The Tower of Babel
Settlers on the plain of Shinar, all speaking one language, set about building a city and a tower reaching to the heavens — explicitly so that they might make a name for themselves and not be scattered. The building materials are noted with care: brick instead of stone, bitumen instead of mortar, the construction method of southern Mesopotamia rather than the hill country, where the great stepped temple-towers known as ziggurats were raised.
God confuses their speech so that they cannot understand one another, and the work stops. The people scatter across the earth, and the unfinished city is called Babel.
The episode closes Genesis's primeval section and sets up its turn to a single family in the next chapter. It is deliberately echoed at Pentecost, where a crowd drawn from many nations each hears the apostles in their own tongue — the scattering answered.
Where in scripture
[1] The whole earth was of one language and of one speech. [2] As they traveled from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they lived there. [3] They said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. [4] They said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top reaches to the sky, and let’s make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad on the surface of the whole earth.” [5] Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men built. [6] Yahweh said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is what they begin to do. Now nothing will be withheld from them, which they intend to do. …
Genesis 11:1–9 — opening verses
[5] Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under the sky. [6] When this sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were bewildered, because everyone heard them speaking in his own language. [7] They were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Behold, aren’t all these who speak Galileans? [8] How do we hear, everyone in our own native language? [9] Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, [10] Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the parts of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, [11] Cretans and Arabians: we hear them speaking in our languages the mighty works of God!”
Acts 2:5–11
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, a public-domain translation.
