Faith Bible Fellowship Church Sunday School March 22, 2020 Genesis 10-11: Babel and Its Aftermath Understanding the Text Genesis 10: The Table of Nations The Table of Nations begins a new section of Genesis, this time tracing the descendants of Noah. As the new start of humanity, all of the people of the earth are descended from Noah, and this chapter explains the relationships between his descendants and their locations. In the structure of the first eleven chapters of the book, this chapter serves as a transition from the history of the whole human race to a focus on God’s involvement with Israel. The focus of the chapter is on people groups more than on specific people. o Even though the language of “son of” and “fathered” (or “begot”) is used, it is not always indicating a direct ancestry relationship. o A number of the names indicate cities or nations. Some examples (not exhaustive): . Cities or places: Tarshish, Babylon, Erech, Akkad, Shinar, Nineveh, Sidon . Nations or tribes: Kittim, Dodanim, Ludim, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites o Some names are clearly individuals: Noah, Shem, Ham, Japheth, Peleg, Nimrod, and all the descendants listed in Shem’s line o The point of the table is to explain how the families of the earth moved out to fill the earth according to God’s command (v. 32). Groups of people and cities are not literal descendants of those listed, but the table indicates how they are related to Noah’s sons and then back to Noah. The purpose of the table is to inform Israel of her relationship to her neighbors (see table at the end of the notes). o As the descendants of Japheth are farther from Israel, they are listed first and with the least elaboration. o The descendants of Ham include the Canaanites, and most of Israel’s dealings with other nations will be with the Hamites. The list of nations descended from Canaan is particularly important because many of them will be among those Israel will drive out in the conquest of Canaan. o The descendants of Shem are of particular interest to Israel, since they are descended from Shem. The Semitic peoples are therefore given more emphasis in the table. Key figures in the Table of Nations include two figures who are mentioned with specific commentary. o Nimrod: Nimrod is a descendant of Ham through Cush. Though Cush is associated with Africa, Nimrod’s kingdom is in Mesopotamia (Shinar). He is noted as a “mighty man” (cf. the “mighty men” of Gen 6:4), a violent and willful ruler, and founder of a number of important cities. He is noted as “a mighty hunter before the Lord.” In both Mesopotamia and Egypt, rulers indicated their power by depicting themselves as hunters of wild animals. Nimrod’s proverbial skills indicate his power. The phrase “before the Lord” may indicate that his exploits were such that the Lord took notice of them (as we will see in the story of Babel in ch. 11). o Peleg: Peleg is named as the one in whose time “the earth was divided.” The word translated “divided” can be used to indicate irrigation canals, and it is possible that this is a reference to the beginning of irrigation. However, it seems more likely that the reference indicates that it was in Peleg’s time that the judgment at Babel which scattered the people of the earth occurred (11:1-9). Faith Bible Fellowship Church Sunday School March 22, 2020 The theological importance of the table is to show that all the nations are united by their common ancestry in Noah. As Allen Ross puts it, “The human race, although united by origin, is divided by language, territory, and politics as a part of God’s design to bring blessing to the human race.” o As Noah’s descendants, all of the nations are included in God’s purposes of blessing and cursing that he is bringing to pass in human history. o Israel’s mission is to mediate God’s blessing to the nations. For the church, Christ’s commission is to make disciples of all the nations (Matt 28:19-20). Genesis 11:1-9: The Tower of Babel The Structure: This is a short story, but demonstrates a clear chiastic structure, one that emphasizes the opposition between human designs and God’s purposes. Each element of the human activity in the first part of the story is set in opposition to God’s activity in the last part of the story. The center of the chiasm emphasizes God’s “coming down” in judgment. A “the whole world had one language” (v. 1) B “there” (v. 2) C “each other” (v. 3) D “Come, let’s make bricks” (v. 3) E “Come, let us build ourselves” (v. 4) F “a city, with a tower” (v. 4) G “the LORD came down …” (v. 5) F′ “the city and the tower” (v. 5) E′ “that the men were building” (v. 5) D′ “Come, let us … confuse” (v. 7) C′ “each other” (v. 7) B′ “from there” (v. 8) A′ “the language of the whole world” (v. 9)1 Verses 1-4: The arrogance and rebellion of the people of Babel are indicated here through Moses’ narration of their actions and thinking. o Moses indicates that this occurs early in the post-flood history, when the whole earth had a single language (v. 1). The role of language in this story is important, and points to how language can unite people for good or for evil purposes. In the post-fall world, where human hearts are corrupt, it will inevitably be turned to evil purposes. o The people migrated to Shinar (Mesopotamia) from the region of Ararat, where the ark had come to rest and found it a good place to settle (v. 2). The ESV has “from the east, but a better translation of this is “toward the east.”) o There are few rocks in this region, but the builders devise a way to create monumental structures using technology. Their achievement is to make bricks and use bitumen (a natural, tarry substance found in that region) as mortar (v. 3). Their technology develops to facilitate their ambitions. o The arrogant, rebellious pride of the builders is seen in their statement in v. 4: . They purpose to build a city. This recalls Cain’s rebellious building of a city in Gen 4:17. They purpose to build a tower “with its top in the heavens.” The tower is probably a ziggurat, a kind of stepped structure that was the central feature of the great cities of 1 K. A. Mathews, Genesis 1-11:26, vol. 1A, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 468. Faith Bible Fellowship Church Sunday School March 22, 2020 Mesopotamia in the ancient world. It was the dominant building in the city, placed at the center. It served as a temple to the city’s god, and was seen as a kind of ladder which would give the king and priests access to the god by reaching into the heavens. The tower represented a human-made religion based on human work and achievement. They purpose to “make a name” for themselves. The idea here is that they sought to determine their own identity and destiny, rejecting the “name” God had given them, along with the dependence on God that humans had been made for. They purpose to avoid being “dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” This indicates their rebellion against the command God had given humans after the flood to “fill the earth” (9:1). Rather than trusting God to bless them and care for them, they sought security in numbers and in their own devices. Verses 5-9: Though the builders purpose to achieve their own purposes, Moses uses strong irony to emphasize the futility of their plans in the face of God’s judgment. o God has to “come down” to see the city and the tower (v. 5). Despite their efforts and technology, the builders cannot reach the heavens. o The Lord comments on his plans. He notes that they are “one people, and they have all one language” (6). A common language facilitates their prideful purpose of “naming themselves,” and threatens to lead to the kind of rebellion that prompted the flood. God had promised never again to judge the earth as he did in the flood, and so he needs to act. o What God does is to “confuse their language” so that they can no longer understand one another (7). The result is that the people are dispersed over the face of the earth (8), as God had commanded. o The people left off building the city, and the city became a monument to God’s judgment. The name of the city was called “Babel,” which is a play on words, since the Hebrew word for “confused” sounds similar to “Babel” (bālel). The name associates this episode with the rise of Nimrod (10:8-10), and indicates that the purposes of humans to rebel against God will fail. Theological Significance: o This story is a narrative of judgment, and indicates that humans in their fallenness will continue to rebel against God’s purposes. Nevertheless, God’s purposes will prevail—he will make sure they are not thwarted. o This story is different than the other judgment stories, as there is no hint here of God’s grace or blessing in the aftermath. Following the judgment on Adam and Eve, God promises a coming redeemer and provides covering for the couple through sacrifice.