Yahweh said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do. Now nothing will be withheld from them, which they intend to do. Come, let’s go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So Yahweh scattered them abroad from there on the surface of all the earth. They stopped building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there Yahweh confused the language of all the earth. From there, Yahweh scattered them abroad on the surface of all the earth.
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Genesis 11:6-9 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men built. Yahweh said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do. Now nothing will be withheld from them, which they intend to do. Come, let’s go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So Yahweh scattered them abroad from there on the surface of all the earth. They stopped building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there Yahweh confused the language of all the earth. From there, Yahweh scattered them abroad on the surface of all the earth.
Parallel Translations
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Yahweh said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do. Now nothing will be withheld from them, which they intend to do.
Come, let’s go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”
So Yahweh scattered them abroad from there on the surface of all the earth. They stopped building the city.
Therefore its name was called Babel, because there Yahweh confused the language of all the earth. From there, Yahweh scattered them abroad on the surface of all the earth.
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And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.
So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
Show all 3 translations
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And the LORD said: 'Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is what they begin to do; and now nothing will be withholden from them, which they purpose to do.
Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.'
So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth; and they left off to build the city.
Therefore was the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth; and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Science (1)
Historical claims about the natural world, weighed against the scientific record.
Contradictions (3)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (44)
- Luke 1:51 (vv6, 8) He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
- Psalms 2:1-4 (v6) Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth take a stand, and the rulers take counsel together,…
- Psalms 33:10 (v7) Yahweh brings the counsel of the nations to nothing. He makes the thoughts of the peoples to be of no effect.
- Genesis 10:5 (vv7, 9) Of these were the islands of the nations divided in their lands, everyone after his language, after their families, in their nations.
- Genesis 10:10 (v9) The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
Show all 36 cross-references
- Genesis 10:20 (vv7, 9) These are the sons of Ham, after their families, according to their languages, in their lands and their nations.
- Acts 17:26 (vv6, 9) He made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the surface of the earth, having determined appointed seasons, and the…
- Genesis 3:22 (vv6–7) Yahweh God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand, and also take of the…
- Genesis 1:26 (v7) God said, “Let’s make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky,…
- Genesis 11:1 (v6) The whole earth was of one language and of one speech.
- Job 5:12-13 (v7) He frustrates the plans of the crafty, So that their hands can’t perform their enterprise. He takes the wise in their own craftiness; the…
- 1 Corinthians 14:23 (vv7, 9) If therefore the whole assembly is assembled together and all speak with other languages, and unlearned or unbelieving people come in,…
- Psalms 55:9 (v7) Confuse them, Lord, and confound their language, for I have seen violence and strife in the city.
- Genesis 10:25 (vv8–9) To Eber were born two sons. The name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided. His brother’s name was Joktan.
- Genesis 10:32 (vv7–8) These are the families of the sons of Noah, by their generations, according to their nations. The nations divided from these in the earth…
- Ecclesiastes 11:9 (v6) Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth, and walk in the ways of your heart, and in the…
- Genesis 6:5 (v6) Yahweh saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was continually…
- Genesis 9:19 (v6) These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.
- Deuteronomy 32:8 (v8) When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the children of men, he set the bounds of the peoples according…
- 1 Corinthians 14:2-11 (v7) For he who speaks in another language speaks not to men, but to God; for no one understands; but in the Spirit he speaks mysteries. But he…
- Genesis 8:21 (v6) Yahweh smelled the pleasant aroma. Yahweh said in his heart, “I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake because the…
- Genesis 42:23 (v7) They didn’t know that Joseph understood them; for there was an interpreter between them.
- Jeremiah 50:1-46 (v9) The word that Yahweh spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet. “Declare among the nations…
- Acts 2:4-11 (v7) They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak. Now there…
- Genesis 10:31-32 (v9) These are the sons of Shem, by their families, according to their languages, lands, and nations. These are the families of the sons of…
- Deuteronomy 28:49 (v7) Yahweh will bring a nation against you from far, from the end of the earth, as the eagle flies: a nation whose language you will not…
- Job 12:20 (v7) He removes the speech of those who are trusted, and takes away the understanding of the elders.
- Psalms 2:4 (v7) He who sits in the heavens will laugh. The Lord will have them in derision.
- Isaiah 13:1-14 (v9) The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw. Set up a banner on the bare mountain! Lift up your voice to them! Wave your hand,…
- Jeremiah 5:15 (v7) Behold, I will bring a nation on you from far away, house of Israel,” says Yahweh. “It is a mighty nation. It is an ancient nation, a…
- Genesis 11:4 (v8) They said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top reaches to the sky, and let’s make a name for ourselves, lest we be…
- Genesis 11:5 (v7) Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men built.
- Genesis 11:9 (v8) Therefore its name was called Babel, because there Yahweh confused the language of all the earth. From there, Yahweh scattered them abroad…
- Isaiah 6:8 (v7) I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am. Send me!”
- Genesis 49:7 (v8) Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
- Judges 10:14 (v6) Go and cry to the gods which you have chosen. Let them save you in the time of your distress!”
36 distinct cross-references across this passage (44 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (17 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv6–9 6. Behold, the people is one. Some thus expound…
6. Behold, the people is one. Some thus expound the words, that God complains of a wickedness in men so refractory, that he excites himself by righteous grief to execute vengeance; not that he is swayed by any passions, but to teach us that he is not negligent of human affairs, and that, as he watches for the salvation of the faithful, so he is intent on observing the wickedness of the ungodly; as it is said in Psalm 34:16,
“The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.”
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Others think there is a comparison between the less and the greater, no if it had been said, ‘They are hitherto few and only use one language; what will they not dare, if, on account of their multitude, they should become separated into various nations?’ But there rather seems to me to be a suppressed irony, as if God would propose to himself a difficult work in subduing their audacity: so that the sense may be, ‘This people is compacted together in a firm conspiracy, they communicate with each other in the same language, by what method therefore can they be broken?’ Nevertheless, he ironically smiles at their foolish and hasty confidence; because, while men are calculating upon their own strength, there is nothing which they do not arrogate to themselves.
This they begin to do. In saying that they begin, he intimates that they make a diligent attempts accompanied with violent fervor, in carrying on the work. Thus in the way of concession, God declares, that supposing matters to be so arranged, there would be no interruption of the building.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 9 God speaketh this in derision, because of their foolish…
God speaketh this in derision, because of their foolish persuasion and enterprise.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv6–9 Gen 11:6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people…
Gen 11:6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people [is] one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
Ver. 6. Behold the people is one, &c.] This benefit they abused to their pride and ambition, which they should have used to the help of the humane society, and common intercourse. They built, and God bare with them for a time, that he might make fools of them in the end. And this he doth daily.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv6–8 The Lord said this in way of holy scorn…
The Lord said this in way of holy scorn and derision. Compare Gen 3:22.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv6–9 And the Lord said,.... Not to the angels, as…
And the Lord said,.... Not to the angels, as Aben Ezra, but rather to the Son and Spirit, or within himself:
behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; which some think is spoken ironically; but I see no reason why it may not be understood seriously, that the people who were concerned in this building were unanimous, not only in their religious principles, such as they were, as Aben Ezra, but in their counsel, purpose, and design in building; they went on with great concord, harmony, and vigour, and being of one language, they understood one another, and so could carry on their work with the greater expedition:
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and this they begin to do; to build the city and the tower, and had made considerable progress in it:
and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do; they had prepared bricks, and slime or bitumen, a sufficient quantity for their use, or could easily come at more if they wanted; and they were not to be prevailed upon to desist from their work, by any advice that the sons of God could give them; they were obstinate and self-willed, and not to be argued with and persuaded to leave off; and there was no power on earth superior to them, to oblige them to it; they could only be restrained from their enterprise, and hindered from executing it, by divine power; and which was judged necessary to exert, as appears by what follows: and the words may be rendered, "shall they not be restrained? &c." they shall.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv6–7 And the Lord said, Behold the people is one,…
And the Lord said, Behold the people is one, and they have all one language - And if they continue one, much of the earth will be left uninhabited, and these children of men, if thus incorporated, will swallow up the little remnant of God's children, therefore it is decreed they must not be one. And now nothing will be restrained from them - And this is a reason why they must be crossed, in their design.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 9 Verse 6. The people is one, c.] From this,…
Verse 6. The people is one, c.] From this, as before observed, we may infer, that as the people had the same language, so they had a unity of design and sentiment. It is very likely that the original language was composed of monosyllables, that each had a distinct ideal meaning, and only one meaning as different acceptations of the same word would undoubtedly arise, either from compounding terms, or, when there were but few words in a language, using them by a different mode of pronunciation to express a variety of things. Where this simple monosyllabic language prevailed (and it must have prevailed in the first ages of the world) men would necessarily have simple ideas, and a corresponding simplicity of manners. The Chinese language is exactly such as this; and the Hebrew, if stripped of its vowel points, and its prefixes, suffixes, and postfixes separated from their combinations, so that they might stand by themselves, it would nearly answer to this character even in its present state. In order therefore to remove this unity of sentiment and design, which I suppose to be the necessary consequence of such a language, God confounded their language-caused them to articulate the same word differently, to affix different ideas to the same term, and perhaps, by transposing syllables and interchanging letters, form new terms and compounds, so that the mind of the speaker was apprehended by the hearer in a contrary sense to what was intended. This idea is not iii expressed by an ancient French poet, Du Bartas; and not badly, though rather quaintly, metaphrased by our countryman, Mr. Sylvester.
Some speak between the teeth, some in the nose, Some in the throat their words do ill dispose -
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"Bring me," quoth one, "a trowel, quickly, quick!"
One brings him up a hammer. "Hew this brick,"
Another bids; and then they cleave a tree;
"Make fast this rope," and then they let it flee.
One calls for planks, another mortar lacks;
They bear the first a stone, the last an axe.
One would have spikes, and him a spade they give;
Another asks a saw, and gets a sieve.
Thus crossly crost, they prate and point in vain:
What one hath made another mars again.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
These masons then, seeing the storm arrived
Of God's just wrath, all weak and heart-deprived,
Forsake their purpose, and, like frantic fools,
Scatter their stuff and tumble down their tools.
DU BARTAS. - Babylon.
I shall not examine how the different languages of the earth were formed. It certainly was not the work of a moment; different climates must have a considerable share in the formation of tongues, by their influence on the organs of speech. The invention of new arts and trades must give birth to a variety of terms and expressions. Merchandise, commerce, and the cultivation of the sciences, would produce their share; and different forms of government, modes of life, and means of instruction, also contribute their quota. The Arabic, Chaldee, Syriac, and AEthiopic, still bear the most striking resemblance to their parent, the Hebrew. Many others might be reduced to a common source, yet everywhere there is sufficient evidence of this confusion. The anomalies even in the most regular languages sufficiently prove this. Every language is confounded less or more but that of eternal truth. This is ever the same; in all countries, climates, and ages, the language of truth, like that God from whom it sprang, is unchangeable. It speaks in all tongues, to all nations, and in all hearts: "There is one GOD, the fountain of goodness, justice, and truth. MAN, thou art his creature, ignorant, weak, and dependent; but he is all - sufficient - hates nothing that he has made - loves thee - is able and willing to save thee; return to and depend on him, take his revealed will for thy law, submit to his authority, and accept eternal life on the terms proposed in his word, and thou shalt never perish nor be wretched." This language of truth all the ancient and modern Babel builders have not been able to confound, notwithstanding their repeated attempts. How have men toiled to make this language clothe their own ideas; and thus cause God to speak according to the pride, prejudice and worst passions of men! But through a just judgment of God, the language of all those who have attempted to do this has been confounded, and the word of the Lord abideth for ever.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 9 In deed. This seems to be spoken ironically; though…
In deed. This seems to be spoken ironically; though the effects of weak mortals, the sons of Adam, when pursued with vigour and unanimity, will produce great effects. These builders had conceived an idea of raising the tower as high as possible, hyperbolically, to touch heaven. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv6–7 and now nothing will be restrained from them--an apparent…
and now nothing will be restrained from them--an apparent admission that the design was practicable, and would have been executed but for the divine interposition.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv6–9 6. This they begin to do — This is…
6. This they begin to do — This is only the beginning of their deeds, and if this daring act of impiety be not rebuked, and their far-reaching plans of centralized human power be not frustrated, nothing will be restrained from them, (Hebrews, cut off from them;) that is, there will be no bound or limit to their purposes.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv6–9 6. And the Lord said] The account, in this…
6. And the Lord said] The account, in this and the following verse, is evidently condensed. In Gen_11:5 Jehovah is represented as coming down on earth, in order to see more closely, and on the spot to form a better judgement. This He has done; He has returned to heaven, and now, in Gen_11:6, announces what He has seen. In Gen_11:7 He proposes to descend a second time and inflict punishment.
one people … one language] This is evidently contrary to the intention of the Deity who desires the whole earth to be populated.
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nothing will be withholden from them] i.e. they will be baulked in no enterprise. If they mount up to heaven, their arrogance will make them endeavour to rival God Himself. It is the same kind of apprehension as in Gen_3:22.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv8–9 (8) The Lord (Jehovah) scattered them abroad from thence…
(8) The Lord (Jehovah) scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.—The tendency of men, as the result of a growing diversity of language, was to separate, each tribe holding intercourse only with those who spake their own dialect; and so the Divine purpose of occupying the world was carried into effect, while the project of this ambitious knot of men to hold mankind together was frustrated, and the building of their tower ceased.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv6–9 And the Lord said within himself, and to himself…
And the Lord said within himself, and to himself (vide ver. 8); expressive of the formation of a Divine resolution (cf. Gen_6:7) Behold, the people s, from root signifying to bind together, expresses the idea of association; ywOG, from a root signifying to swell (Lange), to flow together (Gesenius), to gather together (Furst), conveys the notion of a confluxus hominum. T. Lewis connects it with the sense of interiority, or exclusion, which is common in the Chaldee and Syriacis one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do. One race, one tongue, one purpose. The words indicate unity of effort, as well as concentration of design, on the part of the builders, and a certain measure of success in the achievement of their work. And now nothing will be restrained from them. Literally, there will not be cut off from them anything; oujk ejkleiyei ajp aujtwn panta (LXX); non desistent a cogitationibus suis (Vulgate, Luther); i.e. nothing will prove too hard for their dating. It can hardly imply that their impious design was on the eve of completion. Which they have imagined to do.
Vain imaginings
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1. Commonly spring from misused blessings. A united people, with a common language, and enjoying a measure of "success in their buildings, the Babelites became vain in their imaginings. So do wicked men generally misinterpret the Divine beneficence and leniency which suffers them to proceed a certain length with their wickedness (cf. Rom_1:21; 2Ti_3:9)
2. Are never unobserved by him against whom they are directed . (Deu_31:21; 1Ch_28:9)
3. Are doomed to certain and complete frustration W. (Psa_2:1; Luk_1:51; 2Co_10:5)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because…
Gen_11:9
Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth
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God causing confusion in order to restore peace
I.
GOD IS NOT THE AUTHOR OF CONFUSION, BUT OF PEACE. Yet once, in His wise compassion, He made confusion in order to prevent it; He destroyed peace, that in the end He might restore it.
II. God, who hath made of one blood all nations of men, did, by that exercise of His power, THE BEST THING THAT COULD BE DONE TO CHECK AND RETARD THE RAPID GROWTH OF EVIL AND TO PREPARE THE MEANS BY WHICH MAN MIGHT BE BROUGHT BACK TO OBEDIENCE. While there was but one tongue, men easily corrupted each other; when there were many, evil communications were greatly hindered. God marred the Babel builders work, but it was in order to mar their wickedness; and meanwhile He had His own gracious designs for a remedy. Pentecost. (F. E. Paget, M. A.)
Divine order in confusion
1. The confusion of tongues was not at random. It was a systematic distribution of languages for the purpose of a systematic distribution of man in emigration. The dispersion was orderly, the difference of tongue corresponding to the differences of race. By these were the Gentiles divided in their lands, everyone after his tongue, after their families in their nations.
2. From the earliest period there has been manifested, in the history of scientific progress, an invincible faith among scientific men that the facts of nature are capable of being arranged in conformity with laws of geometry and algebra. In other words, all have a profound conviction of the existence of what Argyll calls the reign of law, i.e., order in the midst of apparent confusion and aimlessness.
3. There is no illogical course in arguing that those who believe in God as the Creator of order in nature have a right to conclude that He preserves the same order in history. The cataclysms in nature have an order and object; why not then the catastrophes of history. There is Divine order in the midst of historical confusion, as palpable and manifest as in that of science. Looking back upon the pathway which history has trodden, we can perceive traces of design--powerful evidences of an infinite aim--order in the midst of confusion. Over the wheels of history, as over the wheels in Ezekiels sublime vision, is the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. (W. Adamson.)
The scattered builders
I. THE AMBITIOUS BUILDERS.
1. Worldly wisdom.
2. Desire for worldly power.
3. Worldly pride.
II. THE SUPREME RULER.
1. God looked.
2. God intervened.
3. God governed. So it is always.
God restrains the power of evil, and makes it serve Him (Psa_76:10). LEARN:
1. Not to be self-willed, proud, ambitious.
2. To submit to Gods will, and trust always in His wisdom and love. (W. S. Smith, B. D.)
The tower of Babel
I. THE BUILDERS.
1. Numerous. For one hundred years the posterity of Noah had continued to increase.
2. Of one speech. Hence present variety of language corroborative of the dispersion; otherwise there must have been many sources of the human race.
3. Disobedient. Had been expressly commanded to replenish, i.e. refill, the earth. Instead of obeying God, they lived together. Thus, too, the population of the world was retarded. Men increase more rapidly in new countries.
4. United in rebellion.
II. THE BUILDING.
1. Purpose. Not to escape another flood, for not only had they the promise, but very few could in such a case escape that way. Probably it was to serve some idolatrous purpose, and be a landmark around which they could unite as one people and nation.
2. Material.
3. Character. Lofty. Eastern buildings not generally marked by loftiness. This, a grand and solitary exception.
III. THE INTERRUPTION.
1. The person. God, whom they thought least of, and practically defied.
2. The mode. Confound their language.
IV. THE CONSEQUENCES.
1. The building abandoned. If some speaking one tongue had continued, the jealousy of the rest would have hindered. But so strange an event would confound them as well as their speech.
2. They separated. Into how many tribes or nations we know not. The most eminent philologists (as Bunsen, etc.) find three original stocks, which some even call the Semitic, Japhetic, and Hamitic.
3. The earth was more widely peopled. Thus was the Divine will enforced. But had this been obeyed, without the need of resorting to this compulsory method, how much more easily had missionary efforts, and commercial enterprises, etc., now been carried out. Thus the world is this day suffering through the sin of these builders of old. LEARN:
I. The sin and folly of disobeying God.
II. The ease with which God can punish sin.
III. The far-reaching consequence of sin.
IV. No confusion of tongues in heaven. All sing the one new song. (J. C. Gray.)
Lessons
1. How vain and disastrous it is for men to contend against God; they cannot effectually resist Him; they can only destroy themselves. Especially if their contention is against any of the plans and arrangements connected with His eternal covenant--if the work which they are opposing, or the providential dispensation against which they are rebelling, has a direct bearing on His glorious design for the redemption of the world, and the salvation of souls,--if they are labouring to shut out Christ, or what is Christs, from His own domains, from hearts and homes that should be His,--how idly and madly do they kick against the pricks!
