chronicles 1:9–10)

c. "They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod at its entrances; And He will deliver us from the Assyrian when he attacks our land and when he tramples our territory." (Micah 5:6)

2. Nimrod of the Bible rebelled against his parents, the existing kingdom of Ararat, vegan cultural norms and God

a. Nimrod was the great grandson of Noah and son of Cush, likely born around 3225 BC.

b. Nimrod founded Assyria and the cities of Babel (Eridu), Uruk/Erech and Nineveh.

c. Nimrod was likely the first post-flood man to normalize meat eating.

d. Nimrod promoted and/or invented the pantheon of pagan Sumerian gods like Enlil, Anu, Enki, Inana. Joshua indirectly referenced Nimrod when he referred to “the gods of your fathers (Nimrod) beyond the Euphrates river” (Joshua 24:2,15).

e. Nimrod built the tower of Babel in 2850 BC.

f. Nimrod was alive when writing was invented after the languages were divided in 2850 BC and may have been personally instrumental in the invention of the first written language as witnessed in the Sumerian story of Enmerkar vs. the king of Ararat (2100 BC).

g. It is impossible for Nimrod to be the same person as Sargon I of Akkad: 2320-2265 BC

3. Chronological summary of Nimrod:

a. Creation: 5554 BC

b. Flood: 3298 BC

c. Nimrod born, grandson of Ham: 3225 BC

d. Nimrod founds Babel (Eridu) and Uruk/Erech: 3200 BC

e. Tower of Babel: 2850 BC (Nimrod age 375)

f. “Babel Veteran” who eye witnessed Tower of Babel: Birth of Eber: 2901 BC. First Hebrew speaker and father of all the Hebrews. (Eber = Hebrew)

g. “Babel Baby Boomer”: Peleg born in 2767 BC. First descendant in seed bloodline born after the Tower of Babel. (Peleg = Divided)

h. Nimrod dies age ~500 in ~2725 BC

C. Post-Flood Migrations of Gen 10-25: 3298-2000 BC

Post-Flood Migrations of Gen 10-25: 3298-2000 BC

1. Post Flood migrations: Flood to Tower of Babel: 3298-2850 BC

a. 3298 BC: Global flood: The population of 8 form the Kingdom of Ararat in the area surrounding Mt. Ararat where Noah’s Ark rested. (Gen 11)

b. 3225 BC: Nimrod is born in the Kingdom of Ararat.

c. 3200 BC: Rebellious Nimrod migrates south and starts his own kingdom by founding Babel (Eridu), Uruk/Erech, Ur etc.

d. Nimrod builds the first post flood pagan mudbrick temple at Babel (Eridu Temple XVII) and dedicates it to the freshwater god Enki.

e. 3000 BC: Ubaid 3 Expansion North: Nimrod builds Eridu (Babel) Temple VIII. The Kingdom of Nimrod expands north and founds Nineveh and likely builds pagan temples there too.

f. 2850 BC: Construction of The Tower of Babel (Temple to Enki) is begun at Eridu (Babel). A large platform is constructed at Eridu and is abandoned because of the division of languages.

g. 2850-2100 BC: Nimrod’s Babel (Eridu) is abandoned for 750 years.

h. 2849 BC: After the division of languages, the Late Uruk 3 Expansion Archeological Age begins when men move to the ends of the earth away from Babel. Ships travel down the Persian Gulf to found Cairo and Peru in the Americas.

i. 2725 BC: Nimrod dies at age of 500 years.

j. 2660 BC: Pyramids are constructed all over the world, the first in Egypt.

k. 2320 BC: Sargon I of Akkad

l. 2100 BC: Ur-Nammu builds a Ziggurat on Nimrod’s abandoned platform of the Tower of Babel and another one at Ur. The Ziggurat at Babel is a temple to Enki, the freshwater god.

2. Post Flood migrations: Migration of Terah and Abraham to Canaan:

a. 2296 BC: Terah is born in Ur of Chaldea and worships Nimrod’s idols: Josh 24:2

b. 2226 BC: Haran is born to Terah when he is 70 years old.

c. 2166 BC: Abram is born to Terah when he is 130 years old in Ur of Chaldea’s.

d. 2156 BC: Sarah is born

e. Abram’s older brother Nahor marries Milcah the daughter of his older brother Haran.

f. 2140 BC: 25-year-old Abram marries Sarah, age 15.

g. 2100 BC: Ur-Nammu builds another Temple to Enki (Ziggurat) on Nimrod’s Tower of Babel platform that had been abandoned for 750 years.

h. 2100 BC: Haran, (Abram’s oldest brother & Lot’s father), dies in Ur at age 125.

i. 2100 BC: God speaks the 3 promises (nation, land, seed) to Terah (age 196) and Abraham (age 66) and the entire family leaves Ur for Canaan: Acts 7:2-4; Gen 11:31-32

j. 2100 BC: While en-route to Canaan and 1000 km NW of Ur, Terah founds a city and names it “Haran” after his son.

k. 2100-2091 BC: Terah continues to worship Nimrod’s idols and never leaves Haran for Canaan until he dies age 205 years.

l. 2091 BC: Terah dies at age 205 years when Abraham is 75 years old.

m. 2091 BC: God repeats the three promises to Abraham at Haran at age 75 after the death of Terah & he leaves for Canaan: Gen 12:1-4

n. Abram migrates to Shechem & builds an altar after God repeats promises.

o. Abram pitches his tent between Bethel and builds an altar at Ai, which we know today as Kh. El-Maqatir, where the author spent 8 seasons as staff Square Supervisor during the professional Archaeological excavations under Associates for Biblical Research (ABR).

p. Abram moves to Egypt because of drought and sees the Pyramids.

q. Abram returns to altar near Ai, Lot moves east & God repeats promises.

r. Abram settles in Hebron, by the oaks of a man named Mamre.

s. 2066 BC: Isaac is born

t. 2029 BC: Sarah dies

u. 2028 BC: Isaac marries Rebecca

v. 2006 BC: Jacob and Esau born

w. 1991 BC: Abraham dies age 175: Gen 25:7

D. Post-flood world population growth from 8 men to 12 million with archaeological ages

1. 3298 BC: Flood: Population 8 persons

a. Population Calculator: Start with 6 Persons (three breeding couples- Noah had no other children of which we are aware).

b. Breeding lifespans over 400 years.

c. Archaeology and literary sources have shown that from the time of Christ back to the time of Abraham, the Hebrew girls married at age 15 but the Gentile girls were married at age 13… or immediately after the onset of puberty. We know that 15-year-old Sarah married Abraham when he was 25 years old.

d. Polygamy was widespread so that all available fertile females would be mated and constantly pregnant.

e. In 2018 Somalia had a 3.8% growth rate

f. Archaeological age: Stone age: (Paleolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic), Halaf, Hassuna. All these ages are concurrent, not consecutive.

2. 3200 BC: Nimrod founds Babel: Population: 800 persons

a. 3298-3200 BC = 100 years

b. Start with 6 Persons @ 5% growth 100 yrs. after flood = 800 persons

c. Archaeological age: Ubaid 1, Stone age: (Paleolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic), Halaf, Hassuna. Some are concurrent, others are progressive

3. 3000 BC: Nimrod founds Nineveh: Population 300,000 persons

a. 3200-3000 BC = 200 years

b. Start with 800 Persons @ 3% growth 200 years = 300,000 persons

c. Archaeological age: Ubaid Expansion, Uruk 1, Stone age: (Paleolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic), Halaf, Hassuna. Some are concurrent, others are progressive

4. 2850 BC: Nimrod builds Tower of Babel: Population 12 million persons

a. 3000-2850 BC = 150 years

b. Start with 300,000 Persons @ 3% growth for 150 years = 12 million persons

c. Using Somalia’s 2018 AD growth rate of 3.8% for 450 years with a starting population of 6 equals a final population of 14 million.

d. After the great dispersal, a divided population of 12 million provides enough manpower to build the first pyramids around the world after an additional 150 years of growth ending in 2700 BC.

e. Archaeological age: Uruk Expansion, Naqada I, Early Bronze (EB I), Pre-Dynastic Egypt (dynasty 0): all concurrent

CHAPTER 1: Nimrod the Rebel

I. Nimrod the Rebel:

A. Nimrod = rebel: A nickname

1. Hebrew “Nimrod” is a nickname that literally means “rebellion, Rebel”

a. Nimrod of the Bible rebelled against his parents, the existing kingdom, vegan cultural norms and God

b. “First, what does the name Nimrod mean? It comes from the Hebrew verb marad, meaning "rebel." Adding an "n" before the "m" it becomes an infinitive construct, "Nimrod." (see Kautzsch 1910: 137 2b; also BDB 1962: 597). The meaning then is "The Rebel." Thus "Nimrod" may not be the character's name at all. It is more likely a derisive term of a type, a representative, of a system that is epitomized in rebellion against the Creator, the one true God. Rebellion began soon after the Flood as civilizations were restored. At that time this person became very prominent.” (Who Was Nimrod?, Dr. David Livingston, Bible and Spade, Vol. 14, No. 3, Pg 67, 2001 AD)

2. Nimrod is a nick name meaning “rebel” and not his real name because Nimrod is unattested in any ancient literary source.

B. Nimrod = rebel who rejected the authority of his parents

1. The kingdom of Ararat (Aratta) was patriarchal and governed by Noah and his three sons.

a. The oldest Archaeology in the world is a 100 km radius of Mt. Ararat.

b. As world populations grew from 8 to 800 from 3298-3200 BC, the “kingdom of Aratta” was simple, communal, cooperative, familial and tribal.

2. Young Nimrod, age 25, rejects parental authority of the existing government of his parents.

3. In Sumerian flood myths, freshwater god Enki likewise rejected his father’s authority (supreme god An/Anu) by secretly warning Noah of the coming flood and instructing him to build the ark.

C. Nimrod = Rebel usurper of Mt. Ararat kingdom in founding Assyria: Micah 5:6

1. Nimrod rebelled against the authority of patriarchal lords of the Ararat kingdom in 3200 BC.

2. Nimrod is credited with founding the Assyrian – Babylonian kingdom: "They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod at its entrances; And He will deliver us from the Assyrian When he attacks our land And when he tramples our territory." (Micah 5:6)

c. Nimrod was the first mega-king in the post flood world and founded many of the ancient cities including Eridu/Babylon, Uruk in the south and Nineveh in the north.

d. "The sons of Ham were Cush and Mizraim and Put and Canaan. The sons of Cush were Seba and Havilah and Sabtah and Raamah and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.” The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city." (Gen 10:6)

3. The storyline in the four stories of Enmerkar vs. the king of Ararat (2100 BC) document the pre-flood power takeover of Nimrod (Enmerkar) from his parent’s kingdom at Mt. Ararat.

D. Nimrod = Rebel to vegan cultural norms: Eating meat

1. Nimrod the “mighty hunter” was the first meat eater!

a. While men after the flood were likely vegans who continued to fear animals, Nimrod showed uncharacteristic fearless bravery in not only hunting animals but also eating them.

b. Nimrod therefore paved the way for men to start eating meat and changed their diets from vegan to omnivore.

2. Echoing the bravery and hunting skills of Nimrod, their founder, many ancient Assyrian inscriptions and stone reliefs of Assyrians kings are pictured as “fearless hunters of animals”.

3. We find Archaeological confirmation that Nimrod’s southern kingdom ate 50% more meat than the Ararat northern kingdom at Hacinebi:

a. “At Hacinebi, for example, comparisons of fauna between the Uruk and Anatolian (Ubaid) parts of the site show differences between the two groups in food preferences, so that sheep and goats were 49 percent of the local (Ubaid) meat consumption, but provided 80 to 90 percent of the Uruk diet. This matches exactly the known food preferences in the south Mesopotamian heartland. At the same time, butchery practices show clear differences between Uruk and local (Ubaid) contexts, in both the locations and the widths of cut marks, suggesting that the two groups used different butchering tools. Chipped stone tools show similar differences in technological style, so that even when Uruk and local specialists made the same tool forms, the proportions of the tools differed significantly. Blade tools from Uruk areas at Hacinebi are significantly narrower than their local (Ubaid) counterparts and match closely the dimensions of blades from south Mesopotamian Uruk sites.” (A Tale of Two Oikumenai: Variation in the Expansionary Dynamics of Ubaid and Uruk Mesopotamia, Gil J. Stein, Rana Ozbal, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, Vol 3, p330, 2007 AD)

E. Nimrod = Rebel to God

1. Nimrod led the rebellion against God’s orders to disperse across the face of the earth

a. "They said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”" (Genesis 11:4)

b. "So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city." (Genesis 11:8)

2. Rebellion to God in building the tower of Babel to escape a second flood

a. Now it was Nimrod who excited them to such an affront and contempt of God. He was the grandson of Ham, the son of Noah,—a bold man, and of great strength of hand. He persuaded them not to ascribe it to God as if it was through his means they were happy, but to believe that it was their own courage which procured that happiness. (114) He also 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! and that he would avenge himself on God for destroying their forefathers! (Josephus Antiquities 1.109-114)

3. Rebellion to God through idolatry: An, Enlil, Enki, Inana

a. Nimrod rebelled against God as the originator and inventor of all the idol gods of the ancient world including like An, Enlil, Enki and Inana.

Enmerkar vs. the king of Ararat (2100 BC) documents how the first pagan shrine built of mudbrick and bitumen was at Uruk/Erech. Enmerkar boasts that he built the first pagan temple for the sex goddess Inana, who was a forerunner to Ishtar and Venus. She was the goddess of war, strife, and sexual love and was the patron goddess of Unug (Uruk) and Aratta (Ararat), but her preference was for Enmerkar at Uruk. Aratta did not have a temple in the four stories, but Uruk did.

It is possible that these pagan gods were worshipped before the flood and their memory was transmitted through the 8 who were on the Ark of Noah by warning their sons to not worship idols.

If Nimrod did not invent the entire Sumerian pagan pantheon of idol gods so ubiquitous in ancient times, he surely was the first great promoter of such idolatry.

b. “In Sumerian literature, Eridu (Nimrod’s Babel) is claimed to be the First City to hold kingship and later on, Eridu is both the city whose name became interchangeable with Babylon and the holy city in which Hammurabi king of Babylon was crowned. These correlations are not accidental and could be related to the myth known as the Sumerian Eridu Genesis, in which Eridu and Babylon refer to the same primeval city. The holy place of Eridu was also deeply related to Inanna and Adapa religious hemispheres, but for the Near East mythopoeic thought Eridu was, first of all, the sacred place of Enki/Ea, the primeval god of the humankind creation and his destinies, the infinitely precious concepts to how the Mesopotamians viewed their Humanity.” (The Iraqi‑Italian Archaeological Mission at the Seven Mounds of Eridu/Amer, Marco Ramazzotti, p8, 2015 AD)

c. Although the idea that Nimrod was nicknamed “the rebel” because he rebelled against God in promoting idolatry is not found in the Genesis narrative, the Hebrews stationed at the foot of Mt. Sinai in 1446 BC were fully aware of the system of the “gods of their forefathers beyond the Euphrates river”. In other words, we are told that Nimrod founded the Assyrian empire in the second generation from the flood and every Hebrew knew about the rampant idolatry that plagued the Assyrian empire from the time of Nimrod down to the time of Alexander the Great in 333 BC.

d. Nimrod the “mighty hunter” echoes Ninurta, the Assyrian god of hunting and warfare and is likely a god he created in his own image.

4. Rebellion to God by rejecting blood sacrifices of goats for bloodless goatfish

a. We know from the earliest time that God instructed men to sacrifice sheep and goats as a blood sacrifice.

b. Nimrod, like Jeroboam (931 BC), who started worshipping Nimrod’s goat-idol, he retained sacrifice but changed the object of sacrifice from a goat to a Goatfish:

i. "Jeroboam set up priests of his own for the high places, for the satyrs [goat idols] and for the calves which he had made." (2 Chr 11:15)

ii. "They shall no longer sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat demons [goat idols] with which they play the harlot. This shall be a permanent statute to them throughout their generations.” ’" (Leviticus 17:7)

c. Goatfish were excavated from the altar of burnt offering in Nimrod’s temples at Eridu.

d. While fish do have blood, they do not bleed like a mammal.

e. God never instructed anyone in the Bible to sacrifice fish although they ate fish: “So watch yourselves carefully, since you did not see any form on the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire, so that you do not act corruptly and make a graven image for yourselves in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the sky, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water below the earth. “And beware not to lift up your eyes to heaven and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, and be drawn away and worship them and serve them, those which the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven." (Deuteronomy 4:15–19)

5. Nimrod the rebel, saw himself in Enki and identified with Enki the rebel god

a. Nimrod’s kingdom began at Babel (Eridu)

b. Enki was God of freshwater: Babel was surrounded by swampy wetlands.

c. Enki was the patron god of Nimrod’s city of Babel.

d. Enki was the son of supreme god Anu who rebelled against parents like Nimrod.

e. Nimrod rebelled against his parent’s northern kingdom of Ararat.

f. In Sumerian literature, Enki betrays the flood decree of the supreme god Anu and his son Enlil, by warning “Noah” to build the ark and save himself and the animals.

g. “Rebel” Nimrod identified with “rebel Enki” who thwarted his parents will.

h. Over 300 years Nimrod built/rebuilt the temple to Enki at Babel 18 times.

i. Enki was symbolized by a goat, goatfish, carp fish with goat like whiskers.

j. Goatfish were offered as burnt sacrifices on altars in the Babel mudbrick temple.

k. The Tower of Babel was the last temple to Enki Nimrod attempted to build.

l. Josephus says Nimrod built the Tower of Babel to survive a second global flood: “Now it was Nimrod … the grandson of Ham … said he would be revenged on God, if he should have a mind to drown the world a second time; so he built a tower too high for the waters to be able to reach and that he would avenge himself on God for destroying their forefathers! (Josephus Antiquities 1.109-114)

m. Enki is responsible for division of language at Tower of Babel

n. Enki plays a central role in understanding the city of Babel and the tower of Babel.

o. Then at the tower of Babel it was Enki who was responsible for the division of languages. (see below)

p. Nimrod therefore hated the one true God who caused the flood and loved Enki who betrayed God’s will in destroying mankind.

q. The will of the god Enlil who caused the flood was usurped by rebel/betrayer lower god Enki who became the savior of mankind.

r. Enki therefore represents Satan as a false savior and Judas who betrayed God.

s. Reversal of reality: YHWH/Saviour/true vs. Enki/destroyer/Satan/Judas/betrayer

t. “Rebel” Nimrod hated true God YHWH and loved false god Enki the “rebel”, a god perhaps of his own making, perhaps in his own image.

CHAPTER 2: Dating the Tower of Babel to 2850 BC

II. 8 Markers in Genesis 10-11 that decode date for the Tower of Babel to 2850 BC

BIBLE MARKER 1: “Division” of languages at Babel is central theme of Gen 10-11

1. Sons of Japheth: "From these the coastlands of the nations were divided into their lands, every one according to his language, according to their families, into their nations." (Genesis 10:5)

2. Sons of Ham: Nimrod founded Babel at Eridu then built the tower of Babel.

3. Sons of Noah: "These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, by their nations; and out of these the nations were separated on the earth after the flood." (Genesis 10:32)

4. Sons of Seth: "Two sons were born to Eber; the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided" (Genesis 10:25)

5. Division at tower of Babel: "Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth." (Genesis 11:9)

6. Nimrod was the only one to retain his same geography before and after the division: Assyria

a. "The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city." (Gen 10:10–12)

b. "They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod at its entrances; And He will deliver us from the Assyrian." (Micah 5:6)

BIBLE MARKER 2: Nimrod is the central figure of Gen 10-11

1. Gen 5 Fact: In Gen 5, Noah’s Father Lamech is the central focus:

a. 83 words are devoted to Noah’s father Lamech in Gen 5 (Gen 5:28-31)

b. This is understandable because he is the Father of Noah.

2. Gen 6-9 Fact: In Gen 6-9, Noah is the central figure discussed with four whole chapters of text.

a. This is understandable because of the entire flood story

3. Gen 10-11 Fact: In Gen 10-11 Nimrod is the central focus:

a. More words (79 words) are devoted to describing Nimrod than any other descendant from Noah to Abraham in Gen 10-11. (Genesis 5:28-31)

b. The many words used to describe Nimrod is because he built the Tower of Babel which was the primary cause of the division of languages in these two chapters.

c. None of Nimrod’s children are listed because we know he founded the first Assyrian empire before and after the Tower of Babel.

d. If Nimrod lived centuries after the Tower of Babel, then the huge focus the Holy Spirit places on an obscure and irrelevant person becomes absurd.

e. Since the central focus of Gen 10-11 is to explain the origin of the nations that occurred at the Tower of Babel, why devote so much discussion to Nimrod if he lived long after the division and had nothing to do with the ORIGIN of the nations.

f. Those who say Nimrod is Sargon I of Akkad (2300 BC), who lived 550 years after the tower of Babel, are speechless to explain why he is referenced AT ALL in Gen 10-11. By 2300 BC there had been dozens of kings of equal stature and power as Sargon I.

BIBLE MARKER 3: More important relatives (Like Nimrod) are narrated last by design: Gen 10:6-12

1. The fact that Genesis narration lists 5 sons of Cush but excludes Nimrod, then lists two important grandsons, then returns to list the most important son of Cush, Nimrod, is a natural narration style given the volume of words.

2. The sequence of reserving the most important descendant after discussing other siblings is natural and follows a pattern.

a. “The Shemites are the last in this table because they are the most crucial, the line from which Abraham will emerge. Thus, their placement is for climactic effect.” (NICOT, Gen 10:21)

3. The narrated order of Cush’s children may additionally reflect their actual birth order, which also explains why he was narrated last.

BIBLE MARKER 4: Japheth & Ham provide genealogical time marker that decodes

the Tower of Babel to 2^nd generation from flood

Descendants list of Japheth and Ham stop at eyewitnesses of Tower of Babel
On Noah’s Ark	Japheth	Ham	Ham
Generation 1	Gomer, Javan +5 others	Cush, Mizraim, Canaan, Put	Cush
Generation 2 Lived through Tower of Babel	Only Children of Gomer and Javan are listed. “Babel Vets” who eye witnessed the Tower of Babel division STOP MARKER	Only children of Cush, Mizraim, Canaan are listed including Nimrod “Babel Vets” who eye witnessed the Tower of Babel division. STOP MARKER	Nimrod Nimrod BUILT the Tower of Babel STOP MARKER
Generation 3 Babel Baby Boomers	Generation 3 were “Babel Baby boomers” born after division of languages and lands	Only grandchildren of Cush through Raamah are listed: Sheba and Dedan were “Babel Vets” who eye witnessed the Tower of Babel division. The other children of Cush were Babel Baby boomers. Sheba and Dedan are STOP MARKERS	Descendants of Nimrod are’t listed because we know he founded Assyria before the division and continued as king of Assyria after the division of languages.
Generation 4		Children of Sheba and Dedan were “Babel Baby boomers” born after division of languages and lands
The last descendants listed were eyewitnesses of the Tower of Babel. All subsequent unnamed descendants were Babel Baby Boomers born into divided world.

1. Gen 10-11 is specifically designed by the Holy Spirit in order to create a time marker for the tower of Babel by listing 2 generations of descendants of Ham and Japheth who were eyewitnesses of the great division of the tower of Babel, then stop.

a. Gen 10-11 functions as a “marker indicating a qualitative difference between” those alive who personally witness the tower of Babel, and the Babel Baby boomers born afterwards!

b. Gen 10-11 therefore uses the genealogy narrative as time marker to identify the date for the Tower of Babel from those born after the second generation following the flood.

2. Babel Vets vs. Babel Baby Boomers:

a. Babel Vets: The descendants list of Ham and Japheth only include those who lived before the Tower of Babel or Babel Vets who were alive when their own language they spoke was changed, being eyewitnesses.

b. Babel Baby Boomers: Any descendants of Ham and Japheth not listed were Babel Baby Boomers born after the division of languages and lands and were born into the divided world and learned the new language as infants.

3. Remember, the primary theme of Gen 10-11 is the great division and the genealogies are the tool used to tell us EXACTLY when the tower of Babel happened in time.

a. Gen 10-11 is a single unit that both identifies who was alive to see the tower of Babel in order to explain the DIVISION of languages and land.

b. The fact that we do not know any of the descendants of either Ham or Japheth born AFTER the division of the Tower of Babel demonstrates the purpose of the section is to identify WHEN the tower of Babel was constructed.

