(based in part on Walter Brueggemann’s Genesis commentary in The Interpretation series as well as Ron’s thoughts)
Before we get to what our text is trying to say I want to look at some background material which allows us better to interpret and understand Genesis 11. First of all, I want to draw your attention to chapter 10. Here we find a listing of the descendants of Noah’s sons (Shem, Ham, and Japheth). In verses 2-5 we have an account of the descendants of Japheth and where those descendants were located. Look at verse 5: “These are the descendants of Japheth in their lands, with their own language, by their families, in their nations.”
In verses 6-20 we have an account of the descendants of Ham and where those descendants were located. Look at verse 20: “These are the descendants of Ham, by their families, their languages, their lands, and their nations.”
In verses 21-31 we have an account of the descendants of Shem and where those descendants were located. Look at verse 31: “These are the descendants of Shem, by their families, their languages, their lands, and their nations.” And the chapter closes with verse 32 which reads, “These are the families of Noah’s sons, according to their genealogies, in their nations; and from these the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood.”
They were not writing history which must be correct in every detail. They were using stories and traditions with ancient roots to communicate truth about humankind, the world, and God.
Now look at Genesis 11:1-2: “Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.” Do you see the problem? Chapter 10 has already listed the descendants of Noah’s sons, where they were located, and their languages. But Genesis 11 says that everyone had one language and as a group migrated to this plain in Mesopotamia. It’s all a little confusing/babel, isn’t it? Genesis 10 contradicts Genesis 11. Whoever was responsible for the Tower of Babel story was not aware of the table of nations found in chapter 10. But—and here’s the important point—whoever put all these Genesis stories together in the form we now have them would have noticed that these chapters contradict one another. People were not stupid back then. They could see just as we have seen that these traditions don’t jibe. But those responsible for the way we now have Genesis did not care. They were not writing history which must be correct in every detail. They were using stories and traditions with ancient roots to communicate truth about humankind, the world, and God. If we were to challenge the final authors of Genesis with our complaint about contradictions and discrepancies in this material, they would say, “So? This is not a history or science book. It’s a book about us and God. If you want to find about history, go to the history department at the university. If you want to discover something about science, go the science departments. But if you have any interest in God and the ways of God with this world, listen to what we have to tell you.” The Tower of Babel is one more ancient tradition the opening chapters of Genesis use to communicate something profound about us, the world, and the God who created this universe and who cares about his creation. And like most of the stories we’ve investigated, we can discover how this tradition probably originated.
The background to the Tower of Babel story more than likely is related to architectural structures built in Mesopotamia between 2200 and 500 B.C. These structures were called ziggurats. They were terraced pyramids—massive temple towers with successively receding stories. Some ziggurats had as many as seven tiers. Ziggurats had three stairways or ramps which allowed the priests to ascend the structure. These temple towers were understood to connect heaven with earth. In fact, the name of one of the ziggurats was “House of the Platform between Heaven and Earth.” Ziggurats were part of a larger temple complex but were not the setting for public worship and ceremonies. They were believed to be the dwelling places of the gods. Only priests were permitted on a ziggurat or in the rooms at its base. It was the responsibility of the priests to care for the gods. There may have been a shrine at the very top of the ziggurat but the existence of such a shrine is debated among archaeologists. The ziggurat was probably intended to symbolize the great cosmic mountain believed to be the dwelling place of the gods. These ziggurats were found only in Mesopotamia. Notice that the Genesis story of the tower connects it with Shinar which was a plain in the Tigris-Euphrates basin.
The etymological meaning of “Babel” is “Gate of God.” (Compare Babel as “Gate of God” to Bethel as “House of God.” “El” is the common Semitic word for “God.”) As the Gate of God, it was understood to be a way which connected the gods to humans. Genesis 11, however, interprets it to come from the Hebrew verb balal meaning “to confuse.” There was also perhaps an intended reference to Babylon, the city-state which conquered Judah, destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple, violently put an end to the House of David, and took into Exile many prominent Hebrews to far away Babylon. This Mesopotamian kingdom ruled all the ancient world from the Tigris River to northern Egypt. It was the most powerful kingdom in the 6th century B. C. And it completely fell apart just 48 years after its King Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem. Throughout the Bible it is a symbol of arrogant empires which assume the role of God, seem for a time invincible, but always eventually fall. John, for example, in the Book of Revelation uses Babylon as a symbol of the Roman Empire. Babylon was more a mindset than a geographical place. It refers to any empire which through violence, greed, and arrogance seeks its security and in the process mocks God.
So, what does the Tower of Babel story have to teach us today about humankind, the world, and the ways of God? I want us to focus on two points.
The Tower of Babel story points back to a time 5000 years in the past—to that time when herdsmen from the East descended on the fertile plain of Shinar (what we now call Mesopotamia). This invading group introduced to the ancient world warfare, empire building, arrogance, massive greed, a desire for fame, and an alienation from the natural world. Every empire which has marched down the corridors of history has been defined by these characteristics. With this empire came the domination system with its privileged elites, its male supremacy, and its oppressive hierarchies, rankings, and classes. As a symbol of this oppressive arrogance, the empire built its temple towers call ziggurats—imperial embodiments of pride and self-sufficiency. Genesis 11 reflects this turn in history: the rise of empires in all of their arrogance and presumption.
The Tower of Babel story has a profound understanding as to why empires fail in their arrogant attempts to play God and unify humanity under their imperial banners.
