Study Desk

The Tower of Babel

Now the whole world had one language^(a) and a common speech.

As people moved eastward,^[a] they found a plain in Shinar^[b](b) and settled there.

They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks^(c) and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone,^(d) and tar^(e) for mortar.

Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens,^(f) so that we may make a name^(g) for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered^(h) over the face of the whole earth."⁽ⁱ⁾

But the Lord came down^(j) to see the city and the tower the people were building.

The Lord said, "If as one people speaking the same language^(k) they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.

Come, let us^(l) go down^(m) and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."⁽ⁿ⁾

So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth,^(o) and they stopped building the city.

That is why it was called Babel^[c](p)—because there the Lord confused the language^(q) of the whole world.^(r) From there the Lord scattered^(s) them over the face of the whole earth.

This is the account^(u) of Shem's family line. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father^[d] of Arphaxad.^(v)

And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah.^(w)

And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.^[e]

When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber.^(x)

And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg.^(y)

And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu.^(z)

And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug.^(aa)

And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor.^(ab)

And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah.^(ac)

And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram,^(ad) Nahor^(ae) and Haran.^(af)

This is the account^(ag) of Terah's family line. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor^(ah) and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.^(ai)

While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans,^(aj) in the land of his birth.

Abram and Nahor^(ak) both married. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai,^(al) and the name of Nahor's wife was Milkah;^(am) she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah.

Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive.^(an)

Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot^(ao) son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law^(ap) Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans^(aq) to go to Canaan.^(ar) But when they came to Harran,^(as) they settled there.

Terah^(at) lived 205 years, and he died in Harran.