The Tower of Babel
Genesis 11:1-9
Gen.11.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- כל: ADJ,m,sg
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- שפה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אחת: NUM,f,sg,abs
- ודברים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אחדים: NUM,m,pl
Parallels
- Gen.10:5 (verbal): The Table of Nations links the dispersion of peoples to distinctions of 'tongue' (language) and territory, providing background for the later statement that the whole earth once had one language.
- Deut.32:8-9 (thematic): Speaks of God dividing the nations and setting boundaries (often tied to their number and languages), reflecting an etiological tradition about how different peoples and tongues originated.
- Acts 2:1-11 (structural): The Pentecost episode functions as a reversal or corrective to Babel: where Genesis 11 describes one language fracturing into many, Acts portrays one Spirit enabling speech to be understood across languages.
- Zeph.3:9 (thematic): Promises a purified, unified 'speech' so that peoples may call upon the LORD with one accord, echoing the motif of restored or renewed unity of language opposed to Babel's division.
Alternative generated candidates
- And all the earth had one language and the same words.
- And it happened that all the earth had one language and the same words.
Gen.11.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- בנסעם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- מקדם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וימצאו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- בקעה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- שנער: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וישבו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- שם: ADV,loc
Parallels
- Gen.11.4 (structural): Immediate continuation: after they settle in the plain of Shinar they plan to build a city and a tower — explains purpose and activity following their dwelling.
- Gen.10.10 (verbal): Mentions Babel, Erech and other cities in the land of Shinar — same geographic designation (Shinar) and urban settlement context as 11:2.
- Gen.11.9 (structural): Describes the naming of Babel and the divine confusion of languages as the outcome of the group that had settled in the plain — a direct consequence of the settlement in 11:2–4.
- Gen.11.31 (thematic): Also records a migration and settlement pattern (Terah and Abram leaving Ur and settling in Haran) — parallels the broader motif of movement from the east and establishing residence.
Alternative generated candidates
- And as they journeyed from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they settled there.
- And as they journeyed from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they settled there.
Gen.11.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמרו: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,pl
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אל: PREP
- רעהו: NOUN,m,sg,poss3ms
- הבה: PART
- נלבנה: VERB,qal,cohort,1,pl
- לבנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ונשרפה: VERB,qal,cohort,1,pl
- לשרפה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ותהי: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,pl,m
- הלבנה: DET+NOUN,m,sg,def
- לאבן: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- והחמר: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,def
- היה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,pl,m
- לחמר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Gen.11.4 (structural): Immediate context — the purpose of making bricks is given here (to build a city and a tower), so v.3 and v.4 form a single narrative unit about human construction.
- Exod.1.14 (verbal): Uses the same technical vocabulary (brick and mortar) and depicts forced labor in brick-making, linking the material and social dimensions of large-scale building projects.
- Exod.5.7-8 (verbal): Describes the brick-making process (straw and clay) and administrative control over brick production — a practical and sociological parallel to Gen 11:3's brick manufacture.
- Isa.9.10 (thematic): Echoes the motif of bricks versus stone and human determination to rebuild/construct despite setbacks — a related image of communal building and defiant self-reliance.
- Ezek.4.1 (allusion): Commands the prophet to use an 'engraved tile' (brick/tile) as a model of a city — similar symbolic use of brick as representative of urban construction and siege imagery.
Alternative generated candidates
- And they said, each to his fellow, "Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly." And brick served them as stone, and bitumen served them as mortar.
- And they said each to his fellow, "Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly." And the brick served them as stone, and bitumen served them as mortar.
Gen.11.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמרו: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,pl
- הבה: PART
- נבנה: VERB,qal,imperfect,1,common,pl
- לנו: PRON,1,pl
- עיר: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ומגדל: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וראשו: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- בשמים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ונעשה: CONJ+VERB,qal,imperfect,1,common,pl
- לנו: PRON,1,pl
- שם: ADV,loc
- פן: PART,lest
- נפוץ: VERB,niphal,imperfect,1,common,pl
- על: PREP
- פני: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- כל: ADJ,m,sg
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Genesis 11:1-9 (structural): Immediate context — the same narrative describing a united human speech, the building of the city and tower, and God’s confused language and dispersion; provides fuller account of the motives and divine response.