4. The key to decoding the date for the tower of Babel is not what information is given in the Japheth/Ham list, but where the information stops!

a. Gen 10-11 identifies the “Babel veterans” as second generation after Ham and Japheth who were eyewitnesses of the division, then stops.

b. These Babel Vets experienced for themselves the change of their own spoken language and as a result dispersed away from Babel into the various divided lands.

c. No Babel Baby boomers are listed in the Japheth/Ham genealogy because the division of language and lands is fully described through their parents.

d. No new information would be provided by listing Babel Baby Boomers by name because they spoke the language of their parents and lived away from Babel with their parents in separate geographic areas.

5. Decoding the time window for the tower of Babel using the Japheth/Ham list

Timing window for the Tower of Babel using the Japheth/Ham list
	Japheth/Ham list	Shem list
1^st generation	No dates in Bible	Arpachshad: 3298-2731 BC
2^nd generation	No dates: Eyewitnesses	Kainan: 3161-2701 BC
The 2^nd generation time window in the Japheth/Ham list is: 3161-2701 BC

a. Since there is no chronology of years in the Japheth/Ham list we cross-referenced the second generation of Shem to get approximate dates.

b. The 2^nd generation of the Japheth/Ham list corresponds to Kainan in the Shem list.

c. Using the last-named descendant in the Japheth/Ham list provides a broad timing window for the great division of languages between 3161-2701 BC, which is the lifetime of Kainan.

d. If Kainan lived as an eyewitness to the Tower of Babel, then 2701 BC is the lowest possible date for the tower of Babel according to the Japheth/Ham list of descendants.

6. Sargon I of Akkad (2300 BC) cannot be Nimrod because he is out of context and violates the principle of listing descendants of Japheth and Ham down to the eyewitnesses of the Tower of Babel, then STOP:

a. In Gen 10, Ham and Japheth extend with a three generational limit down to the Tower of Babel in 2850 BC.

b. Without exception, every descendant tree extends to the second generation (grandchildren) then stops because they lived before and after the tower of Babel and experienced firsthand, the division of languages and geography.

c. If Nimrod is Sargon I born almost 1000 years later this would be an an exception to the pattern of giving the descendant list down to the second generation from the flood. We also would expect there to be other “distant notables” thrown into the narration as well. But there are none and this presents a powerful contextual proof that Nimrod was indeed born around 3225 BC and not 1000 years later as Sargon I.

d. There is no detail of Sargon I’s life that would warrant his inclusion in the a Biblical contextual unit describing the confounding of languages and the tower of Babel.

e. Nimrod falls directly inside the three generational limit and was alive in 2850 BC. There is a strong inference that he is the one who built the tower in the city of Babel which he founded!

BIBLE MARKER 5: Heber had his language changed to “Hebrew” at the Tower of Babel

1. A “Hebrew” is a son of Heber.

a. The etymology of “Hebrew/Heber” means “wanderer”, implying someone who has no home.

b. When Abraham was called “the Hebrew” in Gen 14:13, it directly ties back to Heber, son of Peleg in Gen 10:21

c. Calling Abraham “the Hebrew” in Gen 14:13 has a secondary meaning because it was first applied to him when he was in fact a “wanderer without a home.

d. Christians, like Abraham, are wanderers on earth because our citizenship is in heaven.

i. "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;" (Philippians 3:20)

ii. "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen" (1 Peter 1:1)

iii. "Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul." (1 Peter 2:11)

2. Two decoding tools for the Japheth/Ham list and the Shem list:

a. Japheth/Ham list: In the Japheth and Ham list, we marked the building of the tower of Babel at the last named descendant.

b. Shem list: The Shem list continues after the Tower of Babel down to Heber as the eyewitness then lists all the Babel Baby boomers: 2 sons of Heber: Peleg, Joktan (and sons of Joktan).

3. Identifying Babel Vets vs. Babel Baby boomers in the Shem list:

a. By decoding the Shem list in Gen 10 it appears that Joktan must have been Peleg’s older brother. We know Peleg was born when Heber was 134 years old in 2767 BC, which is about 100 years after the Tower of Babel.

b. The key to decoding the date for the tower of Babel is not what information is given in the Shem list, but where the information stops!

c. The Shem list information stops at Peleg and the 13 sons of Joktan (Peleg’s older brother)

d. This means that Heber and his oldest son Joktan were eyewitnesses to the Tower of Babel.

e. This means that Peleg and Joktan’s 13 children were Babel Baby Boomers.

Babel Vets vs. Babel Baby boomers in the Shem list in Gen 10

Heber: Babel Vet

Joktan

Eldest son of Heber (Babel Vet)

Tower of Babel 2850 BC

Peleg born in 2767 BC when Heber was 134

13 Sons of Joktan

Babel Baby Boomers

STOP

Peleg (Youngest son of Heber)

Babel Baby Boomer

STOP

A single (unknown) settlement: Genesis 10:30

4. Heber (Hebrew) was an eyewitness to the Tower of Babel and experienced the language change.

a. Heber was the first listed descendant of Shem to speak Hebrew.

b. Etymologically, “Heber” is identical to “Hebrew” in the Hebrew language.

c. In consonantal Hebrew. Heber = HBR = Hebrew.

d. Heber was the first descendant of Shem to speak Hebrew.

5. Modern scholars say Heber (alternate: Eber) was the first Hebrew speaker:

a. “Eber is the name that gives rise to the term Hebrew, which is first used of Abraham in 14:13. Such a name is patronymic (a father name). Eber is mentioned at the head of the list because of his importance to the Hebrew people.” (NIBC, Gen 10:21, 1999 AD)

b. “A similar example of this dynamic is the ethnic Habiru/Apiru (or SA.GAZ, the Sumerian logographic equivalent of Habiru), who appear in cuneiform texts in c. 2500 BC, long before Abram’s time. In light of this pre-Abrahamic attestation, and the geographical discrepancy (Abram/Hebrews in Canaan, but earlier Habiru in Mesopotamia), many have been unwilling to associate the Habiru/Apiru with the Hebrews. The solution to the dilemma is that the two non-guttural consonants found in the triconsonantal root of ‘bri, the exact consonants that appear in Akkadian and Ugaritic (br, possibly meaning “cross over, go beyond”), also are found in “Eber” (Gen 10:21), the ancestor of Abram from whom the word undoubtedly derives. Thus Abram is one of numerous Eberite peoples who were named after a distant ancestor (Eber), all of whom are known as Habiru (or Apiru in Egyptian) due to their retention of Eber’s ancient namesake” (Identifying Nimrod of Genesis 10 with Sargon of Akkad by exegetical and archaeological means, Douglas Petrovich, JETS 56/2, p294, fn 101, 2013 AD)

c. “ʿIbrî clearly goes back to Abraham’s ancestor Eber (ʿĒber). A Hebrew thus was an Eberite. This seems almost certain in light of Genesis 10:21, which states that “Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber.” The Shemite genealogy of 11:10–26 begins with Shem and ends with Abraham, but near its midpoint focuses on Eber (11:14–17). It is as though the genealogist is saying that Abraham was a Shemite whose ancestry had specific roots in Eber, making Abraham an Eberite, that is, a Hebrew.” (Kingdom of Priests, E. Merrill, p 118, 2008 AD)

d. “The name [Hebrew] is derived, according to some, from Eber (Gen. 10:24), the ancestor of Abraham. The Hebrews are “sons of Eber” (10:21).” (Easton’s Bible dictionary, Hebrew, 1893 AD)

e. “One of the most striking correspondences is between the name of the great king of Ebla, Ebrium, which is semantically and linguistically equivalent to the name Eber in Genesis 10:26 (and other places), who is one of the ancestors of Abram (= Abraham); the name Eber gives rise to the gentilic form Ibri (= Hebrew, the general term for Abraham and his descendants). The correlation is intriguing, although there is no evidence from the [Ebla] tablets linking the two persons or, to be sure, from the Bible.” (Biblical Archaeologist, A Letter to Our Readers, Vol 40, 1977 AD)

6. Heber’s son Peleg and his 13 grandchildren through his son Joktan were all Babel Baby Boomer children who all learned to speak Hebrew as babies and lived in the same geographic area:

a. Heber and his oldest son Joktan (older brother of Peleg) eye-witnessed the tower of Babel.

b. Peleg and Joktan’s 13 children were born after the division of language.

c. Eber and Joktan both had their language changed to Hebrew but Peleg and Joktan’s 13 children learned it as infants.

d. Notice that all of Joktan’s children are described not as different languages and different geographical domains, but as a single “settlement”.

e. "Joktan became the father of Almodad and Sheleph and Hazarmaveth and Jerah and Hadoram and Uzal and Diklah and Obal and Abimael and Sheba and Ophir and Havilah and Jobab; all these were the sons of Joktan. Now their settlement (singular) extended from Mesha as you go toward Sephar, the hill country of the east." (Genesis 10:26–30)

f. The Hebrew language originated from two Hebrew speaking children of Eber, Peleg and Joktan, AND we are told where they lived:

i. Joktan’s Hebrew speaking children lived in a single geographic area which today, we cannot identify (Gen 10:30)

ii. The Hebrews of Moses’ time all knew exactly what happened to the children of Peleg because THEY were the children of Peleg camped at Mt. Sinai as outlined in Gen 11.

BIBLE MARKER 6: The Shem Chronology begins by skipping forward 4 generations

to the first dynasty of natural born Hebrew language speakers:

children of Heber (ie. Peleg): Genesis 10:21

1. "Also to Shem, the father of all the children of Heber, [Shem being the brother of Japheth his elder brother], children were born." (Genesis 10:21)

a. Gen 10 narrates the three sons of Noah based upon their birth order: Japheth (the oldest), Ham and finally Shem.

b. After starting with the oldest (Japheth), then continuing with the middle child (Ham), the narration then moves to the youngest but most important child: Shem

2. The unique structure of the start of the Shem list in Gen 10:21

a. The VERY FIRST fact we learn about Shem is that he was the father of Eber’s descendants.

b. Why would this fact be highlighted as centrally important at the start?

c. Something big is being pointed out here.

3. This verse is giving us the exact point at which the tower of Babel was built.

a. Moses is with the “Hebrews” at Mt. Sinai in 1446 BC.

b. Moses shows his fellow Hebrews that their “Hebrew” language is traced back to “Heber”.

c. Moses associates the natural born Hebrew speakers at Sinai with the first natural born Hebrew speakers: the children of Heber (Peleg)

d. Specifically, Moses makes a connection between Peleg, who was the first to learn Hebrew as a native language from birth and the Jews with Moses at Mt. Sinai.

4. When Abraham was called “the Hebrew” in Gen 14:13, it directly ties back to Heber in Gen 10:21 as the first “Hebrew”!

BIBLE MARKER 7: Peleg was a Babel Baby Boomer born AFTER the division of language: Gen 10:25

1. "Two sons were born to Heber; the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan." (Genesis 10:25)

a. Etymologically the name Peleg literally means “Divided”.

b. Gen 10:25 literally reads: “Eber/Heber (whose name means Hebrew) named his son “Divided” as a memorial of the division at the Tower of Babel.

2. Two interpretations of “for in his days the earth was divided”:

a. Wrong: The division took place while Peleg was alive and he was an eyewitness to the Tower of Babel.

i. While many ancient literary sources like Josephus and Philo took this view, they missed one important fact.

ii. “Shelah’s son was Heber, from whom they originally called the Jews “Hebrews”. Heber begat Joktan and Peleg; he was called Peleg, because he was born at the dispersion of the nations to their several countries; for Peleg, among the Hebrews, signifies division.” (Josephus Antiquities 1.146)

iii. If Peleg was born BEFORE the Division at the Tower of Babel, he never would have named him division.

b. Right: Heber named his son “Divided” because the division took place before Peleg was born.

i. Peleg was born into a world ALREADY DIVIDED into languages and lands which is the reason Heber named him “Division”.

ii. Heber named his son Peleg as a memorial of the Division that occurred at the Tower of Babel.

3. Peleg is a memorial name of a major historic event that preceded his birth: the division of languages and land resulting from the failed attempt to build the Tower of Babel.

4. Gen 10:21 says that Shem THROUGH Heber is the father of the Hebrew people (Heber’s children):

a. "Shem, the father of all the children of Heber." (Genesis 10:21)

b. Here at the beginning of the genealogy of Shem, Moses jumps forward to Eber to show those at Mt. Sinai that they trace their Hebrew identity and language back to Eber not Abraham!

BIBLE MARKER 8: 200-year lifespan reduction of those born after the tower of Babel

1. There is a dramatic, noticeable and consistent drop in lifespan of those born after the tower of Babel.

2. In Gen 6:3, God proclaimed the limit of man’s lifespan will be 120 years. (This number has nothing to do with how long Noah preached or how long it took Noah to build the ark. We can be certain that it took NO LONGER than 75 years to build the ark and as little as 25.)

3. Before the Tower of Babel: Sons of Shem: Arpachshad 565, Kainan 460, Shelah 533, Eber 504

4. After the Tower of Babel: Peleg 339, Rue 339, Serug 330, Nahor 208, Terah 205, Abraham 180, Isaac 180, Jacob 147.

5. What might account for this reduction in lifespan?

a. Perhaps the physiology of man was changed when God performed the miracle of changing man’s spoken languages.

b. Perhaps the food supply of a large single population in the land of Shinar provided better, nutrition than those who traveled to distant geographic places and had to produce their own food with a smaller population from scratch.

6. Nimrod was “2^nd generation” who was born in 3225 BC with a life expectancy of ~500 years:

a. The life span of those born before 2850 BC averaged 500 years: Sons of Shem: Arpachshad 565, Kainan 460, Shelah 533, Eber 504

b. The life span of the same two generations

c. Nimrod’s corresponding 2^nd generation counterpart was Kainan who lived to be 460 years.

d. Nimrod was born about 65 year before Kainan, so his lifespan may be higher.

e. Shelah was the generation AFTER Nimrod and lived to 533 years.

f. It is reasonable that Nimrod, born in 3225 BC was alive in 2850 BC at the age of 375 years.

7. Nimrod was only 375 years old in 2850 BC:

a. The duration from flood 3298 BC to tower of Babel 2868 BC is 448 years.

b. Ham was aboard the ark in 3298 BC.

c. Cush was born the year after they got off the ark in 3297 BC, earlier if his wife was pregnant on the ark.

d. As early as 3283 BC, Cush either married his sister or cousin like Cain married his sister.

e. As early as 3282 BC Nimrod could have been born, if he was firstborn.

f. As early as 3273 BC, all five of children of Cush were born.

g. As early as 3265 BC two of Cush’s grandchildren (sons of Raamah) were born.

8. Regardless of WHY the 200 year drop in life occurred, it corresponds directly with the tower of Babel in 2850 BC.

CHAPTER 3: Christian Archaeological Dating (CAD)

III. Archaeological Chronology of Nimrod and Tower of Babel:

A. Christian Archaeological Dating (CAD) Tables by Steven Rudd 2019 AD

The Archaeological Tables

“Christian Archaeological Dating” (CAD) was first conceived and published in 2006 AD by Steven Rudd as a concept, then developed over the next 13 years. CAD was first published in its detailed final form in 2019 AD. CAD is founded upon the truth that no archaeology exists older than the global flood in 3298 BC. Pre-flood civilizations from Adam to Methuselah were demolished by this world-wide catastrophe and are mixed within a 2 km deep layer of sedimentary rock laid within a few months by the Noahic flood. This flood deposit is visible in many places around the world, most notably the Grand Canyon. The pre-flood global greenhouse combined with gigantism of fauna and rapid growth contributed to the formation of the current “fossil fuels” like oil, gas and coal when the antediluvian world was destroyed in the year 3298 BC. Evolutionary geological ages of the earth are as misguided as evolutionary archaeological ages. When God created the world in 6 literal 24-hour days, He was taking His time. The Earth is 7572 years old.

This Christian world view of a young earth requires the compression of “evolutionary” archaeological ages beginning at the flood. This corrects the deliberate expansion of currently accepted archaeological ages based upon a world faith-view that the earth is 4.5 billion years old.

Evolutionary Archaeology Ages were artificially and arbitrarily lengthened in order to harmonize with their faith that human civilization began 400,000 years ago when Neanderthal man first used a “tool” and clubbed the girl over the head and dragged her off by her hair to his cave. For Evolutionary Archaeologists, this romantic event marked the beginning of the earliest archaeological Stone Age.

Christian Archaeological Dating (CAD)

Creation: 5444 BC (LXX)

Noahic Flood: 3298 BC

Tower of Babel 2850 BC

Steven Rudd: January 2019

Chronological notes:

1. Creation to Flood = 2146 years

2. 430 years in Egypt (Ex 12:40, Gal 3:17)

3. Exodus 1446 BC, Conquest 1406 BC

4. Shiloh destroyed in 1096 BC

5. Solomon’s temple begun in 967 BC

6. Terah 130 years old when Abraham born in 2166 BC (Acts 7:4)

7. Kainan 130 years old when his son Shelah was born (Lxx: Gen 11:12; 10:24; 1 Chr 1:17; Lk 3:36)

Date BC

Archaeological Age

Rationale for Archaeological age and notes

GLOBAL FLOOD 3298 BC (LXX)

Population 8

3298-3200

Stone age:

(Paleolithic

Neolithic

Chalcolithic)

Halaf

Hassuna

1. Noahic Flood: Oldest possible Archaeology on earth.

a. Pre-flood man encased in a 2 km flood deposit (Grand Canyon)

b. Most early Archaeological ages were concurrent rather than consecutive and represent geographic or individual pottery maker’s differences in quality rather than evolutionary transitions in long periods of time.

2. First Inana goddess figurines near Ararat before Nimrod but no temples.

3. Sites such as Tepe Gawra, Değirmen Tepe were founded.

4. Nimrod born 3225

5. Population Calculator: 6 Persons (Noah had no other children).

3200 BC: Nimrod founds Babel: Ubaid 1

Population 800

3200-3000

Paleolithic

Neolithic Chalcolithic

Halaf, Hassuna

Ubaid 1,2

1. 3200: Nimrod, age 25, founds Babel (Eridu), Uruk/Erech, Accad and Calneh in the southern land of Shinar.

2. Nimrod builds first mudbrick temples (XVII to VII) built for Enki at Eridu (water god and patron god of Eridu) and another mudbrick temple built for Inana at Uruk (sex and war goddess and patron god of Uruk).

3. Population: 800 (6 Persons @ 5% growth 100 yrs. after flood, Breeding lifespans over 400 years. In 2018 Somalia had a 3.8% growth rate.)

3000 BC: Nimrod founds Nineveh: Ubaid Peaceful Expansion

Population 300,000

3000-2850

Paleolithic

Neolithic Chalcolithic

Halaf, Hassuna

Ubaid 3 Expansion

Ubaid 4:2950 BC

Uruk 1,2: 2900 BC

1. Friendly expansion 1800 km north from Babel (Eridu)

2. First trade networks created by Nimrod.

3. Nimrod’s pagan gods transmitted north to Ararat.

4. Nimrod, age 225, founds Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah in the north

5. Excavations at Nineveh date the origin of the city to the Ubaid 3 (late Neolithic and early Hassuna culture period).

6. Eridu temples VI to II

7. Nimrod invents the bevel-rim bowl (BRB) and mass produces food.

8. Population: 300,000 (800 Persons @ 3% growth 200 years: 3200-3000 BC)

2850 BC: Nimrod builds Tower of Babel: Late Uruk Colonial Expansion

FIRST WRITTEN LANGUAGES

Sumerian Cuneiform, Egyptian Hieroglyphic

Population 12 million

2850-2800

“Late Uruk 3 Expansion”

Early Bronze (EB I)

Naqada I

Egypt Dynasty 0

1. Nimrod, age 375, builds Tower of Babel: 2850 BC

a. Eridu temple I, dedicated to Enki, the water god, included a huge flat platform for the tower of Babel.

b. The Tower of Babel may have been started on this platform, but construction was abandoned until 2100 BC when the Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu at Eridu was constructed.

2. Nimrod’s bevel-rim bowl (BRB) is distributed rapidly all over the world.

3. Founding of Jerusalem (Gihon), Jericho (Spring), Egypt (Nile), Byblos, Tyre, Sidon, Ashkelon (ocean), Dan (spring), Beidha/Petra (Spring)

4. First written languages in 2850 BC when men had to use known symbols to communicate as seen in pictorial cuneiform, hieroglyphs and Chinese.

5. Population: 12 million

a. 300,000 Persons @ 3% growth 150 years: 3000-2850 BC.

b. Using Somalia’s 2018 AD growth rate of 3.8% for 400 years with a starting population of 6 equals a final population of 14 million.

2800-2700

Late Uruk,

Naqada II: 2800

Jemdet Nasr; Early Bronze II (EB II), Naqada III: 2750

Egypt Dynasty 1

Kish founded: 2700

Egypt Dynasty 2: Begins after 2750

2700-2320

Early Bronze III

(EB III)

Egypt Dynasty 3

First Pyramids:

1. Egypt: Djoser’s (Dynasty 3, start of Old Kingdom) Stepped Pyramid with hieroglyphs: 2660 BC

2. Egypt: Sneferu’s built 3 pyramids (1^st king of Dynasty 4)

a. Bent Pyramid at Dahshur: 2600 BC

b. Meidum Pyramid: 2^nd built by Sneferu

c. Red Pyramid: 3^rd built by Sneferu

3. Peru: Caral Pyramids: 2600 BC. Oldest city in the Americas.

4. Egypt: Pyramid of Khufu at Giza: 2^nd king, Dynasty 4: 2580–2560 BC

2320-1886

Early Bronze age IV

(EB IV)

1. Sargon I of Akkad 2320-2265 (Not Nimrod of Gen 10)

2. 2300 New Babylon founded (Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar in 605 BC).

3. Birth of Abraham in 2166 BC

4. Abraham, age 25, leaves Haran for Canaan in 2091 BC after the death of his father Terah age 205.

5. Destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah in 2067

6. Ziggurat of Amar-Sin: Eridu 2040 BC

7. Ur of Chaldees destroyed in 1940 BC when the third dynasty of Ur fell to the Elamites

Middle Bronze Age: 1885 BC

First Alphabet (Hebrew) in 1850 BC

1886–1750

Middle Bronze age (MB I, same as: MB IIA)

Joseph in Egypt: 1886 BC and world famine 1879-1872 BC

Between 1859-1842 BC, Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh invented the world’s first alphabet for the Hebrew spoken language shortly after they moved to Avaris also known as Tel el Dab’a.

1750-1656

Middle Bronze II (MB II, same as MB IIB)

1728 BC: 1^st year of Hammurabi’s reign. (Low Chronology)

Phoenician alphabet invented, based upon Hebrew: 1700

1656-1556

Middle Bronze III (MB III, same as IIC)

Hyksos rule in Egypt for 100 years and were finally defeated at Avaris (Tel el-Dab’a = Ancient Goshen) by Amoses I, “who knew not Joseph, (Ex 1:8) which triggered the first oppression of the Hebrews.

