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Genesis 11:1
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The Tower of Babel

1 Now the whole earth had one language and one1 speech.  
2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land aof Shinar, and they dwelt there.  
3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and1 bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar.  
4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower awhose top is in the heavens; let us make a bname for ourselves, lest we cbe scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”  
5 aBut the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.  
6 And the Lord said, “Indeed athe people are one and they all have bone language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they cpropose to do will be withheld from them.  
7 Come, alet Us go down and there bconfuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”  
8 So athe Lord scattered them abroad from there bover the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city.  
9 Therefore its name is called1 Babel, abecause there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.  

Shem’s Descendants

10 aThis is the genealogy of Shem: Shem was one hundred years old, and begot Arphaxad two years after the flood.  
11 After he begot Arphaxad, Shem lived five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.
12 Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, aand begot Salah.  
13 After he begot Salah, Arphaxad lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters.
14 Salah lived thirty years, and begot Eber.
15 After he begot Eber, Salah lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters.
16 aEber lived thirty-four years, and begot bPeleg.  
17 After he begot Peleg, Eber lived four hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters.
18 Peleg lived thirty years, and begot Reu.
19 After he begot Reu, Peleg lived two hundred and nine years, and begot sons and daughters.
20 Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot aSerug.  
21 After he begot Serug, Reu lived two hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters.
22 Serug lived thirty years, and begot Nahor.
23 After he begot Nahor, Serug lived two hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.
24 Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and begot aTerah.  
25 After he begot Terah, Nahor lived one hundred and nineteen years, and begot sons and daughters.
26 Now Terah lived seventy years, and abegot Abram, Nahor, and Haran.  

Terah’s Descendants

27 This is the genealogy of Terah: Terah begot aAbram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran begot Lot.  
28 And Haran died before his father Terah in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans.
29 Then Abram and Nahor took wives: the name of Abram’s wife was aSarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, bMilcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and the father of Iscah.  
30 Buta Sarai was barren; she had no child.  
31 And Terah atook his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from bUr of the Chaldeans to go to cthe land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there.  
32 So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran.
Commentaries:
Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?
<< Genesis 10:32   Genesis 11:2 >>

What Does Genesis 11:1 Mean?

In the time after the Flood, when the whole earth shared one language and one speech as stated in Genesis 11:1, mankind united in Babel under leaders like Nimrod. Driven by a desire for self-preservation rather than devotion to God, they sought to build a monument to ensure their endurance and reputation. Ignoring God's role in the Flood, they aimed to protect against future catastrophes through their own efforts. Their unified language facilitated this ambitious project, but their dismissal of God led to their scattering. Ultimately, God confused their language and dispersed them across the earth, fulfilling the very consequence they feared, as their focus remained on structures rather than divine will.




Genesis 11:1-4

After the waters of the Flood receded, and Noah's sons began having children of their own, mankind began rebuilding and re-establishing itself on the planet. Although God had promised never again to destroy the world with a flood, after a few generations the people—not knowing God and thus not trusting Him—were still inclined to look to their own resources for protection and stability. Many gathered around strong men like Nimrod (meaning "rebellion" or "let us revolt"), hoping that having the right leadership—the leadership that they deemed was right—would shield them from further woe.

The people of one of Nimrod's cities, Babel, began a project conceived out of a desire to preserve themselves rather than to glorify the Divine. With the Flood undoubtedly still on their minds, their first consideration was not their standing before God. Instead, they wanted to create a monument to stand the test of time—something that would help them to endure as a people and bestow a noteworthy reputation upon them. Their natural—carnal—inclination was to try to defend against an act of God rather than to make peace with Him.

In their hostility, it probably did not occur to them to come into alignment and favor with the One who has the power to scatter. Instead, they made contingency plans. Rather than being chastened by the Flood and turning to God, mankind became suspicious of Him—He was not behaving as they thought He should!—and sought to develop a structure to keep the consequences of sin (like scattering) at bay.

Nimrod was the grandson of Ham, yet only three generations after God's destruction of all but eight human beings, God was not part of humanity's calculations. Did the people really believe that God had sent the Flood? Or did they conclude that it was just a natural catastrophe—out of God's control and thus one that they needed to guard against in the future? Though the stories of the Flood undoubtedly played into their thinking, the Bible gives no indication that they received any positive instruction from them. Neither God nor His governance of earth was in their thoughts (Psalm 10:4).

Strong's Concordance shows that name in Genesis 11:4 means "an appellation, as a mark or memorial of individuality; by implication honor, authority, character." It contains the idea of a "definite and conspicuous position." Rather than submitting to God, they sought to elevate themselves. They were sure that they could find a way to advance beyond God-ordained consequences. The ironic outcome is that the identical consequence of sin they were trying so hard to avoid was what God ordained should befall them:

So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth. (Genesis 11:8-9)

At the Tower of Babel, the peoples' greatest fear came to pass because they left God out of their thoughts. However, it did not have to be that way. It would not have been difficult to inquire about moral and spiritual conditions before the Flood to ascertain why God acted as He did. It does not take much to understand sin and its consequences.

For the people of Babel and the children of Israel, idolatry in some form led them away from God. If they only had wholeheartedly sought God, peace could have been made between Him and them. Instead, they trusted in structures—the Tower of Babel and the Temple in Jerusalem (Jeremiah 7:1-15). In both cases, what they trusted in was destroyed, either by neglect or violence.

The structure was not the problem, for God Himself commissioned the building of the Temple, and after it was destroyed, He commanded that it be rebuilt. The problem was that the structure occupied more of their minds than God did. The same decision is before us: to trust in a structure for safety or to seek the sovereign God of heaven and earth.

David C. Grabbe
Babel: Confusing Wisdom and Rebellion

Related Topics: Babel, Tower of | Babel: Confusing Wisdom and Rebellion | Consequences of Rejecting God | Consequences of sin | Consequences to Disobedience | Elevating Self | Idolatry | Leaving God Out of Thoughts | Let Us Rebel | Let Us Revolt | Nimrod | Rebellion | Tower of Babel | Tower-Anything Representing Pride of Man | Trusting in Structures




Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Genesis 11:1:

Acts 2:6-11


 
<< Genesis 10:32   Genesis 11:2 >>

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