Tower of Babel & World Languages: Unity

Genesis 11:1-9

From the tower of Babel account,  we discover the source of the many languages used across the world. We can trace all the languages back to major families. This research has been lacking until recently because of opposition from secular groups.

Genesis 11 starts with a recording of what happened in Babylon many years back. This event has drastically reshaped the world’s cultures. Genesis 10 paints a broad picture of what was happening throughout the world regarding who was filling the world and to some degree where, but this event further stamps God’s hand on history through the way the multiplicity of languages has been stamped upon the world.

The world is trying to overcome these barriers of language and culture. They are getting closer. The quest for power and money drive the machine of the world culture. God has His own purposes of having people redeemed from every language giving praise to Him.

The sin of Noah and his son was shown us (Genesis 9:20-27) to remind us about the inherent flaws of the new society that would form after the flood. God was not disillusioned. People are always in hope of discovering some utopia, a perfect society. God’s Word assures us that this ideal world will not be found after the flood and in Noah’s new world. Sin follows mankind because it has infected the nature of man.

The Tower of Babel is one of many ziggurats that were built in the early Mesopotamian plain. They each seem to have a temple on the top of them which is what the Biblical account suggests. It was not only a military lookout station but one in which they think they can commune with the gods. Most interesting is a quote from King Nebuchadnezzar about the Tower of Babel (Babylon).

Nebuchadnezzar referred to the people building it had abandoned it because “without order expressing words.” This no doubt refers to the language confusion. Words were without order.

The temple mound of Babel is still there today as shown in the Google Earth satellite picture above (bottom right). The tower deteriorates but the rubble becomes covered up with dust and dirt and forms a mound, higher than the ground around it.

The Date of the Tower of Babel

The Tower of Babel records how the wickedness of mankind again got out of order beckoning God to judge the earth. God provided grace by separating mankind into a multitude of groups. Each language group no doubt was based on a family. From Genesis 10 we find 70 people groups. Here there will become even more.

The date of the Tower of Babel is not quite clear. It clearly fits into ancient history of the Sumerians. We do not know, however, where it fits in the above genealogical chart. The flood is quite clear because it was person specific, that is, Noah’s sons were already grown up (Shem was 100 hundred years old). Dates were supplied.

The Tower of Babel account in Genesis 11:1-9 does not have these dates and so it is difficult to pinpoint. Some have suggested that Genesis 10:25 refers to the Tower of Babel. “And two sons were born to Eber; the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan” (Genesis 10:25). Their point is that the division referred to in the verse is the actual division of mankind that occurred due to the varying languages. “So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city” (Genesis 11:8). Others suggest that this division in Peleg’s day refers to the splitting of the continents. The former seems more likely. Genesis 11 did not follow after the genealogy of chapter 10. The genealogy was a whole and not to be split.

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We simply do not know when the Tower of the Babel happened, but we do know that it had great impact on the history of mankind. When I travel to the villages and cities in India, China or Africa, I constantly need to find translators. Language has formed a barrier of information and thus creates ‘natural’ separation. The unknown always creates a sense of protectionism and suspicion.

The Lord did it to preserve mankind from pooling his filthy ideas. The church’s first event was one in which people were speaking all sorts of languages. They all heard the Gospel. Although this was a special occasion, it helps us realize that from that point on, the Gospel was to go out to the whole world and break the language barriers.

The Diverstity of Mankind (Genesis 11:1-9)

 ‘When all men were of one language, some of them built a high tower, as if they would thereby ascend up to heaven; but the gods sent storms of wind and overthrew the tower, and gave everyone his peculiar language; and for this reason it was that the city was called Babylon.… After this they were dispersed abroad, on account of their languages, and went out by colonies everywhere; and each colony took possession of that land which they lighted upon, and unto which God led them; so that the whole continent was filled with them, both the inland and maritime countries. There were some also who passed over the sea in ships, and inhabited the islands; and some of these nations do still retain the denominations (i.e. names) which were given to them by their first founders; but some also have lost them…” (Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. i. 5.).

Development of Language (Genesis 11:1-9)

A mono-lingual world is difficult for a world traveler to comprehend. He gets so familiar with different currencies, dress, customs and incomprehensible languages that it seems incredible for there to be only one language and culture all across the earth. Same language, same words. Variance was despised.

“Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words.”
Genesis 11:1

Since the scriptures only state that the one language was confused, it is possible that there is one original father language.

Much work is being done on the history of languages though. They compare the words from the major language families (one such language grouping is to the right).
Some speculate that Hebrew was the original language (Edenic language). Isaac Mozeson, author of “The Word: The Dictionary that reveals the Hebrew roots of the English Language” is convinced of this. Below he writes,

“Percentage-wise and vocabulary-wise, English is more obviously a dialect of Hebrew than of Latin, Greek or French.
More impressive than the Hebrew motto of Yale College is the title of Harvard College’s first dissertation: Hebrew Is the Mother Tongue. When Noah Webster’s original dictionary traced many English words beyond German, French, Latin and Greek to their “Shemitic” origin, no one raised an eyebrow. Every learned person knew that Hebrew was the Mother Tongue.
The Oxford English Dictionary is so troubled by a biblical source for BABBLE (Babel), that it warns readers that “no direct connection with Babel can be traced” and declares the term to be of “unknown origin.””