Late Bronze Age: 1556 BC 18^th Egyptian Dynasty
1556-1464 BC	Late Bronze Age IA (LB IA)	18^th Dynasty: Ahmoses 1556-1532 (LC) Pharaoh who killed Hebrew children: Amunhotep I: 1532-1511 BC Pharaoh's Daughter who adopted Moses: Hatshepsut: 1526 BC Pharaoh of Moses' flight to Midian: Thutmoses II/Hatshepsut: 1498-1485 BC
1464–1406	Late Bronze IB (LB IB)	Pharaoh of the Exodus: Thutmoses III was coregent with his mother Hatshepsut from 1485-1464 BC. Thutmoses III’s first conquest of Canaan in his 22^nd year: 1464 (LC). Thutmoses III’s last of 17 annual conquests ended at the Exodus in 1446 BC when his army drowned in the Red Sea at the Straits of Tiran. In 2006 AD, Steven Rudd adjusted the 18^th dynasty LC by synchronizing the 17^th annual campaign of Thutmoses III to the year of the Exodus in 1446 BC. Rudd’s Egyptian LC adds 6 years to Kitchen’s LC start date for Thutmoses III of 1479 BC to a corrected “synchronized” start date of 1485 BC.
1406–1295	Late Bronze II (LB II, same as LB IIA)	Joshua’s conquest of Canaan in 1406 Amarna tablets record the Hebrew conquest of Joshua
1295–1177	Late Bronze III (LB III, same as LB IIB)	Campaign of Seti I in Canaan in 1295 (Year 1, 3rd month of 3^rd season, day 10)
Iron Age: 1177 BC Philistines conquer the world
1177-1051	Iron IA	Philistine invasion in the 8th year of Ramses III in 1177 (LC) After Ehud died, Shamgar killed Philistines in Judges 3:31
1051-1010	Iron IB	Saul 1051–1010
1010-841	Iron IIA	David in Hebron 1010–1003 David in Jerusalem 1003-969 Solomon 971-932 Shishak’s conquest of Canaan in 925
841-723	Iron IIB	Conquest of Jehu: 841 BC
723-605	Iron IIC	Assyrian captivity 723 Sennacherib attacks Jerusalem 701
Babylonian: 605 BC
605-539	Babylonian (Iron III)	Babylonian captivity first attack on Jerusalem: 605 Edomites enter Judean Negev: 605 Fall of Jerusalem in 587
Persian: 539 BC
539-333	Persian	Darius & Cyrus capture Babylon in 539 Decree of Cyrus ending 70 year captivity in 536
Greek: 333 BC
333-167	Greek (EH)	Ascent of Alexander the Great in 333
167-63	Late Hellenistic (LH)	Antiochus IV and the rise of the Maccabees in 167
Roman: 63 BC
63 BC- AD 135	Early Roman (ER)	Pompey arrived in Judea Herod dies in 1 BC
AD 135-325	Late Roman (LR)	End of 2^nd Jewish War
Byzantine: AD 325
325-636	Byzantine (B)	Constantine
Islamic: AD 636
636-661	Pre-caliphate	Battle of Yarmouk
661-750	Umayyad	Umar 1^st Dynasty
750-970	Abbasid	Abdallah Dynasty
970-1099	Fatimid	Descendants of Muhammad’s daughter Fatimah
1099-1291	Crusader	Christians
1291-1360	Ayyubib	Saladin founder of Ayyubid (Lit: Kurdish) Dynasty wins battle of Arsuf
1360-1517	Mamluk	Mamluk (Lit: owned slave) Dynasty
1517-1917	Ottoman	Empire
1917-present	Modern	1^st world war
Archaeological Table Notes: 1. The oldest Archaeology on earth dates back to the Global flood of Noah in 2298 BC 2. Kris J. Udd argues that Early Bronze Age IV dates need to be lowered substantially. (Has Radiocarbon Artificially Raised Bronze Age Dates?, Near Eastern Archaeological Society Bulletin, Vol 58, 2013 AD) 3. Early Bronze Age begins after the Tower of Babel in 2850 BC which was built during the Uruk 3 Expansion. If EB I predates the Tower of Babel or starts 100 years after, it is a simple adjustment that does not affect the overall CAD sequence. 4. The initial occupation strata (oldest) should be the same for all cities founded immediately after the Tower of Babel (Jerusalem, Jericho, El Beidha/Petra, Egypt) on virgin ground. It is expected that these virgin sites founded after 2850 BC would have Uruk 3, EB I and “stone-age” (Paleolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic) assemblages. Some cultures today continue to use stone tools. 5. Collapse of the Late Bronze age & dawn of the Iron age was triggered by the global invasion of the Philistines that came to Judah in 1177 BC. 6. Rise of the Hyksos a. From ancient times, Goshen (Avaris, Tel el-Dab'a) was the main shipping hub at the beginning of the “Way of Horus” coastal road north to Tyre. The Hebrews were very prosperous until the Hyksos arrived and took over the management of Avaris. Like modern port cities with millions of containers being loaded and offloaded from ocean tanker ships, Avaris needed huge storage areas for all the goods. The Hyksos were expelled by the 18^th dynasty Pharaohs of Egypt who “Knew not Joseph”. The Hebrews were stripped of their financial control and became oppressed slaves who built two storage cities of Pithom and Raamses (Ex 1:11). b. Ahmoses I (1557-1532 BC) was only 10 years old when he ascended the throne after the death of his brother. Excavations at Tel el Dab’a (Avaris) by Bietak and synchronisms with day book entry in year 11 of Khamudi (the last Hyksos king) in the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus indicate the Hyksos were finally defeated at Avaris in the 15th year of Ahmoses I in 1542 BC. This seems to be confirmed by records of Ahmoses I first military campaigns which began after his 10^th regnal year in 1547 BC at age 20. Inscriptions on the wall of a cliff-tomb at El Kab, located 100 km south of Luxor, of a naval officer named Ahmoses (who served under three pharaohs: Ahmoses I, Amenhotep I, and Thutmose I,) contains the biography of Ahmoses I. The El Kab inscription records a sequence of three successive sieges of Avaris that were interrupted by a Nubian offensive which was defeated. Avaris finally fell after the 4^th attack. Khamudi, the defeated Hyksos king then fled from Avaris to the biblical city of Sharuhen (Joshua 19:6) in the Simeon Negev where the inscription records a six-year siege until Sharuhen finally fell in the 31^st regnal year (1536 BC). This marks the end and final expulsion of the Hyksos by Ahmoses I. The inscription then records the first foreign offensive campaign south into Nubia against the Troglodytes and two successive counter attacks that were defeated. Another inscription found in the ancient Egyptian mining town of Tura located 15 km south of Cairo on the east bank of the Nile, indicate the latest possible date for the defeat of the Hyksos was in the 22^nd regnal year of Ahmoses I. “Ahmoses must have conquered Avaris by [sometime before] the 18th or 19th year of his reign. This is suggested by a graffito in the quarry at Tura whereby, “oxen from Canaan were used at the opening of the quarry” in Ahmoses’s regnal year 22. Since the cattle would probably have been imported after Ahmoses’s siege of the town of Sharuhen, which followed the fall of Avaris, this means that the reign of Khamudi must have terminated by year 18 or 19 of Ahmoses’ 25-year reign at the very latest.” (Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times, Redford, Donald, Bronze Age Collapse, Ch 8, 1992 AD) 7. Low Egyptian Chronology (LC) is favored. Kris J. Udd notes that the trend is towards the Low Chronology of the 18^th dynasty Egypt which makes Thutmoses III the pharaoh of the Exodus because LC start of his reign was 1485 BC. (Has Radiocarbon Artificially Raised Bronze Age Dates?, Near Eastern Archaeological Society Bulletin, Vol 58, 2013 AD)
By Steven Rudd January 2019

B. Notes about the Christian Archaeological Dating (CAD)

1. Steven Rudd, after 14 years of research and analysis, harmonizes and redefines, the standard evolutionary Archaeological ages with an “oldest possible” date of the Noahic flood (3298 BC).

a. It is well accepted by conservative Biblical Archaeologists that the oldest Archaeology on earth is no older than the Noahic Flood.

b. Therefore, the evolutionary Archaeological ages of 80,000-30,000 BC for the “Middle Paleolithic Age” are fiction and wrong because they predate the creation of Earth itself by 70,000 years.

c. The earliest “pre-historical stone age” Archaeology cannot be dated any older than the flood at 3298 BC.

2. This approach has an accordion effect of greatly compressing the oldest ages between the flood and the Tower of Babel (3298-2850 BC).

a. Flood to Tower of Babel: 3298-2850 BC: Stone age: (Paleolithic Neolithic Chalcolithic) Halaf, Hassuna, Ubaid 1,2, Ubaid 3 Expansion, Ubaid 4:2950 BC, Uruk 1,2: 2900 BC, “Late Uruk 3 Expansion”.

b. The Early Bronze Age I (EB I) begins in 1850 BC at the tower of Babel and is concurrent with the “Uruk Expansion” and “Naqada I”.

c. In other words, while evolutionary Archaeologists date the Uruk Expansion at 3750 BC, Christians know this is impossible because both precedes the Noahic Flood by 350 years.

4. Archaeologically, the site of Tepe Gawra provides proof that Halaf and Ubaid happened at the same time. Halaf and Ubaid assemblages are both found together in strata 19-15 at Tepe Gawra, proving these two Archaeological ages are concurrent rather than consecutive. (see details below)

C. Bible chronology of Archaeological ages and Bible events

1. The flood was in 3298 BC based upon the Septuagint (LXX).

a. The chronology of the MT was altered by the Jews in Zippori in AD 160 and is corrupted.

b. Creation 5554 BC: Kainan in autograph +130 years, Terah was 130 when Abraham born, Jacob entering Egypt till Exodus = 430 years

c. Archaeological ages: Stone age: (Paleolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic), Halaf, Hassuna

d. Most early Archaeological ages were concurrent rather than consecutive and represent geographic or individual pottery maker’s differences in quality rather than evolutionary transitions in long periods of time.

2. 3225 BC: Nimrod is the Son of Cush, the grandson of Ham is born.

3. 3200 BC: Nimrod (possibly Gišur) age 25, founds several cities including Babel (Eridu), Erech (Uruk), Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar based upon the Archaeological sequence at the site from the Ubaid 1 to the Ubaid expansion.

a. Population: 800 (6 Persons @ 5% growth 100 yrs. after flood)

c. Nimrod builds the first mudbrick temple to Enki (freshwater god) at Eridu (temple XVII)

4. 3000 BC: Nimrod, age 225, founds Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah in the north based upon the Archaeological sequence at the site from the Ubaid expansion to the Uruk 1.

d. World population in 3000 BC is 300,000 (800 Persons @ 3% growth 200 years: 3200-3000 BC)

5. 2850 BC: Nimrod builds the Tower of Babel at Eridu when he was 375 years old.

a. The Tower of Babel was a pagan Temple to Enki, the fresh water god.

b. The dispersion that occurred at the Tower of Babel is witnessed Archaeologically in the Uruk Expansion.

c. World population in 2850 BC is 12 million (300,000 Persons @ 3% growth 150 years: 3000-2850 BC) Using Somalia’s 2018 AD growth rate of 3.8% for just 400 years with a starting population of 6 equals a final population of 14 million.

d. Founding of ancient cities because of water and food supplies: Jerusalem (Gihon), Jericho (Spring), Egypt (Nile), Byblos, Tyre, Sidon, Ashkelon (ocean), Dan (spring), Beidha/Petra (Spring)

e. Pre-Dynastic Egypt: 2850 (dynasty 0)

f. First written languages in 2850 when men had to use symbol and drawings of known objects to communicate as seen in hieroglyphs.

g. Archaeological ages: Beginning of Early Bronze age (EB I) and Naqada I in 2850 BC; Late Uruk, Naqada II begins in 2800 BC.

6. 2750 BC: Egyptian Dynasty 1

a. Archaeological ages: Naqada III and Early Bronze age II (EB II) begin in 2750 BC.

7. 2660 BC: First Pyramids: Archaeological ages: Early Bronze III (EB III)

a. Egypt: Djoser’s (Dynasty 3, start of Old Kingdom) Stepped Pyramid with hieroglyphs: 2660 BC

b. Egypt: Sneferu’s built 3 pyramids (1^st king of Dynasty 4)

i. Bent Pyramid at Dahshur: 2600 BC

ii. Meidum Pyramid: 2^nd built by Sneferu

iii. Red Pyramid: 3^rd built by Sneferu

c. Peru: Caral Pyramids: Oldest city in the Americas with many pyramids. Oldest is 2600 BC

d. Egypt: Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza: 2^nd king of Dynasty 4: 2580–2560 BC

e. Archaeological age: Early Bronze IV (EB IV) 2320-1850 BC

8. Events during Early Bronze age IV (EB IV)

a. 2320-2265 BC: Sargon I king of Akkad. (Sargon is considered by some as a candidate as Nimrod, but this is misguided. See below)

b. 2166 BC: Abraham born

c. 2100 BC: Ur-Nammu starts construction of a temple to Enki (Ziggurat) at Eridu on the abandoned foundation of the original Tower of Babel.

d. 2100 BC: Ur-Nammu starts construction of a second Ziggurat at Ur. (The most famous Ziggurate in the world that you can visit today.)

e. 2100 BC: Terah and Abraham leave Ur for Canaan but end up stopping at Haran.

f. 2091 BC: Abraham, age 75, leaves Haran for Canaan after his father Terah dies at age 205.

g. 2067 BC: Destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah

h. 1940 BC: Ur of Chaldees destroyed when the third dynasty of Ur fell to the Elamites

9. 1859-1842 BC, Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh invented the world’s first alphabet for the Hebrew spoken language shortly after they moved to Avaris also known as Tel el Dab’a.

a. Archaeological age: Middle Bronze age (MB I, same as: MB IIA)

10. 1446 BC: The Exodus

a. Archaeological age: Late Bronze IB (LB IB)

D. Historical search for the date of the Flood and the Tower of Babel

1. AD 70, Josephus and Philo used a Hebrew copy of the scriptures that matches our Septuagint chronology. Both date creation to 5467 BC and the flood to 3211 BC.

a. Josephus used scripture alone but was totally ignorant of Archaeology.

b. Josephus teaches that Nimrod built the Tower of Babel, Heber was the father of the Hebrew language as well as an eyewitness to the tower of Babel, and Peleg was born at the time of the confusion of languages or shortly thereafter.

2. 400-1800 BC: Christians from Augustine to AD 1800 continued to teach that Nimrod built the Tower of Babel etc. but followed the corrupt Masoretic Text Chronology of a flood dating to about 2518 BC, unaware this was flatly contradicted by Archaeology in the ground.

3. AD 1800-2010: With the dawn of the age of Archaeology, the earliest Pyramids around the world are correctly dated to about 2660 BC. This directly contradicts the chronology in the MT chronology. Five solutions developed to explain the contradiction between the Bible and Archaeology, that is, how the pyramids of Egypt could be built 300 years before the flood of Noah. Five branches of thinking arose:

a. Bible Skeptics misused Archaeology to prove the Bible was a myth and not real history, when the problem stemmed from the corrupted reduced chronology of MT. Using the correct chronology of the LXX, these Bible skeptics would have been silenced.

b. Liberal Christians, following the chronology of the MT, accepted the resurrection of Jesus as a fact but viewed many of the stories of the Old Testament as allegorical and not literal.

c. Fundamentalist Christians rejected archology as bogus science like evolution and banned sermons or classes on the subject of Archaeology in the church. This is more common today than you might think. The reasoning is “We have the Bible, we do not need Archaeology to believe… The church is told to teach the bible not Archaeology or nursing or business or physics or how to fix a car.” This sad and misguided view stems from the fact that in the last 100 years, church leaders investigated Archaeology and noticed that the conclusions of Archaeologists attacked the historical integrity of the Bible. Examples include: Pyramids existed before the Noahic flood. Agnostic Kathleen Kenyon concluded that the walls of Jericho had fallen over 150 years before Joshua was supposed to arrive. Ai had been in ruins for centuries before Joshua was supposed to destroy it.

d. Fundamentalist Christians accepted both the chronology of the MT and the science of Archaeology as valid but taught that the pyramids were built before the flood.

e. Fundamentalist Christians, as early as AD 1900, accepted the science of Archaeology and the chronology of the MT flood date of 2400-2518 BC and began teaching that Nimrod who built the Tower of Babel was actually Gilgamesh or Sargon I is Nimrod at 2330 BC and down-dated the first pyramids from 2700 to 2275 BC.

4. AD 2010: Fundamentalist Christians began to reject the “Ussher” Chronology of the Masoretic Text as corrupt in favour of the Septuagint Chronology but rejected Kainan/Cainan son of Arphachshad as a scribal gloss/addition in Luke 2:36. Removing Kainan from the Chronology of patriarchs resulted in a flood date of 3168 BC, which is an error of 130 years too late. This error has a direct impact on the date of the tower of Babel by shifting it from 2850 BC down to about 2700 BC. This 130-year shift causes serious problems because Archaeology shows that the first pyramids around the world were built in 2660 BC. The solution for some, is the down-dating of the first pyramids to 2400 BC, which is impossible and undefendable.

5. AD 2016: Some Conservative Bible-believing scholars conclude that Kainan was in the original chronology of Luke and therefore also the Hebrew autograph of Genesis, which sets the flood to 3298 BC and the Tower of Babel to 2800-2900 BC. Henry Smith offered an argument pointing to Kainan’s inclusion in the original text of Genesis. He acquired a high-resolution photograph from the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, (Suppl. Gr. 1120) of the oldest extant manuscript fragment of Luke known as “P4” (Papyrus 4). It may have been used as filler in making copies of codex Philo of Alexandria, indicating it was much older and worn out from use, hence used as scrap. This important fact allowed Steven Rudd to add the 130 years with confidence to the Flood date of 3298 BC and Tower of Babel of 2850 BC.

Kainan is found in these ancient manuscripts and literary sources:

a. Papyrus 4 of Luke 3:36, is the earliest fragment of Luke dating to 150 AD and includes Kainan. “Papyrus 4 [P4], containing Luke 3:20 through 4:2. Dated to the second century AD, this is the oldest known extant manuscript preserving Luke 3:36 and the surrounding text mirroring the genealogies of Genesis 5 and 11. On the middle-right side of the papyrus, the names of the patriarchs from Comfort's reconstruction above can easily be seen. The enlarged section irrefutably reveals Kainan the son of Arpachshad as being extant. Over 40 other NT manuscripts of Luke 3:36 also contain Kainan. This evidence from P4, not previously cited in academic discussions on Kainan, nullifies the theory that his name originated as a scribal error in a manuscript of Luke in the mid to late third or early fourth century AD and then was inserted by Christian scribes into all known manuscripts of Luke across the entire Mediterranean world. This theory mitigates against the basic principles of text criticism, are violations of the text itself, and cannot be supported by the total evidence.” (New Evidence for Kainan in New Testament and LXX Papyri, Henry Smith)

b. Kainan is found in all New Testaments in Luke 2:36 and three places in the Septuagint: Gen 10:24; Genesis 11:12-13 (but lacking in 1 Chronicles 1:17-24).

c. The Book of Jubilees 8:1-7 (170 BC) has an entire paragraph describing the life of “Cainan, son of Arpachshad, who begot Shelah”.

d. Demetrius the Chronographer (ca. 225 BC): “The period from the Flood to Abraham in Genesis 11:10-32 in the LXX with Kainan included equals exactly 1072 years This is the same figure derived from Demetrius’ post - Flood chronology (1362 minus 290 [215+75] equals 1072). In order for Demetrius’ chronological calculations to work, the Genesis 11 LXX text in his possession had to include Kainan and his 130 - year begetting age. The 1072 - year calculation is independently affirmed by the post - Flood chronology in the Samaritan Pentateuch. The SP excludes Kainan, but matches the rest of the LXX ’s begetting ages, yielding a total of 942 years from the Flood to Abraham’s birth. Eusebius’ calculation from his manuscript(s) of the LXX, sans Kainan, also equals 942 years (Chronicle 27). When Kainan’s 130 is added to 942 from the SP and Eusebius, we reach the exact same total as the LXX and Demetrius: 1072 years. Because of Demetrius’ chronological precision, we can conclude that Kainan necessarily appeared in his manuscript(s) of LXX Genesis 11:13b–14 b in ca . 220 BC. This first external witness to the LXX was written just a few decades after its origin. Demetrius long predates the Gospel of Luke, providing irrefutable external evidence for Kainan’s presence in LXX Genesis 11 in the late third century BC, and annulling the theory that Kainan originally arose as a scribal error in Luke” (New Evidence for Kainan in New Testament and LXX Papyri, Henry Smith)

6. November 2017: the author published his book on the Septuagint which proved that the chronology of the Masoretic Text was corrupted by Jews in AD 160 at Zippori. Once the Septuagint chronology was accepted as correct with creation to 5554 BC and the Noahic flood to 3298 BC, the date of 2850 BC for the Tower of Babel was almost automatic and unquestionably correct. Suddenly it is realized that Josephus got it right all along with the tower of Babel to 2850 BC which fits perfectly with the science of Archaeology dating the first pyramids to about 2660 BC. The Sumerian King List, directly confirms the Bible in that Cush, the father of Nimrod, “was the first king” after the flood. “Then the Flood swept over. After the Flood had swept over, and the kingship had descended from heaven, the kingship was in Kiš. [Kush or Cush] In Kiš, Gišur became king; he ruled for 1,200 years.” Cush’s son Nimrod became a world famous king for founding Babel and Nineveh and building the tower of Babel. Heber was an eyewitness to the tower of Babel and was first to speak Hebrew. His son Peleg was born into a “divided earth”.

7. January 2019: Final tables for Christian Archaeological Dating (CAD) are published, which compress the earliest Archaeological ages within the 450 years between the flood (3298 BC) and the Tower of Babel (2850 BC). Early Bronze I (EB I) begins at the Tower of Babel. The author, after 14 years of research and analysis, harmonizes and redefines, the standard evolutionary Archaeological ages with an “oldest possible” date of the Noahic flood (3298 BC). It is well accepted by conservative Biblical Archaeologists that the oldest Archaeology on earth is no older than the Noahic Flood.

CHAPTER 4: Sumerian Flood Stories

The author was a member of the professional archaeological team in search of Noah’s Ark at the 5100-meter (3 miles) summit of Mt. Ararat in 2012-2013 AD and was featured in the movie “Finding Noah”.

A. Noahic Flood: Flood and Tower of Babel stories found all over the world: “In Burma, for example, the Gherko Karens tell of a story in which the people decided to build a pagoda that would reach to heaven. Their god, in his wrath, came down, confused their language, and scattered the people about the earth. In Congo, they balanced on poles, and in Mexico, they built a tower out of clay. Each of these versions tells of a god who becomes angry at their endeavors and scatters them abroad. In India, a Hindu legend tells of a group of demons that attempted to build an altar that would reach the sky, but whose completion was thwarted by Indra, the sky-god.” (Flood Legends: Global Clues of a Common Event, Charles Martin, p29, 2009 AD)

Catalogue of global flood stories in ancient literature


Exhibit
Name	Sumerian Eridu	Sumerian Kings	Shuruppak	Atra-hasis	Gilgamesh	Berossus
Date of tablet	2150 BC	2119-2112 BC	2100 BC	1635 BC	1150 BC	280 BC
Language	Sumerian Cuneiform	Sumerian Cuneiform	Akkadian Cuniform	Akkadian Cuneiform	Akkadian Cuneiform	Greek
Noah figure	Zi-ud-sura "he obtained immortality"	Cush, Noah's grandson	Zi-ud-sura "he obtained immortality"	Atra-Hasis "he who is very wise"	Ut-napištim "he obtained immortality"	Xisuthrus "he obtained immortality"
Country	Šuruppuk	Šuruppuk	Šuruppuk (man)	Šuruppak	Šuruppak	Sippar
Destroyer Gods	An and Enlil	-	-	An and Enlil	An and Enlil	-
Mutinous god who warned of flood	Enki	-	-	Enki	Enki	-
Where tablets found	Nippur, Iraq	Larsa, Iraq	Abu Salabikh Iraq	Sippar, Iraq	Nabu, Iraq Nineveh, Turkey	Quoted by Josephus etc.
Museum	Pennsylvania Museum: Object B10673	Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England	Iraq Museum, Baghdad (looted 2003)	British Museum Room 56	British Museum, Room 55	No originals.
Details	Sumerian Eridu	Sumerian Kings	Shuruppak	Atra-hasis	Gilgamesh	Berossus

1. Ut-napištim as Noah:

a. Noah's counterperson in the Epic of Gilgamesh (1150 BC) is "Ut-napištim”.

b. "Ut-napištim" means "he obtained immortality".

2. Atra-Hasis as Noah:

a. Noah's counterperson in Atra-Hasis (1635 BC) is "Atra-Hasis".

b. "Atra-Hasis" means "he who is very wise".

3. Xisuthrus as Noah:

a. Noah's counterperson in Berossus (280 BC) is "Xisuthrus" (or Sisithrus)

b. "Xisuthrus" means "he obtained immortality".

4. Zi-ud-sura as Noah:

a. Noah's counterperson in Sumerian Eridu (2150 BC) and Shuruppak (2100 BC) is "Zi-ud-sura".

b. "Zi-ud-sura" means "he obtained immortality".

c. Zi-ud-sudra is called “the king, the gudug priest” and is a real historical king who was the "Noah-like" character the Greek flood account by Berossus (280 BC)

d. Zi-ud-sudra's counterpart in the Epic of Atra-Hasis (1635 BC) was Atra-Hasis.

e. Zi-ud-sudra's counterpart in the The Epic of Gilgamesh (1150 BC) was Ut-napištim.

