Primeval History
Epoch 10 · c. 2200 BC
Babel and the Scattered Nations
Humanity gathers in pride to make a name for itself, and God confuses languages and disperses the nations over the earth.
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Bible references
Scripture in full
The passages connected to this timeline moment are shown in full below.
Genesis 11:1-9
Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to each other, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone and they had tar for mortar. And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top reaches to the heavens. And let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” Then Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower that humankind was building. And Yahweh said, “Behold, they are one people with one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. So now nothing that they intend to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand each other’s language.” So Yahweh scattered them from there over the face of the whole earth, and they stopped building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, for there Yahweh confused the language of the whole earth, and there Yahweh scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
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Why this moment matters
Babel exposes the human desire for self-made unity apart from God. The scattering sets the stage for God's later plan to bless every nation through Abraham.
About this section
Creation, fall, flood, and Babel establish the Bible's universal storyline of glory, rebellion, judgment, and promise.
Further study
Previous epoch
Epoch 9 · c. 2500 BC
Covenant After the Flood
Next epoch
Epoch 11 · c. 2100 BC
From Shem to Terah
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