Genesis 11:8

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 11:8 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “So Jehovah scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off building the city.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

So Jehovah scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off building the city.
Genesis 11:8 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 11

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
8So Jehovah scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off building the city.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence, upon the face of all the earth, etc.] Hence that which they feared came upon them, and what they were so careful to guard against befell them, occasioned by those measures they took to secure themselves from it; for not being able to understand one another, they left off their design, and as many as spoke the same language joined together, and so parted in bodies; some went one way, and some another, and settled in different places, until at length, by degrees, the whole world was peopled by them, which was the will of God should be done, and was brought about in this way. The Heathen writers themselves ascribe this dispersion to a divine Being,…”
Read attributed excerpt →
Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“- 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 the same root. 9. בבל bābel Babel, “confusion,” derived from בל bl the common…”
Read attributed excerpt →
Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“11:8 the Lord scattered them: Similarly, Adam and Eve’s punishment for grasping at autonomy and Cain’s punishment for murder involved banishment and dispersion (3:23; 4:12, 14; 9:19; 10:5, 25, 32).”
Read attributed excerpt →

Related study paths

Sources and verification