5. Important quotations from Flood stories:

a. "To him [Xisuthrus] the deity Cronus foretold that on the fifteenth day of the month Desius there would be a deluge of rain ... after the cessation of the rain Xisuthrus sent out birds, by way of experiment, that he might judge whether the flood had subsided. But the birds passing over an unbounded sea, without finding any place of rest, returned again to Xisuthrus. This he repeated with other birds. And when upon the third trial he succeeded, for the birds then returned with their feet stained with mud, the gods translated him from among men. With respect to the vessel, which yet remains in Armenia, it is a custom of the inhabitants to form bracelets and amulets of its wood." (Abydenus: 200 BC On the flood: Read the full text of (Georgius Syncellus Chronicle 38. (800 AD) quoting Eusebius [325 AD] Praeparatio Evangelica [preparation for the gospel] 9. -Eusebius Chronicle 5. 8. who quotes from Abydenus [200 BC], who quotes from “Babyloniaca” by Berossus [380 BC])

b. The building of a boat 2 x 5 stadia, gathering all the animals into the boat. After the flood birds were released four times. The ark existed in Berossus' time for he says: "some part of it yet remains in the Corcyræan mountains of Armenia; and the people scrape off the bitumen, with which it had been outwardly coated, and make use of it by way of an alexipharmic and amulet." (Alexander Polyhistor: 50 BC, On the flood: Read the full text of, Georgius Syncellus Chronicle 28. [800 AD] who quotes Eusebius Chronicle 5. 8., [325 AD] who quotes Polyhistor [50 BC], who quotes “Babyloniaca” by Berossus [380 BC].)

c. “In those days Zi-ud-sura the king, the gudug priest … [the gods said to him] … A flood will sweep over the … A decision that the seed of mankind is to be destroyed has been made. The verdict, the word of the divine assembly, cannot be revoked. The order announced by An and Enlil cannot be overturned. … All the windstorms and gales arose together, and the flood swept over the … After the flood had swept over the land, and waves and windstorms had rocked the huge boat for seven days and seven nights, Utu the sun god came out, illuminating heaven and earth. Zi-ud-sura could drill an opening in the huge boat and the hero Utu entered the huge boat with his rays. Zi-ud-sura the king prostrated himself before Utu. The king sacrificed oxen and offered innumerable sheep. … Zi-ud-sura the king prostrated himself before An and Enlil. An and Enlil treated Zi-ud-sura kindly ......, they granted him life like a god, they brought down to him eternal life.” (Sumerian Eridu Genesis and Flood: 2150 BC)

d. “In Šuruppak, Ubara-Tutu [possibly Noah] became king; he ruled for 18,600 years. Then the Flood swept over. After the Flood had swept over, and the kingship had descended from heaven, the kingship was in Kiš. [Cush, son of Ham, father of Nimrod] In Kiš, Gišur [possibly Nimrod] became king; he ruled for 1,200 years.” (Sumerian King List, Weld-Blundell Larsa Prism, ends with Sin-magir, 1827-1817 BC)

e. "Enlil grew restless at their racket, he had to listen to their noise. Enlil opened his mouth to speak and addressed the assembly of all the gods: 'The noise of mankind has become too much, I am losing sleep over their racket. Come now, let us all take an oath to bring disease, then famine then a flood. … [gods command Atra-Hasis:] Dismantle the house, build a boat, Reject possessions, and save living things. The boat that you build Roof it like the Apsu So that the Sun cannot see inside it! Make upper decks and lower decks. The tackle must be very strong, The bitumen strong, to give strength. I shall make rain fall on you here, A wealth of birds, a hamper (?) of fish.' He opened the sand clock and filled it, He told him the sand (needed) for the Flood was Seven nights' worth. Atra-hasis received the message. He gathered the elders at his door. Atra-hasis made his voice heard And spoke to the elders, … He selected [and put on board.] [The birds] that fly in the sky, Cattle … Wild animals … he put his family on board. .. Bitumen was brought and he sealed his door. While he was closing up his door Adad [god] kept bellowing from the clouds. The winds were raging even as he went up (And) cut through the rope, he released the boat. … Anzu [god] was tearing at the sky with his talons … The kafigu-weapon went against the people like an army [everyone outside the ark died]. No one could see anyone else, They could not be recognized in the catastrophe. The Flood roared like a bull, Like a wild ass screaming the winds [howled] The darkness was total, there was no sun … of the Flood.” (The epic of Atra-Hasis, 1635 BC)

f. “Gilgamesh spoke to Ut-anapishtim [Noah like figure] Tell me, how is it that you stand in the Assembly of the Gods [transformed from man into god], and have found [eternal] life!" Ut-anapishtim spoke to Gilgamesh, saying: "I will reveal to you, Gilgamesh, a thing that is hidden, a secret of the gods I will tell you! Shuruppak, a city that you surely know, situated on the banks of the Euphrates, that city was very old, and there were gods inside it. The hearts of the Great Gods moved them to inflict the Flood. … Ea [Enki-god], the Clever Prince, was under oath with them so he repeated their talk to the reed house: 'Reed house, reed house! Wall, wall! O man of Shuruppak, son of Ubartutu: Tear down the house and build a boat! Abandon wealth and seek living beings! Spurn possessions and keep alive living beings! Make all living beings go up into the boat. The boat which you are to build, its dimensions must measure equal to each other: its length must correspond to its width. Roof it over like the Apsu. Just as dawn began to glow the land assembled around me- the carpenter carried his hatchet, the reed worker carried his (flattening) stone, ... the men ... The child carried the pitch, the weak brought whatever else was needed. On the fifth day I laid out her exterior. It was a field in area, its walls were each 10 times 12 cubits in height, the sides of its top were of equal length, 10 times 12 cubits each. I laid out its (interior) structure and drew a picture of it (?). I provided it with six decks, thus dividing it into seven (levels). The inside of it I divided into nine (compartments). I drove plugs (to keep out) water in its middle part. I saw to the punting poles and laid in what was necessary. Three times 3,600 (units) of raw bitumen I poured into the bitumen kiln, three times 3,600 (units of) pitch ...into it, The boat was finished by sunset. The launching was very difficult. … All the living beings that I had loaded on it, I had all my family and friend go up into the boat, all the beasts and animals of the field and the craftsmen I had go up. Shamash had set a stated time: 'In the morning I will let loaves of bread shower down, and in the evening a rain of wheat! Go inside the boat, seal the entry!' … I watched the appearance of the weather-- the weather was frightful to behold! I went into the boat and sealed the entry. For the caulking of the boat, to Puzuramurri, the boatman, … Just as dawn began to glow there arose from the horizon a black cloud. Adad [god] rumbled inside of it, before him went Shullat [god] and Hanish [god], heralds going over mountain and land. Erragal [god] pulled out the mooring poles, forth went Ninurta [god] and made the dikes overflow. … The... land shattered like a... pot. All day long the South Wind blew ..., blowing fast, submerging the mountain in water, overwhelming the people like an attack. No one could see his fellow, they could not recognize each other in the torrent. The gods were frightened by the Flood, and retreated, ascending to the heaven of Anu [god]. The gods were cowering like dogs, crouching by the outer wall. Ishtar [god] shrieked like a woman in childbirth, the sweet-voiced Mistress of the Gods wailed: … ordering a catastrophe to destroy my people!! … Six days and seven nights came the wind and flood, the storm flattening the land. When the seventh day arrived, the storm was pounding, the flood was a war--struggling with itself like a woman writhing (in labor). The sea calmed, fell still, the whirlwind (and) flood stopped up. I looked around all day long--quiet had set in and all the human beings had turned to clay! The terrain was as flat as a roof. I opened a vent and fresh air (daylight!) fell upon the side of my nose. I fell to my knees and sat weeping, tears streaming down the side of my nose. I looked around for coastlines in the expanse of the sea, and at twelve leagues there emerged a region (of land). On Mt. Nimush [Ararat] the boat lodged firm, Mt. Nimush held the boat, allowing no sway. One day and a second Mt. Nimush held the boat, allowing no sway. A third day, a fourth, Mt. Nimush held the boat, allowing no sway. A fifth day, a sixth, Mt. Nimush held the boat, allowing no sway. When a seventh day arrived I sent forth a dove and released it. The dove went off, but came back to me; no perch was visible so it circled back to me. I sent forth a swallow and released it. The swallow went off, but came back to me; no perch was visible so it circled back to me. I sent forth a raven and released it. The raven went off, and saw the waters slither back. It eats, it scratches, it bobs, but does not circle back to me. Then I sent out everything in all directions and sacrificed (a sheep). I offered incense in front of the mountain-ziggurat. Seven and seven cult vessels I put in place, and (into the fire) underneath (or: into their bowls) I poured reeds, cedar, and myrtle. The gods smelled the savor, the gods smelled the sweet savor, and collected like flies over a (sheep) sacrifice. Just then Belet-Ili arrived. She lifted up the large flies (beads) which Anu had made for his enjoyment(!): 'You gods, as surely as I shall not forget this lapis lazuli around my neck, may I be mindful of these days, and never forget them! The gods may come to the incense offering, but Enlil may not come to the incense offering, because without considering he brought about the Flood and consigned my people to annihilation.' Just then Enlil [god] arrived. He saw the boat and became furious, he was filled with rage at the Igigi gods: 'Where did a living being escape? No man was to survive the annihilation!' Ninurta spoke to Valiant Enlil, saying: 'Who else but Ea [god-Enki] could devise such a thing? It is Ea [Enki] who knows every machination!' La spoke to Valiant Enlil, saying: 'It is yours, O Valiant One, who is the Sage of the Gods. How, how could you bring about a Flood without consideration Charge the violation to the violator, charge the offense to the offender, but be compassionate lest (mankind) be cut off, be patient lest they be killed. Instead of your bringing on the Flood, would that a lion had appeared to diminish the people! Instead of your bringing on the Flood, would that a wolf had appeared to diminish the people! Instead of your bringing on the Flood, would that famine had occurred to slay the land! Instead of your bringing on the Flood, would that (Pestilent) Erra had appeared to ravage the land! It was not I who revealed the secret of the Great Gods, I (only) made a dream appear to Atra-hasis, and (thus) he heard the secret of the gods. Now then! The deliberation should be about him!' Enlil went up inside the boat and, grasping my hand, made me go up. He had my wife go up and kneel by my side. He touched our forehead and, standing between us, he blessed us: 'Previously Ut-anapishtim was a human being. But now let Ut-anapishtim and his wife become like us, the gods! Let Ut-anapishtim reside far away, at the Mouth of the Rivers.' They took us far away and settled us at the Mouth of the Rivers." (Epic of Gilgamesh , Tablet 9, 1150 BC)

B. The Flood and Nimrod as “Enmerkar” in Sumerian King List: 2119 BC:

1. Sumerian King List: “This [Sumerian King List] is a so-called historiographic document, drawn up during the Isin-Larsa period (2017–1763 b.c.e.) or possibly during the Ur III period (2112–2004 b.c.e.).” (Epics of Sumerian Kings: The Matter of Aratta, H. L. J. Vanstiphout, Jerrold S. Cooper, Vol. 20, p4, fn11, 2003 AD)

2. Specific reference to the flood and Cush the grandson of Moses:

a. “Then the Flood swept over. After the Flood had swept over, and the kingship had descended from heaven, the kingship was in Kiš. [Kush or Cush]. In Kiš, Gišur became king; he ruled for 1,200 years.” (Sumerian King List)

3. The Sumerian King List preserves Enmerkar as the son of Meš-ki'ag-gašer.

a. “In Eanna, Meš-ki'ag-gašer, son of Utu, became lord and king; he ruled for 324 years. Meš-ki'ag-gašer entered the sea and disappeared. Enmerkar [possibly Nimrod-literally means Enmek the hunter like nimrod who also founded Uruk], son of Meš-ki'ag-gašer, the king of Uruk, who built Uruk, became king; he ruled for 420 years.” (Sumerian King List, Weld-Blundell Larsa Prism, ends with Sin-magir, 2119 BC)

b. Notice that Enmerkar’s father did not rule at Uruk but was overthrown and then “disappeared” which may mean death or banishment.

c. The Sumerian King List states that Enmerkar was “the king of Uruk, who built Uruk, became king; he ruled for 420 years” Surprisingly, this is pretty close to an accurate time period for Nimrod to live.

4. Gilgamesh is a descendant of Nimrod (Enmerkar):

a. In the Sumerian King List, Gilgamesh held the kingship over Uruk, as the fifth king of the First Dynasty of Uruk.

b. After Enmerkar lived Gilgamesh of the famous flood story: The Epic of Gilgamesh (1150 BC)! “Gilgameš, whose father was an invisible being, the lord of Kulaba, ruled for 126 years. Ur-Nungal, son of the divine Gilgameš, ruled for 30 years.” (Sumerian King List, Weld-Blundell Larsa Prism, ends with Sin-magir, 2119 BC)

C. The Tower of Babel in Berossus: 380 BC

1. Berossus written around 380 BC was from a much older flood story dating back to 2000 BC

2. “They say that the first inhabitants of the earth, glorying in their own strength and size, and despising the gods, undertook to raise a tower whose top should reach the sky, in the place in which Babylon now stands: but when it approached the heaven, the winds assisted the gods, and overthrew the work upon its contrivers: and its ruins are said to be still at Babylon: and the gods introduced a diversity of tongues among men, who till that time had all spoken the same language: and a war arose between Cronus and Titan. The place in which they built the tower is now called Babylon, on account of the confusion of the tongues; for confusion is by the Hebrews called Babel.” (Abydenus: 200 BC On the tower of Babel: (Read the full text of Georgius Syncellus Chronicle 44. [800 AD] quoting Eusebius [325 AD] Praeparatio Evangelica [preparation for the gospel] 9. -Eusebius Chronicle 13. who quotes from Abydenus [200 BC], who quotes from Berossus 380 BC)

D. Nimrod as Enmerkar, Tower of Babel in Enmerkar vs. the king of Ararat: 2100 BC

1. Most important is that Enmerkar vs the lord of Aratta documents the tower of Babel division of languages of mankind:

a. Here Enmerkar calls himself “Nudimmud” which is his alternate “shaman/priestly” name used in Sumerian Creation story of Eridu , seg. B, lines 6-11: “It is the spell of Nudimmud [Enmerkar himself-priest name]! “One day there will be no snake, no scorpion, “There will be no hyena, nor lion, “There will be neither (wild) dog nor wolf, and thus there will be neither fear nor trembling, For man will then have no enemy. On that day the lands of Šubur and Hamazi, As well as twin-tongued Sumer—great mound of the power of lordship— Together with Akkad—the mound that has all that is befitting— And even the land Martu, resting in green pastures, 145 Yea, the whole world of well-ruled people, Will be able to speak to Enlil in one language! For on that day, for the debates between lords and princes and kings Shall Enki, for the debates between lords and princes and kings, For the debates between lords and princes and kings, 150 Shall Enki, Lord of abundance, Lord of steadfast decisions, Lord of wisdom and knowledge in the Land, Expert of the gods, Chosen for wisdom, Lord of Eridug, Change the tongues in their mouth, as many as he once placed there, And the speech of mankind shall be truly one!’” (Submission of Ararat to Uruk #2: Enmerkar vs. Lord of Ararat: EPSK 2:135–155)

b. Notice how Enmerkar desires the time when men spoke ONE language to be restored as existed before the Tower of Babel.

c. The “good old days” before the flood when animals and man peacefully co-existed will also be restored! “In the Sumerian poem “Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta,” there seems to be an allusion to a time when animals did not prey on one another or attack humans. This description of peaceful coexistence is somewhat similar to biblical descriptions of Eden. The poem also mentions an instance in which all people used a single language, which calls to mind the account of the tower of Babel in Gen 11” (LBD, Sumerian Literature)

d. Enki, the patron freshwater god of Eridu not only warned “Noah” about the flood in 3298 BC, Enki is also responsible for the division of languages at Babel in 2850 BC.

e. “S. N. Kramer in JAOS, March 1968, “The Babel of Tongues: A Sumerian Version,” p. 217, a fragment of 27 lines from “The Golden Age”: records “Once upon a time there was no snake, no scorpion, hyena or lion …” (1.145): “the whole universe, the people in unison, (spoke] to Enlil in one tongue.… All the world worshipped one God, Enlil, and spoke to him in the one and same tongue.” Kramer comments: “Our new piece puts it beyond all doubt that the Sumerians believed that there was a time when all mankind spoke one and the same language, and that it was Enki, the Sumerian god of wisdom who confounded their speech.” The reasons for confusing their language are not stated in the fragment.” (A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, Gleason L. Archer, p227, footnote 20, 1998 AD)

2. This is a collection of four ancient stories where Enmerkar closely resembles Biblical Nimrod:

a. EPSK 1: Submission of Ararat to Uruk #1: Enmerkar vs. Ensuhgirana

b. EPSK 2: Submission of Ararat to Uruk #2: Enmerkar vs. Lord of Ararat

c. EPSK 3: Enmerkar’s Siege of Ararat #1: Lugalbanda’s sickness/recovery in cave

d. EPSK 4: Enmerkar’s Siege of Ararat #2: Lugalbanda’s miraculous speed from Ararat to Uruk

3. Nimrod = Enmerkar similarities in the four stories:

a. Nimrod and Enmerkar were both eyewitnesses to the confusion of languages in 2850 BC

b. Nimrod and Enmerkar were both eyewitnesses to the invention of writing in 2850 BC

c. Nimrod and Enmerkar were both born in Ararat

d. Nimrod and Enmerkar were both mighty hunters

e. Nimrod and Enmerkar were both former vegans converted to meat-eating:

f. Enmerkar and Nimrod were both kings at Uruk

g. Nimrod and Enmerkar both share the same consonants in cuneiform and Hebrew: “NMR”

h. Etymology of Mt. Ararat = Aratta in the four stories

i. Nimrod and Enmerkar both built the First shrines built at Eridu (Babel) and Eruk

4. These 4 ancient stories highlight the period immediately after the flood (3298 BC) when Nimrod, born in 3225 BC in the Mt. Ararat area, moves south to found Babel (Eridu) and Uruk. He rises in power rapidly and a conflict ensues between himself and the patriarchs who rule in the Mt. Ararat region to the North.

5. Nimrod was one who “rebelled” in these four stories where he invents (or reestablishes the pagan gods known before the floor) the entire Sumerian pagan pantheon of idol gods so ubiquitous in ancient times. Enmerkar boasts that he built the first mud brick and bitumen temple for the pagan sex goddess Inana, who was a forerunner to Ishtar, Venus, Eostre and Easter. She was the goddess of war, strife, and sexual love and was the patron goddess of Unug (Uruk) and Aratta (Ararat), but her preference was for Enmerkar at Uruk. Today Inana is spoken by the lips of millions of Christians every year when they say “Happy Easter” which is equal to saying, “Happy pagan Nimrod’s Inana day”.

CHAPTER 5: Nimrod in Ancient Literary Sources

V. Ancient Literary Sources on Nimrod, Eber and Tower of Babel:

A. Ancient Christian Patristic sources

1. Introductory Summary:

a. Nimrod built the Tower of Babel in 2850 BC.

b. Eber was the first Hebrew speaking person who had his language changed to speak Hebrew.

c. Peleg was born after the Tower of Babel and naturally learned Hebrew as a child.

d. “The narrative of Genesis mentions only those descendants of Japheth, Ham and Shem who were able to form their own families and to spread in different areas of the Middle East (AUGUSTINE). One of the descendants of Ham was Nimrod, who chased out the different nations, so that they settled down in various regions that the Lord had assigned to them (EPHREM). Nimrod was the first to seize despotic rule over the people (JEROME) and was a slave of ambition; he wanted to become a ruler and a king (CHRYSOSTOM). Nimrod was not a servant of God but a tyrant who acted cruelly against his brothers (PRUDENTIUS). The passages in Genesis 10:20, 10:31 and 10:32 (see also 10:5), in which the different nations formed by the descendants of Japheth, Ham and Shem are described, refer to the period following the fall of the tower, when these nations already spoke their own languages (AUGUSTINE). One of the descendants of Shem was Eber, from whom the Hebrews originate (JEROME).” (Ancient Christian Commentary On Scripture, Gen 10:1, 2001 AD)

2. Augustine: AD 354 “Some one will say: If the earth was divided by languages in the days of Peleg, Heber’s son, that language, which was formerly common to all, should rather have been called after Peleg. But we are to understand that Heber himself gave to his son this name Peleg, which means Division; because he was born when the earth was divided, that is, at the very time of the division, and that this is the meaning of the words, “In his days the earth was divided.” For unless Heber had been still alive when the languages were multiplied, the language which was preserved in his house would not have been called after him. We are induced to believe that this was the primitive and common language, because the multiplication and change of languages was introduced as a punishment, and it is fit to ascribe to the people of God an immunity from this punishment. Nor is it without significance that this is the language which Abraham retained, and that he could not transmit it to all his descendants, but only to those of Jacob’s line, who distinctively and eminently constituted God’s people, received His covenants, and were Christ’s progenitors according to the flesh. In the same way, Heber himself did not transmit that language to all his posterity, but only to the line from which Abraham sprang. And thus, although it is not expressly stated, that when the wicked were building Babylon there was a godly seed remaining, this indistinctness is intended to stimulate research rather than to elude it. For when we see that originally there was one common language, and that Heber is mentioned before all Shem’s sons, though he belonged to the fifth generation from him, and that the language which the patriarchs and prophets used, not only in their conversation, but in the authoritative language of Scripture, is called Hebrew, when we are asked where that primitive and common language was preserved after the confusion of tongues, certainly, as there can be no doubt that those among whom it was preserved were exempt from the punishment it embodied, what other suggestion can we make, than that it survived in the family of him whose name it took, and that this is no small proof of the righteousness of this family, that the punishment with which the other families were visited did not fall upon it? But yet another question is mooted: How did Heber and his son Peleg each found a nation, if they had but one language? For no doubt the Hebrew nation propagated from Heber through Abraham, and becoming through him a great people, is one nation. How, then, are all the sons of the three branches of Noah’s family enumerated as founding a nation each, if Heber and Peleg did not do so? It is very probable that the giant Nimrod founded also his nation, and that Scripture has named him separately on account of the extraordinary dimensions of his empire and of his body, so that the number of seventy-two nations remains. But Peleg was mentioned, not because he founded a nation (for his race and language are Hebrew), but on account of the critical time at which he was born, all the earth being then divided. Nor ought we to be surprised that the giant Nimrod lived to the time in which Babylon was founded and the confusion of tongues occurred, and the consequent division of the earth. For though Heber was in the sixth generation from Noah, and Nimrod in the fourth, it does not follow that they could not be alive at the same time. For when the generations are few, they live longer and are born later; but when they are many, they live a shorter time, and come into the world earlier. We are to understand that, when the earth was divided, the descendants of Noah who are registered as founders of nations were not only already born, but were of an age to have immense families, worthy to be called tribes or nations. And therefore we must by no means suppose that they were born in the order in which they were set down; otherwise, how could the twelve sons of Joktan, another son of Heber’s, and brother of Peleg, have already founded nations, if Joktan was born, as he is registered, after his brother Peleg, since the earth was divided at Peleg’s birth? We are therefore to understand that, though Peleg is named first, he was born long after Joktan, whose twelve sons had already families so large as to admit of their being divided by different languages. There is nothing extraordinary in the last born being first named: of the sons of Noah, the descendants of Japheth are first named; then the sons of Ham, who was the second son; and last the sons of Shem, who was the first and oldest. Of these nations the names have partly survived, so that at this day we can see from whom they have sprung, as the Assyrians from Assur, the Hebrews from Heber, but partly have been altered in the lapse of time, so that the most learned men, by profound research in ancient records, have scarcely been able to discover the origin, I do not say of all, but of some of these nations. There is, for example, nothing in the name Egyptians to show that they are descended from Misraim, Ham’s son, nor in the name Ethiopians to show a connection with Cush, though such is said to be the origin of these nations. If we take a survey of the names, we shall find that more have been changed than have remained the same.” (Augustine, City of God, 16.11.2-3, 354 AD)

3. Ephrem the Syrian: AD 363 “Let us confuse their tongues, so that they will not understand one another’s language.” It is likely that they lost their common language when they received these new languages, for if their original language had not perished their first deed would not have come to nought. It was when they lost their original language, which was lost by all the nations, with one exception, that their first building came to naught. In addition, because of their new languages, which made them foreigners to each other and incapable of understanding one another, war broke out among them on account of the divisions that the languages brought among them. Thus, war broke out among those who had been building that fortified city out of fear of others. And all those who had been keeping themselves away from [the city] were scattered throughout the entire earth. It was Nimrod who scattered them. It was also he who seized Babel and became its first ruler. If Nimrod had not scattered them each to his own place, he would not have been able to take that place where they all [had lived before].” (Ephrem the Syrian, Commentary on Genesis 8.3.2–8.4.2, 363 AD)

