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
Genesis 11
11
The Tower of Babel
1Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2#Ge 10:10; 14:1As the people journeyed from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
3#Ge 14:10; Ex 1:14They said to each other, “Let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone and tar for mortar. 4#Dt 1:28; 9:1Then they said, “Come, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top will reach to heaven, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
5#Ge 18:21; Ex 19:11But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men built. 6#Ge 11:1The Lord said, “The people are one and they have one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do; now nothing that they propose to do will be impossible for them. 7#Ge 1:26; 42:23Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.”
8#Lk 1:51; Ge 10:25So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9#Ge 10:10; 10:5Therefore the name of it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. From there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
Shem’s Descendants
Ge 10:21–31; 1Ch 1:17–27
10#1Ch 1:17–27These are the generations of Shem.
Shem was a hundred years old, and two years after the flood he became the father of Arphaxad. 11Shem lived after the birth of Arphaxad five hundred years, and had other sons and daughters.
12Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and became the father of Shelah. 13Arphaxad lived after the birth of Shelah four hundred and three years, and had other sons and daughters.
14Shelah lived thirty years, and became the father of Eber. 15Shelah lived after the birth of Eber four hundred and three years, and had other sons and daughters.
16Eber lived thirty-four years, and became the father of Peleg. 17Eber lived after the birth of Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and had other sons and daughters.
18Peleg lived thirty years, and became the father of Reu. 19Peleg lived after the birth of Reu two hundred and nine years, and had other sons and daughters.
20#Lk 3:35Reu lived thirty-two years, and became the father of Serug. 21Reu lived after the birth of Serug two hundred and seven years, and had other sons and daughters.
22Serug lived thirty years, and became the father of Nahor. 23Serug lived after the birth of Nahor two hundred years, and had other sons and daughters.
24#Lk 3:34Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and became the father of Terah. 25Nahor lived after the birth of Terah one hundred and nineteen years, and had other sons and daughters.
26#Jos 24:2Now Terah lived seventy years, and became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
Terah’s Descendants
27#Ge 11:31; 12:4These are the generations of Terah.
Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran, and Haran became the father of Lot. 28#Ge 15:7Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29#Ge 17:15; 22:20Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milkah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milkah and the father of Iskah. 30But Sarai was barren; she had no child.
31#Ne 9:7; Ge 24:10Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Harran, they settled there.
32The days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Harran.
Military Bible Association