Genesis 11

The Tower of Babylon

1At first, the people of the whole world had only one language and used the same words. 2As they wandered about in the East, they came to a plain in Babylonia and settled there. 3They said to one another, “Come on! Let's make bricks and bake them hard.” So they had bricks to build with and tar to hold them together. 4They said, “Now let's build a city with a tower that reaches the sky, so that we can make a name for ourselves and not be scattered all over the earth.”

5Then the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which those men had built, 6and he said, “Now then, these are all one people and they speak one language; this is just the beginning of what they are going to do. Soon they will be able to do anything they want! 7Let us go down and mix up their language so that they will not understand one another.” 8So the LORD scattered them all over the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9The city was called Babylon,#11.9 Babylon: This name sounds like the Hebrew for “mixed up”. because there the LORD mixed up the language of all the people, and from there he scattered them all over the earth.

The Descendants of Shem

(1 Chr 1.24–27)

10These are the descendants of Shem. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he had a son, Arpachshad. 11After that, he lived another 500 years and had other children.

12When Arpachshad was 35 years old, he had a son, Shelah; 13after that, he lived another 403 years and had other children.

14When Shelah was thirty years old, he had a son, Eber; 15after that, he lived another 403 years and had other children.

16When Eber was 34 years old, he had a son, Peleg; 17after that, he lived another 430 years and had other children.

18When Peleg was thirty years old, he had a son, Reu; 19after that, he lived another 209 years and had other children.

20When Reu was 32 years old, he had a son, Serug; 21after that, he lived another 207 years and had other children.

22When Serug was thirty years old, he had a son, Nahor; 23after that, he lived another 200 years and had other children.

24When Nahor was 29 years old, he had a son, Terah; 25after that, he lived another 119 years and had other children.

26After Terah was seventy years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

The Descendants of Terah

27These are the descendants of Terah, who was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot, 28and Haran died in his native city, Ur in Babylonia, while his father was still living. 29Abram married Sarai, and Nahor married Milcah, the daughter of Haran, who was also the father of Iscah. 30Sarai was not able to have children.

31Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot, who was the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, Abram's wife, and with them he left the city of Ur in Babylonia to go to the land of Canaan. They went as far as Haran and settled there. 32Terah died there at the age of 205.

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Genesis 11

The Tower of Babel

1Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in #ch. 10:10; 14:1, 9; Isa. 11:11; Dan. 1:2; Zech. 5:11the land of Shinar and settled there. 3And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, #ch. 14:10; Ex. 2:3and bitumen for mortar. 4Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower #Deut. 1:28with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” 5And #ch. 18:21the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 6And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7Come, #ch. 1:26; [Ps. 2:4]let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8So #ch. 10:25, 32; Luke 1:51the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9Therefore its name was called #ch. 10:10Babel, because there the Lord confused#11:9 Babel sounds like the Hebrew for confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.

Shem’s Descendants

10 # [ch. 10:22]; For ver. 10-26, see 1 Chr. 1:17-27 These are the generations of Shem. When Shem was 100 years old, he fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood. 11And Shem lived after he fathered Arpachshad 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

12When Arpachshad had lived 35 years, he fathered Shelah. 13And Arpachshad lived after he fathered Shelah 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

14When Shelah had lived 30 years, he fathered Eber. 15And Shelah lived after he fathered Eber 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

16When Eber had lived 34 years, he fathered Peleg. 17And Eber lived after he fathered Peleg 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

18When Peleg had lived 30 years, he fathered Reu. 19And Peleg lived after he fathered Reu 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

20When Reu had lived 32 years, he fathered Serug. 21And Reu lived after he fathered Serug 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

22When Serug had lived 30 years, he fathered Nahor. 23And Serug lived after he fathered Nahor 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

24When #Josh. 24:2Nahor had lived 29 years, he fathered Terah. 25And Nahor lived after he fathered Terah 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

26When #[See ver. 24 above]Terah had lived 70 years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

Terah’s Descendants

27Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. 28Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29And Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram’s wife was #ch. 17:15 Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, #ch. 22:20Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah. 30Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.

31Terah #ch. 12:1 took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and they went forth together #ch. 15:7; Josh. 24:2; Neh. 9:7; Acts 7:2, 4from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there. 32The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran.

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