Genesis 10-11; Psalm 2
Genesis 10-11 are narratives that tell the story of how nations and languages in earth came to be. In Genesis 10, we have a long genealogy of the sons of Noah. As seen with the genealogy of Adam & Eve, the genealogy of the sons of Noah allows us to keep track on what nations and people are faithful to God (Shem’s line) and the wicked ones (Ham’s line).
From Ham’s line, we have the descendants of Canaan: the Canaanites, Amorites and Jebusites, which will oppose Israel conquer of the Promised Land. Apart from Canaan, there are also other descendants of Ham, which includes Egypt, Assyria and Babylon, which will become places for slavery and exile of the Israeli people. In summary, Ham’s descendants are the traditional enemies of Israel.
In Genesis 11, we get the story of the Tower of Babel. Babel is ancient Babylon. Historically, the Tower of Babel might be a tower offered to other gods. The name Babel is associated with the Akkadian (language spoken in ancient Babylon) word “Bab-ilu”, which means “Gate of God”. The word Babel, in hebrew, is also associated in the text with the verb “balal” which means “to confuse”, which later on is important when God confused their languages. Already in the language there is this tension: for the humans, it’s the “Gate of God”, for God, it’s just confusion.
The main building project of the city of Babel was the Tower of Babel, a tower that they intended to be so big it reached its top in Heaven (Gen 11:4). The city at this time was led by Nimrod, one of Ham’s descendants described as “the first on earth to be a mighty man” (Gen 10:8). He founded Babel as the start of his kingdom (Gen 10:10).
Until now, we have seen how sin creates division, but now we can see how sin can unite people. A unity in idolatry and pride, that puts men and worldly affairs in the center of worship.
The Tower of Babel, with its intended “top in heaven” can be seen as a attempt at a forced entry into heaven or to create an artificial heaven-on-earth based on strength, power, and wealth.
The quest to be great and do great things is not a bad thing — after all, there is a universal call to holiness (CCC 2013) and to do great works. The problem with the builders of the Tower of Babel had a disordered ambition. The construction of the tower was a purposeful act of rebellion against God and his commandments.
In both covenants God made with humans, he gave the commandment of “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth” (with Adam & Eve: Gen 1:28; with Noah: Gen 9:1). The builders of the tower directly challenged this commandment when they built the tower to not fill the earth: “lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth” (Gen 11:4).
It is also said the they wanted the tower with its top in heavens to “make a name for themselves” (Gen 11:4). This signals an intention to achieve divine status through wealth and power. Similarly, the snake offered to Adam & Eve the allure of divine status through knowledge (Gen 3:5).
Also, the word “name” in Hebrew is “shem”, which is also the name of Noah’s firstborn (Shem) that received the family blessing, passing down family authority, which included kingship and priesthood. By “making a [shem] for themselves”, they’re rebelling against rightful authority they weren’t entitled to, just like Ham did.
The Tower of Babel narrative is preceded and succeeded by the genealogy of Shem. This narrative of Nimrod and the Babel people trying to make a “shem” for themselves “sandwhiched” by the genealogy of the real Shem tells us that they weren’t successful in doing so. Indeed, the Shemites (or Semites) will continue to hold the rightful authority and will be the ones that will bring forth the great patriarchs and eventually, the Messiah.
Further on, God comes down to see the city and the tower (Gen 11:5). This not just a description that God is in Heaven and needs to come down to earth. This mocks the rebellious people attempt to force their way to heaven, as it was so futile that God needs to “come down” to even “see” what they’re attempting. Once again, God intervenes in their wickedness, judging Babel by confusing people’s language. Their sin and rebellion have resulted in further division and exile.
All-in-all, the Tower of Babel tells a narrative on the power and potential of human unity and cooperation, but it highlights the tendency of pride and self-glorification.
Questions:
- Was everyone at Babel under the kingdom of Nimrod when this narrative happened?
- Why does God says:
- “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)
- Maybe signals human potential when united.
- Why does God says:
- “let us go down” (Gen 11:7)
- Why the first person in the plural (‘us’)? Maybe trinitarian explanation (the three persons of the trinity)?
A friend of mine asked on what is the ‘Catholic interpretation of the Tower of Babel’, and it would be nice to write some words about it. The Catholic Church does not teach the necessity of a literal interpretation of the events in Genesis. There are those who hold to a more traditional view, interpreting the stories from Genesis as strict literal history like we write today, but I would most theologians today hold a more symbolic interpretation of the narratives told here.
Many catholic biblical scholars use the historical-critical method, which uses historical context, literary forms, and intended messages of the biblical texts.
Nonetheless, everything in Sacred Scripture is true and holds profound significance. But we should be mindful that the people that originally wrote these histories had a very different understanding of how history should be recorded and transmitted.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says:
109 In Sacred Scripture, God speaks to man in a human way. To interpret Scripture correctly, the reader must be attentive to what the human authors truly wanted to affirm, and to what God wanted to reveal to us by their words.
110 In order to discover the sacred authors’ intention, the reader must take into account the conditions of their time and culture, the literary genres in use at that time, and the modes of feeling, speaking and narrating then current. “For the fact is that truth is differently presented and expressed in the various types of historical writing, in prophetical and poetical texts, and in other forms of literary expression.”
Thus, it is important to understand that Sacred Scripture is God-inspired and conveys important spiritual and moral truths. Sacred Scripture includes a wide range of literary genres such as historical narratives, poetry, prophecy and laws. Therefore, the truths conveyed in Scripture can include historical facts, theological insights, moral teachings, and spiritual meanings, all of which must be understood in the context of the literary forms and cultural context of the time.
Unlike what muslims believe about the Quran, we don’t believe that every word was written directly by God. Sacred Scripture is inspired by God, but written by humans, and humans from different times and eras. And we should strive to understand the truths that these humans are transmitting, and not judging the texts like 21st century historical pieces.