Genesis 11

and now nothing will be restrained from them--an apparent admission that the design was practicable, and would have been executed but for the divine interposition.

"And the whole earth (i.e., the population of the earth, vid., Gen 2:19) was one lip and one kind of words:" unius labii eorundemque verborum. The unity of language of the whole human race follows from the unity of its descent from one human pair (vid., Gen 2:22). But as the origin and formation of the races of mankind are beyond the limits of empirical research, so no philology will ever be able to prove or deduce the original unity of human speech from the languages which have been historically preserved, however far comparative grammar may proceed in establishing the genealogical relation of the languages of different nations.

The old distinction between the sons of God and the sons of men (professors and profane) survived the flood, and now appeared again, when men began to multiply: according to this distinction we have, in this chapter, I. The dispersion of the sons of men at Babel (Gen 11:1-9), where we have, 1. Their presumptuous provoking design, which was to build a city and a tower (Gen 11:1-4). 2. The righteous judgment of God upon them in disappointing their design, by confounding their language, and so scattering them (Gen 11:5-9). II. The pedigree of the sons of God down to Abraham (v. 10-26), with a general account of his family, and removal out of his native country (Gen 11:27, etc.).

11:4 Far from the original garden (2:15), the first cities of Genesis represent arrogance (4:17), tyranny (10:8-12), and wickedness (18:20-21). The city on the Babylonian plain was a magnet for human pride and idolatry. • a tower that reaches into the sky: This was probably a temple-tower (a ziggurat). Common in ancient Babylonian urban culture, ziggurats were regarded as sacred mountains by which deities descended to earth (Jacob’s dream in 28:12 possibly reflects this idea). • This will make us famous (literally let us make a name for ourselves): The tower builders sought fame through idolatrous ambition. God promised to give Abram a famous name because of his humble obedience (12:2).

11:10 This account of Shem’s family resumes the line of Shem from 10:21-32, now with special focus on the line leading to Abram. Only Abram and Israel are heirs to Shem’s God (see 9:26-27; Deut 32:8-9). The Babel story vividly repudiates the culture that Abram was called to abandon (Gen 12:1; 24:6-7). Together with the account of Terah’s descendants (11:27-32), this second account of Shem’s line forms a bridge from the universal history of chs 1–11 to the national history of Israel that begins in ch 12. Abram is the remnant from Babel’s confused world. God called him as an act of grace whereby the fractured world of Babel would be blessed (12:3). • the father of: Or the ancestor of; Hebrew genealogies do not necessarily list every single generation.

11:31 Terah took: The text is clear that Abram’s departure from Ur was prompted by God’s calling (see study note on 11:28), but the event is described from Terah’s perspective, in keeping with the patriarchy of ancient Near Eastern culture. This cultural deference to the oldest male is evidently why Abram did not continue on to Canaan by himself at this time (see Acts 7:2-4). • Haran was 550 miles northwest of Ur, near the Syrian-Turkish border. Despite the similar name, there is no connection with Terah’s son Haran, who had died in Ur (11:28). • Haran means “caravan.” Ancient commercial routes converged there, making it a key site for trade. • Haran was also well known for the moon worship to which Terah’s family was apparently devoted (see study note on 11:29).

thegospelcoalition.org

thegospelcoalition.org

ligonier.org

learn.ligonier.org

desiringgod.org

learn.ligonier.org

ccel.org

learn.ligonier.org

learn.ligonier.org

au.thegospelcoalition.org

thegospelcoalition.org

thegospelcoalition.org

monergism.com

thegospelcoalition.org

desiringgod.org