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11 And the whole earth had one language, and the same words.

And it came to pass as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and dwelt there.

And they said one to another, Come on, let us make bricks, and burn [them] thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar.

And they said, Come on, let us build ourselves a city and a tower, the top of which [may reach] to the heavens; and let us make ourselves a name, lest we be scattered over the face of the whole earth.

And Jehovah came down to see the city and the tower which the children of men built.

And Jehovah said, Behold, the people is one, and have all one language; and this have they begun to do. And now will they be hindered in nothing that they meditate doing.

Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.

And Jehovah scattered them thence over the face of the whole earth. And they left off building the city.

Therefore was its name called Babel; because Jehovah there confounded the language of the whole earth. And Jehovah scattered them thence over the face of the whole earth.

10 These are the generations of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old, and begot Arphaxad two years after the flood.

11 And Shem lived after he had begotten Arphaxad five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.

12 And Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and begot Shelah.

13 And Arphaxad lived after he had begotten Shelah four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters.

14 And Shelah lived thirty years, and begot Eber.

15 And Shelah lived after he had begotten Eber four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters.

16 And Eber lived thirty-four years, and begot Peleg.

17 And Eber lived after he had begotten Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters.

18 And Peleg lived thirty years, and begot Reu.

19 And Peleg lived after he had begotten Reu two hundred and nine years, and begot sons and daughters.

20 And Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot Serug.

21 And Reu lived after he had begotten Serug two hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters.

22 And Serug lived thirty years, and begot Nahor.

23 And Serug lived after he had begotten Nahor two hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.

24 And Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and begot Terah.

25 And Nahor lived after he had begotten Terah a hundred and nineteen years, and begot sons and daughters.

26 And Terah lived seventy years, and begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27 And these are the generations of Terah: Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begot Lot.

28 And Haran died before the face of his father Terah in the land of his nativity at Ur of the Chaldeans.

29 And Abram and Nahor took wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, a daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and the father of Iscah.

30 And Sarai was barren: she had no child.

31 And 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 together out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to go into the land of Canaan, and came as far as Haran, and dwelt there.

32 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran.

The Tower of Babel

11 The whole world had one language with a common vocabulary. As people moved toward the east,[a] they found a plain in Shinar [Babylonia] and settled there.

They said to one another, “Let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used bricks as stones and tar[b] as mortar.

Then they said, “Let’s build a city for ourselves and a tower with its top in the sky. Let’s make a name for ourselves so that we won’t become scattered all over the face of the earth.”

Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower that the descendants of Adam were building. Yahweh said, “They are one people with one language. This is only the beginning of what they will do! Now nothing they plan to do will be too difficult for them. Let us go down there and mix up their language so that they won’t understand each other.”

So Yahweh scattered them all over the face of the earth, and they stopped building the city. This is why it was named Babel, because there Yahweh turned the language of the whole earth into babble. From that place Yahweh scattered them all over the face of the earth.

The Ten Descendants of Shem—Shem to Terah(A)

10 This is the account of Shem and his descendants. Two years after the flood when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arpachshad. 11 After he became the father of Arpachshad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

12 Arpachshad was 35 years old when he became the father of Shelah. 13 After he became the father of Shelah, Arpachshad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

14 Shelah was 30 years old when he became the father of Eber. 15 After he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

16 Eber was 34 years old when he became the father of Peleg. 17 After he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

18 Peleg was 30 years old when he became the father of Reu. 19 After he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

20 Reu was 32 years old when he became the father of Serug. 21 After he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

22 Serug was 30 years old when he became the father of Nahor. 23 After he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

24 Nahor was 29 years old when he became the father of Terah. 25 After he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

26 Terah was 70 years old when he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

Terah Moves to Haran

27 This is the account of Terah and his descendants. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot. 28 While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, his native land. 29 Both Abram and Nahor married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, daughter of Haran. (Haran was the father of Milcah and Iscah.) 30 Sarai was not able to have children.

31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (son of Haran), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, wife of his son Abram. They set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. When they came as far as Haran, they stayed there. 32 Terah lived 205 years and died in Haran.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 11:2 Or “from the east.”
  2. Genesis 11:3 Or “bitumen.”