4. Jerome: AD 347 “Eber, from whom the Hebrews descended, because of a prophecy gave his son the name Peleg, which means “division,” on account of the fact that in his days the languages were divided up in Babylon.” (Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis 10.24–25, 347 AD)

B. Ancient Jewish sources

1. Introductory Summary:

a. The unanimous opinion of all ancient Jewish literary sources is that:

i. Nimrod was the second generation from Ham.

ii. Nimrod rebelled against God.

iii. Nimrod founded Babel

iv. Nimrod built the tower Babel

v. Heber was an eyewitness of the Tower of Babel and the first Hebrew speaker.

vi. Peleg was born during or after the great dispersion of the Tower of Babel.

b. Varied opinion of ancient Jewish literary sources included:

i. Nimrod was a giant.

ii. Giants built the tower of Babel.

iii. After the Tower of Babel, Nimrod ruthlessly ruled his kingdom through threat of death.

c. Not a single Jew in history connects Nimrod with Sargon I

i. Not a single Jew in the first century connected Nimrod with Sargon I.

ii. "He was a giant in sin before the Lord, wherefore is it said: “Like Nimrod, a giant in sin before the Lord.”" (Genesis 10:9, The Aramaic Bible, Volume 1A: Jewish Targum Neofiti 1: Genesis, 350 AD)

iii. "He was a powerful potentate before the Lord, therefore it is said: Like Nimrod a powerful potentate before the Lord." (Genesis 10:9, The Aramaic Bible, Volume 6: The Jewish Targum Onqelos to Genesis)

2. Book of Jubilees: 170 BC

a. Note: Book of Jubilees is universally recognized as a corrupt chronology that sets the tower of Babel to 2598 BC using the birth of Peleg as a marker.

b. “Thirty-second jubilee in the seventh week in its third year. ⁸And in its sixth year she bore a son for him. And he called him Peleg because in the days when he was born the sons of Noah began dividing up the earth for themselves. Therefore he called him Peleg. ⁹And they divided it in an evil (manner) among themselves, and they told it to Noah.” (Book of Jubilees 8:7, 170 BC)

3. Philo: AD 40 Philo viewed Nimrod as the direct son of Cush as one of the first giants after the flood. Obviously, he NEVER connected Nimrod with Sargon I because Sargon I was NOT a giant. Further, Philo viewed Nimrod as someone who opposed God through Idol worship:

a. “Why was Cush the father of Nimrod, who began to be a giant and a hunter before the Lord: on which account they said, “Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord?” (Genesis 10:8). The father in this case, having a nature truly dissolute, does not at all keep fast the spiritual bond of the soul, nor of nature, nor of consistency of manners, but rather like a giant born of the earth, prefers earthly to heavenly things, and thus appears to verify the ancient fable of the giants and Titans; for in truth he who is an emulator of earthly and corruptible things is always engaged in a conflict with heavenly and admirable natures, raising up earth as a bulwark against heaven [ie. through idols and the tower of Babel]; and those things which are below are adverse to those which are above. On which account there is much propriety in the expression, he was a giant against God, which thus declares the opposition of such beings to the deity; for a wicked man is nothing else than an enemy, contending against God: on which account it has become a proverb that everyone who sins greatly ought to be referred to him as the original and chief of sinners, being spoken of “as a second Nimrod.” Therefore his very name is an indication of his character, for it is interpreted Aethiopian, and his art is that of hunting, both of which things are detestable: an Aethiopian because unmitigated wickedness has no participation in light, but imitates night and darkness: and the practice of the huntsman is as much as possible at variance with rational nature, for he who lives among wild beasts wishes to live the life of a beast, and to be equal to the brutes in the vices of wickedness.” (Philo Questions on Genesis II 82)

b. “But the sons of earth removing their minds from contemplation, and becoming deserters so as to fly to the lifeless and immovable nature of the flesh, “for they two became one flesh,” as the lawgiver says, adulterated the excellent coinage, and abandoned the better rank which had been allotted to them as their own, and deserted to the worse rank, which was contrary to their original nature, Nimrod being the first to set the example of this desertion; (66) for the lawgiver says, “that this man began to be a giant upon the earth:” and the name Nimrod, being interpreted, means, desertion; for it was not enough for the thoroughly miserable soul to stand on neither side [ie. remain neutral], but having gone over to its enemies [the devil], it took up arms against its friends, and resisted them, and made open war upon them; in reference to which fact it is that, Moses calls the seat of Nimrod’s kingdom Babylon, and the interpretation of the word Babylon is “change;” a thing nearly akin to desertion, the name, too, being akin to the name, and the one action to the other; for the first step of every deserter is a change and alteration of mind, (67) and it would be consistent in the truth to say that, according to the most holy Moses, the bad man, as being one destitute of a home and of a city, without any settled habitation, and a fugitive, is naturally a deserter also; but the good man is the firmest of allies.” (Philo On the Giants 65-67)

4. Josephus: AD 70

a. “Shelah’ son was Heber, from whom they originally called the Jews “Hebrews”. Heber begat Joktan and Peleg; he was called Peleg, because he was born at the dispersion of the nations to their several countries; for Peleg, among the Hebrews, signifies division.” (Josephus Antiquities 1.146)

b. “Now the sons of Noah were three,—Shem, Japheth, and Ham, born one hundred years before the Deluge. These first of all descended from the mountains into the plains and fixed their habitations there; and persuaded others who were greatly afraid of the lower grounds on account of the floods and so were very reluctant to come down from the higher place, to venture to follow their examples. (110) Now the plain in which they first dwelt was called Shinar. God also commanded them to send colonies abroad, for the thorough peopling of the earth,—that they might not raise seditions among themselves, but might cultivate a great part of the earth, and enjoy its fruits after a plentiful manner: but they were so ill instructed, that they did not obey God; for which reason they fell into calamities, and were made sensible, by experience, of what sin they had been guilty; (111) for when they flourished with a numerous youth, God admonished them again to send out colonies; but they, imagining the prosperity they enjoyed was not derived from the favor of God, but supposing that their own power was the proper cause of the plentiful condition they were in, did not obey him. (112) Nay, they added to this their disobedience to the divine will, the suspicion that they were therefore ordered to send out separate colonies, that, being divided asunder, they might the more easily be oppressed. 2. (113) Now it was Nimrod who excited them to such an affront and contempt of God. He was the grandson of Ham, the son of Noah,—a bold man, and of great strength of hand. He persuaded them not to ascribe it to God as if it was through his means they were happy, but to believe that it was their own courage which procured that happiness. (114) He also 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! and that he would avenge himself on God for destroying their forefathers! 3. (115) 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, neither sparing any pains nor being in any degree negligent about the work: and, by reason of the multitude of hands employed in it it grew very high sooner than anyone could expect; (116) but the thickness of it was so great, and it was so strongly built, that thereby its great height seemed, upon the view, to be less than it really was. It was built of burnt brick cemented together with mortar, made of bitumen, that it might not be liable to admit water. When God saw that they acted so madly he did not resolve to destroy them utterly, since they were not growing wiser by the destruction of the former sinners; (117) but he caused a tumult among them, by producing in them diverse languages: and causing that, through the multitude of those languages, they should not be able to understand one another. The place wherein they built the tower is now called Babylon; because of the confusion of that language which they readily understood before; for the Hebrews mean by the word Babel, Confusion. (118) The Sibyl also makes mention of this tower, and of the confusion of the language, when she says thus:—“When all men were of one language, some of them built a high tower, as if they would thereby ascend up to heaven; but the gods sent storms of wind and overthrew the tower, and gave everyone his peculiar language; and for this reason it was that the city was called Babylon.” (119) But as to the plain of Shinar, in the country of Babylonia, Hestiaeus mentions it when he says thus:—“Such of the priests as were saved took the sacred vessels of Jupiter Enyalius, and came to Shinar of Babylonia.” (Josephus Antiquities 1.109–119)

5. Seder Olam: AD 160

a. Note: Seder Olam is universally recognized as a corrupt Chronology. For example, it has Noah and Abraham both alive at the Tower of Babel. What is important is that they view Peleg as a marker for the date of the division of languages. While they even got that wrong by saying the Tower of Babel occurred in the last year of Peleg’s life, they correctly connected his name “Peleg = division” with the great division of languages at the Tower of Babel. The Seder Olam is wrong because if the language split occurred in the last days of Peleg’s life, he would never have been called “division”. This is a name given him at birth. Since Abraham was alive, why not call him Division (Peleg)?

b. “From the Deluge to the Language Split 340 years. It follows that Noah survived the Language Split by 10 years. Our father Abraham was 48 years old at the Language Split. Rebbi Yose said: Eber was a great prophet that he called his son Peleg ("split") "because in his days the earth was split" (Gen. 10:25). You cannot say this happened when Peleg was born since his younger brother Yoqtan had 13 families as his descendants at the Language Split. You cannot say that this happened during Peleg's middle life since Scripture does not come to hide but to explain. Therefore, the verse must mean that the Split occurred during Peleg's last year.” (Seder Olam Rabbah 1:1, 160 AD)

CHAPTER 6: Nimrod founds Babel in 3200 BC (Gen 10:10)

VI. Nimrod begins his kingdom: Babel and Uruk in 3200 BC:

A. Nimrod founds Babel (Eridu): 3200 BC

1. In 1998 AD, David Rohl proposed Biblical Babel was located at Sumerian Eridu at Tel Abu Shahrain. (Legends: The Genesis of Civilization, David Rohl, p222, 1998 AD).

2. Nimrod began his powerful kingdom at Babel.

a. The northern Kingdom of Ararat formed after the flood (3298 BC) with a population of 8.

b. Nimrod was born around 3225 BC and was rebellious to authority of his parents Kingdom.

c. It is not known if the pagan gods Ana and Enki were worshipped before the flood or if those born after the flood invented the myths of Enki warning Noah to build the ark because Ana was going to destroy all mankind.

d. It is possible that Nimrod himself invented the myth of Enki and that was the flash point of rebellion that may have gotten him banished.

3. In 3200 BC Nimrod migrated south and founded Babel.

a. He built the first mudbrick temple after the flood to Enki in 3200 BC.

b. Nimrod built a formal mudbrick temple to Enki, in which he sacrificed fish on altars and had an image of Enki set up in a niche on a raised platform.

c. Over the next 350 years, Nimrod rebuilt the “temple of Enki” 17 times, each one on top of the previously destroyed temple by possible sandstorms, floods, Tsunami’s and earthquakes.

d. Each of the new temples was larger and built directly over the previous temple to Enki.

4. The Tower of Babel was Nimrod’s final, but unfinished “Temple to Enki” in 2850 BC.

a. Nimrod build a large platform upon which he was going to build the Tower of Babel.

b. This platform was abandoned for 750 years after the division of languages in 2850 BC.

c. The city of Babel (Eridu) was abandoned for 750 years according to archeology.

5. Primal historical importance of Eridu (Babel) of later Assyrian kings:

a. Hammurabi was crowned as king in Eridu and reigned 1728-1686 BC (low chronology)

b. “The later kings of Babylon sometimes bear the title “king of Êridu,” as though rulers of the domain of Paradise.” (ISBE, Sinar)

c. In 2100 BC, Ur-Nammu builds a Temple of Enki (The Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu) on top of Nimrod’s abandoned Tower of Babel platform.

B. Uruk founded by Nimrod in 3200 BC

Nimrod Founds Uruk in 3200 BC Tel Uruk Archaeological levels
Archaeological Stratum levels	Archaeological period	Date	Bible/event
XVII (17), XVI (16)	Ubaid 1	3200 BC	Nimrod founds Uruk and Babel: Gen 10:10 Urbanism-first cities
XV (15), XIV (14)	Ubaid 2	3100 BC
XIII (13)	Ubaid 3 Expansion	3000 BC	Nimrod founds Nineveh: Gen 10:11
XII (12), XI (11), X (10), XI (9), VIII (8)	Ubaid 4/Early Uruk	2950 BC	Mass production bread factories using Bevel rim bowls in cupola (dome) ovens.
VII (7), VI (6), V (5), IV (4)	Late Uruk Expansion	2850 BC	Tower of Babel: Gen 11 and Invention of writing
III (3)	Egyptian Dynasty 0; Jemdet Nasr	2750 BC	Surge/peak of written Inscriptions
II (2), I (1)	Early Dynastic 1	2700 BC	First Pyramids

CHAPTER 7: Enki & Inana, Patron gods of Babel & Uruk

VII. Enki and Inana were the patron gods of Babel and Uruk in 3200 BC:

A. Enki, Nimrod, Babel and the Tower of Babel at Eridu:

1. Enki: Sumerian = Ea: Akkadian = Dagon, Philistine = Oannes/Poseidon: Greek = Neptune: Roman

2. Enki/Ea was the fresh-water god and the patron god of Eridu (Nimrod’s Babel) because Babel was swampy and had a high-water table.

a. Nimrod founded the city of Babel (Eridu) and immediately built what would be the very first mudbrick temple (Temple XVII) every built. This temple was dedicated to Enki the water god.

b. Nimrod also founded nearby Uruk and built a mudbrick temple there dedicated to Inana, the goddess of war and sex and the forerunner of Ishtar/Venus.

3. Goatfish were sacrificed to Enki/Ea the freshwater god:

a. Excavations at Eridu documented altars with burnt mudbricks, fishbones and ashes in the Temple of Enki at Eridu.

b. “Since its appearance in the Ur III period [2200 BC], the goat-fish is associated with water, flowing vases, and Ea [Enki]. This association is confirmed by the texts (LKU 45:16, MDP 2 Pl. 17 iv 5). Especially interesting is a Late Bronze Sumerian text of Middle Bronze origin, where he is called “sanga-mah-abzu-ke₄”, "the lofty purification priest of the apsû [freshwaters]". Associated with seals is the Carp-Goat of a bit méseri incantation in which Piriggalabzu, the sage of Adab, hangs his seal on it, angers Ea [Enki], and gets killed (by a fuller) with the same seal in consequence. The inscription prescribed for representations of this being in ritual II (II.A.3.24) indicates intercessory activity.” (Mesopotamian Protective Spirits- The Ritual Texts, F. A. M. Wiggermann, p184, 1992 AD)

c. “Nungalpiriggaldim, the apkallu [wise man] of Enmerkar [Nimrod], who brought down Ištar [Inana] from heaven into the sanctuary [at Uruk]. Piriggalnungal, born in Kiš, who angered the god Adad in heaven, so he allowed neither rain nor growth in the land for three years. Piriggalabzu, born in Adab, who hung his seal on a “goat fish” and thereby angered the god Ea [Enki] in the fresh water sea, so that a fuller struck him with his own seal [killed him]. The fourth, Lu-Nanna, two-thirds apkallu, who expelled a dragon from É-Ninkiagnunna, the Ištar temple of Šulgi; The four apkallus [wise man], of human descent, whom the Lord Ea [Enki] has endowed with broad understanding. (Bīt mēseri, Tablet 3, lines 1’-29’, House of Confinement, 660 BC)

4. The temple of Enki at Eridu was called “the House of Subterranean waters”:

a. Fish were sacrificed as burnt offerings on mudbrick altars to Enki.

b. To Nimrod, Enki, “the god of drinkable water” was a savior god

c. Savior Jesus Christ offered living waters: "Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” She said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? “You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?” Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”" (John 4:10–14)

5. Nimrod saw himself in, and identified with Enki:

a. Nimrod’s kingdom began at Babel (Eridu)

b. Nimrod rebelled against his parent’s northern kingdom of Ararat.

c. Enki was God of freshwater: Babel was surrounded by swampy wetlands.

d. Enki was the Son of supreme god Anu rebelled against parents like Nimrod.

e. In Sumerian literature, Enki betrays the top god Anu and warns “Noah” of the flood and orders him to build the ark and save himself and the animals. (see below). Enki warned “Noah” to build the ark because Anu was sending a flood

f. “Rebel” Nimrod identified with “rebel Enki” who thwarted his parents will. (Flood decree)

g. Enki was the patron god of Nimrod’s city of Babel.

h. Over 300 years Nimrod built/rebuilt the temple to Enki at Babel 18 times.

i. Enki was symbolized by a goat, goatfish, carp fish with goat like whiskers.

j. Goatfish were offered as burnt sacrifices on altars in the Babel mudbrick temple.

k. The Tower of Babel was the last temple to Enki Nimrod built but never completed.

l. Josephus says Nimrod built the Tower of Babel to survive a second global flood: “Now it was Nimrod … the grandson of Ham … said he would be revenged on God, if he should have a mind to drown the world a second time; so he build a tower too high for the waters to be able to reach and that he would avenge himself on God for destroying their forefathers! (Josephus Antiquities 1.109-114)

m. Enki is responsible for division of language at Tower of Babel

n. Enki plays a central role in understanding the city of Babel and the tower of Babel.

o. At the tower of Babel Enki was responsible for the division of languages. (see below)

p. Nimrod therefore hated the one true God who caused the flood and loved Enki who betrayed God’s will in destroying mankind.

q. It is a great showdown between the one true Almighty YHWH God who caused the flood vs. rebel/betrayer lower god Enki who became the false savior of mankind.

r. Enki therefore represents Satan as a liar and false savior and Judas who betrayed God.

s. Reversal of reality: YHWH/Saviour/true vs. Enki/destroyer/Satan/Judas/ betrayer

t. “Rebel” Nimrod hated true God YHWH and loved false god Enki the “rebel”

B. Enki and Eridu in ancient literary sources:

1. The Sumerian King List starts by listing Eridu as the first kingship on earth BEFORE the global flood

a. “After the kingship descended from heaven, the kingship was in Eridu. In Eridu, Alulim became king; he ruled for 28,800 years.” (Sumerian King List lines 1-2)

b. It is amazing that this ancient list directly confirms the Genesis account that the beginning of Nimrod’s kingdom was at Babel (Eridu) even if the SKL has the timing wrong.

c. The Sumerian King List also records the flood.

2. The Sumerian Creation story of Eridu names Nimrod and Eridu as the first city then lists Enlil as the destroyer god and Enki as the god who saved mankind by warning Zi-ud-sura (Noah) to build the ark.

a. Enki is also the savior “water god” who warns Noah of the flood and order him to build the ark in the three flood stories of Atra-hasis, Gilgamesh, and Berossus.

b. “After the exalted crown and throne of kingship had descended from heaven, the divine rites and the exalted powers were perfected, the bricks of the cities were laid in holy places, their names were announced and the ...... were distributed. The first of the cities, Eridu, was given to Nudimmud the leader.” (The Sumerian Creation story of Eridu , segment B, lines 6-11)

c. “Holy Inana [pagan goddess whose temple Nimrod built at Uruk] made a lament for the people. Enki took counsel with himself. … In those days Zi-ud-sura was both the king and gudug priest who was humble, committed, reverent, Day by day, standing [serving] constantly at [altar of the gods] … Zi-ud-sura, standing at its side, heard: [Enki speaks] "I will speak words to you; take heed of my words, pay attention to my instructions. A flood will sweep over the land in all the kingdoms. A decision that the seed of mankind is to be destroyed has been made. The verdict, the word of the divine assembly, cannot be revoked. The order announced by An and Enlil cannot be overturned. Their kingship, their term has been cut off; their heart should be rested about this.” (The Sumerian Creation story of Eridu , segment C, lines 1-27)

d. Enki was the fresh-water god and the patron god of Eridu (Nimrod’s Babel) because Babel was swampy and had a high water table.

e. Inana/Inanna: (Ishtar, Venus) Goddess of war, strife, and sexual love; city goddess of Unug (Uruk) and Aratta (Ararat) in Enmerkar vs. the king of Ararat (2100 BC).

f. “Enki made his voice heard And spoke to his servant [Atrahasis=Noah], 'You say, "I should find out in bed (?)". Make sure you attend to the message I shall tell you! Wall, listen constantly to me! Reed hut, make sure you attend to all my words! Dismantle the house, build a boat, Reject possessions, and save living things. The boat that you build Roof it like the Apsu So that the Sun cannot see inside it! Make upper decks and lower decks. The tackle must be very strong, The bitumen strong, to give strength. I shall make rain fall on you here, A wealth of birds, a hamper (?) of fish.' He opened the sand clock and filled it, He told him the sand (needed) for the Flood was Seven nights' worth. Atrahasis received the message. He gathered the elders at his door. Atrahasis made his voice heard And spoke to the elders, 'My god is out of favour with your god. Enki and Enlil have become angry with each other.” (Atra-hasis, tablet 1, column 1, lines 14-32)

g. Notice that both Inana (patron goddess of Eruk) and Enki (patron god of Eridu) were distressed about the flood and are both listed in the Sumerian Eridu creation story.

h. It is also interesting that the “Noah” figure Zi-ud-sura is said to have migrated to the eastern orient. The connection between the Chinese language and the first 11 chapters of Genesis have been a cause for speculation that Noah founded the Chinese race. No other language employs pictograms so deeply connected with the flood story: “the gods settled Zi-ud-sura the king in an overseas country, in the land Dilmun, where the sun rises.” I.e. orient… indicating Noah had a role in the Chinese language connection with the flood. Notice that the Chinese word for large boat is a composite of three pictograms of a SHIP that can hold EIGHT PEOPLE. It is incredible that an “8 person boat” is how the Chinese write the word for a large “ocean freighter”.

3. Bīt mēseri, Tablet 3 shows that Enki’s sacred symbol was Goatfish:

a. “Nungalpiriggaldim, the apkallu [wise man] of Enmerkar [Nimrod], who brought down Ištar [Inana] from heaven into the sanctuary [at Uruk]. Piriggalnungal, born in Kiš, who angered the god Adad in heaven, so he allowed neither rain nor growth in the land for three years. Piriggalabzu, born in Adab, who hung his seal on a “goat fish” and thereby angered the god Ea [Enki] in the fresh water sea, so that a fuller struck him with his own seal [killed him]. The fourth, Lu-Nanna, two-thirds apkallu, who expelled a dragon from É-Ninkiagnunna, the Ištar temple of Šulgi; The four apkallus [wise man], of human descent, whom the Lord Ea [Enki] has endowed with broad understanding. (Bīt mēseri, Tablet 3, lines 1’-29’, House of Confinement, 660 BC)

C. Inana was the patron goddess of Uruk:

1. Inana/Inanna: (Ishtar, Venus) Goddess of war, strife, and sexual love; city goddess of Unug (Uruk) and Aratta (Ararat) in Enmerkar vs. the king of Ararat (2100 BC).

a. Christian “Easter” directly derives from Nimrod’s pagan goddess Inanna.

b. Eostre is the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring fertility and birth of new light at the vernal equinox.

c. Ishtar, Venus, Eostre, Astarte are all derived from Nimrod’s Inana.

d. Later traditions added to the original fertility connection with rabbits, notoriously fertile because they have a new litter of bunnies every 30 days and eggs, the symbol of newborn life. Spring time became connected with Inanna because it represented the birth of new light for the coming year at the vernal equinox.

e. Early Christians borrowed all these symbols and applied them to the resurrection of Christ during Jewish Passover.

2. Nimrod built a mudbrick temple for Inana at Uruk (Enmerkar vs. the king of Ararat) but in the northern kingdom of Ararat they merely worshipped Inana with figurines and did not have formal temples of mudbrick.

a. Enmerkar vs. the king of Ararat confirms that Nimrod was the first man after the flood to build actual pagan temples from mudbricks.

b. This is further validated at Tel Tepe Gawra by the progressive sequence of goddess figurines used from the earliest time of the Halaf Archaeological age to the introduction of mudbrick/niched pagan temples in the Ubaid Archaeological age that followed Nimrod’s founding of Babel and Uruk. (see Tepe Gawra Excavation chart below)

3. In tablet 3 of Bīt mēseri notice that Enmerkar is credited with bringing Inana (later Ishtar) to the mudbrick temple of the goddess at Uruk:

a. “Nungalpiriggaldim, the apkallu [wise man] of Enmerkar [Nimrod], who brought down Ištar [Inana] from heaven into the sanctuary [at Uruk]. (Bīt mēseri, Tablet 3, lines 1’-29’, House of Confinement, 660 BC)

4. Inana provides smoking gun to prove Nimrod built the first pagan temples for idol gods from ancient literary sources confirmed by Archaeology:

a. Moses in the Bible calls Nimrod one who rebelled: Gen 10

b. Enmerkar vs. the king of Ararat dates to 2100 BC and confirms that Nimrod at Uruk boasted he had mudbrick temples for Inana but the northern kingdom at Ararat had none, but instead used figurines carried in the pocket or set up in a house. These figurines would be similar to the “household gods” Rachel stole from her father Laban (Gen 31:34) and those Jacob confiscated (Gen 35:4).

c. Excavations at Tel Tepe Gawra prove that before the Ubaid expansion from Nimrod’s southern kingdom in 3000 BC, the northern cities that were part of the Ararat kingdom were already using idol figurines of Inana the pagan goddess.

d. Excavations at Tel Tepe Gawra evidence that after the Ubaid expansion from Nimrod’s southern kingdom in 3000 BC, that the pagan mudbrick temples invented by Nimrod were imported north into the kingdom of Ararat.

