What Do We Know About Semiramis, Nimrod's Wife?
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History is full of tales about strong, capable women. Some of these females-of-old wielded their power to pave the way for good, while others preferred to live in infamy, via the path of evil. Semiramis is one of those legendary women. While her name may seem unfamiliar, her story has been told and retold throughout the centuries.
An Important Reminder about Exploring Names Outside the Biblical Canon
Before we dive into the possible identity of this mysterious woman, it’s important to note that the name Semiramis is not directly mentioned anywhere within the biblical canon of Scripture. Because of this, and the conflicting historical information given about her, Christians must proceed with prayerful caution when trying to piece together the details of Semiramis’s life—especially the details that claim biblical relevance.
Who Was Semiramis?
In the Sumerian language, Semiramis’s name is Sammur-amat. She’s the famous queen regent of the Assyrian Empire, who reigned from 811-806 BCE. According to historical documents she’s known as a legendary warrior who exercised political power like no other—commanding territory that stretched from Asia Minor to modern-day Iran. Historians describe her as a rare beauty, a fine military strategist, a master builder, and some even say she was builder and founder of Babylon.
But Eusebius—a well-respected ancient biblical scholar and historian—identifies Semiramis as the wife of Nimrod. Based on a combination of all these assumptions, countless other historians and scholars have written volumes about Semiramis—transforming the historical Queen Sammu-ramat into the legendary Queen Semiramis.
One of the more recent renditions of the ever-evolving lore of Semiramis was included in the book The Two Babylons, written in 1853 by a Scottish minister, Alexander Hislop. In the book the author affirms Eusebius’s claims that Semiramis was Nimrod’s wife and elaborates on her rise to power, citing Greek historical records as reference and proof. Hislop asserts that Semiramis was instrumental in Nimrod’s plan to rebel against God, and he speaks of the woman’s unusual ability to manipulate the will of men.
Hislop goes on to say that together, Nimrod and Semiramis created a polytheistic religious system focused on the stars to lure God’s chosen people away from true worship. Shortly after Nimrod died, Hislop reports that Semiramis earned the title Queen of Heaven—when she claimed that Nimrod was a god and that her newborn son was Nimrod, reincarnate. “So began the worship of Semiramis and the child-god, and the whole paraphernalia of the Babylonian religious system.”
Hislop reports that Semiramis’s name became synonymous with the pagan goddesses Ishtar, Astarte, and Ashtoreth, and he connects this turn of events to the biblical account of Israel’s rebellion during the time of the prophet Jeremiah’s warning.
“Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, along with all the women who were present—a large assembly—and all the people living in Lower and Upper Egypt, said to Jeremiah, ‘We will not listen to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord! We will certainly do everything we said we would: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and will pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our ancestors, our kings, and our officials did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem’” (Jeremiah 44:15-19, emphasis added).
Devotion to Semiramis has been well documented throughout history. The image of the woman holding her infant son has been the object of worship and veneration for different religious groups throughout the ages.
Many other claims have been made about Semiramis. Some credit her for forming the tradition of the Christmas tree and Easter bunny, others identify her as the original “whore of Babylon.” And according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society website, America’s own Statue of Liberty speaks of the legend. “In addition to standing for Liberty, she [the Statue of Liberty] is derived from the imagery of Queen Semiramis of Babylon who was famed for her beauty, strength, and wisdom.”
The truth is, like all legends, the stories of Semiramis have been exaggerated, changed, and expanded over thousands of years of oral tradition and interpretation—so it would not be wise to base any cause or belief on information that contains so little substance.
Nimrod’s Origin Story in the Bible
“Only seven verses in the Bible mention anything about Nimrod. Little is explicitly said about him. He was a mighty warrior, the son of Cush, and the great-grandson of Noah, ”explains Alyssa Roat, in 7 Facts You Didn’t Know about Nimrod in the Bible.
Although the Bible only briefly mentions Nimrod, his legacy is an important building block in the whole structure of Scripture. When we look at Nimrod’s story in context, from the beginning of time, it sheds light on God’s redemptive plan.
In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve, and everything was literally perfect. But when sin entered the world through that first couple, mankind began a downward spiral into depravity that would eventually lead them to an awareness of their need for a savior.
As Adam and Eve began to “be fruitful and multiply” following God’s command (Genesis 1:28), sin continued to abound. 1000 years later, sin had so overtaken God’s creation that He decided to purge humanity with a worldwide flood—sparing only one man, his family, and the animals. “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth” (Genesis 5:10).
Even after God’s flood wiped out the majority of wickedness from the earth, the inherited seed of sin began to corrupt Noah’s descendants. 1000 years after the flood, Noah’s rebellious great-grandson Nimrod became the first leader of the post-flood world. Nimrod first established his kingdom by founding a city on the plain in Shinar that would later be called Babel or Babylon (Genesis 10:10).
What Did Nimrod Do?
Like Semiramis, many pseudepigraphal and historical writings describe Nimrod as a renowned warrior, leader, and builder. Other reports describe him as a self-absorbed tyrant, plagued by his bitterness over the flood and God’s judgment.
As Nimrod began his reign, he and his followers had one overriding goal for their new territory; they wanted to ensure the security of their community by building a prestigious landmark to make a name for themselves. “Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth” (Genesis 11:4).
The structure—a tower made from man-made building materials—would be a symbol of their power and self-sufficiency, and some historians believe that Nimrod had an additional motive for wanting to build the tower of Babel. The ancient historian Josephus quotes Nimrod as saying that he wanted revenge on God for flooding the earth and destroying his ancestors (Antiquities of the Jews, Book 1, Chapter 4).
God saw that Nimrod and the people were working together toward a common goal. But unfortunately, the goal they were working toward was steeped in arrogance and in direct opposition to God’s command to multiply and “fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1).
In their attempt to maintain unity, create a name for themselves, and possibly provide their own security—God’s people rebelled against His sovereign authority and embraced their own self-sufficiency. They felt they didn’t need God to rule over them—they could rule themselves; they could reach the heavens on their own terms, with their own hands, by their own means.
God’s justice and His grace could not allow this treachery to continue. “So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth” (Genesis 11:8-9).
After the scattering, the Bible tells us that Nimrod continued to rule, reign, and build kingdoms for himself. “The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Uruk, Akkad and Kalneh, in Shinar. From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah—which is the great city” (Genesis 8:9-10).
Parts of Nimrod’s biblical history mesh well with the narrative that Semiramis may have been his wife. They were both power-hungry, godless, and rebellious—which would have made them a collective force for evil.
Why Should Christians Know about Semiramis?
A simple online search for the name Semiramis confirms the fact that the world at large is still interested in who this woman was.
It’s important that Christians know what the Bible says—and what it does not say—about figures like Semiramis. Without being familiar with the truth, a Believer can fall susceptible to deception. Many cults and conspiracy theories have arisen from a lack of knowledge and truth.
“Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith” (1 Timothy 5:20-21).
For more information about the reliability of scriptural truth, check out What Is the Biblical Canon and Why Should Christians Know about It?
Photo credit: iStock/Getty Images Plus/Peshkova
This article is part of our People from the Bible Series featuring the most well-known historical names and figures from Scripture. We have compiled these articles to help you study those whom God chose to set before us as examples in His Word. May their lives and walks with God strengthen your faith and encourage your soul.
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