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Dating the Tower of Babel Events with Reference to Peleg and Joktan

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Dating the Tower of Babel Events with Reference to Peleg and Joktan JOURNAL OF CREATION 31(1) 2017 || PAPERS Dating the Tower of Babel events with reference to Peleg and Joktan Andrew Sibley This paper discusses and seeks to identify the date of the Babel event from the writing of biblical and extra-biblical sources. This is a relevant question for creationists because of questions about the timing of post-Flood climatic changes and human migration. Sources used include the Masoretic Text, the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Septuagint, and the Book of Jubilees, and related historical commentaries. Historical sources suggest that the Babel dispersion occurred in the time of Joktan’s extended family and Peleg’s life. The preferred solution of this paper is to follow the Masoretic Text and the Seder Olam Rabbah commentary that places the Babel event 340 years post-Flood at Peleg’s death. Other texts of the Second Temple period vary from this by only three to six decades, which lends some support to the conclusion. his paper seeks to identify the date of the Babel incident “These are the clans of the sons of Noah, according Twith reference to events in the life of Eber’s sons, Peleg to their genealogies, in their nations, and from these and Joktan. Traditionally the Babel event is associated the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood.” with a division (Genesis 10:25) in the life of Peleg, and this The problem is that even if Joktan was the elder traditional understanding, relating to confusion of languages brother (which is doubtful because the name implies lesser and demographic scattering, is accepted here. There are or younger)3 it would be impossible for him, according to various biblical and extra-biblical sources that are available the period relayed in the MT, to grow up and have such a for consultation, including the Masoretic Text (MT), the large family prior to Peleg’s birth. This natal event occurred Samaritan Pentateuch (SP), the Septuagint (LXX) and the when his father Eber was 34 years old. But in addition to this Book of Jubilees. The text of Genesis 10:25 reads as follows: consideration, the first-century commentary of Josephus, “To Eber were born two sons: the name of the one Antiquities of the Jews, follows the longer timeframe of was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided, and the Septuagint (LXX) and Samaritan Pentateuch (SP), and his brother’s name was Joktan” (Genesis 10:25). places the events at Peleg’s birth.4 While early commentaries But at what point in Peleg’s life do the events occur? on the MT, for instance the Seder Olam Rabbah, place the Answering this question is important because it will help us events at a later stage in Peleg’s life, namely at his death.3 understand the timeframe of post-Flood climatic changes and But both early approaches require at least several hundred human migration. A number of present-day Christians who years from the Flood to the Babel event, and this length of hold to a literal reading of Genesis consider that the reference time is supported by the Book of Jubilees.5 This evidence to Peleg is linked to his birth, combined with acceptance of constrains the time of the Babel scattering to several centuries the MT. This suggests the Babel incident occurred as early post-Flood. as 101 years after the Noahic Flood, although with some flexibility of several decades (figure 1).1 The very earliest Supporting the traditional view dates are, however, implausible because other verses in Genesis 10 (26–32) inform the reader that the demographic The traditional view of the meaning of the verb ‘was Genesis 10:25) holds that it) [נ ִפְ לְ גָ ֣ ה scattering occurred in the time of Joktan’s extended family, divided’ [nip̄ ·lə·ḡāh and this problem was recognised by both Augustine of Hippo is a reference to the destruction of the Tower of Babel and Bishop Ussher.2 Genesis 10:26–32 reads as follows: episode (figure 2), which is recorded in Genesis 11 and “Joktan fathered Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, involves a geographical scattering of people, following Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Sheba, the confusion of languages. This traditional view is Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab; all these were the sons of supported by Fouts6 and Sarfati,7 who both point to the Joktan. The territory in which they lived extended commentaries of a number of conservative theologians, or from Mesha in the direction of Sephar to the hill at least Fouts thinks the traditional view is the one with the country of the east. least problems.8 John Calvin spoke of the division of Peleg “These are the sons of Shem, by their clans, their in terms of the Babel confusion of languages,9 as did Bede languages, their lands, and their nations. in his chronology.10 