- Isaiah 14:12-15 (verbal): Royal taunt against the king of Babylon uses language of aspiring to the heavens ('I will ascend into heaven'), echoing the tower-builders’ aim to reach the sky and their pride before judgment.
- Psalm 2:1-4 (thematic): Imagery of human rulers/peoples plotting together ('Let us...') in defiance of God parallels the collective, self-exalting planning expressed in ‘let us build... and make for ourselves a name.’
- Acts 2:1-12 (allusion): The Pentecost account functions as a theological reversal of Babel: instead of human unity leading to pride and dispersion, the Spirit enables understanding across languages — early interpreters read Acts as addressing Genesis 11's outcome.
- Revelation 18:2-3 (thematic): The fall of 'Babylon' in Revelation as a symbol of human hubris, wealth, and eventual divine judgment parallels Genesis 11’s theme of human pride, city-building, and subsequent divine punishment/dispersion.
Alternative generated candidates
- And they said, "Come, let us build for ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered over the face of all the earth."
- And they said, "Come, let us build for ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered over the face of all the earth."
Gen.11.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וירד: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לראת: VERB,qal,inf,0,0,0
- את: PRT
- העיר: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ואת: CONJ+PRT
- המגדל: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- בנו: NOUN,m,sg,abs,3,m,sg
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- האדם: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Genesis 11:6-9 (structural): Immediate continuation of the episode: after God 'came down to see' he decides to confound the language and disperse the people — same scene and narrative outcome.
- Genesis 6:5-7 (verbal): Uses the same motif of 'the LORD saw' human behavior; God perceives human action from heaven and responds with judgment (the Flood).
- Psalm 33:13-15 (verbal): Language parallels ('The LORD looks from heaven... he sees all the children of man'): both passages depict God surveying human affairs from above.
- 2 Chronicles 16:9 (thematic): Speaks of the LORD's eyes 'running to and fro throughout the whole earth' to give aid or to observe — similar theme of God's active oversight of human activity.
- Hebrews 4:13 (thematic): Affirms that nothing is hidden from God's sight; echoes the theological point that God inspects human works and will act in response, as in the Babel episode.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the children of humankind had built.
- And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the human race had built.
Gen.11.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הן: PRT
- עם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אחד: NUM,card,sg,m
- ושפה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אחת: NUM,f,sg,abs
- לכלם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- וזה: CONJ,DEM
- החלם: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- לעשות: VERB,qal,inf
- ועתה: CONJ+PRT
- לא: PART,neg
- יבצר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- מהם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- כל: ADJ,m,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יזמו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- לעשות: VERB,qal,inf
Parallels
- Acts 2:1-12 (thematic): Pentecost functions as a narrative reversal of Babel: where Gen 11 describes God confusing languages and dispersing people, Acts 2 describes the Spirit enabling people of many tongues to understand one another, undoing the barrier of language.
- Deuteronomy 32:8-9 (allusion): Speaks of the Most High apportioning the nations and setting their boundaries — a related tradition about divine ordering of peoples and tongues that echoes the dispersal at Babel.
- Psalm 2:1-3 (thematic): The image of nations and rulers conspiring together (‘Why do the nations rage…’) parallels Gen 11’s concern that united humanity could carry out ambitious, rebellious projects requiring divine intervention.
- Isaiah 14:13-14 (thematic): The king’s boastful intent to ascend to heaven and ‘make a name’ reflects the same prideful ambition behind the Babel project to build a tower and exalt human stature.
- Exodus 1:10 (thematic): Pharaoh’s fear that a single, growing, united people might become dangerous (‘Come, let us deal wisely…’) parallels Gen 11’s notice that a united language/people could accomplish whatever they set out to do.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the LORD said, "Look—one people, and one language for all of them; and this is what they have begun to do; and now nothing they plan to do will be withheld from them.
- And the LORD said, "Behold, one people, and one language for all of them, and this is what they have begun to do; and now nothing that they purpose to do will be withheld from them.
Gen.11.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הבה: VERB,qal,cohort,1,pl
- נרדה: VERB,qal,imperfect,1,pl
- ונבלה: VERB,qal,imperfect,1,pl
- שם: ADV,loc
- שפתם: NOUN,f,sg,abs,3,pl
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לא: PART,neg
- ישמעו: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,pl
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שפת: NOUN,f,sg,const
- רעהו: NOUN,m,sg,abs,3,sg
Parallels
- Gen.1.26 (verbal): Both verses use the divine plural formula 'Let us...' — a deliberative divine council speech-act in which God decides on actions affecting humanity.
