Observing Genesis 11
By: Steve Johnson
Tags: Ethnic Groups, Language, Nations, Race, Babel

In today’s study, we will observe Genesis 11, noting several key words and phrases. These include all the references to the people, beginning with the whole earth in Genesis 11:1. Language and speech, Nahor (not Terah’s son), Terah, Abraham (who will later become Abraham), Sarai, Lot, and the word “city.” We will take note of geographical locations, including Shinar, because it is critical in this chapter. We will also take note of references to time, except for people’s ages. The ages of the people in Genesis 5 and 11 are included in the image featured in this post. Then we will summarize what we observe by listing everything we learn about the references to a city, including where this city is and the present-day country it is in. We will pay attention to what the text tells us about the people when the city was built. We will do the same concerning the word “language” and “earth.” We will look at the similarities between Genesis 10 and 11 and their chronology to see where the events of Genesis 11 fit into Genesis 10. Specifically, we will examine why God lays out those two chapters the way he does and compare that to chapters 1–2. Finally, we will summarize the chapter themes of Genesis 10–11. So there is a lot to get to in this post. Let’s get started.

I counted 30 times where there were references to the people in the first nine verses alone. That includes pronouns and synonyms. There are five references to language and speech. There are four references to the Nahor, the father of Terah (not counting Nahor’s son that he also named Nahor. Terah is mentioned nine times in the chapter and is said more than any other key words. His son Abram is recorded six times. Abram’s wife, Sarai, is talked about three times in Genesis 11. Lot is mentioned twice. The word “city” the people of the world were building was mentioned three times in the chapter. Aside from the references to “all the earth,” several other geographical locations are talked about. “East” is mentioned once, as is Shinar, though Shinar is critical in Genesis 11. Heaven is also only mentioned once. “Down” is mentioned twice, both times about Yahweh coming down from Heaven to see for himself what the people are doing. The name of the city they were building, Babel, is mentioned once. Ur of the Chaldeans is mentioned twice. Canaan, the eventual promised land, is only mentioned once in Genesis 11. Finally, in the observation portion, we look at references to time. “Now” is used five times. “Then” is only used once.

Everyone on Earth was involved in the construction of the city of Babel. The city and the Tower of Babel (reaching approximately 330 feet or 100 meters) was such a monumental project. It captured the Lord’s attention to such a degree that all three members of the Trinity went down to confuse the people’s language so that they would not understand one another’s speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth and they stopped building the city, whose name would become Babel. The city of Babel was located in the plains of Shinar, which is the southern region of Mesopotamia or modern-day Iraq. The people of that time all used the same language and the same words. After gathering as one in modern-day Iraq, they made bricks. They fired them thoroughly in a kiln to harden them and tar for the mortar to build the city and Tower of Babel. They did this to make a name for themselves and to avoid being scattered. So they were doing this in direct disobedience to God and to glorify themselves and their own achievements rather than him. God himself said that nothing would be inaccessible or impossible for united humanity that did not have to deal with linguistic or geographic barriers. So he scattered these rebellious people across all the earth by confusing their language.

There are some similarities between Genesis 10–11. Genesis 10 lists the descendants of Noah. Genesis 11 records the descendants of his son Shem. Thus, there is some overlapping in the names because Genesis 11 zooms in on a specific part of the family line that chapter 10 talks about. The other thing that sticks out to me is Genesis 10:25. It says that the first son of Eber was Peleg, which means “division,” and he was given that name because the earth was divided in those days. That gives us a specific point on the timeline in which to place the events of Genesis 11. That verse significantly narrows the time frame in which people were divided by language, causing them to spread throughout the world. I also notice that the life expectancy had declined by more than half from the time Noah and his family exited the ark to the time of the Tower of Babel. But overall, God wants us to see that he laid out Genesis 10–11 the way he did on purpose because everything he does is on purpose. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that all scripture is God-breathed and beneficial for teaching, rebuke or reprimand, correction, and training in righteousness. So if every word is God-breathed, then the way he designs it is not by accident. Psalm 12:6 assures us that the words of the Lord are pure, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, filtered seven times. 2 Peter 1:20–21 says that no prophecy of scripture becomes a matter of someone’s own interpretation because no prophecy in it was ever made by an act of human will. Men, moved by the Holy Spirit, spoke from God. We can see the same pattern in Genesis 1–2 that we see in Genesis 10–11. In Genesis 1, God gives the overview of the creation, and in Genesis 2, he fills in the details. In Genesis 10, God gives an overview of the nations that developed after the flood and Babel’s scattering. In Genesis 11, he gives us the reasons for that scattering and the various types of countries, ethnic groups, and languages that we still see to this very day. These differences are evidence of the events recorded in Genesis 10–11.

So the theme of Genesis 10–11 is the account of the nations and languages that developed after the flood thanks to the rebellion of unified humanity and God’s scattering them across the world. As a result, to put an end to that rebellion. God’s word is indeed inspired and entirely trustworthy. It gives us an accurate historical record for everything and everyone we see around the world today, as I talked about in my last post. This would also explain the differences in appearance from one people group to another today and why there is no reason for discontent or feelings of superiority or inferiority between one ethnic group and another. From one man, God made every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth. Let us please remember that, especially in light of all that has happened this year.