1 The whole earth had the same language and vocabulary.
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2 As people
i
migrated from the east,
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they found a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there.
3 They said to each other, “Come, let us make oven-fired bricks.” (They used brick for stone and asphalt for mortar.)
4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky. Let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered throughout the earth.”
5 Then the Lord came down to look over the city and the tower that the humans
k
were building.
6 The Lord said, “If they have begun to do this as one people all having the same language, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.12
7 Come, let’s go down there and confuse their language so that they will not understand one another’s3 speech.”4
8 So from there the Lord scattered them throughout the earth, and they stopped building the city.5
9 Therefore it is6 called Babylon,
l,m
for there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth, and from there the Lord scattered them throughout the earth.
FROM SHEM TO ABRAM
10 These are the family records of Shem. Shem lived 100 years and fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood.
11 After he fathered Arpachshad, Shem lived 500 years and fathered other sons and daughters.
12 Arpachshad lived 35 years
n
and fathered Shelah.
13 After he fathered Shelah, Arpachshad lived 403 years and fathered other sons and daughters.
14 Shelah lived 30 years and fathered Eber.
15 After he fathered Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and fathered other sons and daughters.
16 Eber lived 34 years and fathered Peleg.
17 After he fathered Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and fathered other sons and daughters.
18 Peleg lived 30 years and fathered Reu.
19 After he fathered Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and fathered other sons and daughters.
20 Reu lived 32 years and fathered Serug.
21 After he fathered Serug, Reu lived 207 years and fathered other sons and daughters.
22 Serug lived 30 years and fathered Nahor.
23 After he fathered Nahor, Serug lived 200
years and fathered other sons and daughters.
24 Nahor lived 29 years and fathered Terah.7
25 After he fathered Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and fathered other sons and daughters.8
26 Terah lived 70 years and fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.9
27 These are the family records of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran, and Haran fathered Lot.10
28 Haran died in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans, during his father Terah’s lifetime.11
29 Abram and Nahor took wives: Abram’s wife was named Sarai, and Nahor’s wife was named Milcah. She was the daughter of Har12an, the father of both Milcah and Iscah.13
30 Sarai was unable to conceive; she did not have a child.14
31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (Haran’s son), and his daughter-in-law Sarai15, his son Abram’s wife, and they set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled ther16e.
32 Terah lived 205 years and died in Haran."
📜 Lecture: The Tower of Babel and the Line of Shem (Genesis 11)
Good afternoon. Today we're delving into Genesis Chapter 11, which presents two crucial stories for understanding the history laid out in the Bible: the origin of the world's diverse languages and the lineage that leads directly to Abraham.
Good afternoon. Today we're delving into Genesis Chapter 11, which presents two crucial stories for understanding the history laid out in the Bible: the origin of the world's diverse languages and the lineage that leads directly to Abraham.
1. Babel: The Confusion of Languages (Genesis 11:1–9)
The initial verses paint a picture of radical unity followed by a divine intervention that results in global dispersion.
Universal Language and Location (v. 1–2): Initially, "The whole earth had the same language and vocabulary." Following the great flood, people migrated eastward and settled in the valley in the land of Shinar (identified with the fertile plains of Mesopotamia).
Human Ambition (v. 3–4): United by a common tongue, the people launched an ambitious construction project. They utilized available technology—oven-fired bricks for stone and asphalt for mortar—to build a city and a massive tower with its top symbolically reaching "in the sky." Their primary motivations were:
To "make a name for ourselves" (driven by pride).
To prevent themselves from being "scattered throughout the earth" (a direct defiance of God's command to fill the earth).
Divine Response (v. 5–7): The Lord observed this human effort. He noted the danger of such complete, centralized unity: "nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them." To curtail this power and enforce the mandate to spread out, God decided to "confuse their language" so they could no longer understand each other's speech.
Dispersion and Naming (v. 8–9): The project immediately halted, and the Lord scattered them across the globe. This event gives the place its name: Babylon. The text explains that this name is used because there the Lord "confused the language" of the whole earth.
The initial verses paint a picture of radical unity followed by a divine intervention that results in global dispersion.
