Genesis 11 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Genesis 11

The Tower of Babel

11:1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” 5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 6 And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused¹ the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth.

Shem’s Descendants

10 These are the generations of Shem. When Shem was 100 years old, he fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood. 11 And Shem lived after he fathered Arpachshad 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

12 When Arpachshad had lived 35 years, he fathered Shelah. 13 And Arpachshad lived after he fathered Shelah 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

14 When Shelah had lived 30 years, he fathered Eber. 15 And Shelah lived after he fathered Eber 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

16 When Eber had lived 34 years, he fathered Peleg. 17 And Eber lived after he fathered Peleg 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

18 When Peleg had lived 30 years, he fathered Reu. 19 And Peleg lived after he fathered Reu 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

20 When Reu had lived 32 years, he fathered Serug. 21 And Reu lived after he fathered Serug 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

22 When Serug had lived 30 years, he fathered Nahor. 23 And Serug lived after he fathered Nahor 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

24 When Nahor had lived 29 years, he fathered Terah. 25 And Nahor lived after he fathered Terah 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

26 When Terah had lived 70 years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

Terah’s Descendants

27 Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. 28 Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29 And Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah. 30 Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.

31 Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there. 32 The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran.

Footnotes

[1] 11:9 Babel sounds like the Hebrew for confused

Commentary

v1-2: Up until this point, all the people have single language. This promoted communication and agreement, but encouraged pride. One language gives one purpose; and that was dominated by disobedience towards God, and a rejection of His authority, and a desire to honour self. We see too the desire to remain concentrated in one place, and not to multiply and full the earth (Genesis 9:1).

v3-4: It is one thing to make bricks; it is something altogether more significant that man sought to "make a name for ourselves", ignoring the claims of God upon them. Noah and Shem are still alive at this time, but probably living nearer Canaan, and are not involved in this scheme. From Genesis 10:9-10, this was likely to have been the work of Nimrod.

Man built a city, but Abraham looked for a city whose builder is God (Hebrews 11.10). Although many dwelt in cities, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob generally didn't; they were separate, distinct from the mass of mankind.

Ziggurats in Mesopotomia have been visible for 20 miles away. They were constructed as imitation mountains, representing the piers of the earth. (See Irene Smale, The History of Children)

v5-6: The Lord sees what would have happened, the technological advance, with increased corruption. The judgment includes mercy, as it restrains man's scheme, and avoids the necessity for a more severe judgment.

v7: The single act of confusing their language brings division and separation to man.

v8: They stop building the tower and the city, and are scattered all over the earth.

v9: The command to fill the whole earth is fulfilled by God scattering the people. As in Acts the command to take the gospel to the world is fulfilled by God allowing persecution to scatter the Christians (Acts 8.4-5; 11.19-20).

v10-26: The generations after the flood indicate a reducing lifespan.

Name	Born	Died	Age
Noah		350 years after the flood	950 years
Shem		502 years after the flood	602 years
Arphaxad	2	440	438 years
Salah	37	470	433 years
Eber	67	531	464 years
Peleg	101	340	239 years
Reu	131	370	239 years
Serug	163	393	230 years
Nahor	193	341	148 years
Terah	222	427	205 years
Abraham	292 approx		175 years (25:7)
Isaac			180 years (35:28)
Jacob			147 years (47:28)

The genuineness of the number is clear, given some variations. However it is clear that there is a continuing reduction towards 120 years (Genesis 6.3).

Terah has three children;

Abram, who marries Sarai;
Nahor, who marries Milcah, from whom came Rebekah (Genesis 24:24); and
Haran the father of Lot.

v27-32: Abram, the great father, becomes Abraham the father of many nations (Genesis 12:3; 17:5), receiving God's promises.

He leaves Ur, the place of idolatry, Joshua 24.2; although most religion at the time is idolatrous. He journeys first to Haran, before moving to Canaan.