Kejadian 11:1-32

The Dispersion of the Nations at Babel

11:1 The whole earth ¹  had a common language and a common vocabulary. ²  11:2 When the people ³  moved eastward, ⁴  they found a plain in Shinar ⁵  and settled there. 11:3 Then they said to one another, ⁶  “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” ⁷  (They had brick instead of stone and tar ⁸  instead of mortar.) ⁹  11:4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens ¹⁰  so that ¹¹  we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise ¹²  we will be scattered ¹³  across the face of the entire earth.”

11:5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people ¹⁴  had started ¹⁵  building. 11:6 And the Lord said, “If as one people all sharing a common language ¹⁶  they have begun to do this, then ¹⁷  nothing they plan to do will be beyond them. ¹⁸  11:7 Come, let’s go down and confuse ¹⁹  their language so they won’t be able to understand each other.” ²⁰ 

11:8 So the Lord scattered them from there across the face of the entire earth, and they stopped building ²¹  the city. 11:9 That is why its name was called ²²  Babel ²³  – because there the Lord confused the language of the entire world, and from there the Lord scattered them across the face of the entire earth.

The Genealogy of Shem

11:10 This is the account of Shem.

Shem was 100 old when he became the father of Arphaxad, two years after the flood. 11:11 And after becoming the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other ²⁴  sons and daughters.

11:12 When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah. 11:13 And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other ²⁵  sons and daughters. ²⁶ 

11:14 When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber. 11:15 And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other ²⁷  sons and daughters.

11:16 When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg. 11:17 And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

11:18 When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu. 11:19 And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

11:20 When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug. 11:21 And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

11:22 When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor. 11:23 And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

11:24 When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah. 11:25 And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

11:26 When Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

The Record of Terah

11:27 This is the account of Terah.

Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. 11:28 Haran died in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans, ²⁸  while his father Terah was still alive. ²⁹  11:29 And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, ³⁰  and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah; ³¹  she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah. 11:30 But Sarai was barren; she had no children.

11:31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (the son of Haran), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and with them he set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. When they came to Haran, they settled there. 11:32 The lifetime ³²  of Terah was 205 years, and he ³³  died in Haran.

Kejadian 16:2

16:2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Since ³⁴  the Lord has prevented me from having children, have sexual relations with ³⁵  my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her.” ³⁶  Abram did what ³⁷  Sarai told him.

Kejadian 26:2

26:2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; ³⁸  settle down in the land that I will point out to you. ³⁹ 

Yosua 9:27

9:27 and that day made them woodcutters and water carriers for the community and for the altar of the Lord at the divinely chosen site. (They continue in that capacity to this very day.) ⁴⁰ 

Yosua 18:1

The Tribes Meet at Shiloh

18:1 The entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh and there they set up the tent of meeting. ⁴¹  Though they had subdued the land, ⁴² 

Yosua 18:1

The Tribes Meet at Shiloh

18:1 The entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh and there they set up the tent of meeting. ⁴³  Though they had subdued the land, ⁴⁴ 

Kisah Para Rasul 8:16

8:16 (For the Spirit ⁴⁵  had not yet come upon ⁴⁶  any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) ⁴⁷ 

Kisah Para Rasul 8:20

8:20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, ⁴⁸  because you thought you could acquire ⁴⁹  God’s gift with money!

Kisah Para Rasul 8:29

8:29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.”

Kisah Para Rasul 14:21

Paul and Barnabas Return to Antioch in Syria

14:21 After they had proclaimed the good news in that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, ⁵⁰  to Iconium, ⁵¹  and to Antioch. ⁵² 

Kisah Para Rasul 14:1

Paul and Barnabas at Iconium

14:1 The same thing happened in Iconium ⁵³  when Paul and Barnabas ⁵⁴  went into the Jewish synagogue ⁵⁵  and spoke in such a way that a large group ⁵⁶  of both Jews and Greeks believed.

Kisah Para Rasul 22:1-2

Paul’s Defense

22:1 “Brothers and fathers, listen to my defense ⁵⁷  that I now ⁵⁸  make to you.” 22:2 (When they heard ⁵⁹  that he was addressing ⁶⁰  them in Aramaic, ⁶¹  they became even ⁶²  quieter.) ⁶³  Then ⁶⁴  Paul said,

Kisah Para Rasul 7:12

7:12 So when Jacob heard that there was grain ⁶⁵  in Egypt, he sent our ancestors ⁶⁶  there ⁶⁷  the first time.