John Gill also held to a traditional view, 80 PAPERS || JOURNAL OF CREATION 31(1) 2017 ,in their lands, each with his own language [ נִפ ְ רְ ד֞ ּו although acknowledging a diversity of views, for instance [nip̄ ·rə·ḏū he discussed whether the events occurred at the birth of by their clans, in their nations.” And Genesis 10:32: for all Peleg or afterwards, and highlights several positions from the sons of Noah “These are the clans of the sons of Noah, Josephus and other Jewish writers.11 Some suggested the according to their genealogies, in their nations, and from abroad on the earth [ נִ ְפ רְ ֧ד ּו division occurred at Peleg’s birth, while others pointed to these the nations spread [nip̄ ·rə·ḏū events during his life, or his demise. Keil and Delitzsch, after the flood.”14 At a superficial level use of nip̄ ·lə·ḡāh, and Leupold, also hold to this traditional view, with the instead of nip̄ ·rə·ḏū, might suggest that a different event is former commentary suggesting it correlates with Peleg’s alluded to in Genesis 10:25.15 birth, while Leupold suggests Peleg was named in memory Taken as a whole, the passage through Genesis 10 and of the Babel incident.12 11 appears to be giving a single account of the life and subsequent separation of the sons of Noah into geographic Are different events implied? locations after the Flood. But the actual time of division John Skinner suggested there was no strong reason to occurred at some significant point in the lifespan of Peleg. hold the division to the event of Babel and considered that The use of the verb nip̄ ·lə·ḡāh in Genesis 10:25, as opposed it may refer to some other dispersal, or to the separation to alternatives, may be merely giving the reader additional of Peleg’s family from that of his brother Joktan.13 Recent information about the nature of the event without the need comment from Morris and Johnson points out that a different to hold to separate events. The verb nip̄ ·rə·ḏū is often used verb, parad, is used in Genesis 10:5 and 10:32, which might to refer to the act of separation of people (for instance in imply separate events. Genesis 10:5 is with reference to the Genesis 13: 9, 11), while nip̄ ·lə·ḡāh is sometimes used of a sons of Japheth: “From these the coastland peoples spread more general division or splitting in two (Psalm 55:10).16 Figure 1. The Tower of Babel by Pieter Bruegel the Elder 1563 81 JOURNAL OF CREATION 31(1) 2017 || PAPERS Figure 2. The Tower of Babel, Ur and Noah’s Ark on the Mappa Mundi (world map) in Hereford Cathedral, England, c.1300 There are other places where the text of Genesis be shown below, the different sources in fact offer support introduces a theme and then elaborates on it shortly to the MT in placing the Babel event several hundred years afterwards. The creation account of Genesis 2 in relation after the Flood. to the Garden of Eden and the formation of Adam relays a more detailed account of events of the sixth day after they Creationist views are first mentioned in Genesis 1. And the details of the Babel confusion of languages in Genesis 11 are first alluded to in There are a number of views in the thinking of present- Genesis 10. There are good reasons from the biblical text day creationists, ranging from those who hold to the LXX and commentaries to hold to the traditional understanding, and those who hold to the MT. John Whitcomb and Henry not least that it is closest to a plain sense reading of Genesis Morris were at one time sympathetic to the LXX in The 10 and 11 in giving a single account. Genesis Flood and even considered the possibility of early gaps in the record. Babel they thought might have occurred 1,000 years post-Flood.18 But more recent creationists tend Date of Peleg’s division towards acceptance of the MT. Bodie Hodge suggests a There are two main points to consider in order to date for the Babel incident related to Peleg’s birth between determine from the biblical text the time of Peleg’s division, 101 and 130 years after the Flood, acknowledging the and from this the destruction of the Tower of Babel. This influence of the MT (although he prefers 120 years). He will help constrain the time of the Babel incident. First, also acknowledges Ussher’s work on his view, but suggests at what point in Peleg’s life did the events take place, and Ussher’s work is sometimes influenced by Manetho and not second, which Old Testament source should be considered without error.19 Snelling and Matthews suggest a similar the more reliable out of the main Old Testament document view correlating with Peleg’s birth as a ‘first estimate’, and types available: especially the Masoretic Text (MT), the have a graphic which offers support to this early view, but Septuagint (LXX), and the Samaritan Pentateuch (SP)? they are open to later times in Peleg’s 239 years of life.20 The extra-biblical Book of Jubilees may also be consulted John Morris and James Johnson broadly follow Ussher for historical purposes.
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