ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for Genesis 11

Gen. 11:1–9 The story of the Tower of Babel is more important than its length suggests. It tells of a unified humanity using all its resources to establish a city that is the antithesis of what God intended when he created the world. The city builders see themselves as establishing their own destiny without any reference to the Lord.

Gen. 11:1 The description of the whole earth having one language indicates that the present episode happens before the events in ch. 10, which specifically mentions nations and languages. It may have occurred during the period covered in ch. 10, especially if it is linked to the naming of Peleg in 10:25 (see note on 10:21–32).

Gen. 11:2–4 Come, . . . let us make a name for ourselves. Contrary to God’s plan that humanity should fill the earth (e.g., 1:22; 28; 9:1; 7), the builders of Babel want to prevent the population from being dispersed over . . . the whole earth (11:4).

Gen. 11:9 This verse links the name of the city, Babel, with the verb that means “to confuse, to mix, to mingle.” This is also the name used in the OT for the city of Babylon. Babylon symbolizes humanity’s ambition to dethrone God and make the earth its own (see Revelation 17–18).

Gen. 11:10–26 Shem’s Descendants. Resembling the list of Adam’s descendants in 5:3–31, this genealogy traces Noah’s line through Shem down to Terah, the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran (see diagram). The length of time these men live is much shorter than for men living before the flood (see 5:1–32; see chart).

Gen. 11:27–50:26 Patriarchal History. The story now moves from the general survey of humanity to the specific family from which Israel comes.

Gen. 11:27–25:18 Terah’s Descendants. These chapters focus on the immediate family of Terah, paying special attention to Abram. Abram will later have his name changed to “Abraham” (see 17:5).

Gen. 11:28 Ur of the Chaldeans was a city in southern Babylonia, the remains of which are located in modern Iraq.

Gen. 11:29 The name Sarai is later changed to “Sarah” (see 17:15). The initial inability of the patriarchs’ wives to have children is a recurring theme in Genesis (see 25:21; 29:31).

Gen. 11:31–32 Haran was an important crossroads and commercial center in the ancient Near East.

Gen. 11:31 Although Terah’s ambition is to move his family from Ur to Canaan, they settle instead in northern Mesopotamia at Haran (in modern-day Turkey). The spelling of the town name “Haran” in Hebrew is quite distinct from the name of Terah’s third son, also named Haran. This is the Bible’s first reference to “the land of Canaan.”