Universal Language and Location (v. 1–2): Initially, "The whole earth had the same language and vocabulary." Following the great flood, people migrated eastward and settled in the valley in the land of Shinar (identified with the fertile plains of Mesopotamia).
Human Ambition (v. 3–4): United by a common tongue, the people launched an ambitious construction project. They utilized available technology—oven-fired bricks for stone and asphalt for mortar—to build a city and a massive tower with its top symbolically reaching "in the sky." Their primary motivations were:
To "make a name for ourselves" (driven by pride).
To prevent themselves from being "scattered throughout the earth" (a direct defiance of God's command to fill the earth).
Divine Response (v. 5–7): The Lord observed this human effort. He noted the danger of such complete, centralized unity: "nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them." To curtail this power and enforce the mandate to spread out, God decided to "confuse their language" so they could no longer understand each other's speech.
Dispersion and Naming (v. 8–9): The project immediately halted, and the Lord scattered them across the globe. This event gives the place its name: Babylon. The text explains that this name is used because there the Lord "confused the language" of the whole earth.
2. 👨👩👧👦 From Shem to Abram: The Covenant Lineage (Genesis 11:10–32)
Following the widespread scattering at Babel, the narrative focuses intently on a single, carefully documented family line, tracing humanity from Noah's son Shem to the foundational patriarch, Abram.
The Genealogy (v. 10–26): This section details the lineage from Shem, listing the direct descendants—Arpachshad, Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, and Nahor—who eventually leads to Terah, Abram's father. This deliberate chain of names is called a 'toledot,' or "family record," and serves to ensure the continuity of the covenant promises through a specific family.
Note on Eber: This ancestor's name is the source of the term "Hebrew" (or 'Ibri), marking this line as distinct.
The Family of Terah (v. 27–32): The final verses zero in on Terah, who fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
The Death of Haran (v. 28): Haran died young in Ur of the Chaldeans, leaving behind his son Lot (who becomes Abram's companion).
The Wives (v. 29–30): Abram married Sarai and Nahor married Milcah. Crucially, the text notes a significant problem: "Sarai was unable to conceive; she did not have a child." This detail highlights the impending miracle required for God's promise to be fulfilled.
The Journey (v. 31–32): Terah took his family—Abram, Lot, and Sarai—and they left Ur of the Chaldeans with the intention of traveling to the land of Canaan. However, they stopped and settled in Haran (a different location than Abram's brother) where Terah eventually died. This unfinished journey sets the stage for the direct call of Abram in the next chapter.
The transition from the global judgment at Babel to the small, specific family of Abram signifies a shift in focus from universal human history to the redemptive history of one family.
Do you have any questions about the purpose of these genealogies or the difference between the cities of Ur and Haran?
Following the widespread scattering at Babel, the narrative focuses intently on a single, carefully documented family line, tracing humanity from Noah's son Shem to the foundational patriarch, Abram.
The Genealogy (v. 10–26): This section details the lineage from Shem, listing the direct descendants—Arpachshad, Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, and Nahor—who eventually leads to Terah, Abram's father. This deliberate chain of names is called a 'toledot,' or "family record," and serves to ensure the continuity of the covenant promises through a specific family.
Note on Eber: This ancestor's name is the source of the term "Hebrew" (or 'Ibri), marking this line as distinct.
The Family of Terah (v. 27–32): The final verses zero in on Terah, who fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
The Death of Haran (v. 28): Haran died young in Ur of the Chaldeans, leaving behind his son Lot (who becomes Abram's companion).
The Wives (v. 29–30): Abram married Sarai and Nahor married Milcah. Crucially, the text notes a significant problem: "Sarai was unable to conceive; she did not have a child." This detail highlights the impending miracle required for God's promise to be fulfilled.
The Journey (v. 31–32): Terah took his family—Abram, Lot, and Sarai—and they left Ur of the Chaldeans with the intention of traveling to the land of Canaan. However, they stopped and settled in Haran (a different location than Abram's brother) where Terah eventually died. This unfinished journey sets the stage for the direct call of Abram in the next chapter.
The transition from the global judgment at Babel to the small, specific family of Abram signifies a shift in focus from universal human history to the redemptive history of one family.
Do you have any questions about the purpose of these genealogies or the difference between the cities of Ur and Haran?
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