Geneses Chapter 11- The Tower of Babel & Abram

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Geneses Chapter 11-

The Tower of Babel & Abram

The Text from https://www.bible.com/bible/111/GEN.11.NIV

The Tower of Babel

1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. (After the Flood)

2 As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. (Settled in Shinar.)(1, Shinar)

3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar.

4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” (They built a tower of humanism.)(2, The Tower of Babel: Ziggurat)

5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building.

6 The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. (The Lord was not pleased the human effort.)

7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. (The Lord confused their language and scattered the people.)

9 That is why it was called Babel- because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth. (3, Language Confusion and Historical Implication)

From Shem to Abram

10 This is the account of Shem’s family line.

Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad.

11 And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

12 When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah.

13 And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

14 When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber.

15 And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

16 When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg.

17 And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

18 When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu.

19 And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

20 When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug.

21 And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

22 When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor.

23 And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

24 When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah.

25 And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

26 After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. (Life goes on.)

Abram’s Family(4)

27 This is the account of Terah’s family line.

Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. (Terah-> Abram, Nahor, and Haran->Lot)

28 While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. (Haran died in Ur.)

29 Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah. (Abram to Sarai, Nahor to Milka.)

30 Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive. (Sarai was a barren.)

31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there.

32 Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran. (Terah migrated with his descendants to Canaan but settled in Harran and died there. Confer 15:7. How long Abram had stayed in Harran?)(5, Map; Abram's Migration)

(1, Shinar) (AI)

Shinar is the biblical term for the region of southern Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) encompassing Babylon, Akkad, and Erech. It represents the birthplace of civilization post-flood, the site of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11), Nimrod’s early kingdom (Genesis 10), and the place of Jewish exile. It is associated with human rebellion, pagan idolatry,

Key Biblical Associations:

The Tower of Babel: Migrants journeyed to a plain in Shinar, where they built the city and tower.

Nimrod's Kingdom: Genesis 10:10 lists Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh as the beginning of Nimrod's kingdom in Shinar.

Amraphel: The king of Shinar, identified in Genesis 14, who was involved in a war with Abraham.

Babylonian Exile: Daniel (1:2) and other prophets use Shinar as a synonym for Babylonia, where the Jews were taken into captivity.

Symbol of Wickedness: In Zechariah 5:11, the "woman in the basket" (symbolizing wickedness) is carried back to the land of Shinar, linking it to the prophetic "Babylon the Great" (Revelation 17-18).

Significance:

Shinar is used consistently in Scripture to represent a place of worldly pride, rebellion against God, and the source of false worship. Historically, it represents early Babylonia, with the Hebrew name potentially linked to Sumer (Sumerians) or the later Kassite tribe known as the Šamharu.

(2, The Tower of Babel: Ziggurats)

Ziggurats were massive, stepped temple towers built in ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) from roughly 2200 to 500 BCE to serve as sacred homes for city patron deities and bridges between heaven and earth. Derived from the Akkadian word zaqâru ("to rise high"), these mud-brick structures functioned as central religious hubs rather than tombs, with shrines at the summit for gods.

Key Facts About Ziggurats:

Origin: The earliest known example is the Sumerian Anu ziggurat at Uruk (c. 4000 BCE), with the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians building the most famous examples.

Purpose: They were built to elevate the temple high above the city, allowing priests to commune with the divine. They were the center of city life and often held workshops and administrative areas.

Design & Height: These were stepped, artificial mountains, often reaching over 100 feet in height. For instance, the Great Ziggurat of Ur (c. 2100 BCE) stood around 98 feet (30 meters) high and was dedicated to the moon god Nanna, while the Etemenanki Ziggurat of Babylon may have reached over 300 feet, potentially influencing the Tower of Babel story.

Location: Primarily located in the Tigris-Euphrates valley, with 18 distinct sites discovered, including Uruk, Ur, Nimrud, and Eridu.

They were built of a solid mud-brick core with an exterior of baked brick.

Worldwide Pyramids

Pyramids exist globally, with the highest concentration in the Americas, Sudan, and Egypt, serving as tombs, temples, and power symbols. Famous examples include Giza (Egypt), Chichén Itzá/Teotihuacan (Mexico), Tikal (Guatemala), Meroë (Sudan), and the Pyramid of Cestius (Italy), representing diverse cultures and building techniques. (Many in Asia too.)

(3, Language Confusion and Historical Implication)

Human being failed the one language world which made the one world government possible in ancient time. But nowadays, the language difference doesn't matter any more with the technology of artificial intelligence.

Now, human race try to make the world one under the leadership of the Antichrist in the name of humanism.

Unless of divine intervention which happened in the Pentecost, the legitimate tongues caused by the Holy Spirit, human effort of oneness is destined to fail.

Certainly, we will communicate in one language in the Kingdom of God after the resurrection.

(4, Abram's Family) (AI)

Based on Genesis 11:27-32, the family tree of Abram centers on his father, Terah, and focuses on the family's migration from Ur. Terah had three sons: Abram (married to Sarai), Nahor (married to Milcah), and Haran (father of Lot). The family line in this passage also highlights that Sarai was initially barren.

Family Diagram (Genesis 11:27-32)

Terah (Father)

     Abram (Son) + Sarai (Wife)

     Nahor (Son) + Milcah (Wife/Niece, daughter of Haran)

     Haran (Son, died before Terah)

          Lot (Son of Haran, Nephew of Abram)

          Milcah (Daughter of Haran)

          Iscah (Daughter of Haran)

Key Details in the Text

The Family Line: The text establishes Terah as the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

The Family Unit: Lot is specifically identified as the son of Haran, making him Abram's nephew.

Marriage and Barrenness: Abram is married to Sarai, who is introduced as barren, while Nahor is married to Milcah, who is Haran's daughter.

Migration: Terah takes Abram, Sarai, and Lot out of Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan, but they settle in Haran, where Terah dies at age 205.

(5, Abram Migration Map)

https://www.biblecartoons.co.uk/maps/map-of-middle-east-abram-abraham-s-journey-from-ur-to-canaan?srsltid=AfmBOooweC3NhwgVp9_WZpL04CoEg7XGjDQ8hGpHgOkmVpWfWmGIbclW