Genesis 11
11
The Tower of Babel
1At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words. 2As the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia#11:2 Hebrew Shinar. and settled there.
3They began saying to each other, “Let’s make bricks and harden them with fire.” (In this region bricks were used instead of stone, and tar was used for mortar.) 4Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.”
5But the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. 6“Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them! 7Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other.”
8In that way, the Lord scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city. 9That is why the city was called Babel,#11:9 Or Babylon. Babel sounds like a Hebrew term that means “confusion.” because that is where the Lord confused the people with different languages. In this way he scattered them all over the world.
The Line of Descent from Shem to Abram
10This is the account of Shem’s family.
Two years after the great flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of#11:10 Or the ancestor of; also in 11:12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24. Arphaxad. 11After the birth of#11:11 Or the birth of this ancestor of; also in 11:13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25. Arphaxad, Shem lived another 500 years and had other sons and daughters.
12When Arphaxad was 35 years old, he became the father of Shelah. 13After the birth of Shelah, Arphaxad lived another 403 years and had other sons and daughters.#11:12-13 Greek version reads 12When Arphaxad was 135 years old, he became the father of Cainan. 13After the birth of Cainan, Arphaxad lived another 430 years and had other sons and daughters, and then he died. When Cainan was 130 years old, he became the father of Shelah. After the birth of Shelah, Cainan lived another 330 years and had other sons and daughters, and then he died. Compare Luke 3:35-36.
14When Shelah was 30 years old, he became the father of Eber. 15After the birth of Eber, Shelah lived another 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
16When Eber was 34 years old, he became the father of Peleg. 17After the birth of Peleg, Eber lived another 430 years and had other sons and daughters.
18When Peleg was 30 years old, he became the father of Reu. 19After the birth of Reu, Peleg lived another 209 years and had other sons and daughters.
20When Reu was 32 years old, he became the father of Serug. 21After the birth of Serug, Reu lived another 207 years and had other sons and daughters.
22When Serug was 30 years old, he became the father of Nahor. 23After the birth of Nahor, Serug lived another 200 years and had other sons and daughters.
24When Nahor was 29 years old, he became the father of Terah. 25After the birth of Terah, Nahor lived another 119 years and had other sons and daughters.
26After Terah was 70 years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
The Family of Terah
27This is the account of Terah’s family. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot. 28But Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, the land of his birth, while his father, Terah, was still living. 29Meanwhile, Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah. (Milcah and her sister Iscah were daughters of Nahor’s brother Haran.) 30But Sarai was unable to become pregnant and had no children.
31One day Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai (his son Abram’s wife), and his grandson Lot (his son Haran’s child) and moved away from Ur of the Chaldeans. He was headed for the land of Canaan, but they stopped at Haran and settled there. 32Terah lived for 205 years#11:32 Some ancient versions read 145 years; compare 11:26 and 12:4. and died while still in Haran.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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Genesis 11
11
The Tower of Babel
1There was a time when the whole world spoke one language. Everyone used the same words. 2Then people began to move from the East. They found a plain in the land of Babylonia and stayed there to live. 3Then they said to each other, “Let’s make some bricks of clay and bake them in the fire.” Then they used these bricks as stones, and they used tar as mortar.
4Then the people said, “Let’s build ourselves a city and a tower that will reach to the sky. Then we will be famous. This will keep us together so that we will not be scattered all over the earth.”
5Then the Lord came down to see the city and the tower. 6The Lord said, “These people all speak the same language. And I see that they are joined together to do this work. This is only the beginning of what they can do. Soon they will be able to do anything they want. 7Let’s go down and confuse their language. Then they will not understand each other.”
8So people stopped building the city, and the Lord scattered them all over the earth. 9That is the place where the Lord confused the language of the whole world. That is why it is called Babel.#11:9 Babel Or “Babylon.” This is like a word meaning “confuse.” And it was from there that the Lord caused the people to spread out to all the other places on earth.
The History of Shem’s Family
10This is the history of Shem’s family. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, his son Arphaxad was born. 11After that Shem lived 500 years. He had other sons and daughters.
12When Arphaxad was 35 years old, his son Shelah was born. 13After Shelah was born, Arphaxad lived 403 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters.
14After Shelah was 30 years old, his son Eber was born. 15After Eber was born, Shelah lived 403 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters.
16After Eber was 34 years old, his son Peleg was born. 17After Peleg was born, Eber lived another 430 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters.
18After Peleg was 30 years old, his son Reu was born. 19After Reu was born, Peleg lived another 209 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters.
20After Reu was 32 years old, his son Serug was born. 21After Serug was born, Reu lived another 207 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters.
22After Serug was 30 years old, his son Nahor was born. 23After Nahor was born, Serug lived another 200 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters.
24After Nahor was 29 years old, his son Terah was born. 25After Terah was born, Nahor lived another 119 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters.
26After Terah was 70 years old, his sons Abram, Nahor, and Haran were born.
The History of Terah’s Family
27This is the history of Terah’s family. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot. 28Haran died in his hometown, Ur of Babylonia,#11:28 Ur of Babylonia Literally, “Ur of the Chaldeans.” A city in southern Babylonia. Also in verse 31. while his father Terah was still alive. 29Abram and Nahor both married. Abram’s wife was named Sarai. Nahor’s wife was named Milcah. Milcah was the daughter of Haran. Haran was the father of Milcah and Iscah. 30Sarai did not have any children because she was not able to have children.
31Terah took his family and left Ur of Babylonia. They planned to travel to Canaan. Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (Haran’s son), and his daughter-in-law Sarai (Abram’s wife). They traveled to the city of Haran and decided to stay there. 32Terah lived to be 205 years old. He died in Haran.
© 1987, 2004 Bible League International