Genesis 11
11
The Tower of Babel
(Deuteronomy 32:8; Acts 2:1–13)
1Now the whole world had one language and a common form of speech. 2And as people journeyed eastward,#11:2 Or from the east or in the east they found a plain in the land of Shinar #11:2 That is, Babylonia and settled there.
3And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” So they used brick instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar.
4“Come,” they said, “let us build for ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens, that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of all the earth.”
5Then the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men were building. 6And the Lord said, “If they have begun to do this as one people speaking the same language, then nothing they devise will be beyond them. 7Come, let Us go down and confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”
8So the Lord scattered them from there over the face of all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9That is why it is called Babel,#11:9 Or Babylon; the Hebrew word for Babel sounds like the Hebrew for confused. for there the Lord confused the language of the whole world, and from that place the Lord scattered them over the face of all the earth.
Genealogy from Shem to Abram
(1 Chronicles 1:17–27)
10This is the account of Shem. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad. 11And after he had become the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.
12When Arphaxad was 35 years old, he became the father of Shelah. 13And after he had become the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.#11:13 Hebrew; LXX (see also Luke 3:35–36) 12 When Arphaxad was 135 years old, he became the father of Cainan. 13 And after he had become the father of Cainan, Arphaxad lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters, and then he died. When Cainan had lived 130 years, he became the father of Shelah. And after he had become the father of Shelah, Cainan lived 330 years and had other sons and daughters. Note that LXX also adds 100 years to the ages of Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, and Nahor in this genealogy.
14When Shelah was 30 years old, he became the father of Eber. 15And after he had become the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
16When Eber was 34 years old, he became the father of Peleg. 17And after he had become the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.
18When Peleg was 30 years old, he became the father of Reu. 19And after he had become the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.
20When Reu was 32 years old, he became the father of Serug. 21And after he had become the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.
22When Serug was 30 years old, he became the father of Nahor. 23And after he had become the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.
24When Nahor was 29 years old, he became the father of Terah. 25And after he had become the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.
26When Terah was 70 years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
Terah’s Descendants
27This is the account of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. 28During his father Terah’s lifetime, Haran died in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans.
29And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. Abram’s wife was named Sarai, and Nahor’s wife was named Milcah; she was the daughter of Haran, who was the father of both Milcah and Iscah. 30But Sarai was barren; she had no children.
31And Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai the wife of Abram, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan. But when they arrived in Haran, they settled there. 32Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran.
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Genesis 11
11
The Tower of Babylon
1At one time the whole earth had the same language and vocabulary. # Lit one lip and the same words 2As people # Lit they migrated from the east, # Or migrated eastward they found a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there. # Gn 10:10; 14:1; Dn 1:2 3They said to each other, “Come, let us make oven-fired bricks.” They used brick for stone and asphalt for mortar. # Gn 14:10; Ex 2:3 4And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky. # Dt 1:28; 9:1; Ps 107:26 Let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
5Then the Lord came down # Gn 18:21; Ex 3:8; 19:11,18,20 to look over the city and the tower that the men were building. 6The Lord said, “If they have begun to do this as one people all having the same language, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7Come, let Us go down there and confuse # Or confound their language # Lit lip so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” # Lit understand each man the lip of his companion 8So from there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth, # Gn 11:4; Ps 92:9; Lk 1:51 and they stopped building the city. 9Therefore its name is called Babylon, # In Hb, the name Babylon sounds like the word “confuse.” # Gn 10:10 for there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth, and from there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
From Shem to Abram
10These are the family records # Gn 2:4; 11:27 of Shem. Shem lived 100 years and fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood. 11After he fathered Arpachshad, Shem lived 500 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 12Arpachshad lived 35 years # LXX reads years and fathered Cainan. 13 After he fathered Cainan, Arphachshad lived 430 years and fathered other sons and daughters, and he died. Cainan lived 130 years and fathered Shelah. After he fathered Shelah, Cainan lived 330 years and fathered other sons and daughters, and he died ; Gn 10:24; Lk 3:35-36 and fathered Shelah. 13After he fathered Shelah, Arpachshad lived 403 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 14Shelah lived 30 years and fathered Eber. 15After he fathered Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 16Eber lived 34 years and fathered Peleg. 17After he fathered Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 18Peleg lived 30 years and fathered Reu. 19After he fathered Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 20Reu lived 32 years and fathered Serug. 21After he fathered Serug, Reu lived 207 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 22Serug lived 30 years and fathered Nahor. 23After he fathered Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 24Nahor lived 29 years and fathered Terah. # Jos 24:2 25After he fathered Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 26Terah lived 70 years and fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
27These are the family records of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran, and Haran fathered Lot. 28Haran died in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans, during his father Terah’s lifetime. 29Abram and Nahor took wives: Abram’s wife was named Sarai, # Gn 17:15; 20:12 and Nahor’s wife was named Milcah. # Gn 22:20,23; 24:15 She was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah. 30Sarai was unable to conceive; # Gn 25:21; 29:31; Ex 23:26; Jdg 13:2-3; 1Sm 2:5; Jb 24:21; Is 54:1; Lk 1:36; 23:29; Gl 4:27; Heb 11:11 she did not have a child.
31Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (Haran’s son), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans # Gn 15:7; Neh 9:7; Ac 7:4 to go to the land of Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there. 32Terah lived 205 years and died in Haran.
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