Introduction
The Tower of Babylon is a structure built on the land of Babylon a certain time after the Deluge. This Biblical story is narrated in Genesis 11:1-9, and it aims at explaining the origin of the diverse human languages. The verses state that Babylonians intended to make a name for themselves by building a mighty tower whose top would touch the heavens. God was not happy about this plan, and He disrupted the plan by confusing the Babylonian’s languages, making it hard for them to understand each other. As a result, the building plans came to an end, and the workers could never finish the mighty city and the tower. The people then dispersed themselves to every corner of the earth, resulting in the different languages present in the world. This essay entails eight questions regarding the passage, which will focus on its content and context, and a brief write up of six sources addressing the questions.
The questions of interest regarding the Tower of Babylon are:
- Which language did the people speak before the Tower of Babylon?
- Does the story of Tower of Babylon belong to the science fantasy genre or the myth genre?
- The people said to each other, “c”, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” “Why did they use bricks instead of stones?
- God took action after He saw the tower that the people were building. Isn’t God omnipotent, meaning that He saw their initial plans? Why did He wait for them to build the tower and interrupt them?
- Was the trinity involved during this time? Because God said, “let, us go down and confuse their language so that they will not understand each other.”
- According to the history of events, people began building the Tower of Babylon about 300 years after the flood. Where Noah during was this time, and why wasn’t he preventing the people from forming a rebellion against God?
- Following the history of events, Abraham might have been alive during this event because he was born 290 years after the flood. Why did he not prevent the people from building the tower?
- Did the people’s cultures change, or was it only the languages?
This section entails different sources that cover the story of the Tower of Babylon, a summary of the author’s understanding of the passage, and how they address the questions highlighted in the previous section.
Modern Scholarly Commentaries
Cooley, Richie. The Tower of Babel: A New Translation and Commentary of Genesis 11: 1-9. Vol. 7. Richie Cooley, 2020.
This commentary offers an in-depth analysis of the story of the Tower of Babylon. He states that the events in Genesis 11 are different from those in Genesis 12 because the latter chapter is where the Bible introduces Abraham. The author states that Genesis 11 represents the original nature of human beings of sinning and trying to go ahead of God as Adam and Eve did. The story of the Tower of Babylon is a summation of all the events in the previous Genesis chapters after man tried to build a grand city, similar to the ideal paradise that God had created for Adam and Eve in Genesis 2. The author addresses where Noah was during the building of the Tower of Babylon. During this time, the people had gone back to sinning, and it seemed as if they had already forgotten the flood incident. The author states that Noah’s family was part of the people building the Tower of Babylon and therefore, the curse extended to them.
Richelle, Matthieu. “Was the Tower of Babel Really Left Unfinished? Genesis 11: 5 in Light of Hebrew Syntax, the Septuagint, and Jewish Reception.”
This commentary analyzes the Genesis 11 events by focusing on interesting ideas about the passage. The author’s understanding of the passage is that the Tower of Babylon was already complete before God caused the language mixture. Verse 5 states that “God came down to see the city and the tower the people were building.” The commentary states that some authors argue that the people had already completed building the tower, and they were in the process of building the city when God interrupted them. Matthieu answers the question of why the people used baked bricks instead of stones. He states that they used the baked bricks because they would last longer than stones, and this was a depiction of their permanence in the area and not spreading out to the whole world.
Blenkinsopp, Joseph. Creation, un-creation, re-creation: A discursive commentary on Genesis 1-11. A&C Black, 2011.
This commentary analyzes the stories of Genesis from Chapter 1 to chapter 12. The chapters entail an unfolding of events and how the Tower of Babylon came to be. The author identifies a pattern in the stories, from how Adam and Eve lived in a paradise world until they disobeyed God by eating the forbidden fruit. The author also notes a pattern that people follow in going against God’s will and God punishing them. Before the Tower of Babylon, God punished people by evicting and cursing Adam and Eve and sweeping them with the Noah’s flood. This commentary answers the question of why God waited for them to build the Tower for Him to interrupt. God did so because He gave them a chance to identify their mistakes and repent their sins. When they failed to do so, He punished them by mixing their languages and scattering them all over the earth. This shows that God does not prevent people from sinning.
Journal Article
Livskaya, Eugenia V., and Maria A. Konkova. “Mythopoetical Aspect of Ted Chiang’s Tower of Babylon Short Story.” “Modern European Researches 1 (2019): 49-52.
The article depicts the scientists’ understanding of the story of the Tower of Babylon. The authors use historical, comparative, and typological methods to explain how they understand the story of the Tower of Babylon. The authors analyze the mythopoetic aspect of the passage that, according to them, is a short story written by Ted Chiang. The authors compare this short story to the original Biblical story and use it to highlight the presence of postmodernism in both narrations. This journal article provides a connection between science fiction and historical myths. Therefore, it answers the question of whether the story is science fiction or a myth by stating that it has both aspects of science fiction and historical myths.
Dictionary Articles
Stander, H. F. features of patristic exegesis exemplified by the narrative of the Tower of Babylon (Gen. 11: 1–9).” “Acta Patristica et Byzantina 1, no. 1 (1990): 32-59.
This dictionary article focuses on Babylonia. The author states that Babylonia is an ancient cultural region found in Southeastern Mesopotamia, between Euphrates and Tigris rivers. Presently, the place is Southern Iraq, from the Persian Gulf to Baghdad. Babylon was the capital city of the area for many years, and therefore, the culture is referred to as Babylonian culture. This article answers the question of whether the peoples’ cultures changed after the change in languages. People had acquired the same cultures because they lived in the same area. When God dispersed them throughout the world, they adopted different cultures depending on where they settled.
Lundbom, Jack R. “Builders of Ancient Babylon: Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar II.” “Interpretation 71, no. 2 (2017): 154-166.
This article focuses on two men who were the main builders of ancient Babylon, and they participated in the building of the Tower of Babylon. These men are Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar II. Archaeologists found inscribed bricks among the ruins of the ancient Tower of Babylon that connected to these two builders. These men were known for building with baked bricks compared to stones because of their strong nature. These men guided the workers in how to build the tower and passed on their skills to many other men. If the plan to build the tower had been completed, the structure would have been strong and lasted for many years.
Conclusion
The story of the Tower of Babylon is interesting because it shows the relationship between God and His people. The passage also illustrates the original nature of human beings, of trying to outsmart God. This nature is present until today, when people try to invent things that go against God’s original plan. After reading the passage, several questions have arisen, and different authors have used their knowledge and understanding of the story to answer them. An examination of the different sources helped me understand the story more because they answered the questions that needed further clarification.
Bibliography
Blenkinsopp, Joseph. Creation, un-creation, re-creation: A discursive commentary on Genesis 1-11. A&C Black, 2011.
Cooley, Richie. The Tower of Babel: A New Translation and Commentary of Genesis 11: 1-9. Vol. 7. Richie Cooley, 2020.
Livskaya, Eugenia V., and Maria A. Konkova. “Mythopoetical Aspect of Ted Chiang’s Tower of Babylon Short Story.” “Modern European Researches 1 (2019): 49-52 Web.
Lundbom, Jack R. “Builders of Ancient Babylon: Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar II.” “Interpretation 71, no. 2 (2017): 154-166. Web.
Richelle, Matthieu. “Was the Tower of Babel Really Left Unfinished? Genesis 11: 5 in Light of Hebrew Syntax, the Septuagint, and Jewish Reception.”
Stander, H. F. features of patristic exegesis exemplified by the narrative of the Tower of Babylon (Gen. 11: 1–9).” “Acta Patristica et Byzantina 1, no. 1 (1990): 32-59. Web.