The story of the Tower of Babel is rich profiles a key event in history, but few understand the story's deeper meaning and spiritual importance. Did you know, that just a few years ago in the United States, a man went into a store that sold used items, looking for a silly gift he could give a friend as a joke. The man found and bought what he thought was a terrible and silly painting for $15.
He gave the painting to his friend, who laughed, and later tried to sell it for a few dollars, but no one would buy it (he was not surprised). Then someone told him the painting may have been painted by Jackson Pollock, a famous painter. And sure enough, after extensive evaluation, it was confirmed that the painting was painted by the master artist and was valued at approximately $50,000,000.
We share this story to remind the reader that sometimes, the things we think are silly or worthless actually have incredible value—such is the case with the stories in Genesis—including the Tower of Babel. To learn more about the Book of Genesis, we invite you to download the Manna App.
Before we share some of the deeper spiritual truths in the story of the Tower of Babel, we want you to think about the well-known Aesop's fable, The Tortoise and the Hare, which is a story about perseverance. Note: because the focus of that story is persevering, the story does not include information on the location of the race, the distance of the race, the breed or size of the rabbit, the color of its fur, the maximum speed the rabbit could run, or any similar information regarding the tortoise. Why? Because those details do not directly support the story's focus. It simply does not matter how much the tortoise weighed or how fast he could move. What matters is, the tortoise persevered and won the race.
The stories in Genesis are like that—they are designed to communicate higher truths. For example, the story of Adam and Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden is not about an apple, the story of Noah is not about how to build a boat, and the story of the Tower of Babel is not about building a tower. Read on (and download the Manna App) to learn the deeper truths conveyed in the story and what that means for believers today.
The number ten is prominent in the Bible, thus it has come to have great spiritual meaning to the Hebrew people. There are 10 Commandments, there were 10 plagues in Egypt, it is associated with the tithe, the "days of testing" in Revelation 2:10, and a parable about bridesmaids awaiting the bridegroom in Matthew 25. The number represent completion, divine order, or fulfillment. In Genesis, the genealogy listings unfold in sets of 10; there are 10 generations between key events and figures in history—between Adam and Noah and between Noah and Nimrod/Abraham (both are associated with the Tower of Babel story).
Nimrod is the principle figure in the story of the Tower of Babel. He was born before Abraham, and, according to Old Testament-era Hebrew tradition and writings, felt threatened by Abraham and tried to kill him—sending him to flee for his life and live in exile for years.
Nimrod's impact on history is profound. Tradition holds that he established many cities (including Babel, Erech, and Accad in the land of Shinar) and was the first leader of an empire. To many, it could appear that his accomplishments were very impressive, but that was not God's assessment.
In the Hebrew language, Nimrod's name is associated with rebellion. Scripture describes Nimrod as a great hunter and warrior who was "mighty before the Lord." But in Hebrew, the phrase before the Lord is negative and can be interpreted as, in the face of the Lord, or defiant before the Lord. Nimrod believed his accomplishments and abilities made him great—but in the story of the Tower of Babel we see that God is much more concerned with our heart and faith. He is not impressed with our wealth, power, looks, or titles—He looks to see if we are good, loving, giving, and faithful.
Jewish and Islamic writings note that Nimrod opposed God and battled with Abraham. Many ancient stories say that Nimrod was exceedingly violent and evil. Some suggest that Nimrod married Semiramis. She is known for creating and fostering many forms of paganism (various mythologies, astrology, violent cults, etc.), which quickly corrupted cultures across the ancient world. Nimrod's (and Semiramis') impact on the world was profound and is still felt today. For example, most forms of goddess worship (Isis, Ishtar, Inanna, Artemis, Devi, and many more) can trace their origin to Nimrod's reign.
The story of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 10-11) notes that though God had told people to spread out and populate the Earth, Nimrod told the people to settle in the vast plain, Shinar (Mesopotamia). Nimrod established cities, appointed himself king, and desired to be absolute ruler of the world's first empire.
