genesis 11 - the tower of babel

Genesis 11 is divided into two parts. The first part relays the story of the Tower of Babel.

As mentioned previously, Genesis 11:1 asserts that all humans spoke the same language at this time, despite what Genesis 10 had to say on the issue. This discrepancy may be because we have returned to using the Jahwist text, as indicated by multiple uses of the term “LORD”, meaning Yahweh.

“They” are journeying from the east, when “they” find a plain in the land of Shinar, where “they” dwell. Who “they” are is unclear. Recall, however, that the garden was planted “eastward in Eden” (Genesis 2:8), also in the Jahwist text. Thus, this could provide continuity with a more easterly creation of the proto-Hebrews.

The people decide to build a city and a tower, and to give themselves a name, in order to unify themselves. Yahweh comes down to see the city and the tower, and is terrified. The construction indicates that, soon, there will be nothing beyond human capability. Yahweh then suggests “let us go down” (Genesis 11:7) to confound the people’s language, sew confusion, and scatter them so that they cannot complete the tower.

That Yahweh must “come down” to view the city and tower illustrates once again the limited nature of the Jahwist deity. So does his concern that humans may soon be able to accomplish anything they desire. This idea is fairly common among ancient mythologies: humans regard themselves as the rightful equals of the gods, and it is only due to the caprice and unfairness of the gods that they are kept inferior and subservient. That this idea is manifested in the Torah/Pentateuch reflects how much this early version of Judaism had in common with other mythologies of the region.

Yahweh’s use of the phrase “let us go down” is also revealing. I have mentioned previously the polytheistic nature of the ancient Semitic religion, and the henotheistic nature of early Judaism. Once again, the “royal we” was not used in Ancient Hebrew, so this is a definite reference to multiple divine beings.

Christian apologists would hold that God is speaking to the angels here, but God should not need the assistance of the angels in carrying out his plan. There is also no evidence of this in the text. Furthermore, angels have not yet appeared in the Bible, and there is evidence that, when they do, they are merely manifestations of God himself, analogous to Hindu avatars.

The only reasonable conclusion is that Yahweh is speaking to other beings similar to himself. This falls squarely in line with the concept of the seventy children of El in the ancient Semitic religion.

The second part of Genesis 11 is – you guessed it! – another lengthy genealogy.

Once again, we can skip the details and just focus on a couple of interesting points.

First, all the individuals named here live well beyond the 120-year human lifespan set down (by Yahweh himself, incidentally) in Genesis 6:3. The longest lifespan cited is 600 years (Shem), and the shortest is 148 years (Nahor). One could say that at least the trend is going down, but this won’t be the last time this limit is forgotten.

Second, we are introduced to a number of very important personages here. First up is Abram, a descendant of Shem, one of the three sons of Noah. Abram is later renamed Abraham, and is considered the ultimate founder of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. We shall follow his adventures more closely in upcoming chapters.

We are also introduced to Lot, son of Haran, one of Abram’s brothers. Lot will play an important role very shortly. Finally, we have Sarai, Abram’s wife. Normally, women in the Bible aren’t even named. Sarai is an exception, but only for dubious reasons. First, she is barren. (As the SAB puts it, why is it that it is only women in the Bible who are barren?) Second—

Well, you just won’t believe it until you’ve read it for yourself!