The story begins with the descendants of Noah after the Great Flood. They all spoke the same language and settled in the land of Shinar, which is believed to be present-day Mesopotamia or modern-day Iraq. In this land, they decided to build a city with a tower that would reach the heavens, symbolizing their desire to be like God and their rebellion against
The Tower of Babel is a mythical tower described in the book of Genesis in the Christian Old Testament. According to Genesis 11:1–9, all people used to speak the same language. Their unity of language allowed them to collaborate efficiently. They decided to build a grand tower, so tall it would reach into the heavens.
The story of the Tower of Babel explains the origins of the multiplicity of languages. God was concerned that humans had blasphemed by building the tower to avoid a second flood, so God brought into existence multiple languages. Thus, humans were divided into linguistic groups, unable to understand one another.
Right here on Churchgists, you can rest assured to obtain all the relevant information you need on is the tower of babel still standing, moral lesson of tower of Babel story, what happened to the tower of Babel, and much more. You don’t want to miss this!
The Tower Of Babel In The Bible
The Tower of Babel is a story from the book of Genesis in the Old Testament. It is a tale about the origin of different languages and the dispersion of humanity across the earth. The story begins with the whole world speaking one language and having a common language. As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
God saw what the people were doing and said, “If, as one people speaking the same language, they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there, the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
Tower of Babel Story
The story of the Tower of Babel is often interpreted as a warning against pride and arrogance. The people in the story wanted to build a tower that reached to the heavens so that they could make a name for themselves. They were not content with the life that God had given them, and they wanted to be like God. This is a common theme in the Bible, where people are warned against trying to be like God or putting their trust in their own abilities rather than in God.
The story of the Tower of Babel is also a reminder of the importance of communication. When the people in the story spoke the same language, they were able to work together and accomplish great things. But when their language was confused, they were no longer able to communicate effectively, and their work came to a halt. This is a lesson that is still relevant today. Effective communication is essential for success in any endeavor, whether it is building a tower or working on a project at work.
Situated in Genesis 11:1–9, we encounter an odd story that seems to explain why so many languages have formed on earth.
In essence, a group of people gathered together (in a disputed location, some say Babylon, others have other conjectures), to create a tower that would reach the heavens. Essentially, they wanted to become like God.
God, seeing this, confuses their language so they can’t communicate with one another and finish the tower. By “confuses their language” we mean, creates multiple languages.
Therefore, the people of earth disperse, based on common language, and continue to fill the earth, just as the Lord commanded (Genesis 1:28).
In this article, we’ll endeavor to discuss what was the Tower of Babel physically, spiritually, and why it matters to us today.
What Did the Tower of Babel Look Like?
Most likely, the Tower of Babel was something known as a ziggurat structure built by the people of Shinar (historians have not come to a conclusion as to the exact location of Shinar).
A ziggurat, a pyramid-like structure made of mudbrick (Genesis 11:3), often had ties with pagan religions such as those of the Babylonians and Marduk. Although Marduk didn’t really get his claim to fame until the 1800s BC (and Answers In Genesis places the construction of the Tower of Babel in 2200s BC), ziggurat structures started around 3,000 BC, well before the Tower of Babel construction.
Ziggurat structures undoubtedly had pagan roots, as they were built for the patron deity of that land. Nimrod (Genesis 10:8), Noah’s great-grandson and a mighty-man or giant, who ordered the construction of the tower, likely didn’t have the best of intents.
Because the people of Shinar wanted to reach the heavens, we can imagine this was a very tall ziggurat structure. Scripture doesn’t tell us how far along God let them build the tower before he disrupted their progress.
Where Was the Tower of Babel Located?
Although we likely don’t have the exact coordinates, we can hazard a guess that the Tower of Babel was located in what would later be the Babylon we come to know in 586 BC. Most likely, in modern terms, Iraq. This makes sense given the Ziggurat shaped building, in lieu of other similar projects being built in that area at the time.
Compared to the Babylon we’ll know hundreds of years later, Babylon was a little different when this was built. But even back then, it was a dirty and broken-down city. That’s why the Bible says such bad things about Babylon in Revelation.
Babylon always shows up in the Bible’s stories. First, when people turn away from God right after the Flood. God told people to spread out across the land, but they stayed where they were and built a tower to the sky as a protest (more on this in a moment). Also, Babylon destroys Jerusalem in the sixth century BC and shows up in Revelation as the “whore of Babylon.”
Spiritual Meaning of The Tower of Babel
The Tower of Babel was an open act of disobeying God.
A scholar named Josephus says that one of the main reasons Nimrod had the Tower of Babel built was to make a building big enough to survive another worldwide flood like the one in Genesis 6.
Nimrod seemed to have forgotten why the flood happened in the first place. Because the world was so wicked and bad, God sent a worldwide flood.
Nimrod kind of slams his fist into God and says, “I’ll build something so high that not even you can destroy me.” He tries to compare himself to God.
Additionally, the ziggurat building had strong pagan roots before Nimrod ordered it to be built. So, just like the people did before the Flood, the people of Shinar focus on worldly things instead of Godly things.
Also, the people of Babel didn’t do what God told them to do, which was to spread out over the whole world. So they didn’t follow the rules, they moved to Shinar and started building something they thought would last.
The Bible shows that it didn’t happen.
What Is the Significance of the Tower of Babel?
This story matters because we see what happens when mankind tries to prevent the acts of God. They tried, by their own hands, to create their own ark of salvation, their own fortress.
But salvation only comes through God. We can’t continue to live in sin and create a “Tower of Babel” for ourselves, hoping we’ll craft a structure high enough to avoid the wrath of God.
Maybe we don’t build physical mud-brick ziggurat structures today, but we do often try to create our own versions of the Tower of Babel. We think, maybe through our good works, maybe through our attending church weekly, maybe through our community services can we build a structure high enough to avoid God’s judgment.
Yet we learn that God doesn’t work that way. A tower can’t save us. We need to find salvation through him.
We also learn that if we try to directly disobey a command from God, that he will intervene. Just like Jonah tried to sail the opposite way from where God called him, God sent a huge fish to swallow him and transport him back to Nineveh (Jonah 1:17).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Tower of Babel is a story from the book of Genesis in the Old Testament. It is a tale about the origin of different languages and the dispersion of humanity across the earth. The story is often interpreted as a warning against pride and arrogance and a reminder of the importance of effective communication. The Tower of Babel is a powerful reminder that we should be content with the life that God has given us and that we should put our trust in Him rather than in our own abilities.
