Genesis 11:9-11
New English Translation
9 That is why its name was called[a] Babel[b]—because there the Lord confused the language of the entire world, and from there the Lord scattered them across the face of the entire earth.
The Genealogy of Shem
10 This is the account of Shem.
Shem was 100 years old when he became the father of Arphaxad, two years after the flood. 11 And after becoming the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other[c] sons and daughters.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 11:9 tn The verb has no expressed subject and so can be rendered as a passive in the translation.
- Genesis 11:9 sn Babel. Here is the climax of the account, a parody on the pride of Babylon. In the Babylonian literature the name bab-ili meant “the gate of God,” but in Hebrew it sounds like the word for “confusion,” and so retained that connotation. The name “Babel” (בָּבֶל, bavel) and the verb translated “confused” (בָּלַל, balal) form a paronomasia (sound play). For the many wordplays and other rhetorical devices in Genesis, see J. P. Fokkelman, Narrative Art in Genesis (SSN).
- Genesis 11:11 tn The word “other” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
Genesis 11:9-11
New International Version
9 That is why it was called Babel[a](A)—because there the Lord confused the language(B) of the whole world.(C) From there the Lord scattered(D) them over the face of the whole earth.
From Shem to Abram(E)
10 This is the account(F) of Shem’s family line.
Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father[b] of Arphaxad.(G) 11 And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.
Footnotes
- Genesis 11:9 That is, Babylon; Babel sounds like the Hebrew for confused.
- Genesis 11:10 Father may mean ancestor; also in verses 11-25.
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