About the Book
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Chapter Analysis
Chapter 11: The Tower of Babel
Background History and Timeline:Â Genesis, traditionally attributed to Moses, was written around the 15th century BCE. It covers events from the creation of the world to the patriarchs of Israel.
Locations Mentioned:Â The chapter primarily focuses on the construction of the Tower of Babel and the dispersion of humanity.
Themes and Conflicts:Â Genesis 11 narrates the story of the Tower of Babel, emphasizing themes of pride, disobedience, and the consequences of human ambition. It explores the dispersion of languages and the scattering of peoples across the earth.
Main Characters:Â The descendants of Noah and the people involved in building the tower are the main characters in this chapter.
Specific Passages:
Genesis 11:4: "Then they said, 'Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.'"
Genesis 11:9: "Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth."
Explanation:Â Genesis 11 recounts the people's attempt to build a tower that reaches the heavens as a symbol of their collective strength and ambition. However, God intervenes by confusing their language, resulting in the dispersion of humanity across the earth.
The chapter highlights the consequences of human pride and disobedience, as well as God's sovereignty over the affairs of humanity. It illustrates the fragmentation of human unity and the diversity of languages and cultures that emerged as a result of the dispersion from Babel.
Genesis 11 serves as a continuation of the narrative following the Table of Nations in Genesis 10, showing how humanity's disobedience led to the scattering of peoples and the diversity of languages.
Moses is traditionally attributed as the author of Genesis, including Chapter 11.
Religious Text
Gen 11:1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.
Gen 11:2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
Gen 11:3 And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had
brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.
Gen 11:4 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us
make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth."
Gen 11:5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built.
Gen 11:6 And the LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only
the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.
Gen 11:7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one
another's speech."
Gen 11:8 So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the
city.
Gen 11:9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth.
And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth.
Gen 11:10 These are the generations of Shem. When Shem was 100 years old, he fathered Arpachshad two
years after the flood.
Gen 11:11 And Shem lived after he fathered Arpachshad 500 years and had other sons and daughters.
Gen 11:12 When Arpachshad had lived 35 years, he fathered Shelah.
Gen 11:13 And Arpachshad lived after he fathered Shelah 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
Gen 11:14 When Shelah had lived 30 years, he fathered Eber.
Gen 11:15 And Shelah lived after he fathered Eber 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
Gen 11:16 When Eber had lived 34 years, he fathered Peleg.
Gen 11:17 And Eber lived after he fathered Peleg 430 years and had other sons and daughters.
Gen 11:18 When Peleg had lived 30 years, he fathered Reu.
Gen 11:19 And Peleg lived after he fathered Reu 209 years and had other sons and daughters.
Gen 11:20 When Reu had lived 32 years, he fathered Serug.
Gen 11:21 And Reu lived after he fathered Serug 207 years and had other sons and daughters.
Gen 11:22 When Serug had lived 30 years, he fathered Nahor.
Gen 11:23 And Serug lived after he fathered Nahor 200 years and had other sons and daughters.
Gen 11:24 When Nahor had lived 29 years, he fathered Terah.
Gen 11:25 And Nahor lived after he fathered Terah 119 years and had other sons and daughters.
Gen 11:26 When Terah had lived 70 years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
Gen 11:27 Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran
fathered Lot.
Gen 11:28 Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans.
Gen 11:29 And Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's
wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah.
Gen 11:30 Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.
Gen 11:31 Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his
son Abram's wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when
they came to Haran, they settled there.
Gen 11:32 The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran.