THE
GENESIS 11:1-26
Throughout
our study of the book of Genesis, we have noted the literary style of the
book. This literary style is consistent
in that the factors not central to the main theme are quickly dealt with first
and then the record returns to the central theme to deal with it at length.
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First we see the overall
view |
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Then we return to see the
important details |
This
same pattern is seen in Genesis 10-11.
The genealogy of Genesis 10 is given as a panorama of the nations. Then Genesis 11 goes back to the
THE
PURPOSE OF THE
Why
is this story included in the Genesis account?
A number of reasons could be cited, each with a certain degree of
validity.
1. To Show the Origin of the Division of Languages.
Secular philology has wrestled with the question of
the origin of languages and whether all languages stem from a common
ancestor. We do know that languages
change over time and that new languages grow and develop, but this does not
tell us where this process began in the first place. Only in the Bible to we have a definitive
answer.
2. To Show the Origin of the Babylonian Religious System.
Moses is writing this narrative to the Israelites who
have recently come out of
3. To Show the Results of Rebellion against God.
The close of the book of Deuteronomy contains a series
of blessings and curses for either obedience or disobedience to the
covenant. These are found in Deuteronomy
28. If
There is a point here.
It is that the curse brought against
THE
1 Now the
whole earth used the same language and the same words. 2 And it
came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the
When
the passage says that the whole earth used the same language, we need to
remember that the word for “the earth” is ha-aretz
and can refer to “the land.” On the
other hand, if we understand this to be the origin of all major language groups
(and that certainly seems to be the case), then it would naturally follow that
this universality would have been mirrored in a universal flood.
The
area where the ark had landed was a mountainous area to the north of
It
is no accident that the
Not
only is there confirmation of this account in the existence of such towers, but
even the mode of their construction is described. There is a special mention of the specific
building materials.
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Instead of stone... |
They used brick |
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Instead of mortar... |
They used tar |
Why
is this significant? Remember that this
is written to the Israelites who have just come out of
"You
shall make an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt
offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen; in every place
where I cause your name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you. 25 And if
you make an altar of stone for Me, you shall not build it of cut stones, for if
you wield your tool on it, you will profane it." (Exodus 20:24‑25).
The
altar was not to be a monument to men's architecture, but rather a monument to
the Lord. By contrast, the
The
tower was to serve as the religious and social focal point of the people. It was to be their symbol of unity and
strength. In short, it was a symbol of
their rebellion against God.
1. The
tower was to have its top oriented toward heaven ‑- literally, “and its
head in the heavens.” Some have
suggested the initial idea of a “flood‑proof tower.” More likely is the idea that it was a tower
which was dedicated to astrology and the worship of the heavens.
The Sumerian name for
2. There was also a cult of egotism at work. This is seen in the continued use of the
personal pronoun: And they said to
one another, "Come, let US make bricks and burn them
thoroughly." And they used brick
for stone, and they used tar for mortar.
And they said, "Come, let US build for OURSELVES a city, and a
tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let US make for OURSELVES a name;
lest WE be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth."
(Genesis 11:3‑4).
Notice that a part
of this plan was to make a name for themselves.
Was this in reaction to the promises which had been made to Shem? It would seem that the plans described here
in the building of the city and the tower were the acts of deliberate rebellion
against the decree of the Lord.
We fall into this
same sort of rebellion when we set out to build our own kingdoms instead of
seeking the Lord and His kingdom. You
are building a kingdom. The only
question is what is the nature of that kingdom and for whom are you building?
THE
DIVINE COUNCIL
5 And the
LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. 6 And the
LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same
language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose
to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their
language, that they may not understand one another's speech." (Genesis
11:5-7).
The
pivotal point in this narrative takes place in verse 5 when the Lord comes down
to see the city and the tower.
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People
come together; One language (11:1‑2). |
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People
say: “Come let us... build” (11:3‑4). |
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God
came down to see... (11:5). |
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God
says: “Come let us... confuse them” (11:6‑7). |
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People
scattered; Many Languages (11:8‑9). |
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Warren
Gage points out the impact of such a description upon the original recipients
of this book: “Moses mocks the colossal self‑assertion of man by exposing
his infinitesimal accomplishment. This
great tower, which should pierce the heavens, falls so far short of the divine
prominence that the Lord must "come down to see" what man is doing.” [1]
As
men had gathered and counseled together over their plans, so we have a picture
of the Lord holding a divine council to determine the fate of mankind. The use of the plural is reminiscent of the
same type of usage in Genesis 1:26. As
we noted in that passage, so also here the plural is most likely reflective of
a plural of majesty.
We
should not take this to mean that every dialect and language spoken today was
immediately changed into its present form.
The growth of languages has been a slow, on‑going process.
On
the other hand, there are a number of specific language groups that are
recognized as being separate and distinct from one another. Philologists have observed that most
languages fall into one of three major groupings.
• Indo-European
(corresponds to Japheth): English, Spanish, Greek, German, French, Latin,
Italian.
• Semitic
(corresponds to Shem): Hebrew, Arabic, Akkadian, Aramaic.
• Hamitic
(corresponds to Ham): Egyptian, Berber,
Cushitic, and Chadic.[2]
Of
these three groups, the most diverse and scattered is the Hamitic family. Similarly, philologists today recognize a
number of other groupings and are uncertain how they relate to one another.
THE
NAMING OF THE CITY
8 So the
LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and
they stopped building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called
There
is a play on words used here. It was of
a kind that delighted the Jewish mind.
The
name of the city is given as
In
a very real sense, what happened at
This
promise would be fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
Within a few days of Christ's ascension into heaven, the curse of
confusion would be seen to be overturned in a dramatic way by the Pentecost
Incident - when Jews from all over the world would hear God's word proclaimed
in all of the Gentile languages.
Furthermore, there is coming a day when every tongue shall confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:11).
On that day, the rebellion that began at
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The New Jerusalem |
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Built upon
brick and mortar |
Built on the
foundation of the apostles and prophets |
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Tries to build
a tower to the heavens. |
God brings His
city down from heaven. |
The
city that led to the scattering of the nations will one day give way to a city
that will unite all the nations.
THE
GENEALOGY OF GENESIS 11
10 These
are the records of the generations of Shem. Shem was one hundred years old, and
became the father of Arpachshad two years after the flood; 11 and
Shem lived five hundred years after he became the father of Arpachshad, and he
had other sons and daughters.
12 And
Arpachshad lived thirty‑five years, and became the father of Shelah; 13 and
Arpachshad lived four hundred and three years after he became the father of
Shelah, and he had other sons and daughters.
14 And
Shelah lived thirty years, and became the father of Eber; 15 and
Shelah lived four hundred and three years after he became the father of Eber,
and he had other sons and daughters.
16 And
Eber lived thirty‑four years, and became the father of Peleg; 17 and
Eber lived four hundred and thirty years after he became the father of Peleg,
and he had other sons and daughters.
18 And
Peleg lived thirty years, and became the father of Reu; 19 and
Peleg lived two hundred and nine years after he became the father of Reu, and
he had other sons and daughters.
20 And Reu
lived thirty‑two years, and became the father of Serug; 21 and Reu
lived two hundred and seven years after he became the father of Serug, and he
had other sons and daughters.
22 And
Serug lived thirty years, and became the father of Nahor; 23 and
Serug lived two hundred years after he became the father of Nahor, and he had
other sons and daughters.
24 And
Nahor lived twenty‑nine years, and became the father of Terah; 25 and
Nahor lived one hundred and nineteen years after he became the father of Terah,
and he had other sons and daughters.
26 And
Terah lived seventy years, and became the father of Abram, Nahor and
Genesis
11 contains a genealogical table that is symmetrical with the one in Genesis 5
(but only when the name “Cainan” is added from the Septuagint ‑ see also
Luke 3:36).
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Genesis 5 |
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Genesis 11 |
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Adam Seth Enosh Kenan Mahalel Jared Enoch Methuselah Lamech Noah Shem Ham Japheth |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 |
Shem Arphachshad Cainan Shelah Eber Peleg Reu Serug Nahor Terah Abram Nahor |
There is a contrast to be
seen between the genealogy that is found in Genesis 5 versus the one presented
here in Genesis 11.
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Genesis 5 |
Genesis 11 |
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Begins with Adam, but is
preceded by a genealogy of the antediluvian world found in Genesis 4. |
Begins with Shem, but is
preceded by a genealogy of the postdiluvian world found in Genesis 10. |
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Ten generations are listed. |
Ten generations are listed. |
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The average age at the
birth of the firstborn is between 65 to 187 years. |
The average age at the
birth of the firstborn is between 29 to 35 years. |
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Ends with the birth of
three sons. • Shem • Ham • Japheth |
Ends with the birth of
three sons. • Abram • Nahor • |
It has been suggested that
the genealogy given in Genesis 11 does not necessarily have to be interpreted
as a strict chronology. Several factors
combine to suggest the possibility of intentional gaps within this genealogy.
1. The
Number of Years is not Totaled.
If
the list of names in Genesis 11 had been given for the purpose of determining
the length of time from the flood to Abraham, we would expect the author to
give us the total number of years at the end of the account, especially when he
gives us the total years of each patriarch’s life when that could easily have
been added and totaled by the reader.
2. The
Name and Years of Cainan are Absent from the Hebrew Text.
The
genealogy of Jesus as found in Luke 3 contains the additional name of Cainan
between Shelah and Arphaxad. Luke
evidently follows the Septuagint reading of this text.
3. Genesis
5 and Genesis 11 are Symmetrical in Form.
Each
has ten generations, culminating in a man who has three sons. This pattern suggests a deliberate
stylization such as is found in Matthew 1 where a pattern is used to provide
three groups of fourteen to correspond with the name David which has a
numerical value of fourteen when the Hebrew letters that make up his name are
added together.
4. If we
take Genesis 11 as being a strict chronology, then ALL of the postdiluvian
patriarchs (including Noah) would have still been alive when Abraham was 50
years old. However, Genesis 10:25 says
that the earth was divided in the days of Peleg, not in the days of all of the
postdiluvian patriarchs (who would have all been contemporaries if this was a
strict chronology).
Furthermore,
Genesis 25:8 says that Abraham “died at a good old age” being 175 years
old. This could not be stated if three
of his ancestors who outlived him were contemporary and still living when he
died.
5. The
ancestral connections between people in Biblical genealogies are often
abridged. This is seen in Matthew 1:1
where Abraham is the father of David who is the father of Jesus.
At the end of the first
genealogy, people called on the NAME of the Lord. After the Flood, man desired to make a NAME
for himself. But eventually, the Lord
chooses a man out from the line and gives him a NEW NAME ‑ Abraham.
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[1] Gage, Warren A., The Gospel of Genesis:
Studies in Protology and Eschatology.
[2] This latter designation has now been combined
with the Semitic languages to make up the Afroasiatic language group. This represents an effort to depart from the
older Biblical references.