CHAPTER 8: Tower of Babel at Eridu (Tel Abu Shahrain)

VIII. Archaeology of Tower of Babel at Eridu (Babel) and the 17 Temples of Nimrod:

In chapter 8 the excavation reports from Biblical Babel known in Sumerian literature as Eridu (Tel Abu Shahrain) will be examined. A series of 17 temple were excavated, one on top of the other or a period of time. The first temple (XVII) was quite small (3 x 3 meters) but it featured a burnt offering table made of mudbricks and an architectural niche at one end in which was a mudbrick platform to place an idol god. The last completed temple (I) was quite large. Finally a large platform (300 x 300 meters) was excavated that lay abandoned for some time after which Ur Nammu constructed a ziggurat on the platform in 2100 BC. It is proposed that Nimrod was the designer and builder of all these temples between 3225 – 2875 BC and that the abandoned platform was the foundation of the biblical Tower of Babel in 2850 BC.

A. The Archaeology of Nimrod’s 17 Temples dedicated to Enki over 350 years

1. Nimrod’s Babel is Eridu (Tel Abu Shahrain) and has been excavated four times. Early digs were sloppy, and some kept no records at all but were conducted more like treasure hunts. The greatest insights came from the last and most professional dig under Safar and Lloyd. However, by today’s standards even the last dig was sloppy and rushed and a large amount of valuable information was lost forever. Fortunately, the Archaeological stratigraphy was rather simple, given Eridu was founded shortly after the flood and only a few assemblages existed (Halaf, Ubaid, Uruk, Ur III etc.). Therefore, the data the Archaeologists collected was correct and their conclusions provide powerful truth understood by later Christian Archaeologists as the Tower of Babel even if their archeological dating was wrong.

a. John George Taylor in 1855 AD

b. R. Campbell Thompson in 1918 AD

c. H.R. Hall in 1919 AD

d. Fuad Safar and Seton Lloyd: 1946 – 1949 AD

2. Nimrod built one temple of Enki and rebuilt it 16 times for a total of 17 temples. The Tower of Babel would have been the 18^th temple of Enki constructed.

a. Each new temple was built directly on top of the previous older temple. Each subsequent temple was built on a larger and higher elevated platform over top of the old temple to Enki.

b. From 3200- 2850 BC, the succession of 17 temples progressed from simple/small to complex/large and reflected the rapidly growing population and increasingly available manpower over the 350-year period.

c. By being the first to construct formal mudbrick pagan temples, Nimrod kindled the devotion of pagan gods into a raging fire that spread north and infected the entire world. Temples built with unfired mudbrick are easily damaged by floods and earthquakes.

d. After the flood, Eridu was located on the shoreline of the Persian Gulf and the temples could have been damaged by storm surges, tsunami’s and general flooding. Today the shoreline is over 200 km away from Babel because of much lower sea levels due to polar caps icing.

3. Archaeological strata of the 17 temples from professional excavations:

a. “Christian Archaeological Dating” (CAD) First published in its detailed final form in 2019 AD. CAD is founded upon the truth that no Archaeology exists older than the global flood in 3298 BC. The archaeological dating systems of the excavators at Eridu were updated to harmonize with CAD.

b. The four excavation teams at Eridu never understood they were digging Nimrod’s tower of Babel at the time because they were using evolutionary Archaeological timescales that predated the creation of the earth in 5554 BC by 80,000 years!

c. While the excavation strata must be accepted, the dating of each is wrong in all the reports.

d. We have assigned proper dates to each of the stratum to fit stone age, Halaf, Ubaid and Uruk within the 450-year window from the Flood in 3298 BC to the Tower of Babel in 2850 BC.

e. The Tower of Babel marks the beginning of the Early Bronze I age (EB I).

Nimrod Founds Babel (Eridu) in 3200 BC Nimrod’s Temple Archaeological levels at Tel Abu Shahrain, Eridu/Babel
Archaeological Stratum levels of Nimrod’s Temple	Archaeological period	Date	Bible/event
XVII (17), XVI (16), XV (15),	Ubaid 1	3200 BC	Nimrod founds Uruk and Babel: Gen 10:10 Urbanism-first cities
XIV (14), XIII (13), XII (12)	Ubaid 2	3100 BC
XI (11), X (10), XI (9), VIII (8)	Ubaid 3 Expansion	3000 BC	Nimrod founds Nineveh: Gen 10:11
VII (7), VI (6)	Ubaid 4	2950 BC	Mass production bread factories using Bevel rim bowls in cupola (dome) ovens.
V (5), IV (4), III (3), II (2)	Early Uruk 1, Uruk 2	2900 BC
I (1)	Early Uruk 3	2875 BC	last Temple of Enki before Tower of Babel
Tower of Babel enlarged platform.	Late Uruk 3 Expansion	2850 BC	Tower of Babel: Gen 11 Invention of writing
Abandoned temple platform	Jemdet Nasr	2750 BC	Surge/peak of written Inscriptions
Abandoned temple platform	Early Dynastic 1	2700-2300 BC	First Pyramids: 2700 BC
Abandoned temple platform	Akkadian	2300-2121 BC	New Babylon founded that is later occupied by Nebuchadnezzar.

Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu built on Nimrod abandoned platform.	Ur III	2100 BC	2100 BC Ur-Nammu builds famous Ziggurat after it lay vacant and abandoned by Nimrod for 750 years.

4. The isometric drawing below illustrates the sequence of the 17 temples which were built, one directly on top of the other, but are spread out sideways like a deck of stacked cards as a visual aid:

a. The graphic spreads the temples right to left to show each of the 17 strata layers.

b. Temple 17 is the first temple Nimrod build and the oldest at the far bottom right: 3200 BC

c. Temple 1 is the last temple completed by Nimrod and is the youngest: 2875 BC.

d. No Archaeological traces have been discovered of the Tower of Babel but the platform upon which it was going to be built has been excavated and documented: 2850 BC

e. Nimrod’s platform for the Tower of Babel was abandoned for 750 years.

f. Pictured in red is the Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu at Eridu which was built on the vacant and unfinished platform for the tower of Babel in 2100 BC.

g. The Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu at Eridu is not the Tower of Babel, but it was also a pagan temple to the god Enki.

5. Temples grew in size with the population and time:

a. PINK: In 3200 BC, Nimrod’s first mudbrick temple of Enki was about 8x8 feet in size. It had a niche to set up the idol of Enki and a sacrificial altar to offer burnt offerings of Goatfish.

b. Between 3200 and 2875 BC, 15 more temples were built each on top of the previous one. Each new temple grew larger but retained the niche and burnt offering table.

c. Green: In 2875 BC Nimrod built and completed his last mudbrick temple: “Temple I (1)”.

d. Yellow: 2850 BC Nimrod starts building the Tower of Babel. The platform was completed and he may have started laying the mudbricks of the tower itself. Archaeologically we have evidence that the platform was built in the Late Uruk 3 Expansion period (2850 BC) but it lay abandoned for 750 years until Ur-Nammu built a Ziggurat on the vacant platform in 2100 BC.

B. Temple XVI/XVII (16,17): 3200/3175 BC: Nimrod founds Babel, Uruk: Gen 10:10

1. The first two temples that Nimrod built to Enki were about the size of a guest bedroom in a modern home (3x3 meters).

a. The excavation found remnants of the first/oldest temple but the second temple XVI (16) was well preserved and is pictured above.

b. All of Nimrod’s temples featured a niche with a raised platform and a sacrificial burnt offering table.

c. An idol of Enki would have been placed upon the raised platform inside the niche at the north end of the temple for worship.

d. Niches were common in ancient pagan temples as seen in the story of when Eli died in 1094 BC and the Philistines captured the Ark and set it in front of the god Dagon: "Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon. When the Ashdodites arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and set him in his place again." (1 Samuel 5:2-3)

e. Niches are found in the most ancient synagogues (Gamla) where a wooden cabinet called the “Ark of the scrolls would be placed. Early church apses are architectural echoes of these synagogue niches.

f. The excavators found the mudbricks of the alter to have burnt marks and large amounts of ash surrounding the altar.

g. There were two mudbrick pedestals opposite the central altar and beside the inside walls of the building which served as roof support foundations. Poles would have been set on these pedestals to support a wooden beamed, thatched roof.

2. “The so-called "temple" at Level XVI (10.90 m. beneath datum) was built directly upon the ruins of the building just described [temple XVII @11.70 m. beneath datum], and may probably be taken to be a reconstruction of it, on slightly more sophisticated lines. The walls were of well-tempered Iiben, whose average dimensions were 54-32 x 20 x 6-7 cm., and their thickness corresponded to the width of a brick. They showed traces of having been plastered inside. The main part of the chamber was rectangular, measuring 2.10 x 3.10 m. inside. In the northwest wall there was a recess [niche for idol of Enki], measuring 1.10 m. wide 1.00 m. deep. in which stood a small liben [mudbrick] pedestal, 24 cm. high [Enki idol placed on top of this “bema” platform]. Another similar pedestal [for burnt offerings] occurred in the centre of the main part of the chamber. In this case, bearing traces of fire and being surrounded by a conspicuous deposit of ashes. The doorway was placed off-centre, in the southeastern wall, and Its jambs were strengthened by projections of the brick-work inside. There were also projections, equal in dimensions to a single brick (40 cm long), in the centre. of the southwest and northeast walls almost certainly for the purpose of supporting a main ceiling-beam. To the left as one approached the doorway from outside, a fragment of brickwork had survived, which might have been a third pedestal. To the right, a narrow wall was built against the east corner of the building, and, near the south corner, a new circular kiln had been built, exactly resembling that in Level XVII. The occupation-level corresponding to Level XVI was extremely rich in painted pottery: especially in the neighbourhood of the entrance-doorway. But there were few other objects of Interest.” (Eridu, Fuad Safar Mohammad Ali Mustafa, Seton Lloyd, p88, 1981 AD)

C. Temple VIII (8) 3000 BC: during the ‘Ubaid 3 Expansion Archaeological Age when Nimrod

founds Nineveh: Gen 10:11

1. Temple VIII (8) Ubaid 3 Expansion Archaeological Age:

a. Temple VIII (8) excavations prove beyond doubt that Nimrod was sacrificing Goatfish (fresh water carp) to Enki, the freshwater god.

b. Excavations found a complete tortoise vessel containing fish bones for sacrifice in the niche of temple VIII, dated to 3000 BC during the Uruk 3 expansion. An almost identical tortoise vessel was also found at Tepe Gawra and other sites.

c. The goatfish (carp) was the species sacrificed to Enki as the freshwater god.

d. “The complete change both in plan and general character of the temple, when it was rebuilt at Level VIII, will be enlarged upon elsewhere. It is here sufficient to say that the walls themselves now averaged 70 cms. thick and the building covered a considerably larger area.” (Eridu, Fuad Safar Mohammad Ali Mustafa, Seton Lloyd, p100, 1981 AD)

e. “As was invariably the case in other temples, the upper surface of the podium showed signs of burning, and the pavement around it was liberally covered with ashes.” (Eridu, Fuad Safar Mohammad Ali Mustafa, Seton Lloyd, p100, 1981 AD)

f. “Since the niches, thus created, faced towards the altar from behind, it seemed reasonable to suppose that they had been used for some sort of ritual purpose. This theory was to some extent confirmed by the discovery in one of them of a complete spouted vessel or the "tortoise' type, whose content, consisting mainly of fish-bones was an indication of its votive purpose.” (Eridu, Fuad Safar Mohammad Ali Mustafa, Seton Lloyd, p101, 1981 AD)

2. The Ubaid 3 Expansion Archaeological Age occurred when Nimrod moved north in Gen 10:11 (3000 BC) and founded Nineveh etc. The existing northern cities which allied with the Kingdom of Ararat were invaded in a friendly cultural swarm.

a. The subjects of Nimrod’s southern kingdom at Babel, Uruk and Ur moved north as far as 1800 km, deep into the territory of the Northern Kingdom of Ararat.

b. “The distributions of southern 'Ubaid pottery, architectural styles, and other artifact classes spread widely beyond the southern alluvium, forming a horizon style that extended across an astonishing distance of 1800 kilometers, from Cilicia on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, across southeast and south-central Anatolia, north Syria, and the Iraqi Jazira, into southwest Iran, and down the western shore of the Persian Gulf into what is now Saudi Arabia. Ubaid styles can be found together across this broad area at sites along the Persian Gulf, as well as at numerous northern sites in Iraq, Syria, and southeast Anatolia including Tepe Gawra, Hamath, and Değirmentepe.” (A Tale of Two Oikumenai: Variation in the Expansionary Dynamics of Ubaid and Uruk Mesopotamia, Gil J. Stein, Rana Ozbal, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, Settlement and Society, Vol 3, p331, 2007 AD)

3. When people from Nimrod’s 6 southern cities migrated north during the Ubaid 3 Expansion Age they took with them their southern assemblages (pottery, tools and architecture).

a. Choga Mish is located 30 km due east of Susa: “Choga Mish—where ca. 250,000 BRBs were found in just two seasons of excavation—may well have been baking bread on an industrial scale. Those loaves may well have been distributed as compensation for labor performed. … Such a scenario would thus account both for the hundreds of thousands of BRBs found at sites like Choga Mish, where great bakeries may well have catered to hundreds if not thousands of dependent laborers.” (Bevel-rim bowls and bakeries: Evidence and explanations from Iran and the Indo-Iranian borderlands, D.T. Potts, p13, 2009 AD)

b. Al -Ubaid

c. Eridu

d. Tel Oueli

e. Uruk

f. Tel Uqair

4. Northern cities “invaded” invaded by Nimrod during the Ubaid 3 Expansion Archaeological Age. There are dozens of sites that show clear evidence of the cultural shift from Nimrod’s southern kingdom. The sites examined in detail are typical examples for most northern expansion sites.

a. Değirmentepe is on the furthest North West branch of the Euphrates River near the source of the Euphrates.

b. Hamath is near the Mediterranean Sea, inland from Ugarit (opposite Cypress Is.)

c. Tepe Gawra northern site:

i. Tepe Gawra is located just north of Nineveh.

ii. “Our analysis focuses on two key sites, Tepe Gawra in northern Iraq and Degirmentepe in southeast Anatolia, to illustrate that: 1. Ubaid styles of material culture spread gradually and were selectively appropriated by northern communities; and 2. those elements of `Ubaid architecture and other classes of material culture that spread to the north were transformed and used in everyday practice in ways that were fundamentally different from superficially similar sites with Ubaid material culture in southern Mesopotamia. The site of Tepe Gawra in northern Iraq provides one of the best data-sets with which to understand the nature of the Ubaid oikumene (G. Stein 1991). Gawra is a small, 2.5-hectare mound whose long stratigraphic sequence documents the transition from Halaf to Ubaid (Tobler 1950). Stratum XX (20) is the Halaf occupation. In the succeeding Strata XIX to XII (19-12), Ubaid material increases in frequency, while Halaf artifacts become progressively scarcer, and eventually disappear.” (A Tale of Two Oikumenai: Variation in the Expansionary Dynamics of Ubaid and Uruk Mesopotamia, Gil J. Stein, Rana Ozbal, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, Settlement and Society, Vol 3, p334, 2007 AD)

iii. Note: Halaf and Ubaid assemblages are both found together in strata 19-15, proving these two Archaeological ages are concurrent rather than consecutive.

Archaeological Stratigraphy of Tepe Gawra Northern Ararat kingdom city absorbed by Nimrod’s southern city
Archaeological Stratum levels of Tepe Gawra	Archaeological period	Date	Bible/event
XX (20)	Halaf	3200 BC	A few of the 800 men alive migrate south and found Tepe Gawra. They bring with them and continue to use the pottery assemblages of the northern kingdom of Ararat. Meanwhile, Nimrod migrates to the Persian Gulf in the south and founds Uruk and Babel: Gen 10:10
XIX, (19)	Halaf, Ubaid 1	31500
XVIII, (18)	Halaf, Ubaid 2	3100
XVII, XVI, (17,16)	Halaf, Ubaid 2	3050 BC
XV, XIV (15,14)	Halaf, Ubaid 3 Expansion	3000 BC	Nimrod founds Nineveh: Gen 10:11
XIII, XII, (13,12)	Ubaid 4	2900-2800 BC	Mass production bread factories using Bevel rim bowls in cupola (dome) ovens.

5. Ubaid Expansion: Peaceful migration, non-intrusive relocation

a. The principal site of the Ubaid period is Eridu. One of the Babylonian creation accounts says: "All lands were sea, then Eridu was made" (Heidel 1951: 62, 10-12). It appears to have had a town wall even in its earliest periods (CAH3 I, 1: 332). Levels 18-6 feature temples, though none approach very closely the ziggurat architectural development. The patron deity of Eridu in the Sumerian periods was Enki, the crafty god, known for his association with the arts of civilization and for his many sexual encounters (cf. Kramer and Maier 1989) The mention of baked brick technology directs our primary attention to the periods coming after the Ubaid period, but Genesis 11 may span these periods. In Genesis 11:2 a group of people is identified as having traveled to the plain of Shinar to settle. … It is possible that the migration should be understood as having taken place in the Ubaid period, during which southern Mesopotamia began to be settled. Then the decision to undertake the project may have come toward the end of the fourth millennium, perhaps during the Late Uruk period, or perhaps as late as the Jamdet Nasr period, when we actually have the beginning of baked brick technology. The project would then result in different (Semitic?) languages being created, or perhaps would represent the differentiation of the Semitic languages from Sumerian. Whatever the case may be, it resulted in the people being scattered throughout the fertile crescent. (Is there Archaeological Evidence for the Tower of Babel?, Associates for Biblical Research, John H. Walton, 2008 AD)

b. “The ’Ubaid expansion reflects the gradual, peaceful spread of an ideological system and the formation of an interaction sphere that linked a variety of different local cultures, forming new, hybrid social identities in these areas. By contrast, The Uruk expansion represents the establishment of actual colonies in the regions surrounding Mesopotamia. These colonies are best understood as autonomous trade diasporas that, at the distant outer reaches of the colonial network, often interacted with the local communities as equals in a system of symmetric trade.” (Economic dominance, conquest, or interaction?, Gil Stein, p60, 2014 AD)

c. “A contextual analysis comparing different regions shows that the Ubaid expansion took place largely through the peaceful spread of an ideology, leading to the formation of numerous new indigenous identities that appropriated and transformed superficial elements of Ubaid material culture into locally distinct expressions. Volumes of interregional trade were low, and population movements were minimal. By contrast, the Uruk expansion was an actual colonial phenomenon, involving the founding of Mesopotamian trading enclaves among preexisting local polities and emulation by local groups in the so-called peripheral areas. Relations between Uruk colonists and local polities varied from coercive to cooperative, depending on the distance from Mesopotamia and the degree of preexisting indigenous social complexity. Once the basic differences between the ' Ubaid and Uruk oikumenai are recognized, we can develop more accurate models of variation in the political economies of early Mesopotamian complex societies.” (A Tale of Two Oikumenai: Variation in the Expansionary Dynamics of Ubaid and Uruk Mesopotamia, Gil J. Stein, Rana Ozbal, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, Settlement and Society, Vol 3, p329, 2007 AD)

d. “The economic sphere of Uruk Mesopotamian state societies quickly expanded to form an extensive interaction network connecting the southern alluvium with the less urbanized polities in the neighboring highlands to the north and east. Several sites in the latter areas have been identified as Uruk trading colonies, apparently established to gain access to trade/communication routes while extracting metals, semiprecious stones, lumber, or other commodities from the resource-rich highland zones, in what many researchers consider the world's earliest known colonial system. This process by which southern Mesopotamian societies travel to so-called peripheral regions for colonization and intense commercial contact is often called the "Uruk Expansion".” (A Tale of Two Oikumenai: Variation in the Expansionary Dynamics of Ubaid and Uruk Mesopotamia, Gil J. Stein, Rana Ozbal, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, Settlement and Society, Vol 3, p339, 2007 AD)

e. “The spread of Ubaid assemblages (pottery) was perceived as originating from a single identifiable south Mesopotamian source (Nimrod) to the northern peripheries and replacing the preceding local Halaf culture (Ararat Kingdom)” (A Tale of Two Oikumenai: Variation in the Expansionary Dynamics of Ubaid and Uruk Mesopotamia, Gil J. Stein, Rana Ozbal, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, Settlement and Society, Vol 3, p332, 2007 AD)

f. “The last few decades of research have documented two distinct major periods of expansion by the earliest complex societies of Mesopotamia: the Ubaid ranked polities of the sixth and fifth millennia and the Uruk urbanized states of the fourth millennium BC [Christian Archaeological Dating = post flood = 3298 BC]. In both periods, southern Mesopotamian material culture styles spread far beyond their region of origin in the southern alluvium and were broadly distributed in neighboring regions of north Syria, southeast Anatolia, and western Iran. In both cases, architectural, ceramic, and artifactual commonalities of the Ubaid and Uruk horizon styles have been used to identify geographically extensive and long-lived interaction spheres or oikumenai, covering more or less the same territory. Although some researchers argue that both periods can be explained as eras of Mesopotamian colonial expansion (for example, Oates 1993; J. Oates and Oates 2004b), we argue here that each interaction sphere had a fundamentally different expansionary dynamic marked by strikingly different effects on the social identities of the indigenous groups who participated in these networks. In this paper, we show the contrasts between the Ubaid and Uruk oikumenai by examining the social contexts in which these two Mesopotamian styles of material culture were selectively used and translated into local cultural schemes.” (A Tale of Two Oikumenai: Variation in the Expansionary Dynamics of Ubaid and Uruk Mesopotamia, Gil J. Stein, Rana Ozbal, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, Settlement and Society, Vol 3, p340, 2007 AD)

6. Bevel-rimmed bowls: the “type-fossil” of the Uruk Archaeological Period:

a. Bevel-rim bowls (BRBs) are the fossil-relic of the Uruk Archaeological Age but were likely invented during the Ubaid Archaeological Age in the early reign of Nimrod (3200-3100 BC) in southern Mesopotamia at Babel/Eridu (Gen 10:10). Their importance in shaping history cannot be understated. They facilitated the mass production of food in bread factories for Nimrod’s expanding empire. This innovation would be very attractive to the local population and may have been formative in shaping his role as a world ruler. The location of Nimrod’s first bread factory was at Girsu (Tel Telloh) where stockpiles of BRBs were excavated. Later during the “Ubaid Expansion” Archaeological Age when Nimrod expanded his empire north to Nineveh (Gen 10:11), the original post-flood population in the northern kingdom of Ararat adopted their use. Massive new bread factories were built at several locations including Chogha Mish where over 250,000 BRBs were found. Again, this would quickly win over the people previously loyal to the norther kingdom of Ararat to Nimrod as their new king. Finally, in 2850 BC, at the great dispersion from Babel (Gen 10-11) during the “Uruk Expansion” Archaeological age, BRBs were taken with the expanding population and manufactured all over the world in the new sites founded on virgin soil. Bevel-rim bowls are in fact, the fossil relic of Nimrod’s kingdom during the Ubaid expansion and continued to be used through the later Uruk expansion even after the Tower of Babel in 2850 BC.

