Genesis 11
11
The Tower of Babel
1Now everyone at that time spoke a single language # 11:1 Or “one lip.” with one vocabulary. 2As people migrated eastward, # 11:2 Or “from the east.” The Hebrew is ambiguous. they found a large plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3They said to one another, “Come, let’s unite together and make bricks of clay # 11:3 God’s building never includes bricks, only stones. Man makes bricks; God is the Maker of stones. The New Jerusalem will not be made from bricks but from precious stones (see Rev. 21:18–20). Pharaoh made his treasure cities out of bricks; God raises up his temple using living stones (see 1 Peter 2:5). and burn them until they become hard.” So, they piled up the bricks they made to serve as stones and collected tar for mortar. 4Then they said, “Come, let’s begin work to build ourselves a city with a lofty tower that rises into the heavens. We’ll make a name for ourselves, a monument to us, # 11:4 An ancient historian, Philo Judaeus, says that each worker engraved their names on the bricks to memorialize themselves. Today their names are forgotten, and the Name of God stands as a High Tower. Seeking to make a name for ourselves is self-worship. We are to lay aside our reputations to make the Name of Jesus famous (see Phil. 2:3–11). Jesus emptied himself of his outward glory. instead of being scattered all over the earth.”
5But when Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower which mortals had started building, 6he said, “If they have begun this as one people sharing a common language, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7Come, let us # 11:7 In the plural pronoun many theologians see the three members of the Godhead. go down and confuse their language and prevent them from understanding each other.” # 11:7 Some linguists believe there are nearly seven thousand languages in the world. Although God confused the language of earth, he will one day purify (clarify) the language so that people will serve him in unity. See Zeph. 3:9. Acts 2 is the reversal of Babel, for God gave men unlearned languages as they spoke in tongues.
8So Yahweh scattered them over the entire earth, and they stopped building their city. # 11:8 The Bible ends with two figurative cities, Babylon and the New Jerusalem. Babylon-builders will always seek to make a name for themselves. Those who are a part of the New Jerusalem long to see only the name of Jesus exalted. The overcomer’s name will be engraved forever on a stone in the City of our God where he makes his dwelling with man (see Rev. 2:17). 9That is why the city was called Babel—because it was there that Yahweh confused # 11:9 Babel comes from the Hebrew word “to confuse.” However, in the Babylonian language, the city was called Bab-ilu, “the gate of God.” the language of the whole world and from there the people were scattered over the face of the earth.
Genealogy of Shem
10These are the descendants of Shem. # 11:10 See 1 Chron. 1:17–27; Luke 3:23–38.
Two years after the flood, at the age of one hundred, Shem had a son named Arphaxad. # 11:10 See Gen. 10:22. 11And after Arphaxad was born, Shem lived another five hundred years and had other sons and daughters.
12When Arphaxad was thirty-five, he had a son named Shelah. # 11:12 See Gen. 10:24. 13And after Shelah was born Arphaxad lived another four hundred and three years and had other sons and daughters.
14When Shelah was thirty, he had a son named Eber. # 11:14 See Gen. 10:24. 15And after Eber was born, Shelah lived another four hundred and three years and had other sons and daughters.
16When Eber was thirty-four, he had a son named Peleg. # 11:16 See Gen. 10:25. 17And after Peleg was born, Eber lived another four hundred and thirty years and had other sons and daughters.
18When Peleg was thirty, he had a son named Reu. 19And after Reu was born, Peleg lived another two hundred and nine years and had other sons and daughters.
20When Reu was thirty-two, # 11:20 Or “one hundred and thirty-two” (LXX, Sam. Pent.). It is Jewish tradition that Reu was born when the Tower of Babel had begun to be built. Reu means “friend” or “shepherd.” he had a son named Serug. 21And after Serug was born, Reu lived another two hundred and seven years and had other sons and daughters.
22When Serug was thirty, # 11:22 Or “one hundred and thirty” (LXX, Sam. Pent.). Serug means “interwoven” or “strength.” According to the Book of Jubilees, Serug was the first one of Shem’s descendants to turn from Yahweh to worship idols. It is said he taught sorcery to his son Nahor. he had a son named Nahor. 23And after Nahor was born, Serug lived another two hundred years and had other sons and daughters.
24When Nahor was twenty-nine, he had a son named Terah. # 11:24 Terah means “wild goat” or “wanderer.” 25And after Terah was born, Nahor # 11:25 Jewish tradition states that Nahor lived in Ur, on the Euphrates in lower Mesopotamia, the place where God appeared to Abram. Nahor means “angry,” “passionate.” lived another one hundred and nineteen years and had other sons and daughters.
