Rabbi 'Aḳiba said: They cast off the Kingdom of Heaven from themselves, and appointed Nimrod king over themselves; a slave son of a slave. Are not all the sons of Ham slaves? And woe to the land when a slave rules, as it is said, "For a servant, when he is king" (Prov. 30:22).
Rabbi Chakhinai said: Nimrod was a mighty hero, as it is said, "And Cush begat Nimrod, who began to be a mighty one in the earth" (Gen. 10:8). Rabbi Jehudah said: The coats which the Holy One, blessed be He, made for Adam and his wife, were with Noah in the ark, and when they went forth from the ark, || Ham, the son of Noah, brought them forth with him, and gave them as an inheritance to Nimrod. When he put them on, all beasts, animals, and birds, when they saw the coats, came and prostrated themselves before him. The sons of men thought that this (was due) to the power of his might; therefore they made him king over themselves, as it is said, "Wherefore it is said, Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord" (Gen. 10:9).