2. How wise it is, and how blessed, to acquiesce in Gods allotment of the good things of life, and in His manner of bringing His purposes of love to pass! The blessed Lord is the God of Shem;--but Shem suffers wrong, and has to exercise long patience before deliverance comes. Still it is enough that Jehovah is his God; let him not be careful or anxious. Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven, and all other things shall be added unto you.
3. In regard to the duty and the destiny of nations, the purpose of God is here revealed.
(1) On the one hand, schemes of conquest, and of concentrated dominion, are seen not to be of God; and however He may sometimes make them subservient to His own purposes, He will always, in the end, pour contempt on the proud ambition of man.
(2) Orderly dispersion and colonization are of God. In particular, in the line of Japheth, to which we belong, and among the isles of the Gentiles, colonization seems to be especially the Divine rule.
(3) But even if Japheth should prove unfaithful in the use of the privileges and opportunities of his high calling, as enlarged by God, and permitted to dwell in the tents of Shem,--and for his unfaithfulness should be cast away,--there is hope for the world still. Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Shem, is still, after all, the rallying watchword by which faith is quickened, and expectation stirred. For salvation is of the Jews; and it is concerning the seed of Shem that the animating question is put,--If their fall be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles, how much more their fulness? (Rom_11:12). The Lord, whose name is blessed, is still the God of Shem: Israel is still beloved for the fathers sake.
(4) Finally, the division of languages, though an obstacle to schemes of human ambition, will not be suffered to be an obstacle to the triumph of the cause of God. Of this, God Himself gave a proof and pledge, in the miracle wrought on the day of Pentecost,--the counterpart of the miracle at Babel. The separation of nations will not hinder the unity of the faith. (R. S.Candlish, D. D.)
The dispersion at Babel
I. LET US INQUIRE WHO WERE DISPERSED OVER THE FACE OF THE EARTH AT THE DESTRUCTION OF BABEL. Who were those that lived on the plains of Shinar, built the tower of Babel, and were scattered over all the earth? It is evident they could not be the whole of mankind; for they had before been sent to the various places of their Divine destination. Some had gone to one quarter of the world, and some to another. Who, then, could the builders of Babel be that, after the general dispersion of mankind, were scattered over the earth? The Scripture history will inform us upon this subject. They were the sons of Ham; for the sacred historian tells us, The sons of Ham were Cush, and Misraim, and Phut, and Canaan. And the sons of Cush: Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha; and the sons of Raamab, Sheba and Dedan. And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: whereof it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel. But how came Nimrod the son of Ham, and his posterity, at Babylon, where Babel was built? This portion of the earth was allotted to Shem; and Nimrod with all the posterity of Ham was appointed to go to Africa. What right, then, had Nimrod, or any of the sons of Ham, to take possession of the plains of Babylon? Undoubtedly they had no right at all. But this is the Scripture account of the event. And every region was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass in the journeying of the people from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar. The people, then, who journeyed from the east were not all the people of the earth, but only the posterity of Ham, and especially Nimrod and his posterity. This is a very rational account. But it is absurd to suppose that the posterity of Noah, who consisted of a hundred and twenty or a hundred and thirty thousand, should all move in a body from the rich and fertile country around Mount Ararat, where they first settled after the flood, without any Divine direction or natural necessity. Hence it is natural to conclude that the people who journeyed from the east to the plain of Shinar were Nimrod and his posterity. Especially when we reflect it is expressly said that the beginning of Nimrods kingdom was Babel. But how came Nimrod to pitch upon the plain of Shinar after the general dispersion of mankind, and after he was directed to go to Africa, a country far distant from Babylon? To this I would answer, There seems to be no account given of his conduct but the following. When the posterity of Shem and Japheth obeyed the Divine direction to separate and go to the places allotted them, the posterity of Ham, or at least Nimrod and his descendants, refused to obey the Divine command. In open defiance to God they moved from the east and came to the pleasant land of Babylon, and there by force of arms took the plain of Shinar out of the hands of the children of Shem. They determined not to disperse, as God had required, and as the other branches of Noahs family had done. This shows that they built Babel in rebellion against God, and that God had just cause to come down and defeat their impious design by confounding their language.
