Exposition of Genesis 1-11 The Tower of Babel Gen 11:1-9

The Sons of Noah Gen 9:18 – 11:9 The listing of Noah’s sons who exited the ark (9:18-19) The story of Noah’s intoxication and his death (9:20-29) The Toledoth of Noah’s descendants (10:1-32) The scattering at the Tower of Babel (11:1-9) This event happened chronologically before the listing in chapter 10. It serves to explain how the peoples of the world, though coming from one family, ended up speaking different languages.

Approximate Location of Tower of Babel

Modern Day Babylon Babylon is present day All Hillah, about 55 miles south of Baghdad

Man’s Prideful Plan Gen 11:1-4 As the sons of Noah reproduced, all of them spoke the same language. They evidently began to spread across the land as nomads, but then came to a broad plain in the Land of Shinar and determined to settle there. God had restated His commission to Noah and his sons to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (9:7). It was in the course of obeying this command that the events of this account occurred. The land evidently lacked suitable stone for building, so they used substitutes: manufactured bricks for stone, and asphalt for mortar. These are inferior construction materials – often “here today, tomorrow in ruins” – used for their “glorious” project. The “same language” and “the same words” (NASB) are parallel expressions.

Man’s Prideful Plan Gen 11:1-4 Their intent was to build an enormous city that would contain all mankind, with a tower “whose top is in heaven” as its centerpiece. As with his earlier fall and wickedness that resulted in the judgment of the flood, mankind’s rebellion against God continues. The height of the tower was to reach the dwelling place of the gods. Subsequent such towers had temples in their tops for worship of these false gods. Their stated purpose was “to make a name” for themselves and to prevent being “scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” Ironically, the city ends up with a name, but not a good one: Babel. There is not much discussion here about the religious element of what these men were doing, but it is clearly implied. The tower turns out to be a monument to God’s judgment on man’s pride.

Artist’s Rendering of the Tower of Babel A example of a Ziggurat, built in terraces. Approximately 32 to 34 ziggurats or ziggurat foundations have been attested in the Tigris-Euphrates basin. (The Evangelical Theological Society: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society Volume 22. The Evangelical Theological Society, 1979; 2002, S. 22:20). Temple of Marduk in Babylon later is another example. Tower here in Genesis is significant, but not the main theme of the story, which is the dispersion of peoples over all the earth. You can also find pictures on the internet that compare the tower to the present day EU headquarters.

The Lord’s Unthwarted Purpose Gen 11:5-9 The beginning of v. 5 is best translated as “But...” The section that follows is in antithesis to what has come before. “The Lord came down” means he investigated the matter thoroughly. Cassuto says that the gigantic structure was so small in the eyes of the Lord that He had to come down to get a good look at it!

The Lord’s Unthwarted Purpose Gen 11:5-9 Because they were one people with one language, they could easily work together to accomplish their purpose. What they have begun to do in this building project demonstrates what they will do, if not halted. As with “Let us make man...”, the plural here (“Let us go down and confuse”) is one of personal deliberation and exhortation...a means of expressing the Lord’s direct intervention in the affairs of the sons of men. Confusion of language is a great way to destroy communication and cooperation. So the Lord very effectively accomplished His purpose of scattering men across the face of the earth. And perhaps a reference to deliberation within the triune Godhead

The Lord’s Unthwarted Purpose Gen 11:5-9 After the confusion of languages, they stopped building the city. The unfinished city (and tower) became a memorial to what took place there and was thus named “Babel”: In Babylonian literature the term bab-ili means “gate of god.” But in Hebrew the term “Babel” is linked to the verb “to confuse” – appropriate for what the true God did there at that time.

Babylon through the Bible Has its origins here in Gen 11. The kingdom used to take Judah into captivity, and one in a series of Gentile kingdoms that dominate the world (Daniel 1, 2, and 7; Rev 17:9-10). The city which serves as the capital of the kingdom of the false christ, and which makes the other nations drunk with the wine of her immorality (Rev 17-18). “In the future day anticipated in the pages of this prophecy, this city will become the focal point for a religious system staunchly opposed to the truth of Christianity” (Thomas, Revelation 8-22, p. 307). Isa 13 and Jer 51 prophesy Babylon’s destruction – prophecy which has yet to be fulfilled.

Next Week: The Toledoths of Shem and Terah Gen 11:10-32