The Tower of Babel

In short

Unity has a dark side. Genesis 11.

Why it is important

Like the story of Eden and the story of Cain and Abel, this is one of those proto-stories – a story that captures an idea so perfectly that millions of stories after it are mere shadows of it. It’s about God detesting the arrogance of man.

(I made up that word “proto-story. The right word is allegory, but that tends to imply “fictional story,” and I don’t mean to sound like it’s fabricated. I really do believe it to be a true story.)

What is in this story

People build a tower and God does not like it. So he… gives them all different languages?! Wait, what does that have to do with anything?

Let’s unpack this.

1. The city. It’s literally* Babylon (yes, that Babylon). Babel is the original word for Babylon and “Shinar” is another name for Babylon. This should raise an eyebrow….
2. Verse 4 – The Babylonians want to “make a name for ourselves,” but people are supposed to be the image of God.
3. Verse 4 (again) – They fear being “dispersed over the face of the whole earth” (ESV), but the command is to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.”
4. Verse 7 – God makes them all speak different languages. In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit allows the multinational group there to understand each other in different languages. God doesn’t hate the idea of good communication; there’s something else at work here.

Theology and doctrine

It’s funny because this is utopia in modern thought. People getting along, speaking the same, working together. The John Lennon song “Imagine,” which is so blasphemous, is all I can think of.

And yet, that exact idea is God’s condemnation of it all.

“And 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.’”

Gen 11:6

Of course, the problem in all of this is there is no real mention of God in their plans. Repeatedly it’s “let us” do this or that. It’s all about them and their wants. You know, it almost seems like there is a passing reference to God because they are trying to reach heaven. And maybe there is biggest danger of all: serving yourself but slapping the name of God on it.

And so even in the New Testament where you see calls for unity in the church, God still has to scatter the church (Acts 8:1, 4) as they all huddle in Jerusalem. It seems to be at that point that the gospel is truly fulfilled, reaching even the Gentiles (Acts 11:19).

Footnote

*“Babel” is like the worst translation in the Bible. This Hebrew word (“Babel” – it’s a transliteration here) appears in the Bible 262 times, and 260 times it’s translated as Babylon in the KJV. Only here and the previous chapter do they translate it as “Babel.” I mean, WHYYYYY? All this does is confuse our language. (Get it? 😜)

Yes, I do know why. It’s a pun on “confusion” in verse 9 – Hebrew “balal.” But why not explain THAT in the footnote rather than leaving people to research Babylon?