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Old Testament

The Tower of Babel

Tower of Babel

Genesis 11:4 and the story of the Tower of Babel come to life as we take time to understand the deeper cultural contexts.

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.”
—Genesis 11:4, NIV

Drawn from the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible.

A city, with a tower: the Tower of Babel.

One single architectural feature dominated the landscape of early Mesopotamian cities: towers known as ziggurats. In the earliest stage of urbanization, the city was not designed for the private sector. In other words, people did not live in the city. Instead, it housed the public buildings, such as administrative buildings, and granaries, which were mostly connected with the temple. Consequently, the city was, in effect, a temple complex.

Reaches to the heavens.

Throughout Mesopotamian literature, almost every occurrence of the expression describing a building “with its head in the heavens” refers to a temple with a ziggurat. It is this language, along with the indication that God “came down” (verse 5), that gives textual confirmation that the tower is a ziggurat. This would have been transparent to the ancient reader.

In keeping with the negative results of the project here, the reader of Genesis will find a few of the omens in the Shumma Alu series remarkable.

“If a city lifts its head to the midst of heaven, that city will be abandoned” (1.15), and “If a city rises like a mountain peak to the midst of heaven, that city will be turned to a ruin” (1.16).

Yet Mesopotamian cities were regularly built on high ground, with the temple on the highest ground.

The wording of these omens, understood in the context of the omen series, is essentially about exceeding natural boundaries. It is about exceeding those boundaries to the effect that a city can overreach itself to rival sacred structures. Thus, it can bring about its own destruction.

Make a name.

The ancient world placed immense value on the sense of continuity from one generation to another. In some cultures a person’s continued comfort in the afterlife was dependent on care from descendants in the land of the living. The details often involved memorial meals and various regular mortuary rites. But more important for this passage, they provided opportunity for the name of the deceased to be spoken.

There is continued life and vitality as long as one is remembered. The building of monuments could also contribute to the desirable end result, as could achievements and adventures of various sorts. The important point here is that the desire to make a name in the ancient world is common to all. The more people who remember one’s name, the more secure is one’s existence in the afterlife.

While there is nothing inherently evil or sinful in the desire to be remembered (e.g., God promises to “make your name great” for Abraham in Genesis 12:2 and David in 2 Samuel 7:9), this desire may become obsessive or motivate evil or sinful behavior.

Scattered.

The fear of scattering is directly related (both syntactically and conceptually) to the previously stated desire to make a name. Remembrance takes place in the vicinity of the burial ground. Descendants who move away (as Abraham does in chapter 12) cut the ties of continuity between the past and the present.

Though some have considered this desire not to scatter as disobedience to the blessing in 1:28, it must be recognized that the blessing does not relate to scattering. It only relates to filling — far different issues. God scattered them. And He did so not because it was wrong for them to be together. But He did so because their desire to retain continuity was causing them to launch flawed strategies.

Learn more about the Tower of Babel and other Bible events.

Did you enjoy this article? Then you may be interested in the Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible! We have three versions: NIV, NKJV, and NRSV. To learn more click a button below to go to the Olive Tree website.

NIV CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS STUDY BIBLE
NKJV CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS STUDY BIBLE
NRSV CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS STUDY BIBLE

What “towers” do people build to call attention to their own greatness today? Post a comment below!

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7 Comments

  1. Chris Williamson

    Very tall buildings with the last name of the owner in big gold letters over the doors.

    • Janice

      Remember Chris…Sometimes God uses imperfect people to do His perfect will. And we are all imperfect.

  2. Richard

    The people wanted to make a name for themselves, not inherintly wrong, but the passage makes no mention of they desiring to glorify God.
    Also they wanted to make a name for themselves, instead of being know by their service to God.
    God didn’t want them to make a name for themselves, as he would one day make a name for Abraham, and his people. He would do that job. Not them.

  3. Robert

    I think this question should also be considered in the light of the Nephilim and Raphaim that survived the great flood and their activities.

    • Robert

      A point to consider: when God scattered them and gave them their own languages, he would have done so with the design expressions that was within himself. Hence The Holy Spirit being able to give the gift of Languages, ( tongues ) not excitable speech, the latter which was in existence some hundreds of years before the Pentecost ( passover + 50 days ) in Greece t least. The broad chronological description of the sons of Noah was that they had their own languages, maybe not directly after they disembarked the ark.
      A colleague also suggests there would have been Luciferian languages introduced.

  4. Karen

    We see many people writing and selling their own autobiographies. This is yet one more thing for them to do that brings attention to themselves and their successes. Tis better for one to die, and then let someone else write the autobiography! For no one has accomplished anything without our creator first enabling us to do so.

  5. Gary

    Some of us, (Unfortunately even God’s children) get our eyes off of who we are in God’s eyes and worry to much about how others see us. “Do I appear successful enough”. The next thing you know we’ve racked up so much debt that we’ll never get it paid off. (But it’s important that others think we’re successful. More successful than we really are ) The wealth that we need Jesus paid for on the cross. Enough for us to share it with others.