The Tower of Babel

11 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in (A)the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, (B)and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower (C)with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” And (D)the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and 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. Come, (E)let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech.” So (F)the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called (G)Babel, because there the Lord confused[a] the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 11:9 Babel sounds like the Hebrew for confused

11 And the kol HaAretz was of one language and of devarim achadim (common words).

And it came to pass, as they migrated from the east, that they found a plain in Eretz Shinar; and they dwelt there.

And they said one to another, Come, let us make brick, and bake them thoroughly. And they had brick for even (stone), and bitumen had they for mortar.

And they said, Come, let us build us an Ir and a Migdal, whose rosh (top) may reach unto Shomayim; and let us make us a shem, otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of kol HaAretz.

And Hashem came down to see the Ir and the Migdal, which Bnei HaAdam built.

And Hashem said, See, the Am is echad and they have all one language; and this they begin to do; and now nothing will be impossible for them, which they have proposed to do.

Come, let Us go down, and there confuse their sefat, that they may not understand one another’s language.

So Hashem scattered them abroad from there upon the face of kol Ha’Aretz; and they left off building the Ir.

Therefore is the shem of it called Babel; because Hashem did there confuse the language of kol Ha’Aretz; and from there did Hashem scatter them abroad upon the face of kol Ha’Aretz.

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