Mazmur 78:68

78:68 He chose the tribe of Judah,

and Mount Zion, which he loves.

Mazmur 87:2-3

87:2 The Lord loves the gates of Zion

more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.

87:3 People say wonderful things about you, ⁶⁸ 

O city of God. (Selah)

Yohanes 4:20-22

4:20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, ⁶⁹  and you people ⁷⁰  say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” ⁷¹  4:21 Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, ⁷²  a time ⁷³  is coming when you will worship ⁷⁴  the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 4:22 You people ⁷⁵  worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, because salvation is from the Jews. ⁷⁶ 

Ibrani 12:22

12:22 But you have come to Mount Zion, the city ⁷⁷  of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the assembly

Wahyu 14:1

An Interlude: The Song of the 144,000

14:1 Then ⁷⁸  I looked, and here was ⁷⁹  the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were one hundred and forty-four thousand, who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.

[11:1]  ¹ sn The whole earth. Here “earth” is a metonymy of subject, referring to the people who lived in the earth. Genesis 11 begins with everyone speaking a common language, but chap. 10 has the nations arranged by languages. It is part of the narrative art of Genesis to give the explanation of the event after the narration of the event. On this passage see A. P. Ross, “The Dispersion of the Nations in Genesis 11:1-9,” BSac 138 (1981): 119-38.

[11:1]  ² tn Heb “one lip and one [set of] words.” The term “lip” is a metonymy of cause, putting the instrument for the intended effect. They had one language. The term “words” refers to the content of their speech. They had the same vocabulary.

[11:2]  ³ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:2]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps “from the east” (NRSV) or “in the east.”

[11:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “in the land of Shinar.”

[11:2]  sn Shinar is the region of Babylonia.

[11:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “a man to his neighbor.” The Hebrew idiom may be translated “to each other” or “one to another.”

[11:3]  ⁷ tn The speech contains two cohortatives of exhortation followed by their respective cognate accusatives: “let us brick bricks” (נִלְבְּנָה לְבֵנִים, nilbbÿnah lÿvenim) and “burn for burning” (נִשְׂרְפָה לִשְׂרֵפָה, nisrÿfah lisrefah). This stresses the intensity of the undertaking; it also reflects the Akkadian text which uses similar constructions (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 75-76).

[11:3]  ⁸ tn Or “bitumen” (cf. NEB, NRSV).

[11:3]  ⁹ tn The disjunctive clause gives information parenthetical to the narrative.

[11:4]  ¹⁰ tn A translation of “heavens” for שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) fits this context because the Babylonian ziggurats had temples at the top, suggesting they reached to the heavens, the dwelling place of the gods.

[11:4]  ¹¹ tn The form וְנַעֲשֶׂה (vÿna’aseh, from the verb עשׂה, “do, make”) could be either the imperfect or the cohortative with a vav (ו) conjunction (“and let us make…”). Coming after the previous cohortative, this form expresses purpose.

[11:4]  ¹² tn The Hebrew particle פֶּן (pen) expresses a negative purpose; it means “that we be not scattered.”

[11:4]  ¹³ sn The Hebrew verb פָּוָץ (pavats, translated “scatter”) is a key term in this passage. The focal point of the account is the dispersion (“scattering”) of the nations rather than the Tower of Babel. But the passage also forms a polemic against Babylon, the pride of the east and a cosmopolitan center with a huge ziggurat. To the Hebrews it was a monument to the judgment of God on pride.

[11:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the sons of man.” The phrase is intended in this polemic to portray the builders as mere mortals, not the lesser deities that the Babylonians claimed built the city.

[11:5]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew text simply has בָּנוּ (banu), but since v. 8 says they left off building the city, an ingressive idea (“had started building”) should be understood here.

[11:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and one lip to all of them.”

[11:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and now.” The foundational clause beginning with הֵן (hen) expresses the condition, and the second clause the result. It could be rendered “If this…then now.”

[11:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “all that they purpose to do will not be withheld from them.”

[11:7]  ¹⁹ tn The cohortatives mirror the cohortatives of the people. They build to ascend the heavens; God comes down to destroy their language. God speaks here to his angelic assembly. See the notes on the word “make” in 1:26 and “know” in 3:5, as well as Jub. 10:22-23, where an angel recounts this incident and says “And the Lord our God said to us…. And the Lord went down and we went down with him. And we saw the city and the tower which the sons of men built.” On the chiastic structure of the story, see G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:235.

[11:7]  ²⁰ tn Heb “they will not hear, a man the lip of his neighbor.”

