The Tower of Babel

The words

1. Babel

   The name also rendered Babylon in English Bibles.

   Genesis links the city’s name with God confounding the people’s language there and scattering them across the earth.

   Genesis 11:9 (opens a new tab) · Strong’s H894 (Babel, Babylon) (opens a new tab)

2. Brick

   The builders make bricks and burn them thoroughly, using the resulting material in place of stone for their city and tower.

   Did you know?

   The British Museum holds a brick of Nebuchadnezzar II with bitumen on its back, a physical example of the two materials used together.

   Genesis 11:3–4 (opens a new tab) · British Museum: brick 90064 (opens a new tab)

3. City

   The builders want a city as well as a tower, hoping the settlement and shared name will keep them from being scattered.

   Genesis 11:4 (opens a new tab)

4. Confound

   To confuse or mix together.

   God confounds the builders’ language so that they do not understand one another; the city’s construction then stops.

   Genesis 11:7–8 (opens a new tab) · Strong’s H1101 (mix, confuse) (opens a new tab)

5. Journeyed

   The KJV describes the people as journeying from the east to a plain in Shinar, where they settle.

   Did you know?

   The NET Bible translates the direction as eastward but lists from the east and in the east as other readings.

   Genesis 11:2 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Genesis 11:1–9 (opens a new tab)

6. Language

   The account begins with shared language and speech; later, God confounds it so the builders can no longer understand one another.

   Did you know?

   The Hebrew describes speech through the image of a single lip; the NET Bible explains this as a common language.

   Genesis 11:1 (opens a new tab) · Genesis 11:7 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Genesis 11:1–9 (opens a new tab)

7. Mighty

   Nimrod is called a mighty one in the earth and a mighty hunter before the LORD in the chapter preceding the tower story.

   Genesis 10:8–9 (opens a new tab)

8. Morter

   Mortar: a binding material for joining bricks or stones.

   The builders use slime for morter while using baked brick instead of stone; the verse pairs each building material with its substitute.

   Genesis 11:3 (opens a new tab) · Webster’s 1828: mortar (opens a new tab)

9. Name

   The builders want to make a name for themselves, seeking renown while expressing fear of being scattered across the earth.

   Genesis 11:4 (opens a new tab)

10. Nimrod

    Genesis names Nimrod as Cush’s son and lists Babel among the beginnings of his kingdom; the tower passage does not name him.

    Genesis 10:8–10 (opens a new tab) · Genesis 11:1–9 (opens a new tab)

11. Plain

    The travelers find a plain in Shinar and settle there; the city and tower are the building project they plan afterward.

    Genesis 11:2–4 (opens a new tab)

12. Scattered

    The builders fear being scattered, but that is the outcome: the LORD disperses them across the earth and they stop building.

    Genesis 11:4 (opens a new tab) · Genesis 11:8 (opens a new tab)

13. Shinar

    Shinar is the land where the travelers settle and build; the preceding chapter also places the beginnings of Nimrod’s kingdom there.

    Did you know?

    Daniel also calls the land Shinar when it describes temple vessels placed in the house of the Babylonian king’s god.

    Genesis 11:2 (opens a new tab) · Genesis 10:10 (opens a new tab) · Daniel 1:1–2 (opens a new tab)

14. Slime

    Here, bitumen or tar, used to bind bricks.

    The builders use slime for morter, pairing it with baked brick in the two substitutions listed in the verse.

    Genesis 11:3 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Genesis 11:1–9 (opens a new tab)

15. Tower

    The builders plan a tower with its top reaching heaven; the LORD comes down to see their city and tower.

    Genesis 11:4–5 (opens a new tab)