II. I now proceed TO INQUIRE WHAT WERE THE MOST REMARKABLE CONSEQUENCES OF THE DISPERSION OF THE CHILDREN OF HAM AT THE DESTRUCTION OF BABEL AND THE CONFUSION OF LANGUAGE.
1. That their dispersion was productive of war. They waged the first war after the flood in taking possession of Babylon. And after they were driven from thence they maintained their rebellious and warlike spirit. Their course was everywhere marked with violence and cruelty.
2. This knowing and powerful people carried the arts and sciences with them wherever they went. In these they excelled all other people. And notwithstanding their tyranny and cruelty, they did much to spread light and knowledge among the inhabitants of the earth. Of this they have left astonishing monuments in almost all parts of the world.
3. That this learned and ingenious people were gross idolaters, and spread idolatry through all nations whom they subdued and among whom they lived. They were the most corrupt and wicked part of Noahs family.
IMPROVEMENT.
1. This subject gives us reason to think that true religion prevailed and flourished for many years after the flood. Everything was suited to produce this happy effect. Neither Noah nor his family could ever forget the solemn, instructive, and affecting scenes through which they had passed, nor erase from their minds the deep impressions those scenes had made upon them. They would naturally relate to their children what they had seen, and heard, and felt during the awful period of the flood, and they again would relate the same things from one generation to another.
2. We learn from the Scripture history of mankind which we have been considering, that infidelity has been the principal source of the wars and fightings that have deluged the world in blood.
3. It appears from what has been said that all false religion is only a corruption of the true.
4. It appears from what has been said how much easier it is to spread any false religion in the world than the true religion.
5. It is a strong evidence in favour of the religion contained in the Bible that it has been so long preserved in the world, notwithstanding all mankind could do to destroy it.
6. We learn from what has been said, the deplorable state in which mankind in general have been involved for ages and are still involved. It is indeed a dark mystery that God has suffered them so long to walk in their own way without using such effectual means to enlighten and save them as He always has had power to use. But we have good reason to believe that He will yet bring light out of their darkness, holiness out of their blindness, and happiness out of their misery.
7. This subject shows the great reason that Christians have to expect, desire, and pray for a better state of things in the world. (N. Emmons, D. D.)
Lessons
1. Gods execution of vengeance falleth soon after His resolution.
2. Jehovah will be the executioner of His own sentence on the wicked.
3. It is Gods work to set confederates against each other who conspire against Him.
4. The place of sin may sometimes prove the place of vengeance.
5. Sinners consultations to strengthen themselves in one place may end in a universal dispersion.
6. The earth is overspread with sinners against God by His judgment taken on them.
7. The strongest councils of sin will be frustrated by God.
8. High resolutions of sinners fall short of all their ends (Gen_11:8). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Good architecture
Good architecture is the work of good and believing men. (J. Ruskin.)