[11:8]  ²¹ tn The infinitive construct לִבְנֹת (livnot, “building”) here serves as the object of the verb “they ceased, stopped,” answering the question of what they stopped doing.

[11:9]  ²² tn The verb has no expressed subject and so can be rendered as a passive in the translation.

[11:9]  ²³ sn Babel. Here is the climax of the account, a parody on the pride of Babylon. In the Babylonian literature the name bab-ili meant “the gate of God,” but in Hebrew it sounds like the word for “confusion,” and so retained that connotation. The name “Babel” (בָּבֶל, bavel) and the verb translated “confused” (בָּלַל, balal) form a paronomasia (sound play). For the many wordplays and other rhetorical devices in Genesis, see J. P. Fokkelman, Narrative Art in Genesis (SSN).

[11:11]  ²⁴ tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.

[11:13]  ²⁵ tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.

[11:13]  ²⁶ tc The reading of the MT is followed in vv. 11-12; the LXX reads, “And [= when] Arphaxad had lived thirty-five years, [and] he fathered [= became the father of] Cainan. And after he fathered [= became the father of] Cainan, Arphaxad lived four hundred and thirty years and fathered [= had] [other] sons and daughters, and [then] he died. And [= when] Cainan had lived one hundred and thirty years, [and] he fathered [= became the father of] Sala [= Shelah]. And after he fathered [= became the father of] Sala [= Shelah], Cainan lived three hundred and thirty years and fathered [= had] [other] sons and daughters, and [then] he died.” See also the note on “Shelah” in Gen 10:24; the LXX reading also appears to lie behind Luke 3:35-36.

[11:15]  ²⁷ tn Here and in vv. 16, 19, 21, 23, 25 the word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.

[11:28]  ²⁸ sn The phrase of the Chaldeans is a later editorial clarification for the readers, designating the location of Ur. From all evidence there would have been no Chaldeans in existence at this early date; they are known in the time of the neo-Babylonian empire in the first millennium b.c.

[11:28]  ²⁹ tn Heb “upon the face of Terah his father.”

[11:29]  ³⁰ sn The name Sarai (a variant spelling of “Sarah”) means “princess” (or “lady”). Sharratu was the name of the wife of the moon god Sin. The original name may reflect the culture out of which the patriarch was called, for the family did worship other gods in Mesopotamia.

[11:29]  ³¹ sn The name Milcah means “Queen.” But more to the point here is the fact that Malkatu was a title for Ishtar, the daughter of the moon god. If the women were named after such titles (and there is no evidence that this was the motivation for naming the girls “Princess” or “Queen”), that would not necessarily imply anything about the faith of the two women themselves.

[11:32]  ³² tn Heb “And the days of Terah were.”

[11:32]  ³³ tn Heb “Terah”; the pronoun has been substituted for the proper name in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[16:2]  ³⁴ tn Heb “look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) introduces the foundational clause for the imperative to follow.

[16:2]  ³⁵ tn Heb “enter to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual relations (also in v. 4).

[16:2]  sn The Hebrew expression translated have sexual relations with does not convey the intimacy of other expressions, such as “so and so knew his wife.” Sarai simply sees this as the social custom of having a child through a surrogate. For further discussion see C. F. Fensham, “The Son of a Handmaid in Northwest Semitic,” VT 19 (1969): 312-21.

[16:2]  ³⁶ tn Heb “perhaps I will be built from her.” Sarai hopes to have a family established through this surrogate mother.

[16:2]  ³⁷ tn Heb “listened to the voice of,” which is an idiom meaning “obeyed.”

[16:2]  sn Abram did what Sarai told him. This expression was first used in Gen 3:17 of Adam’s obeying his wife. In both cases the text highlights weak faith and how it jeopardized the plan of God.

[26:2]  ³⁸ sn Do not go down to Egypt. The words echo Gen 12:10, which reports that “Abram went down to Egypt,” but state the opposite.

[26:2]  ³⁹ tn Heb “say to you.”

[9:27]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “and Joshua made them in that day woodcutters and water carriers for the community, and for the altar of the Lord to this day at the place which he chooses.”

[18:1]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “the tent of assembly.”

[18:1]  sn On the tent of meeting see Exod 33:7-11.

[18:1]  ⁴² tn Heb “and the land was subdued before them.”

[18:1]  ⁴³ tn Heb “the tent of assembly.”

[18:1]  sn On the tent of meeting see Exod 33:7-11.

