Babel & Pre-Abraham

Tower of Babel

Where

We know the Israelites were in the wilderness, but where was the setting for the Tower of Babel?

What

What were the people of Babylon doing (besides just building a tower)?

We see themes like

one language [v1] and one people [v6]

they had a plan [v3]

God acknowledged they could accomplish the task [v6]

When

When did the Tower of Babel take place?

Scholars have been inclined, understandably enough, to trace the original inspiration of this narrative to one of the celebrated temple towers of Mesopotamia, preferably Entemenanki, the ziggurat of Babylon itself. Such an interpretation, however, is ruled out by chronology 1

1 E. A. Speiser, Genesis: Introduction, Translation, and Notes, vol. 1, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008), 75.

Who

Who are the participants of the Tower of Babel?

Why

Why was this story important to the Israelites?

How should they react to it?

This story talks about the power of cooperation with others.

How

How can we apply this to our lives today?