11 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

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

And 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.

And 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.

And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

And 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.

Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.

So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.

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.

10 These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood:

11 And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.

12 And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah:

13 And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.

14 And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber:

15 And Salah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.

16 And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg:

17 And Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters.

18 And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu:

19 And Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters.

20 And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug:

21 And Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters.

22 And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor:

23 And Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.

24 And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:

25 And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.

26 And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27 Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.

28 And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.

29 And 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.

30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child.

31 And 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.

32 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

The Division of the Earth

11 The whole earth had one language and a single vocabulary. As people traveled in the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they settled there. They said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used mud brick instead of stone for building material, and they used tar for mortar. They said, “Come, let’s build a city for ourselves and a tower whose top reaches to the sky, and let’s make a name for ourselves, so that we will not be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

The Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people were building. The Lord said, “If this is the first thing they are doing as one people, who all have one language, then nothing that they intend to do will be too difficult for them. Come, let’s go down there and confuse their language, so that they cannot understand one another’s speech.”

So the Lord scattered them from there over the face of the whole earth, and they stopped building the city. It was named Babel,[a] because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

The Ancestors of Abraham

10 This is the account about the development of the family of Shem.

Shem was 100 years old and became the father of Arphaxad two years after the flood. 11 Shem lived 500 years after he became the father of Arphaxad, and he became the father of sons and daughters.

12 Arphaxad lived 35 years and became the father of Shelah. 13 Arphaxad lived 403 years after he became the father of Shelah, and he became the father of sons and daughters.[b]

14 Shelah lived 30 years and became the father of Eber. 15 Shelah lived 403 years after he became the father of Eber, and he became the father of sons and daughters.

16 Eber lived 34 years and became the father of Peleg. 17 Eber lived 430 years after he became the father of Peleg, and he became the father of sons and daughters.

18 Peleg lived 30 years and became the father of Reu. 19 Peleg lived 209 years after he became the father of Reu, and he became the father of sons and daughters.

20 Reu lived 32 years and became the father of Serug. 21 Reu lived 207 years after he became the father of Serug, and he became the father of sons and daughters.

22 Serug lived 30 years and became the father of Nahor. 23 Serug lived 200 years after he became the father of Nahor, and he became the father of sons and daughters.

24 Nahor lived 29 years and became the father of Terah. 25 Nahor lived 119 years after he became the father of Terah, and he became the father of sons and daughters.

26 Terah lived 70 years and became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

The Development of the Family of Terah

27 Now this is the account about the development[c] of the family of Terah.

Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran became the father of Lot. 28 Haran died before his father Terah. He died in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans.

29 Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, who was also the father of Iscah. 30 Sarai was barren. She had no child.

31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot, who was the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, who was the wife of his son Abram, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan. They came to Haran and lived there. 32 The days of Terah were 205 years. Terah died in Haran.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 11:9 Babel sounds like the Hebrew word for confusion.
  2. Genesis 11:13 Some manuscripts of the Greek Old Testament have an extra generation between Arphaxad and Shelah: Cainan (also called Kenan) lived 130 years and became the father of Shelah. Cainan lived 330 years after he had become the father of Shelah, and he became the father of sons and daughters. Cainan occurs in the Greek Old Testament of Genesis 10:24; 11:12-13; and some texts of 1 Chronicles 1:24 (or 18) [sic]. It also occurs in most manuscripts of Luke 3:36. Manuscripts without Cainan include all passages of the Hebrew text (Genesis 10:24; 11:12-13; 1 Chronicles 1:18, 24), the Samaritan Pentateuch, 1 Chronicles 1:24 in the Greek Old Testament [sic], the Targums of Jonathan and Onkelos, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Latin Vulgate. It appears that Cainan was not part of the Hebrew text. (It should be noted that there are numerous discrepancies in the textual commentaries about this issue, especially concerning the Greek Old Testament, as is true of many other textual issues.)
  3. Genesis 11:27 Or the account of the subsequent history