In the center of this new empire would be a great tower—the Tower of Bable—which would "reach to the heavens" (Gen. 11:4). Many scholars believe Nimrod's plan was to use the cultic practices and views of the day to exert control over the masses. Scholars note that various cults in the region held that a specially chosen leader could enter a temple, receive instructions from God, and then share those instructions to the people. Failure to follow those instructions was punishable by death. Nimrod's plan was to build an impressive tower (a monument to himself), go to the top of the temple where he would commune with God, then give those instructions to the people. Of course, God made no such offer or instructions to Nimrod—it was likely a scam to elevate himself above the people and motivate the masses to follow him.
Much of the story of the Tower of Babel indicates profound defiance of God's instructions. Nimrod had led the people to settle in the plain of Shinar (Gen. 11:1, 4d), build cities (Gen. 11:4a), build a tower that "reaches to the heavens" (Gen. 11:4b), and try to "make a name for [themselves]." It was a vanity project fueled by Nimrod's pride, and all in defiance to God's directives.
Tradition holds that Nimrod anticipated that God would not be pleased with the Tower of Babel building project so purposely ordered it to be exceptionally tall so he would be safe if God became angry and flooded the world again. Remember, God promised He would not flood the world again so here Nimrod is doubting the faithfulness of God.
One of the deeper truths revealed in the story of the Tower of Bable is that our impressive efforts, if done outside of God's will, do not impress God. In fact, we cannot expect God to bless activities or projects that He does not want us to be a part of. This brings us to the next part of the story.
The stage is set by the time you get to Genesis 11:5. God said "Go" and Nimrod said "stop." God said "Honor Me" and the people said they wanted to build a city to "make a name for ourselves." God wanted to be their leader and King, but Nimrod wanted to be their leader and emperor. God wanted the people to desire to honor Him, but Nimrod's tower was intended to bring honor to himself. Nimrod was leading the masses to adopt a spirit of pride and rebellion—God desired obedience and humility.
So, in verse 5, we read, "The Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building." Note, this does not mean that God was unaware of what was happening, it is a kind of sarcastic phrase that indicates that the city and tower building project Nimrod thought was so great was so small and insignificant that the all-knowing, all-seeing God of heaven had to come down to see it.
The Genesis text carries over the sarcastic tone to verse 6. The text indicates that the people, who had said they wanted to "make a name for ourselves" and not move out "over the face of the whole earth" (verse 4) would soon follow Nimrod (whose name is associated with rebellion) into more egregious sin. Verse 6 reads: "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." This is not stated as a fact, it is a sarcastic swipe at what the people thought they could do, and the folly of leaders who in pride were positioning to lead humanity away from God.
So in verse 7, God dealt with their pride and disrupted Nimrod's plan to consolidate and unite people against the Lord by confusing their language. In verse 8, "the Lord scattered them from there over the earth." Thus, Nimrod's the location of Nimrod's building project was named Babel because in Hebrew, a similar sounding word is associated with confusion and silly or childish talk.
Woven into the stories in Genesis are contrasting elements that highlight the blessings associated with obedience and the consequence of sin. For example, in Genesis 4, we read of how different the actions were between Cain and Abel. In Genesis 5, we read of the different behavior associated with the descendants of Cain vs. the descendants of Seth. In chapter 10-11, we see the difference between the disobedient line of Ham (which leads to Nimrod) and the line of Shem (which leads to Abraham). And in Genesis 11-12, we see the sharp contrast between Nimrod and Abraham. Nimrod is prideful and defiant whereas Abraham is humble and quick to follow God's leading.
In each of these contrasting elements, one side is blessed and the other suffers God's judgment. We today can learn from the simple truth presented here: faithfulness, humbleness, and obedience are rewarded by God.
Genesis 10-11, which includes the story of the Tower of Babel, also speaks to the rise of various languages and people groups. Many question: Was there really just one language in the days of Nimrod? The answer is most likely yes. Remember, this story of the Tower of Babel takes place just a few generations after the Flood, and certainly, the eight people in the Ark spoke the same language.