Gods infinite resources for punishing sinners
This brings before us a hint of the unknown resources of God, in the matter of punishing those who disobey His will. Who could have thought of this method of scattering the builders of the city? God does not send a fire upon the builders; no terrible plague poisons the air; yet in an instant each workman is at a loss to understand the other, and each considers all the rest as but raving maniacs! Imagine the bewildering and painful scene! Men who have been working by each others side days and weeks are instantly conscious of inability to understand one anothers speech! New sounds, new accents, new words, but not a ray of intelligence in all! It is a fearful thing to fall into the hand of the living God. God has innumerable ways of showing His displeasure at human folly and human crime. A man may be pursuing a course of prosperity in which he is ignoring all that is moral and Divine, and men may be regarding him as the very model of success; yet, in an instant, Almighty God may blow upon his brain, and the man may sit down in a defeat which can never be reversed. God is not confined to one method of punishment. He touches a mans bones, and they melt; He breathes upon a mans brain, and henceforth he is not able to think. He comes in at night time and shakes the foundations of mans most trusted towers, and in the morning there is nought but a heap of ruins. He disorganizes mens memories, and in an instant they confuse all the recollections of their lifetime. He touches mans tongue, and the fluent speaker becomes a stammerer. He breaks the staff in twain, and he who was thus relying upon it is thrown down in utter helplessness. We know but little of what God means when He says Heaven; that word gives us but a dim hint of the infinite light and blessedness and triumph which are in reserve for the good. We have but a poor conception of what God means when He says Hell; that word is but a flickering spark compared with the infinite distress, and endless ruin and torment, which must befall every man who defies his Maker. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Confusion of language
Speaking of this confusion of language, may I not be permitted to inquire whether even in our own English tongue there is not today very serious confusion? Do men really mean words to be accepted in their plain common sense? Does not the acute man often tell his untrained client what he intends to do in language which has double meanings? Do we not sometimes utter the words that have one meaning to the world and another meaning to our own hearts? Yea does not always mean yea, nor does nay always mean nay; men sign papers with mental reservations; men utter words in their common meaning, and to themselves they interpret these words with secret significations. The same words do not mean the same thing under all circumstances and as spoken by different speakers. When a poor man says rich, he means one thing; when a millionaire says rich, he means something very different. Let us consider that there is morality even in the use of language. Let no man consider himself at liberty to trifle with the meaning of words. Language is the medium of intercourse between man and man, and on the interpretation of words great results depend. It behoves us, therefore, who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ, so to speak as to leave ourselves without the painful reflection of having taken refuge in ambiguous expressions for the sake of saving ourselves from unpleasant results. It will be a sign that God is really with us as a nation, when a pure language is restored unto us--when man can trust the word of man, and depend with entire confidence upon the honour of his neighbour. (J. Parker, D. D.)
The confusion of tongues
The late Bishop Selwyn devoted a great part of his time to visiting the Melanesian Isles, and he thus writes home about the difficulty of languages: Nothing but a special interposition of the Divine power could have produced such a confusion of tongues as we find here. In islands not larger than the Isle of Wight we find dialects so distinct that the inhabitants of the various districts hold no communication one with another. (Old Testament Anecdotes.)
No architect
The late Mr. Alexander, the eminent architect, was under cross examination at Maidstone by Serjeant, afterwards Baron, Garrow, who wished to detract from the weight of his testimony, and, after asking him what was his name, he proceeded: You are a builder? No, sir, I am an architect. They are much the same. I beg your pardon, sir; I cannot admit that. I consider them to be totally different. Oh, indeed l Perhaps you will state wherein the difference consists? An architect, sir, conceives the design, prepares the plan, draws out the specifications--in short, supplies the mind; the builder is merely the bricklayer or the carpenter. The builder is the machine; the architect the power that puts it together and sets it going. Oh, very well, Mr. Architect, that will do. And now, after your very ingenious distinction without a difference, perhaps you can inform the court who was the architect of the Tower of Babel? The reply, for promptness and wit, is not to be rivalled in the history of rejoinder:--There was no architect, sir, and hence the confusion. (Old Testament Anecdotes.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v9 i.e. confusion. (See Scofield "Gen 11:1") See Scofield "Isa…
Babel
i.e. confusion. (See Scofield "Gen 11:1") See Scofield "Isa 13:1".
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v8 from there
from there
"from the city"
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its name was called Babel, because there Yahweh confused
The name "Babel" sounds like the word that means "confused." Translators may want to add a footnote about this.
confused the language of the whole earth
It means that Yahweh caused the people all over the earth to no longer speak the same language. AT: "mixed up the language of the whole earth" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
translationWords
Yahweh
Babel
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv6–9 11:6 If left unchecked, the tower builders’ solidarity and…
11:6 If left unchecked, the tower builders’ solidarity and ambition would allow human wickedness to flourish in unimaginable ways.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.