But, of course, these ancient empires failed. In fact, every empire has failed in the history of the world. For a time they have their day—for a while they seem invincible—for a season they mock God, claim to be God or at the very least speak and act on behalf of God. But eventually they self-destruct—every one of them without a single exception. The Tower of Babel story has a profound understanding as to why empires fail in their arrogant attempts to play God and unify humanity under their imperial banners.
First, these attempts at unity are grounded in fear. Fear led those of Babel into a fortress mentality—a sense that their security and their destiny were in their hands. And so, all must be done to make them safe and to provide for their future. Some of the most demonic attitudes and acts perpetrated by human beings onto other humans have been grounded in a unity based on fear.
Genesis also recognizes the arrogance behind the experiment of Babel. They wanted to make a name for themselves—they wanted to be somebody—they wanted to be beholden to no one, not even God—they wanted to be self-sufficient. Genesis 3, the story of Adam and Eve, makes it clear that pride is the base sin of individuals. Genesis 11 takes it a step further and says pride (arrogance and doing without and against God) is the chief sin of empires who see their destiny in their own hands and do not recognize the larger picture of God’s design for them and the wider world.
But Genesis 11 also realizes that any sustainable, fruitful, life-affirming, and noble unity of humankind is possible only in God and the divine will. Only a world organized for God’s purposes of joy, freedom, praise, justice, peace, and caring can be unified in ways which bless and do not curse and which allow for gardens of healing and not deserts of destruction.
The consequences of seeking unity apart from God in arrogant and fearful ways are profoundly stated by the Tower of Babel story. Most English translations say, “They could not understand one another.” But the Hebrew says, “They could not LISTEN to one another.” Empires are notoriously incapable of authentic listening. When either out of fear or out of arrogance we think we already know what and who matters, there is no reason to listen. When our society is built on domination and hierarchies, why should those at the top listen to those beneath them? Empires fed by fear and continued through arrogance have little time or place for the trust that is foundational to authentic listening. The consequence of empire-building without God is the inability to listen. And so, humanity continues in stubborn patterns of confusion and scatteredness, incapable of listening to and isolated from one another. So far this has been the history of our world: empires united in fearful and arrogant ways, only to be pulled asunder in a failure of listening. Genesis 11 is asking if this cycle of rise and fall must continue forever. Is there another way? The rest of the Bible—and in particular, Genesis 12—answers that question for those who will listen.
The second point is one rarely looked at by the faith community. In fact, if we are not careful, we will miss the point all together. Look at verse 6 in Genesis 11. Here we find one of the most shocking statements in the entire Bible. “And the Lord said, ‘Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.’” Did you hear that? These are words from God the Creator of this universe. Nothing we propose to do will be impossible—nothing. We write sentimental ditties like “poems are made by fools like me but only God can make a tree.” We piously say that only God can do this or that. We find some comfort in knowing that there are limitations to what we can do. And besides, God won’t allow us to do the unthinkable. God will put boundaries to our power, our imagination, our intentions. That’s what God does in the Tower of Babel story. To stop the arrogance that is represented in the building of the tower, God confuses the language and scatters human beings all over the earth to stop the evil we might attempt. But what if this is just a temporary measure—a delay tactic by God hoping that as we grow in knowledge and ability we will also grow in wisdom, compassion, and spiritual sensitivity? God is like a parent who can stop her children from making mistakes and from being exposed to more than they can handle. But a parent can do that only for so long. Eventually children become 18 and are no longer under the parents’ control. At some point every child will have more freedom, knowledge, and ability than can be managed unless that child has grown in ways other than just size, years, and know-how. For thousands of years God has dealt with an immature humanity with limited knowledge and ability.
But guess what? We’ve “gotten too big for our britches.” We’ve outgrown the restraints time and God can place on our imaginations and power. “Nothing,” God says, “will be impossible for us.” Anything we propose will be possible. Consider what we can do in our day: cloning; the use of weapons of mass destruction which could end life as we know it on this planet; genetic engineering which could be used as a blessing, but probably will be used like everything else (to make a profit and to increase the power and convenience of the few at the expense of the many); a lifestyle which will pollute the planet beyond healing and redemption; not to mention whatever else we might attempt in the future. Anything we propose will be possible. Just think how different the world is today compared to the world as it was when you were born. Now think what the world will be like fifty years from now if during those years humankind experiences the same or an even greater rate of change and transformation.
Genesis 11 would warn us that in a very real sense our destiny and the destiny of the world are now in our hands.
As we consider all we have done, proposed, and achieved, let us keep in mind the good, the bad and the ugly. After the last century of two devastating world wars, the Holocaust, a reckless pollution of our planet, a population explosion the earth cannot sustain, changes and growth in science which are not only mind-boggling but also terrifying– what else are we capable of doing? Of becoming? As the human race, we have grown too big for our britches. We are capable of anything—even the unthinkable.
Genesis 11 would warn us that in a very real sense our destiny and the destiny of the world are now in our hands. We’ve wanted to play God. We will, of course, never be God but according to the very words of God, nothing we propose will be impossible. I have a more than casual suspicion that in that kind of world we all need more wisdom, maturity, and spiritual grounding than is currently present on this globe. And that’s the very point this ancient story about a tower in Mesopotamia is trying to make. Once again, as Jesus says, “Let those who have ears hear—and respond appropriately.”
