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Genesis Chapter 11

Old Testament Law (Torah) 32 Verses

What is Genesis 11 about?

The book of beginnings — creation, the Fall, Noah's flood, and the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. The complete chapter text below provides the immediate literary context for study.

Text — American Standard Version (1901)

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. For original Hebrew/Greek interlinear text, open in BibleWord.ai.
1And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech.
2And it came to pass, as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
3And they said one to another, Come, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar.
4And they said, Come, let us build us a city, and a tower, whose top [may reach] unto heaven, and let us make us a name; lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
5And Jehovah came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
6And Jehovah said, Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is what they begin to do: and now nothing will be withholden from them, which they purpose to do.
7Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another`s speech.
8So Jehovah scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off building the city.
9Therefore was the name of it called Babel; because Jehovah did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did Jehovah scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
10These are the generations of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old, and begat Arpachshad two years after the flood.
11and Shem lived after he begat Arpachshad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.
12And Arpachshad lived five and thirty years, and begat Shelah.
13and Arpachshad lived after he begat Shelah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.
14And Shelah lived thirty years, and begat Eber:
15and Shelah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.
16And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg:
17and Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters.
18And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu:
19and Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters.
20And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug:
21and Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters.
22And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor:
23and Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.
24And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:
25and Nahor lived after he begat Terah a hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.
26And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
27Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran begat Lot.
28And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.
29And Abram and Nahor took them wives: The name of Abram`s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor`s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.
30And Sarai was barren; She had no child.
31And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his son`s son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram`s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.
32And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.
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What do historical commentaries say about this chapter?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · on verse 1
“And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech, etc.] Or had been f784, before the flood, and from that time to this, and still was, until the confusion took place; the account of which, and the occasion of it, are given in this chapter: by the whole earth is meant the inhabitants of it, (see <233718>Isaiah 37:18 <111024>1 Kings 10:24) and so the Jerusalem Targum paraphrases the words, “and all the generations of the earth were of one language, and of one speech, and of one counsel, for they spoke in the holy tongue in which the world was created at the beginning;” and to the same purpose the Targum…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · on verse 1
“CONFUSION OF TONGUES. (Gen. 11:1-32) the whole earth was of one language. The descendants of Noah, united by the strong bond of a common language, had not separated, and notwithstanding the divine command to replenish the earth, were unwilling to separate. The more pious and well-disposed would of course obey the divine will; but a numerous body, seemingly the aggressive horde mentioned (Gen 10:10), determined to please themselves by occupying the fairest region they came to.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · on verse 1
“- The Confusion of Tongues 1. נסע nāsa‛ “pluck out, break up, journey.” מקדם mı̂qedem “eastward, or on the east side” as in Genesis 2:14; Genesis 13:11; Isaiah 9:11 (12). 6. החלם hachı̂lām “their beginning”, for החלם hăchı̂lām, the regular form of this infinitive with a suffix. יזמוּ yāzmû as if from יזם yāzam = זמם zāmam. 7. נבלה nābelâh usually said to be for נבלה nābolâh from בלל bālal; but evidently designed by the punctuator to be the third singular feminine perfect of נבל nābal “to be confounded,” having for its subject שׂפה śāpâh, “and there let their lip be confounded.” The two verbs have…”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · on verse 1
“11:1-9 The story of the unfinished tower carries forward themes of language and solidarity from the Table of Nations (ch 10). The builders’ desire for autonomy recalls the rebellion in Eden (ch 3) and establishes the need for Abram’s redemptive faith in the midst of international disorder (ch 12). The scattering of the nations anticipates the warning to Israel that idolatry would result in their being scattered and their cities devastated (see Lev 26:33; Num 10:35; Deut 4:27; 28:64; 30:3). Chronologically, the story is a flashback that explains the rise of the nations during Peleg’s time (see Gen 10:25). 11:1 At…”
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