26When Terah was seventy, he had sons named Abram, # 11:26 This was the Patriarch who would later have his name changed to Abraham. Abram means “exalted father.” Abraham means “father of a multitude.” There were ten generations from Adam to Noah and ten generations from Shem to Abram. Nahor, and Haran. # 11:26 Haran means “living in the high place” or “mountaineer.”
The Story of Terah
27Here are the descendants of Terah. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran, and Haran was the father of Lot. 28Haran preceded his father, Terah, in death in the land of his birth, in the Chaldean city of Ur. # 11:28 The word Chaldea means “demonic;” Ur means “flame.” Ur was an ancient city-state in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), which was approximately fifty miles south of Babylon. The ruins of Ur can still be seen at modern Tell el-Muqayyar. In 2000 BC, Ur was perhaps one of the largest cities of the world. It is clear that Abram and his father served foreign gods. Ur was named after the moon goddess and was her center of worship. The Chaldeans were astrologers, occultists, and idol worshipers. Ancient traditions state that Terah was an idol-maker until his death. The Jewish writers have a tradition that Abram and his father were cast into a fiery furnace for refusing to worship idols and were miraculously delivered. See Josh. 24:2. 29The brothers, Abram and Nahor, were both married. Abram’s wife was Sarai. # 11:29 Sarai means “ruler” or “my princess.” God would later change her name to “Sarah.” Nahor married the daughter of his deceased brother Haran; her name was Milcah, # 11:29 Nahor married his orphaned niece. Milcah means “queen.” and her sister was Iscah. # 11:29 Iscah means “discerner” or “one who scans abroad.” Iscah is Jessica in English. 30Now Sarai was barren and childless.
31Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot, # 11:31 Lot means “to wrap a covering” or “to envelop.” the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they all departed together from the Chaldean city of Ur to go into the land of Canaan. # 11:31 The land of Canaan takes its name from the son of Ham, Canaan. The land of Canaan is mentioned sixty-six times in the Old Testament but not found in the New Testament. But when they journeyed as far as Haran, # 11:31 Most scholars identify Haran with a city in Turkey, now in ruins, called Harran, which is approximately six hundred miles from Ur. It is the city that Jacob fled to (see Gen. 27:43; 28:10) and, later, that the Assyrians destroyed in the days of Hezekiah (see 2 Kings 19:12; Isa. 37:12). they settled there. 32Terah lived two hundred and five years and died in Haran.
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Learn More About The Passion TranslationGenesis 11
11
The Tower of Babel
1The whole world had one language with a common vocabulary. 2As people moved toward the east,#11:2 Or “from the east.” they found a plain in Shinar [Babylonia] and settled there.
3They said to one another, “Let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used bricks as stones and tar #11:3 Or “bitumen.” as mortar.
4Then they said, “Let’s build a city for ourselves and a tower with its top in the sky. Let’s make a name for ourselves so that we won’t become scattered all over the face of the earth.”
5The Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the descendants of Adam were building. 6The Lord said, “They are one people with one language. This is only the beginning of what they will do! Now nothing they plan to do will be too difficult for them. 7Let us go down there and mix up their language so that they won’t understand each other.”
8So the Lord scattered them all over the face of the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9This is why it was named Babel, because there the Lord turned the language of the whole earth into babble. From that place the Lord scattered them all over the face of the earth.
The Ten Descendants of Shem—Shem to Terah
(1 Chronicles 1:17–23)
10This is the account of Shem and his descendants. Two years after the flood when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arpachshad. 11After he became the father of Arpachshad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.
12Arpachshad was 35 years old when he became the father of Shelah. 13After he became the father of Shelah, Arpachshad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
14Shelah was 30 years old when he became the father of Eber. 15After he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
16Eber was 34 years old when he became the father of Peleg. 17After he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.
18Peleg was 30 years old when he became the father of Reu. 19After he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.
20Reu was 32 years old when he became the father of Serug. 21After he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.
22Serug was 30 years old when he became the father of Nahor. 23After he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.
24Nahor was 29 years old when he became the father of Terah. 25After he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.
26Terah was 70 years old when he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
Terah Moves to Haran
27This is the account of Terah and his descendants. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot. 28While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, his native land. 29Both Abram and Nahor married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, daughter of Haran. (Haran was the father of Milcah and Iscah.) 30Sarai was not able to have children.
31Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (son of Haran), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, wife of his son Abram. They set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. When they came as far as Haran, they stayed there. 32Terah lived 205 years and died in Haran.
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