- Gen.3.22 (allusion): God's speech in the plural ('Behold, the man has become like one of us') and the subsequent limiting of human access/ability echoes Gen 11:7's divine decision to restrict human capacity by confusing language.
- Gen.10:5 (structural): The Table of Nations lists the descendants and their lands — a structural continuation/description of the population dispersion and distinct peoples that result from the language confusion at Babel.
- Deut.32:8-9 (thematic): Speaks of the Most High apportioning the nations and setting boundaries (in some textual traditions 'according to the number of the sons of God'), paralleling the theme of divine ordering/division of peoples and languages.
- Acts 2:1-12 (thematic): Pentecost functions as a theological reversal of Babel: where languages were confounded at Babel, at Pentecost people of many nations hear the message each in their own tongue.
Alternative generated candidates
- Come, let us go down and confuse their language there, so that no one will understand the language of his fellow."
- Come, let us go down and confuse there their language, so that no one will understand the language of his fellow."
Gen.11.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויפץ: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אתם: PRT+PRON,3,m,pl
- משם: PREP+DEM
- על: PREP
- פני: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- כל: ADJ,m,sg
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ויחדלו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- לבנת: VERB,qal,inf
- העיר: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Gen.9:1 (verbal): God's command to 'be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth' provides the original mandate to disperse that contrasts with the centralized building halted at Babel.
- Gen.10:25 (verbal): Of Peleg it is said 'for in his days the earth was divided'—a succinct summary linking the post‑Flood division/dispersion of peoples to the events at Babel.
- Gen.10:32 (thematic): The table of nations enumerates how the families of Noah spread over the earth, thematically continuing the dispersal described in Gen 11:8.
- Acts 2:1–11 (allusion): Pentecost functions as a narrative-theological counterpoint: where Gen 11 describes God scattering and confounding language, Acts 2 depicts God enabling tongues so the gospel reaches the dispersed nations.
- Acts 17:26 (thematic): Paul's claim that God 'determined the times and boundaries of their habitation' echoes the theme of divine ordering of the nations' dispersion and settlement described in Genesis 11.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the LORD scattered them from there over the face of all the earth, and they stopped building the city.
- So the LORD scattered them from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city.
Gen.11.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- על: PREP
- כן: ADV
- קרא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- שמה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בבל: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- שם: ADV,loc
- בלל: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שפת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- כל: ADJ,m,sg
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ומשם: CONJ+PREP+ADV
- הפיצם: VERB,hufal,perf,3,m,pl
- יהוה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- פני: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- כל: ADJ,m,sg
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Gen.9:19 (verbal): States that Noah’s sons became the nations and the people were ‘dispersed’ over the earth—closely related language and theme of dispersion found in Gen 11:9.
- Gen.10:32 (structural): The ‘Table of Nations’ that follows Babel summarizes how peoples and nations were distributed across the earth, providing the narrative/structural aftermath of the scattering in Gen 11.
- Deut.32:8 (allusion): Speaks of God dividing the nations and assigning boundaries (textual traditions: ‘sons of God’ vs. ‘sons of Israel’), echoing the motif of divine determination of peoples’ dispersion.
- Acts 2:1-11 (thematic): The Pentecost episode (multilingual speech and recognition) is often read as a reversal or theological counterpart to Babel’s confusion of tongues—both center on divine action concerning languages and peoples.
- Isa.11:11-12 (thematic): Promises the gathering of the dispersed from the four corners of the earth—serves as a prophetic counter-theme to the scattering initiated at Babel.
Alternative generated candidates
- Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them over the face of all the earth.
- Therefore its name was called Babel, for there the LORD confused the language of all the earth, and from there the LORD scattered them over the face of all the earth.
And all the earth had one language and the same words. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they settled there. And they said, each to his fellow, Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly; and brick served them as stone, and bitumen served them as mortar. And they said, Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower with its head in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered over the face of all the earth. And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the children of humankind were building. And the LORD said, Behold, one people, and one language for them all, and this is what they have begun to do; and now nothing that they intend to do will be impossible for them.
Come, let us go down and confuse there their language, so that no one will understand the language of his fellow. So the LORD scattered them from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city.
Therefore its name was called Babel, for there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them over the face of all the earth.