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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Berĕshith (Genesis) 11

1And all the earth had one language#Hebrew lip. and one speech.

2And it came to be, as they set out from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shin‛ar,#Earlier name for Baḇel. and they dwelt there.

3And they said to each other, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar.

4And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens, and make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered over all the face of the earth.”

5Then יהוה came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.

6And יהוה said, “Look, they are one people and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do! And now, they are not going to be withheld from doing whatever they plan to do.

7“Come, let Us go there and confuse their language, so that they do not understand one another’s speech.”

8And יהוה scattered them from there, over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.

9That is why its name was called Baḇel,#Baḇel is derived from a verb which means “to confuse.” because there יהוה confused the language of all the earth, and from there יהוה scattered them over the face of all the earth.

10This is the genealogy of Shĕm: Shĕm was a hundred years old and brought forth Arpaḵshaḏ, two years after the flood.

11And after he brought forth Arpaḵshaḏ, Shĕm lived five hundred years, and brought forth sons and daughters.

12And Arpaḵshaḏ lived thirty-five years, and brought forth Shelaḥ.

13And after he brought forth Shelaḥ, Arpaḵshaḏ lived four hundred and three years, and brought forth sons and daughters.

14And Shelaḥ lived thirty years, and brought forth Ěḇer.

15And after he brought forth Ěḇer, Shelaḥ lived four hundred and three years, and brought forth sons and daughters.

16And Ěḇer lived thirty-four years, and brought forth Peleḡ.

17And after he brought forth Peleḡ, Ěḇer lived four hundred and thirty years, and brought forth sons and daughters.

18And Peleḡ lived thirty years, and brought forth Re‛u.

19And after he brought forth Re‛u, Peleḡ lived two hundred and nine years, and brought forth sons and daughters.

20And Re‛u lived thirty-two years, and brought forth Seruḡ.

21And after he brought forth Seruḡ, Re‛u lived two hundred and seven years, and brought forth sons and daughters.

22And Seruḡ lived thirty years, and brought forth Naḥor.

23And after he brought forth Naḥor, Seruḡ lived two hundred years, and brought forth sons and daughters.

24And Naḥor lived twenty-nine years, and brought forth Teraḥ.

25And after he brought forth Teraḥ, Naḥor lived one hundred and nineteen years, and brought forth sons and daughters.

26And Teraḥ lived seventy years, and brought forth Aḇram, Naḥor, and Haran.

27And this is the genealogy of Teraḥ: Teraḥ brought forth Aḇram, Naḥor, and Haran. And Haran brought forth Lot.

28And Haran died before his father Teraḥ in the land of his birth, in Ur-kasdim.

29And Aḇram and Naḥor took wives: the name of Aḇram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Naḥor’s wife, Milkah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milkah and the father of Yiskah.

30And Sarai was barren, she had no child.

31And Teraḥ took his son Aḇram and his grandson Lot, son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Aḇram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur-kasdim to go to the land of Kena‛an. And they came to Ḥaran and dwelt there.

32And the days of Teraḥ came to be two hundred and five years, and Teraḥ died in Ḥaran.

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Genesis 11

Berĕshith (Genesis) 11