b. “Recognition of the BRB as an engineered tool designed to maximize ceramic and food production-line efficiency and not exposed to the consumer as a serving vessel, frees it not only from the aesthetic mockery often levelled at it but also from the conclusion that such a hideous vessel could only provide food for peasants. Bread-molds, unlike serving vessels and therefore many of the ‘conical cups’, are stacked not where the food is eaten but where the food is made, so do not offend the eye of patrician eaters. The technological beauty of the BRB is in its concept, not in its execution; it is the bread that is fine and not the implement forming it. … The BRB, as a vessel not destined for serving, does not qualify as such an example, and that the Uruk ‘lifestyle package’ contained, not a BRB, but delicious leavened conical bread.” (The Uruk bevel-rim bowl: production-line technology in design and function, Jill Goulder, p12)

c. “To understand the significance of both the selection of elements of the southern Mesopotamian Ubaid assemblage and the rate of their acceptance, it is useful to separate the public from the personal components of cultural identity (Bentley 1987; see, for example, 'Messner 1983 for a comparable discussion of archaeological style). The perception of self in relation to the larger community can be viewed as a form of public identity, conveyed through highly visible social domains (Wiessner 1985: 161-162; Wobst 1977) as reflected in ceramics, architecture, ritual paraphernalia, or badges of rank and accessible to many people at an intermediate social distance. Personal identity, on the other hand, refers to the definition of the self in the more circumscribed or domestic domain and is conveyed through small items of personal adornment often found in contexts involving minimal social distance. Interestingly, the first markers of Halaf identity to disappear at Tepe Gawra and become replaced by their ‘Ubaid counterparts are Halaf ceramics and house form, both reflecting community affiliation as an aspect of public identity (G. Stein 1991). Similarly, larger, highly visible stone mace heads—badges of rank indicative of Ubaid public identity (G. Stein 1994b)—also appear at a relatively early date in Level XVIII. However, it is significant that the most persistent and longest lived Halaf artifacts are smaller-sized markers of personal identity—seals, sew-on ornamental studs, and tanged pendants, items that were most visible in face-to-face interaction (G. Stein 1991:7, Figure 94). In short, the public and domestic aspects of cultural identity at Gawra seem to have changed at different rates. People quickly took on markers of Ubaid identity in the public domain, especially in contexts relating to community affiliation and hierarchical social status. However, at the same time, the inhabitants of Gawra retained a distinctively Halaf personal identity, which they expressed primarily in the private or domestic domain.” (A Tale of Two Oikumenai: Variation in the Expansionary Dynamics of Ubaid and Uruk Mesopotamia, Gil J. Stein, Rana Ozbal, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, Settlement and Society, Vol 3, p335, 2007 AD)

d. “If one is looking for a single-function explanation, other than the ration bowl, then, the analogy with Egyptian “pot bread” vessels seems to provide the “most convincing explanation for the function of such vessels . . . as moulds for cooking leavened bread”. … The great bakeries used mainly cupola ovens. … “The “great bakeries” were, of course, the huge establishments attested in cuneiform sources. Not very many sites in Iran would have had grinding and baking establishments on a par with those known at Nippur or Umma, but Susa, Anshan (Tal-e Malyan)” excavations found BRBs. (The Uruk bevel-rim bowl: production-line technology in design and function, Jill Goulder, p2)

e. “Bevel-rim bowls (BRBs) – the coarse, thick-walled, ceramic artefact that became the type-fossil of the Late Uruk – first appear in southern Mesopotamia… The ration systems in the latter half of the 3^rd millennium BC, as described in texts of the period, formed the inspiration for the argument by Nissen, Johnson and others for BRBs as containers for grain-rations in the Uruk a millennium earlier. The proponents of this theory observed that the Sumerian “ninda” cuneiform sign for bread resembles a BRB and might have derived from 4th-millennium BC use of BRBs for distribution of grain-rations. Calculations were then made as to the relationship of the volume of BRBs and the quantity of grain that might have been issued.” (The Uruk bevel-rim bowl: production-line technology in design and function, Jill Goulder, p1)

f. “This comparison of the horizon styles associated with the two earliest Mesopotamian complex societies points to a number of important contrasts between the so-called expansionary dynamics of the 'Ubaid and Uruk periods. It is clear that while the Uruk expansion was a case of actual colonization, the spread of the 'Ubaid into neighboring regions reflects the gradual, peaceful spread of an ideological system that was translated into a variety of different local cultural schemes, forming what are, in effect, new, hybrid social identities in these outlying areas.” (A Tale of Two Oikumenai: Variation in the Expansionary Dynamics of Ubaid and Uruk Mesopotamia, Gil J. Stein, Rana Ozbal, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, Settlement and Society, Vol 3, p342, 2007 AD)

D. Temple VI (6): 2950 BC: Ubaid 4

1. Sealed locus under alter confirms Temple VI was Ubaid 4 Archaeological Age and dates to 2950 BC

a. The age of a floor in a sealed locus is no younger than the oldest object or pottery found beneath it.

b. All the pottery in the sealed locus was pre-Uruk 1 period (before 2900 BC).

c. A sealed locus proves the floor was laid in Temple VI before the Uruk 1 period, which means Ubaid 4.

d. “The altar, which probably required no foundations, is suggested by a pavements of fine clay: and it could therefore be considered that, wherever the upper one was intact, the debris between the two could be considered as archaeologically “sealed” evidence [sealed locus]. The whole of the pottery from the earlier occupation-level was therefore retained, for the purpose of examination, and a careful statistical assessment subsequently made. This revealed that in addition to complete pots, the whole of the 624 sherds, were either unmistakably of the Al 'Ubaid period or could be considered in the Al 'Ubaid tradition. While no single fragment had been found, which could conclusively be dated to any later period. This, then, being the latest temple which can confidently be attributed to the 'Ubaid period, the details of its plan are of the greatest possible, interest and merit careful examination.” (Eridu, Fuad Safar Mohammad Ali Mustafa, Seton Lloyd, p107, 1981 AD)

2. “Preparatory to re-building, the walls of Temple VII were levelled to an average height of 120 cms. and the space between packed out with a harder and less sandy Iiben than that of which they themselves were constructed. The same liben was used to build a new platform considerably extended on the southeast and southwest sides, to form an emplacement for the new temple.” (Eridu, Fuad Safar Mohammad Ali Mustafa, Seton Lloyd, p104, 1981 AD)

3. “The central sanctuary is an extremely long chamber. measuring 14.40 x 3.70 m. (Fig. 56) At either end, rebated "proscenium openings" form small vestibules, which are really merely extensions of its length. In the southern corner there is a low "bench-reminiscent of those used for votive statues in Sumerian temples. A pair of deep niche-recesses in the short wall at the northeast end, are vestigial survivals of the twin doors in Temple VIII and must almost certainly have been repeated at the opposite end behind the altar. Set in the "proscenium opening". Also at the northeastern end, is a podium of solid mud-brick, measuring 1.60 x 90 cms., with a height of 65 cms. (Fig 57). Heavily coated with plaster, its upper surface was burnt dark red, and covered by a considerable deposit of ashes. Behind the podium, and slightly off-centre, a deep oval-shaped basin stood upon the lower pavement, roughly constructed of clay and plastered inside.” (Eridu, Fuad Safar Mohammad Ali Mustafa, Seton Lloyd, p107, 1981 AD)

4. “Here, more than anywhere, there were reasons for assuming that the podium had had the function of an offering-table Mixed with the ashes, which lay upon the floor all round It, were large quantities of fish-bones while a deep deposit of such bones, mixed with those of small animals, extended over almost the whole of the northeastern end of the sanctuary. They lay thickest at the edge of the pavement, and — a phenomenon which we at first found puzzling — where the base of the wall had became worn or damaged before replastering, the deposit extended beneath both coats of plaster, and same centimetres into the actual brickwork beyond. There were also fish-bones among the ashes on the top of the podium and in the debris which filled the clay basin beside it It was, in fact only possible to interpret them as offerings brought to the temple and, since the complete skeleton of a fish was never found, and coherent groups of bones seldom appeared, it occurred to us that the fish might subsequently have been eaten. The probability that the podium had been used for burnt-offerings was most definitely indicated. Yet, the fish-offerings at least, must have accumulated in almost embarrassing quantities, and the disposal of their remains, merely by ritual burning in this way, must have presented obvious practical difficulties. This problem seemed to have been satisfactorily solved, by the devotion of a chamber (Room 14) adjoining the podium, exclusively to the destruction by fire of surplus offerings. This room, was in fact, completely filled with a mass of ashes and debris, burnt almost to the consistency of clinker [stony residue from furnace], such as one would expect to find after the destruction by fire of animal remains. The ashes had overflowed through the open door into the sanctuary, and the plastered walls were blackened by the smoke!” (Eridu, Fuad Safar Mohammad Ali Mustafa, Seton Lloyd, p100, 1981 AD)

E. Temple ll: Uruk 2 [second last temple built by Nimrod]

“The “Temple II” revetment was built up against the unplastered liben [mudbrick] face of Platform III. It was constructed of limestone boulders with a maximum diameter of about 50 cm. laid in gypsum mortar and its outer lace had a smooth plastering of gypsum. It was the head of this structure, projecting a little above the surface or the mound which Campbell Thompson saw and photographed. He also dug a pit on its northeast side by cutting through the liben of the earlier platforms, but could not go deep since it was adapted to the “batter” of Platform III, and consequently leant sharply inwards. We ourselves endeavoured to test the depth of the gypsum-plastered outer face but, after descending about two metres. were prevented from going further by the difficulty of removing the heavy boulders of which the later terrace was constructed. … The fact that this Temple II revetment predated the Temple I terrace seemed to be proved by the fact that the terrace was built up against its carefully plastered face. From the level cut the terrace pavement upwards. this face must have remained exposed during the Temple I period.” (Eridu, Fuad Safar Mohammad Ali Mustafa, Seton Lloyd, p78, 1981 AD)

F. Temple I: 2875 BC: Early Uruk 3 [last temple built and completed by Nimrod]

1. Temple one was constructed before 2850 BC during the Early Uruk 3 Archaeological age.

a. It was the last temple completed before Nimrod expanded the platform out to 300x300 meters in preparation for the Tower of Babel.

b. The mudbricks were reinforced with bitumen exactly the same construction in Gen 11, which dates both to the same period.

2. “One of the most extraordinary aspects of the terrace structure associated with Temple I was the immense long time during which it must have remarried standing and even in use. For at least a thousand years [775 years] after it was built [c. 2875], it been re-paved with broken bricks, bearing the stamp of a Larsa king [Ur-Nammu: 2112 BC - 2095 BC, founder of 3^rd dynasty]. This circumstance at first made us naturally disinclined to date it earlier than the historic period, yet, as will presently be seen, the evidence in favour of allocation to the Protoliterate [before 2850 BC] eventually appeared overwhelming. Our reasons for calling it a “terrace” are obvious. Its pavement occurred at a level which must have been several metres lower than that of the contemporary platform, represented by the Temple II revetment. The liben [mudbrick] masonry, even of Platform V, remained standing up to ziggurat foundations, which occur 2.50 metres above the terrace pavement, while one would reasonably expect a slight rise in the occupation-level of the temple itself, to have corresponded to each successive extension of its platform.” (Eridu, Fuad Safar Mohammad Ali Mustafa, Seton Lloyd, p79, 1981 AD)

3. “The entire upper part of the Temple I structure was denuded to pavement level, except that at one point the outline of a rectangular chamber could be traced. More could be learnt from the objects discovered in the debris fallen from the upper structures, for they included heavy mosaic cones composed of fine, black stone, even larger cones made of gypsum, their heads covered with thin copper-plating, small wedges of coloured stones slightly tapered for use in ornamental inlay, and gypsum bricks. All these things, combined with the ceramic criteria, led to the attribution of Temple I to the Uruk period, and this dating is further re-enforced by the similarity of the architectural details with those observed in the so-called " Mosaic Temple " discovered in the bit rês area at Uruk, a building attributed to period Uruk IV. The gypsum cones with heads sheathed with copper-plating, however, seem to have closer affinities with the temple at Tell Brak, tentatively assigned to the time of Uruk III.” (Excavations at Eridu, E. Douglas Van Buren, Orientalia, Nova Series, Vol. 17, No. 1, p117, 1948 AD)

4. “The masonry of the terrace consisted of limestone boulders, rather larger than those used in the Temple II revetment, and the treatment of its outer face was extraordinarily interesting and ingenious. It was stepped outwards at an angle of 30 degrees, in small offsets, about 15 cms. wide, the face itself being composed for this purpose of small roughly squared blocks of a special pinkish stone, laid in courses also about 15 cm, deep. The stepped face was then plastered with gypsum to give a finished effect. Upwards from a point about 2.00 metres beneath the pavement level, the stepped face abandoned its normal alignment and assumed a wavy or undulating line. The undulations had a depth of 25 cms and occurred at two-metre intervals. The whole structure appeared to be strengthened with a thick layer of bitumen about every ten courses. The only possible indication of the purpose for which the upper part of the terrace retaining-wall had been given this undulating effect, was afforded by some very fragmentary remains of masonry still existing at the only point where the facade had survived up to the pavement level. These suggested that the face of the building from the pavement level upwards, had been divided into a succession of wide, semicircular half-columns such as occur in the famous 'Mosaic Portico" of the Proto-literate period [before 2850 BC] at Warka [Warka = Uruk]. The undulations in the upper part of the retaining-wall would then merely be an adaptation to the treatment of the facade above. If this were so, the half-columns must have stopped about five metres short of the western corner of the building, for the last undulation in the retaining-wall occurs at this point. The small section of the Temple I masonry, on the Southwest side at the building, which had survived to a height of a few centimetres above the level of the terrace pavement, was also sufficient to establish unequivocally the fact that enclosed chambers [Temple 1- see photo above] had stood upon the terrace [Temple 1 terrace: see photo above].” (Eridu, Fuad Safar Mohammad Ali Mustafa, Seton Lloyd, p79, 1981 AD)

5. “At the time when the Temple I terrace was built the site on which it was to stand must have sloped sharply to the southwest, for, whereas the northwest retaining-wall, at the ziggurat end, was founded hardly three metres beneath the level of the terrace pavement, at the western corner we followed its stepped face down to a depth of nearly 5.15 metres, without reaching the bottom. It proved impracticable to descend further, simply because the area outside the terrace had, at some later period, been built up with a filling of loose boulders and gypsum, whose removal would have required more labour than we had at our disposal. It was this filling, however, which produced most Important evidence for the dating of Temple I. It appeared to have been laid in three stages, and at the completion of each stage to have been roughly levelled. But at no stage in it, within the limits of the very large cavity which we excavated in tracing the western corner of the terrace, did we find the smallest fragment of baked brick, to suggest that it had been laid during the historical period. [ie. the large terrace had to be built before the historical period: before 2850 BC in the late Uruk period] On the contrary, we collected from among the boulders, of which it was composed, an assortment of familiar architectural objects, which were sufficient to convince us that this rubble was derived from the demolition of the Protoliterate temple itself [before 2850 BC]. Most of these objects were mosaic-cones, such as have never, up till now, been found in use in any period later than the Protoliterate [before 2850 BC]. They were of two principal types both varying in length and diameter from 15x6.5 cms & 6.6x5.2 cms. One was of gray stone with the circular head worked smooth. The other type was cast in white gypsum, and the flat surface of its head covered with fine copper sheeting. About a score (score=20) of examples of each type were found, and in the case of the latter, in spite-of oxidization, the frail leaves of copper almost invariably remained, still clinging to the gypsum. This could hardly have been the case, unless they had been transferred straight from their place in the ornamental recede of the building, to the rubble tilling, for which its dismantled masonry was now to provide material. It could therefore be assumed that the laying of this outer filling corresponded in time to the demolition of a Protoliterate Temple, whose delicate architectural ornament was still intact. Other objects found among the filling, consisted for the most part of pottery fragments, such as curved spouts and beveled bowl-rims, which could satisfactorily be attributed to the later half of the Uruk period [Uruk 2-3=2900-2850 BC].” (Eridu, Fuad Safar Mohammad Ali Mustafa, Seton Lloyd, p81, 1981 AD)

G. Tower of Babel: 2850 BC Nimrod’s 300x300 meter Platform for the Tower of Babel

1. Nimrod’s 300x300 meter Tower of Babel platform

a. The excavators start with the Ziggurat built in 2100 BC by Ur-Nammu, then they conclude that the 300x300 meter platform upon which this Ziggurat was built, was in fact an ancient platform of 300x300 meters built 750 years earlier for a temple at that time. They conclude that the Ziggurat which sat on this ancient 750 year old 300x300 meter platform, DISPLACED a previous ancient temple of the same age as the ancient platform. The excavators understood that a temple DIFFERENT FROM TEMPLE 1 (which was located outside the platform) had existed IN THE MIDDLE of the 300x300 foot platform, over which, the new ziggurat was built on top of it.

b. “Now, just such a tower or platform was constructed at Eridu in the period we have assigned to Enmerkar (see Chapter Eleven). This 'prototype' of the ziggurat is acknowledged as the first great edifice to be built by humankind. Was the massive Uruk-Period temple platform at Eridu the source for the biblical story of the Tower of Babel?” (Legends: The Genesis of Civilization, David Rohl, p222, 1998 AD)

c. “The main mound (2100 BC) at Abu Shahrain consisted of a platform about 300 metres square, surrounded on all sides by a stone retaining-wall. The archaeological evidence shows that the platform was created by kings of the Third Dynasty of Ur [2100BC] by levelling all pre-existing constructions and re-shaping the mound to provide a raised emplacement for a complex of buildings, most conspicuous among which were a ziggurat tower and temple. The superstructures of these buildings have crumbled away entirely, and only the ziggurat and stretches of the retaining wall which once surrounded the enclosure can now be traced.” (Excavations at Eridu, E. D. Van Buren, Orientalia, Nova Series, Vol. 17, No. 1, p115, 1948 AD)

d. This means that the remnants of Nimrod’s Tower of Babel might lay under the middle of the later Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu built 750 years later in 2100 BC.

e. The site is abandoned and would be quite easy to excavate with modern excavation equipment and a professional team!

f. “The first actual structures discovered during our excavations, which could be confidently attributed to the late Uruk period [2850 BC], were those provisionally designated “Temples I & II” namely, the heavy revetment of the platform in limestone and gypsum and the wide terrace in the same material subsequently annexed to it. Yet it was early discovered that on the northwest side, both these structures terminated abruptly, on a line a little beyond the face of the ziggurat [of Ur-Nammu 2100 BC, that stood at the time of excavation in 1981 AD] which must have represented some structure, already existing, when they themselves were built [in 2850 BC]. This created an impression, (afterwards confirmed by circumstances discovered in the upper Al ‘Ubaid levels), that the outline of the platform was more extended and complicated than the simple rectangle, suggested by the section which we had already discovered; that our temple was not, in fact the only building occupying its summit, and that another, and possibly more important one was likely to be located approximately beneath the centre of the ziggurat. Consequently, like the treasure-seeking prince before us in our second season we spent a good deal of time in searching for such a building beneath the denuded remains of the Third Dynasty [Ziggurat of Amar-Sin 2040 BC]. The results were a single wall of gypsum bricks and a conviction that the Continuation of the search was impracticable. [The millions of tons of mudbrick of the remains of the Ziggurat of Amar-Sin 2040 BC was too great for such a small excavation team in 1981 to accomplish.]” (Eridu, Fuad Safar Mohammad Ali Mustafa, Seton Lloyd, p78, 1981 AD)

g. “At the ziggurat end of the Temple I terrace, a considerable effort was made to investigate the already-existing structure against which it had been built. It appeared to consist of a rough retaining-wall, supporting a filling of mudbrick and sand. About two metres of its face was traced, curving sharply to the north. But it was then interrupted by an enormous treasure-seeker's tunnel, penetrating the ruins obliquely, and disappearing beneath the foundations of the terrace. Some twenty five metres to the northwest, however, we afterwards encountered the broadly rounded corner of a platform-face or retaining-wall, on approximately the same alignment [retaining wall interrupted by looter tunnels]. And, since its well-laid stone-work was strengthened every few courses with a thick layer of bitumen, in exactly the same manner as the Temple 1 terrace, we assumed it to be contemporary. The northwestern face of this structure [terrace] was again picked up at two points beneath the denuded remains of the ziggurat and its northern corner located on a line with the northeastern face of the latter. We therefore appeared to have been right in thinking that the platform [terrace] of our Protoliterate [before 2850 BC] temple had been extended to support another, equally important building, subsequently displaced by the ziggurat.” (Eridu, Fuad Safar Mohammad Ali Mustafa, p81, 1981 AD)

h. “The removal of the Third Dynasty (2100 BC) pavement and subsequent careful investigations disclosed evidence for a very ancient sacred precinct consisting of a raised platform crowned by a temple which was restored or rebuilt at frequent intervals, the emplacement upon which it stood being heightened and enlarged with every successive reconstruction to correspond to a re-building of the temple itself on an increasingly ambitious scale. Projecting from beneath the southern corner of the ziggurat were the much-denuded walls of prehistoric constructions.” (Excavations at Eridu, Buren, Orientalia, Nova, Vol. 17, No. 1, p116, 1948 AD)

2. The Tower of Babel spoken of in Genesis was certainly a Ziggurat-like or Pyramidic-shaped and was built with baked mudbricks and bitumen (Gen 11:3).

a. The construction of the Tower of Babel in scripture, matches the construction of Nimrod’s platform in Archaeological reports: (called a terrace in the excavation reports)

b. And, since its well-laid stone-work was strengthened every few courses with a thick layer of bitumen, in exactly the same manner as the Temple 1 terrace, we assumed it to be contemporary.” (Eridu, Fuad Safar Mohammad Ali Mustafa, Seton Lloyd, p81, 1981 AD)

3. No evidence of the Tower of Babel itself:

a. “As has already been stated elsewhere, our efforts to discover actual traces of such a building beneath the ziggurat were. in the end, almost completely frustrated, partly by the toughness of the Third Dynasty masonry, and partly by the utter confusion resulting from the treasure-seeker's tunnels.” (Eridu, Fuad Safar Mohammad Ali Mustafa, Seton Lloyd, p81, 1981 AD)

b. “At one point on the southwest side, an experimental tunnel was actually dug, at the level of the ziggurat foundations, in order to see whether, when they were laid, any earlier walls had been incorporated in the structure. It was abandoned, after penetrating about twelve metres into the solid brick work, with no more important result than the discovery of a few isolated fragments of gold leaf. For the rest, the conspicuous appearance of the gypsum wall, after the rains had washed it clean, alone testified to the magnificence of a once monumental building [ie. Ziggurat of 2100 BC].” (Eridu, Fuad Safar M. Mustafa, Seton Lloyd, p82, 1981 AD)

4. “With the architectural remains at the Protoliterate period (before 2850 BC) we reach one of the most intriguing, as well as the most disappointing aspects of our entire researches For the shrine of Enki at Eridu [Temple 1] must, during this phase have been as magnificently built and as richly appointed as at any time in its history. Yet, owing partly to the commanding position which it occupied on the summit of the old mound, and partly, perhaps. to the neglect of its ruins during a temporary abandonment of the site [2850 – 2040 BC], all that is left to us are its foundations and retaining-wall; while even of these a large proportion are buried beneath the massive masonry of the Third Dynasty ziggurat [Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu 2100 BC]. Testimony to its architectural beauty as well as to the variety and elaboration at Its ornament, is fortunately plentiful, but the treasures which it contained can only be estimated from the longevity of the tradition concerning them. More than a millennium [actual is 750 years = 2850 – 2100 BC] after the building had fallen into disuse, this tradition induced some Mesopotamian prince to spend untold time and labour, in trenching and tunneling beneath the accumulated remains of later periods, in a fruitless search for its legendary treasures.” (Eridu, Fuad, p78, 1981 AD)

H. Babel (Eridu) and Tower of Babel abandoned for 750 years

1. From 2850 BC to 2100 BC Eridu was abandoned and the Tower of Babel platform lay vacant:

a. In 2100 BC Ur-Nammu constructed a Ziggurate upon the abandoned platform. (see below)

2. “On the credit side, H.R. Hall foreshadowed the theory, now clearly confirmed by our excavations, that, at least after the end of the third millennium B.C. [2850 BC], Eridu, as represented by the main mound at Abu Shahrein, could not have been considered as an inhabited city. He asks " Was the ancient Eridu, the ziggurat, temple and Sumerian town, uninhabited after the third millennium B.C., save by a few priests and acolytes? Did it survive merely as a sort of Babylonian " cathedral close ", with perhaps a later town, not yet discovered, nearby, to which later burials belong? Was this as yet hypothetical Eridu the town to which later records refer as existing and inhabited? Or is Eridu mentioned later merely on account of its holiness and ancient state? Was it in later times never much more than a shrine to which rich people were brought to be buried as rich Shiahs are now carried to Najaf and Kerbela? This is one of the questioner Teredonicae, (if the classical Teredon is Eridu), “that remains to be solved ". All of this fits well into a fuller theory, put forward by myself in 1960, (Iraq 22 (1960), 28-31), about the posthumous sanctity of ancient places such as Eridu, `Ubaid and `Uqair, which in `Ubaid times had been inhabited settlements, but which, when abandoned by their population became mere burial-grounds or destinations for pilgrimage.” (Abu Shahrein: A Memorandum, Seton Lloyd, Iraq, Vol. 36, No. 1/2, p136, 1974 AD)

CHAPTER 9: Origin of Written Language in 2850 BC

IX. 2850 BC: Origin of the first written language in history:

A. No known written language before the Tower of Babel

1. There is no evidence of any pre-flood written language.

2. There is no evidence from extensive Archaeological excavations from the Stone age, Halaf, Ubaid or Uruk 1-2 ages of any written language.

