Chapter 11
32 verses — switch translations with the toolbar below.
Scripture
KJV1And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
2And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
3And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
4And they said, Go to, 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 the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
6And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
7Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.
8So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
9Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
10These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood:
11And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.
12And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah:
13And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.
14And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber:
15And Salah 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 an 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.
30But 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.
“Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.”
Overview
The whole earth speaks one language and settles in the plain of Shinar, where the people decide to build a city and a tower 'whose top may reach unto heaven' to make a name for themselves. God comes down to see their work, confuses their language, and scatters them across the face of the earth — giving the place the name Babel. The chapter then records the genealogy from Shem to Abram, bridging the narrative from the post-flood world to the patriarchal era.
Key Themes
Human Pride versus Divine Sovereignty
The Tower of Babel represents humanity's attempt to reach heaven by its own effort and to unify apart from God — a project God easily and decisively thwarts.
The Confusion of Languages
God confuses human language as an act of judgment and mercy — preventing unified rebellion while scattering humanity to fill the earth as originally commanded.
The Line to Abraham
The genealogy from Shem to Abram narrows God's redemptive focus from all nations to one man through whom all nations will be blessed.
Study Questions
What was wrong with the people's desire to build a tower and 'make a name for themselves' (v. 4)?
Why does God say 'nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do' (v. 6), and what does this reveal about the danger of human ambition without God?
How does the confusion of languages at Babel contrast with the gift of tongues at Pentecost (Acts 2)?
What is the significance of the declining lifespans in the genealogy from Shem to Abram?
How does the transition from the Babel narrative to Abram's genealogy shift the direction of the entire biblical story?
Connection to Christ
Babel represents humanity's failed attempt to reach God through its own effort. God's response is to come down — a pattern culminating in the incarnation, when God Himself descends in Christ. The confusion of Babel is reversed at Pentecost when the Spirit enables people of every language to hear the gospel. The genealogy to Abram sets the stage for the covenant line that leads to Christ.
Personal Reflection
Take time to journal or meditate on what God is teaching you through Genesis 11. How can these truths transform your thinking and actions today?