[18:1]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and the land was subdued before them.”

[8:16]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “For he”; the referent (the Spirit) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:16]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “fallen on.”

[8:16]  ⁴⁷ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[8:20]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “May your silver together with you be sent into destruction.” This is a strong curse. The gifts of God are sovereignly bestowed and cannot be purchased.

[8:20]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “obtain.”

[14:21]  ⁵⁰ sn Lystra was a city in Lycaonia about 35 mi (60 km) northwest of Derbe.

[14:21]  map For location see JP1 E2; JP2 E2; JP3 E2.

[14:21]  ⁵¹ sn Iconium was a city in Lycaonia about 18 mi (30 km) north of Lystra.

[14:21]  ⁵² sn Antioch was a city in Pisidia about 90 mi (145 km) west northwest of Lystra.

[14:21]  map For location see JP1 E2; JP2 E2; JP3 E2; JP4 E2.

[14:1]  ⁵³ sn Iconium. See the note in 13:51.

[14:1]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “they”; the referents (Paul and Barnabas) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:1]  ⁵⁵ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[14:1]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “that a large crowd.”

[22:1]  ⁵⁷ sn Listen to my defense. This is the first of several speeches Paul would make in his own defense: Acts 24:10ff.; 25:8, 16; and 26:1ff. For the use of such a speech (“apologia”) in Greek, see Josephus, Ag. Ap. 2.15 [2.147]; Wis 6:10.

[22:1]  ⁵⁸ tn The adverb νυνί (nuni, “now”) is connected with the phrase τῆς πρὸς ὑμᾶς νυνὶ ἀπολογίας (th" pro" Juma" nuni apologia") rather than the verb ἀκούσατε (akousate), and the entire construction (prepositional phrase plus adverb) is in first attributive position and thus translated into English by a relative clause.

[22:2]  ⁵⁹ tn ἀκούσαντες (akousante") has been taken temporally.

[22:2]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “spoke out to.” L&N 33.27 has “to address an audience, with possible emphasis upon loudness – ‘to address, to speak out to.’ πολλῆς δέ σιγῆς γενομένης προσεφώνησεν τῇ ᾿Εβραίδι διαλέκτῳ ‘when they were quiet, he addressed them in Hebrew’ Ac 21:40.”

[22:2]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “in the Hebrew language.” See the note on “Aramaic” in 21:40.

[22:2]  ⁶² tn BDAG 613-14 s.v. μᾶλλον 1 “Abs. μ. can mean to a greater degree (than before), even more, now more than ever Lk 5:15; Jn 5:18; 19:8; Ac 5:14; 22:2; 2 Cor 7:7.”

[22:2]  ⁶³ tn BDAG 440 s.v. ἡσυχία 2 has “παρέχειν ἡσυχίαν quiet down, give a hearing…Ac 22:2.”

[22:2]  sn This is best taken as a parenthetical note by the author.

[22:2]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “and.” Since this represents a continuation of the speech begun in v. 1, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[7:12]  ⁶⁵ tn Or possibly “food,” since in a number of extrabiblical contexts the phrase σιτία καὶ ποτά (sitia kai pota) means “food and drink,” where solid food is contrasted with liquid nourishment (L&N 3.42).

[7:12]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:12]  ⁶⁷ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[87:3]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “glorious things are spoken about you.” The translation assumes this is a general reference to compliments paid to Zion by those who live within her walls and by those who live in the surrounding areas and lands. Another option is that this refers to a prophetic oracle about the city’s glorious future. In this case one could translate, “wonderful things are announced concerning you.”

[4:20]  ⁶⁹ sn This mountain refers to Mount Gerizim, where the Samaritan shrine was located.

[4:20]  ⁷⁰ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to indicate that the Greek verb translated “say” is second person plural and thus refers to more than Jesus alone.

[4:20]  ⁷¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[4:21]  ⁷² sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή 1), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions.

[4:21]  ⁷³ tn Grk “an hour.”

[4:21]  ⁷⁴ tn The verb is plural.

[4:22]  ⁷⁵ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to indicate that the Greek verb translated “worship” is second person plural and thus refers to more than the woman alone.

[4:22]  ⁷⁶ tn Or “from the Judeans.” See the note on “Jew” in v. 9.

[12:22]  ⁷⁷ tn Grk “and the city”; the conjunction is omitted in translation since it seems to be functioning epexegetically – that is, explaining further what is meant by “Mount Zion.”

[14:1]  ⁷⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[14:1]  ⁷⁹ tn The phrase “and here was” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).