3. Excavations have found administrative bulla that predate the Tower of Babel, that use a small collection of graphical symbols, but not written language.

4. The first written languages were invented after 2850 BC when men had to use known symbols to communicate, as seen in the earliest pictorial cuneiform, hieroglyphs and Chinese.

B. Beginnings of a written language: 2700 BC

1. After the Tower of Babel (2850 BC: Late Uruk period) Uruk remained a major city.

2. “Beginnings of a written language: By the Late Uruk period, Uruk was a city. It was a large site, with a concentration of wealth and had monumental public buildings. Uruk was where the earliest known written documents were discovered. The language of these texts is not known and they cannot be "read". However, as the script is largely pictographic (based on recognizable pictures of real objects rather than symbols), they can at least partly be understood.” (Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East, Michael Roaf, p69, 1990 AD)

3. Djoser’s Stepped Pyramid at Djoser: More than 40,000 vessels, bowls and vases made of various kinds of stone were found in these galleries. Royal names of kings Den, Semerkhet, Nynetjer and Sekhemib were incised on the pots. It is now thought that Djoser once restored the original tombs of the ancestors, and then sealed the grave goods in the galleries in an attempt to save them.

4. “Recording early history: The invention of writing in the Late Uruk period brought the people of Mesopotamia to the threshold of history. However, it was not until almost a thousand years later that texts were produced that can be used to unravel the history of the region. The contemporary inscriptions of the rulers of the city states from late in the Early Dynastic period are often uninformative, recording only the name of the ruler and a dedication to a god, while information contained in later texts, written in retrospect, tends to be distorted. The chronology, too, is somewhat uncertain.” (Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East, Michael Roaf, p78, 1990 AD)

C. Pictographs in the Chinese language connected to flood and the Tower of Babel

One of the most stunning and impressive evidences that Noah's Ark and the Tower of Babel are real Bible history, is coded directly into the Chinese language. With the absence of any migration or genealogical information of Noah, it appears that Noah or his “other children” migrated to China and spoke Chinese after the Tower of Babel. Noah died 50-100 years before the Tower of Babel. He would have been a power witness to the global flood as real history, transmitted down through the legends of time. Many key words in the Chinese language today are made up of composite words that directly invoke the imagery of the first 11 chapters of Genesis. See detailed outline on the book of Genesis embedded in the Chinese language.

1. LARGE SHIP: Notice that the Chinese word for large boat is a composite of three pictograms of a SHIP that can hold EIGHT PEOPLE. It is incredible that an “8 person boat” is how the Chinese write the word for a large “ocean freighter”.

2. TELL/SPEAK: The Chinese word shuō helps us to know how the ancient Chinese knew about the pre-Babel history of mankind. The word means to TELL or SPEAK or SAY. It's etymology identifies WORDS from EIGHT ELDERS. I would suggest that would be Noah and his wife, along with his three sons and their wives. They were, after the flood, the oldest (elder) people on the earth.

3. TRADITION: Just in case we're not certain that these eight elders who shared words with the ancient Chinese people were in fact Noah and his family, a word used for HANDING DOWN or PASSING DOWN also reveals the source of their knowledge. This word pictures EIGHT WATER PEOPLE! Who could that be, but the eight people who were saved through water (1 Peter 3:20), Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives?

4. TOWER: A Chinese word for TOWER (ta) is descriptive of both the materials use to build the tower and the unity of the people who were making it. The components used to make bricks for the tower were DUST and GRASS. All the PEOPLE involved in the project were of ONE MOUTH or language.

5. BABEL: The Hebrew word for Babel literally means confusion. The Chinese word for BABEL (ba bié) speaks of the reason behind the confusion. It records God's DESIRE for man to SEPARATE or DEPART from the plain of Shinar, that the whole earth might be populated.

6. NOAH’S NAME:
Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son. And he called his name Noah, saying, 'This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed.' (Genesis 5:28-29, NKJV) There are over 15 words that could be used in the Chinese language to convey the idea of a promise. That the ancient Chinese used nuò is significant. The etymology reveals WORDS spoken about a MAN through whom the WEEDS curse would be removed, and LIFE would be restored to the EARTH. Notice, that is the very thing Lamech said in Genesis 5:28-29 when he named Noah. This promise would be fulfilled in Noah, for after the flood, when he and his family had exited the ark, we read: ...Noah built an altar to the LORD ...and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, 'I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. (Genesis 8:20-21, NKJV) In this text, not only does the LORD say that He will not again destroy all flesh with a flood again, but He also indicates that He will no longer curse the ground for man's sake. This is not a statement about the flood, but about the weed curse which resulted from Adam's sin in the garden (Genesis 3:17-19). It was in the days of Noah, when he came forth from the ark that the weed curse was no more. The cursed ground was rapid vegetation growth not difficulty in growth. The ground was over productive not under productive and that was a lot of work! The plants grew too rapidly to control for farming with dense overgrowth, 500-foot vegetation canopies and weeds that would grow much faster than today. Notice that as late as the birth of Noah, the people were working very hard to control the weeds so they could farm their food. Before the flood the world was a global greenhouse and it never rained. We know that all oil, gas and coal deposits were created at the time of the flood when a massive amount of vegetation, up to 100,000 times what is present on the earth today was destroyed in the flood and buried under a 2 km deep flood deposit. Gigantism is well documented in paleontology. Not only did things grow larger, they grew MUCH faster making it very difficult for man to farm. After the flood the plants grew at the rate we see today. While today, growing a vegetable garden is a lot of work, nobody bitterly complains how hard it is to grow food. Noah was the one who brought about relief from the curse of the rapid plant growth because after the flood the curse was removed by God. What we do not know, is if the woman’s curse of increased pain during childbirth was also removed. If it was, it would result in an increased fertility rate and a more rapid global population growth.

7. PROMISE: There are over 15 words that could be used in the Chinese language to convey the idea of a promise. That the ancient Chinese used nuò is significant. The etymology reveals WORDS spoken about a MAN through whom the WEEDS curse would be removed, and LIFE would be restored to the EARTH. Notice, that is the very thing Lamech said in Genesis 5:28-29 when he named Noah.

8. FLOOD: Hóng, meaning FLOOD, reveals the extent of the flood. It was not a localized flood; God would bring TOTAL WATER upon the land. The word for TOTAL here is significant also. It is a record of what would be left after the flood was finished. There would remain EIGHT TOGETHER upon the EARTH. Only Noah, his wife, their three sons, and their wives would survive.

D. ORIGIN OF ALPHABET: Joseph and Manasseh invent the world’s first alphabet

1. See details: Hebrew is the world’s first alphabet: The World's Oldest Alphabet: Hebrew As the Language of the Proto-consonantal Script, Douglas Petrovich, 2016 AD

2. Between 1859-1842 BC, Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh invented the world’s first alphabet shortly after they moved to Avaris also known as Tel el Dab’a.

3. Hebrew is the mother Alphabet of all other languages including English. English, Phoenician and Arabic are derived directly from Hebrew.

4. The Hebrews selected 22 of the 734 Egyptian hieroglyphic symbols as their alphabet “character set”, one for each of the 22 phonic sounds in Hebrew. Although each of the 22 Egyptian hieroglyphs had an Egyptian word associated with it, the Hebrews ignored this and assigned a corresponding Hebrew word to represent the hieroglyph. The first letter of each word represented that sound in their alphabet (acrophony). For example, the Egyptian word for cow is KA but the Hebrew word for cow is ALEPH. The Egyptian hieroglyph for cattle was a cow head with horns and is pronounced “KA”, but the Hebrew word for cattle was “ALEPH”. Since the first letter/sound was “A”, the ox head became the symbol for the Hebrew letter A. We can therefore prove that our English alphabet is derived directly from the Hebrew Alphabet because our “rotated” letter A represents a cow. Cow = the letter C not A in English.

5. Further, we can prove English (and all other alphabets) is derived from Hebrew phonograms and NOT Egyptian phonograms, because each letter of the English alphabet “echos” the corresponding word-picture in Hebrew, NOT Egyptian. For example, the English letter “A” is derived directly from the Egyptian pictograph of a “cow head” (F1) and has a “K” sound. As we can see the phonic correspondence is broken, even though the same pictograph is used. Yet in Hebrew the letter “A” corresponds to the Hebrew word for “cow/cattle”: Aleph. It is obvious then, that the sound of the English letter A was derived from Hebrew not Egyptian, even though all three languages use a cow to represent the letter A.

E. Four Hebrew Scripts and the Transmission of the Hebrew Bible

1. Mosaic-Hieroglyphic 1859-1050 BC

The first Hebrew alphabetic script was hieroglyphic in appearance because it borrowed 22 of the 756 Egyptian hieroglyphs and assigned them a new phonic sound. The Pentateuch and the Ten Commandments were written in this script.

2. Paleo-Hebrew 1050-458 BC

The second Hebrew script was perfected by Samuel at his Naioth prophet’s school. He converted the five books of Moses into this script. During the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BC, many bulla were excavated in this script. The famous High Priestly benediction silver scroll is also written in this script.

3. Aramaic-Hebrew 458-AD 70

Ezra converted all bible books into this new format. Paradoxically, although the Jews invented the first alphabet, they adopted the latter Aramaic form of the alphabet. While the shape of each letter was different, they sounded exactly the same for the most part. The great readings of scripture on Ezra’s little podium were the unveiling of this new script.

4. Masoretic-Hebrew AD 600-present

Vowel accents were added to the Hebrew alphabet for correct soundings. In the 1880’s when the long extinct Hebrew was re-introduced into the infant state of Israel, the vowel accents were critical in teaching ancient Hebrew to a modern generation.

CHAPTER 10: Uruk 3 Urban Expansion after 2850 BC

X. The great Uruk 3 Urban Expansion after tower of Babel

The Uruk 3 Expansion is an archeological age misdated by evolutionary archeologists to around 3750 BC. Christian Archaeological Dating (CAD) rejects this as impossible since it predated the Noahic flood. The correct dating is around 2850 BC and thereafter. The events in world history as documented through professional archeological excavations provide synchronisms with the events recorded in the Bible after the Tower of Babel. During the Uruk 3 Expansion assemblages (architecture, pottery, tools etc.) of the ancient Assyrian culture spread all over the world and new cities were founded. What you read in the Book you find in the ground!

A. Urbanism’s origin in southern Mesopotamia during the Uruk period

1. Evolutionary dating for the Uruk 3 Expansion is around 3750 BC which is clearly wrong because it predates the flood by 352 years. The correct date is 2850 BC.

2. After the Tower of Babel, men moved to all corners of the earth.

3. “The Urban Explosion and the origin of cities: In the fourth millennium BC remarkable changes took place in southern Mesopotamia, exceeding any expectations that might have been raised by the achievements of the Ubaid period. These innovations, which occurred in the Uruk and Jemdet Nasr periods, constituted what has been called the urban revolution. Like the onset of agriculture, urbanization was a crucial step in human progress. Most obviously, it involved the development of cities and the transition toward a society in which large numbers of people lived in small areas, many of whom did not take part in subsistence farming.” (Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East, Michael Roaf, p58, 1990 AD)

B. Expansion/invasion of south into north

“At these sites [northern site like Hassek Hoyuk], the full range of Uruk material culture styles appeared suddenly in the archaeological record in a pattern quite different from that of the earlier `Ubaid oikumene. The southern Mesopotamian Uruk colonies are quite distinctive as intrusive sites, established rapidly in the midst of local … cultures. Three different forms of Uruk material culture occurring together serve to identify the Mesopotamian implanted settlements while distinguishing them from contemporaneous local settlements. This can be seen best at the site of Habuba Kabira [built on virgin soil] on the Syrian middle Euphrates. Sites identified as colonies have the full repertoire of Uruk ceramics. These same [northern] sites also have distinctive south Mesopotamian Uruk domestic or public/ritual architecture such as the "middle-hall" house and niched facade temples, often decorated with baked clay wall cones. Culturally specific aspects of technological style such as brick dimensions and bricklaying patterns exactly match the practices in the southern homeland. A third distinctive feature of the Uruk colonies is the presence of the full range of south Mesopotamian administrative technology such as cylinder seals, bullae, tokens, and clay tablets with numerical inscriptions used to monitor the circulation of goods. In some cases, the colonies were founded from scratch on uninhabited land, however, at the outer reaches of the exchange network in the highland resource zones, Uruk colonies took the form of small trading enclaves within preexisting indigenous settlements such as Godin. In these latter settlements, not just the forms of material culture, but also behavioral patterning, food preferences, and technological styles are all aspects of daily practice that identify south Mesopotamians as an ethnically distinct alien minority.” (A Tale of Two Oikumenai: Variation in the Expansionary Dynamics of Ubaid and Uruk Mesopotamia, Gil J. Stein, Rana Ozbal, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, Settlement and Society, Vol 3, p339, 2007 AD)

Map of Uruk 3 Expansion after the Tower of Babel in 2850 BC

C. Northern Uruk Expansion 3 sites

1. Hacinebi Tepe: The Split language City: Distinct language twin walled cities.

a. Founded in 3000 BC at Ubaid 3 Expansion and invaded at Uruk 3 Expansion. Located near source of Euphrates.

b. 10 differences in twin cities: Language differences at Hacinebi created two distinct walled cities that were built beside each other showing two very different cultural identities

i. Two distinct languages and cultures

ii. Different assemblages: Ubaid vs. Uruk

iii. Different diet

iv. 50% more meat consumed by Uruk colony

v. Different butchering tools

vi. Distinct flint tools, knives, sickle blades

vii. Uruk: cylinder seals; Ubaid: stamp seals

viii. Distinct spindle whorls

ix. Distinct pottery

x. Two different city dumps

c. “At Hacinebi, for example, comparisons of fauna between the Uruk and Anatolian (Ubaid) parts of the site show differences between the two groups in food preferences, so that sheep and goats were 49 percent of the local meat consumption, but provided 80 to 90 percent of the Uruk diet. This matches exactly the known food preferences in the south Mesopotamian heartland (G. Stein 1999a: 145-146; Stein and Nicola 1996). At the same time, butchery practices show clear differences between Uruk and local contexts, in both the locations and the widths of cut marks, suggesting that the two groups used different butchering tools (G. Stein 1997; 1999a: fig. 7.14). Chipped stone tools show similar differences in technological style, so that even when Uruk and local specialists made the same tool forms, the proportions of the tools differed significantly. Blade tools from Uruk areas at Hacinebi are significantly narrower than their local counterparts and match closely the dimensions of blades from south Mesopotamian Uruk sites.” (A Tale of Two Oikumenai: Variation in the Expansionary Dynamics of Ubaid and Uruk Mesopotamia, Gil J. Stein, Rana Ozbal, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, Settlement and Society, Vol 3, p330, 2007 AD)

d. "There is no evidence for either Uruk colonial domination or warfare between the colonists and the native inhabitants of Hacinebi. Instead, the presence of both Anatolian and Mesopotamian seal impressions at the site best fits a pattern of peaceful exchange between the two groups." (Uruk Colonies and Anatolian Communities: An Interim Report on the 1992-1993 Excavations at Hacinebi, Turkey, Gil Stein, p205, 1996 AD)

e. “In some cases, the colonies were founded as new sites on uninhabited land. However, at the outer reaches of the exchange network in the highland resource zones, Uruk colonies took the form of small trading enclaves within pre-existing indigenous settlements such as Hacınebi. At Hacınebi, a full range of Uruk styles of material culture is present (figure 6) in parallel with other parts of the site where the earlier, local Anatolian styles continue to be present. Cylinder seals were used in the Uruk parts of Hacinebi, while in the local parts of the site, people used the local tradition of stamp seal administrative technology. Comparisons of animal bones between the Uruk and Anatolian parts of the site show differences between the two groups in food preferences, so that sheep and goats were 49 % of the local meat consumption in the local neighborhoods, but provided 80-90 % of the Uruk diet. This matches known food preferences in the south Mesopotamian heartland. Butchery practices show clear differences between Uruk and local contexts both in the location and width of the cut marks, suggesting that the two groups used different butchering tools. Spindle whorls, flint cores, sickle blades, and kiln wasters [discards] show that the colonists farmed their own land and produced their own craft goods. The Uruk enclave at Hacinebi was an autonomous community both economically and culturally. They used Uruk styles of material culture in virtually every sphere. They maintained culturally distinctive food preparation practices and food preferences.” (Economic dominance, conquest, or interaction among equals?, Gil J. Stein, p59, 2014 AD)

f. “The power of the Uruk states over other parts of the interaction network appears to have declined with increasing distance from the alluvium (Stein 1998). In the south Mesopotamian heartland, cities such as Uruk controlled their rural hinterlands, exacting taxes and administering the most basic subsistence activities. In the sparsely populated areas of Syria closest to southern Mesopotamia proper– colonies such as Habuba Kabira were large fortified settlements that apparently used coercion to control the local Syrian communities around them. In more distant regions, Uruk enclaves such as Hacınebi took the form of small 'outposts' located inside the preexisting local towns.” (Economic dominance, conquest, or interaction among equals?, Gil J. Stein, p60, 2014 AD)

g. "Comparative analyses of ceramics, chipped-stone, fauna, and recordkeeping (administrative) artifacts from the Mesopotamian and local parts of Hacinebi suggest that the Uruk enclave was a socially and economically autonomous diaspora whose members raised their own food, produced their own crafts, and administered their own encapsulated or circumscribed exchange system" (Rethinking World-Systems: Diasporas, Colonies, and Interaction in Uruk Mesopotamia, Gil J. Stein, p147, 1999 AD)

h. "In many cases, both Uruk and local ceramics occur together in the same contact-phase deposits. But it is also common to see remarkable contrasts between contexts consisting of local Anatolian types, whereas contemporaneous deposits nearby almost excessively Uruk Mesopotamian ceramics. … Uruk ceramics and local Anatolian ceramics are being used and then discarded separately [in separate city dumps]” (Rethinking World-Systems: Diasporas, Colonies, and Interaction in Uruk Mesopotamia, Gil J. Stein, p148, 1999 AD)

2. Habuba Kabira: Settled after the Tower of Babel (Due east of Aleppo)

a. A walled city founded after Tower of Babel in 2850 BC at the Uruk 3 Expansion with Uruk assemblages.

b. “Uruk expansion: Few archaeological discoveries in recent years have made more impact than the sites of Habuba Kabira Sud/Qannas and Jebel Aruda. At both sites not only the material culture —pottery, seals, sealings—but also the individual residential units are indistinguishable from those of southern Mesopotamia and in particular at the site of Uruk, previously our major source for the fourth millennium. The identity of material culture, ideology, accounting practices, use of space and building techniques render inconceivable any interpretation other than that the settlements at both Habuba and Jebel Aruda were built and lived in by south Mesopotamians. Both settlements were short-lived (100-150 years at most, perhaps considerably less); both were abruptly abandoned. … The construction of a massive wall in the second building phase suggests that local relations may not have been entirely peaceful.” (Trade and Power in the Fifth and Fourth Millennia BC: New Evidence from Northern Mesopotamia, Joan Oates, World Archaeology 24, p411, 1993 AD)

c. “Uruk colonies such as Sheikh Hassan and Habuba Kabira were large, fortified settlements that apparently used coercion to control the local Syrian communities around them.” (A Tale of Two Oikumenai: Variation in the Expansionary Dynamics of Ubaid and Uruk Mesopotamia, Gil J. Stein, Rana Ozbal, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, Settlement and Society, Vol 3, p331, 2007 AD)

3. Hamoukar (Ubaid colony invaded by southern Uruk colony after Tower of Babel)

a. An unwalled city founded in 3000 BC at the Ubaid 3 Expansion. Ubaid assemblages were replaced by Uruk assemblages at the Uruk 3 expansion when the city was burned and a wall was built.

b. Hamoukar was originally founded as a Ubaid settlement affiliated with the Ararat kingdom of the North but at the time of the Tower of Babel (Uruk Expansion), the people migrated north and burned the city.

c. The southern Uruk culture then replaced the previous Ubaid culture when a new walled city was built on top of the ashes.

d. Spent sling stones and skeletons from the battle were excavated indicating a war.

e. Tripartite houses, formal niched temples for pagan gods and a complete southern Uruk style assemblage was excavated from the second Uruk expansion phase of the Tel Hamoukar.

CHAPTER 11: Egyptian mirror of Nimrod’s Eridu Temple

XI. Architectural mirror of Nimrod’s Eridu temple by Djoser in 2650 BC

1. One of the most stunning discoveries of the author was made on a research trip to Egypt in 2019 AD

a. The author was standing beside the oldest pyramid in the world (Djoser-2660 BC) and in front of the oldest stone temple in the world (Djoser-2650 BC).

b. Although the author had been at the same site ten years earlier in 2009, having just finished the first rough draft of this book, the architectural similarity between the excavated temple at Eridu and this temple of Djoser immediately became apparent.

c. The author realized right then, that the last temple Nimrod built at Babel (Eridu) was an almost identical design to the first temple built by Djoser 200 years later.

d. There appears to be a direct architectural connection between the oldest/first stone temple in Egypt and the last mudbrick temple in Babel (Eridu).

e. Note: The author is not saying that others may not have already noticed this connection, just that the author was unaware of any previous connection being made when he visited the site in 2019. If others have already made this connection, as the proverb goes, “cursed be the man who discovers something before I did.”

2. Three ways that Djoser’s Egyptian temple echoes that of Nimrods Eridu (Babel) temple in architectural design.

a. The outer wall of both temples features a niched/notched/zig zag design.

b. Both temples feature a high vertical decorative inset.

c. The doors of both temples are high and feature a recessed niche.

3. It seems obvious that when Djoser built the first stone temple on earth in Egypt, he borrowed directly from the architectural design of Nimrod.

a. We have the excavation report of the temple of Enki at Eridu and know what it looked like.

b. We can visit the temple of Djoser today in Egypt and photograph the surviving portion of the in situ outer wall of that temple.

4. There is a clear architectural synchronism between the mudbrick Temple VI of Nimrod that was excavated at Eridu and the stone temple of Djoser in Egypt.

CHAPTER 12: Pyramid Echoes of the Tower of Babel

XII. Pyramid echoes of the Tower of Babel: 2660 BC

With the mass exodus of population away from the Tower of Babel construction site, its design and form was almost universally understood. Within 200 years of the Tower of Babel a collection of huge monumental pyramids and ziggurats are constructed. These likely echo and replicate the architectural design of the Tower of Babel. If can be concluded that the Tower of Babel had an appearance similar to the Stepped Pyramid of Djoser in Egypt and the Caral Ziggurat in Peru.

A. Worlds 5 oldest Pyramids

1. Dynasty 3 = First pyramid ever built: Djoser’s Stepped Pyramid with hieroglyphs at Djoser (D3 = start of Old Kingdom) 2667–2648 BC. built in the 27th century BC during the Third Dynasty for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser by his vizier, Imhotep.

2. 1st king of Dynasty 4, Pharaoh Sneferu

a. Bent Pyramid at Dahshur: built under the Old Kingdom Pharaoh Sneferu: c2600 BC

b. Meidum, Maydum or Maidum Pyramid: 2^nd built by Sneferu

c. Red Pyramid, also called the north Pyramid (3^rd built by Sneferu)

3. Peru: Caral Ziggurat: Oldest city in the Americas with many pyramids, oldest to 2600 BC

4. 2^nd king of Dynasty 4 = Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza: 2670 BC (2580–2560 BC, 4th dynasty)

B. Ziggurats of Ur-Nammu [2112-2095 BC MC], at Eridu and Ur: 2100 BC

Pictured above is the location of the Tower of Babel, the mound is the Ziggurat of Ur Nammu (2100 BC)

1. Ur-Nammu [2112-2095 BC] built two Ziggurats in 2100 BC at Eridu and Ur

Pictured above is the Ziggurat of Ur, built by Ur-Nammu in 2100 BC

2. The Ziggurat of U