Genesis 11

Genesis 11

1And the earth was of one tongue, and of the same speech.

2And when they removed from the east, they found a plain in the land of Sennaar, and dwelt in it.

3And each one said to his neighbour: Come, let us make brick, and bake them with fire. And they had brick instead of stones, and slime instead of mortar.

4And they said: Come, let us make a city and a tower, the top whereof may reach to heaven: and let us make our name famous, before we be scattered abroad into all lands.

5And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of Adam were building.

6And he said: Behold, it is one people, and all have one tongue: and they have begun to do this, neither will they leave off from their designs, till they accomplish them in deed.

7Come ye, therefore, let us go down, and there confound their tongue, that they may not understand one another's speech.

8And so the Lord scattered them from that place into all lands, and they ceased to build the city.

9And therefore the name thereof was called Babel, because there the language of the whole earth was confounded: and from thence the Lord scattered them abroad upon the face of all countries.

10These are the generations of Sem. Sem was a hundred years old when he begot Arphaxad, two years after the flood.

11And Sem lived after he begot Arphaxad, five hundred years; and begot sons and daughters.

12And Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and begot Sale.

13And Arphaxad lived after he begot Sale, three hundred and three years; and begot sons and daughters.

14Sale also lived thirty years, and begot Heber.

15And Sale lived after he begot Heber, four hundred and three years; and begot sons and daughters.

16And Heber lived thirty-four years, and begot Phaleg.

17And Heber lived after he begot Phaleg, four hundred and thirty years; and begot sons and daughters.

18Phaleg also lived thirty years, and begot Reu.

19And Phaleg lived after he begot Reu, two hundred and nine years; and begot sons and daughters.

20And Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot Sarug.

21And Reu lived after he begot Sarug, two hundred and seven years; and begot sons and daughters.

22And Sarug lived thirty years, and begot Nachor.

23And Sarug lived after he begot Nachor, two hundred years; and begot sons and daughters.

24And Nachor lived nine and twenty years, and begot Thare.

25And Nachor lived after he begot Thare, a hundred and nineteen years; and begot sons and daughters.

26And Thare lived seventy years, and begot Abra, and Nachor, and Aran.

27And these are the generations of Thare: Thare begot Abram, Nachor, and Aran. And Aran begot Lot.

28And Aran died before Thare his father, in the land of his nativity in Ur of the Chaldees.

29And Abram and Nachor married wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai: and the name of Nachor's wife, Melcha, the daughter of Aran, father of Melcha, and father of Jescha.

30And Sarai was barren, and had no children.

31And Thare took Abram, his son, and Lot the son of Aran, his son's son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, the wife of Abram his son; and brought them out of Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Chanaan. And they came as far as Haran, and dwelt there.

32And the days of Thare were two hundred and five years: and he died in Haran.

Genesis 11

The Tower of Babel

(Deuteronomy 32:8; Acts 2:1–13)

1Now the whole world had one language and a common form of speech. 2And as people journeyed eastward,#11:2 Or from the east or in the east they found a plain in the land of Shinar #11:2 That is, Babylonia and settled there.

3And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” So they used brick instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar.

4“Come,” they said, “let us build for ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens, that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of all the earth.”

5Then the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men were building. 6And the Lord said, “If they have begun to do this as one people speaking the same language, then nothing they devise will be beyond them. 7Come, let Us go down and confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”

8So the Lord scattered them from there over the face of all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9That is why it is called Babel,#11:9 Or Babylon; the Hebrew word for Babel sounds like the Hebrew for confused. for there the Lord confused the language of the whole world, and from that place the Lord scattered them over the face of all the earth.

Genealogy from Shem to Abram

(1 Chronicles 1:17–27)

10This is the account of Shem. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad. 11And after he had become the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

12When Arphaxad was 35 years old, he became the father of Shelah. 13And after he had become the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.#11:13 Hebrew; LXX (see also Luke 3:35–36) 12 When Arphaxad was 135 years old, he became the father of Cainan. 13 And after he had become the father of Cainan, Arphaxad lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters, and then he died. When Cainan had lived 130 years, he became the father of Shelah. And after he had become the father of Shelah, Cainan lived 330 years and had other sons and daughters. Note that LXX also adds 100 years to the ages of Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, and Nahor in this genealogy.

14When Shelah was 30 years old, he became the father of Eber. 15And after he had become the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

16When Eber was 34 years old, he became the father of Peleg. 17And after he had become the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

18When Peleg was 30 years old, he became the father of Reu. 19And after he had become the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

20When Reu was 32 years old, he became the father of Serug. 21And after he had become the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

22When Serug was 30 years old, he became the father of Nahor. 23And after he had become the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

24When Nahor was 29 years old, he became the father of Terah. 25And after he had become the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

26When Terah was 70 years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

Terah’s Descendants

27This is the account of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. 28During his father Terah’s lifetime, Haran died in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans.

29And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. Abram’s wife was named Sarai, and Nahor’s wife was named Milcah; she was the daughter of Haran, who was the father of both Milcah and Iscah. 30But Sarai was barren; she had no children.

31And Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai the wife of Abram, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan. But when they arrived in Haran, they settled there. 32Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran.

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Genesis 11