Genesis 11:1 says: "Now the whole earth had one language and the same words." Now, to be fair, we must remember that the Hebrew language is very poetic and symbolic. If you heard someone say, "There were a million cars on the road today," you would know that person meant there were lots of cars on the road—not necessarily exactly one million cars.
In ancient Hebrew culture, the phrase the whole earth often refers to the area that's part of the focus of the story. For example, in the story of the birth of Jesus (Luke 2), we read that Caesar ordered a census to be taken of "the entire earth." But Caesar's census did not really pertain to the "entire earth," just the areas the Roman Empire controlled. So, according to how Genesis was written, the text could indicate that the people in the region of Shinar (where this story takes place) spoke one language. However, those who study the development of language report that they can trace the origin of the thousands of languages on earth today to just 20 parent languages, and 18 of those have been verified to originate in the region of the land of Shinar, just as the Bible says.
Click this link to view a chart showing how many languages can develop from a single source. And note the graphic on the following page that shows how many languages developed from just two parent families.
This diagram illustrates how thousands of modern languages can trace their origins back to common language families, supporting the biblical account of language dispersion from the Tower of Babel.
The story of the Tower of Babel is a teaching story. It is not about a building project or the development of languages—it is a story that affirms God's concern for humanity (not wanting us to be swept away in sin), His watchcare over humanity (He came down to see the Tower), His willingness to implement 'Tough Love' consequences to help ensure our safety, and His desire to bless faithfulness (fully profiled in the next story in Genesis, the story of Abraham). We encourage you to download the Manna App and learn more about Abraham.
But though it is a teaching story that communicates higher spiritual truths, that does not mean the story doesn't depict an actual historical event. The story of the Tower of Babel helps to explain the development of language and (in Genesis 10) the establishment of various people groups. The story of the Tower of Babel addresses questions regarding the dispersion of humanity across the globe and lays a foundation for the name of the future notable Babylonian civilization (as there is wordplay between the terms 'Babel' (Bab-ilu, 'Gate of God') and the Hebrew word 'balal' (confuse).
Further, the architectural design work learned through building the Tower of Babel was carried on to many cultures. Similar tower-type structures (called ziggurats) have been found all over the world, and historians report that centuries after Nimrod's death, Etemananki, a 300' tall ziggurat dominated Babylonian religious thought and culture. It is believed that Etemananki was modeled after Nimrod's notable tower.
The story of the Tower of Babel is ancient—it records an event that occurred more than 4000 years ago. However, the key teaching points in the story remain instructive for believers today.
There is an old saying: "Fire is hot, don't touch it." Long ago the saying (or variations of it) was popularized to help people make wise decisions about fire; to keep people from having to learn the hard way that fire is hot and people should not touch it. In a way, the story of the Tower of Babel is like that. We are to learn from (and avoid) the bad choices Nimrod and his followers made. We are to avoid pride, be quick to follow God's will and leading, not seek to honor or build monuments to ourselves, not believe we can impress God by our endeavors, and not believe we can escape God's judgment when we willfully refuse to obey. Just like the story of Noah, the story of Nimrod's Tower of Babel is presented in the hope that we will learn important lessons second-hand, without having to experience the discipline of God after making poor choices.
Noah was faithful and was saved from the judgment that fell on the land. Abraham (a contemporary of Nimrod) was faithful and was blessed by God. Approximately 700 years after Abraham, the Hebrew leader Joshua addressed the Hebrews. He was older and knew this was his farewell address. In reflecting on how important it is to choose to strive to avoid the fire and walk humbly and faithfully in obedience to God, he said:
"[God's] word…is in your heart so you may obey it. See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction… I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you… But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, …you will certainly be destroyed… You will not live long in the land you…possess. This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live…hold fast to [God]. For the Lord is your life…." (Deut. 30:14b-20)
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Users can explore lessons that provide insight into stories like the Tower of Babel (and much more) at: https://www.themanna.app/bible-lessons
