Chapter LXIV.

p. 301 73b-74a

It is written of Nimrod, "And he was a mighty hunter before the Lord' (Gen. X. 9). He acquired authority and renown by wearing the primogenital robes and garments of Adam and was able thus to corrupt the minds and habits of mankind in his days.

Said Rabbi Eleazer: "Nimrod first led men into error and caused them to fall into idolatry. Having possessed himself of the habiliments of his ancestor Adam, he usurped rule and authority over his fellows who submissively yielding to his tyranny made him the object of their worship and adoration. Why was he called Nimrod? Because he rebelled 1 against the Lord, the most high King of Heaven, and brought about a revolt in both worlds, the celestial and terrestrial. Becoming regarded as an universal sovereign and succeeding in wielding; the minds of mankind, he induced then to cease and discontinue their allegiance to their Lord and creator."

Said Rabbi Simeon: "Initiates of the secret doctrine recognize in the expression 'Adam's habiliments,' a very deep and occult mystery, the explanation of which is never divulged or imparted save to advanced students of the Hidden Wisdom."