One Language
The Biblical account tells us that everyone spoke the same language:
And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. (Genesis 11:1)
Questions
- What would it be like to be in a world in which everyone spoke one language?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of speaking one language?
- What major world event took place prior to chapter 11 of Genesis?
Building a Tower
The descendents of Noah decided to construct a tower:
And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. (Genesis 11:2-4)
Questions
- What were the descendants of Noah planning to do?
- What does it mean that they wanted to make a name?
- Why didnÕt they want to be scattered across the face of the earth?
- Why was this wrong in the eyes of the Lord?
Scattered Upon the Face of the Earth
God punished mankind for their disobedience:
And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. (Genesis 11:5-9)
Questions
- Why did the Lord want to scatter mankind upon the face of the earth?
- How would speaking different languages discourage their work on the tower?
- How would the confusion of languages cause them to scatter abroad upon the face of the earth?
Biblical Origin of Languages
Evolutionists do not have a good explanation for how man began to speak, or where the different languages came from. However, it seems the Bible has an explanation for all of those, as well as an explanation for the varieties of peoples that we find all around the globe. Here is the way that many Creationists believe it happened:
- When the Lord confused the languages, people would group together with other people who spoke the same language.
- As they grouped together, they would move to their own place in the world.
- As they continued to have children, they would express characteristics that were unique to their group, making them different from other groups.
- Since that time, many different cultures have passed on stories similar to the Tower of Babel account in Genesis. Many Creation scientists and historians believe that these legends are left over stories from the real event that took place in Genesis. The different tribes would tell their own version of what happened at the tower. Over time those stories would change, and become the legends we have today (for more explanation of these legends, see the study guide)
The City of Abram
Genesis 11 ends by telling about the birth of Abram Š a man in which the Lord would make a special promise:
These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood: And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah: And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters. And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber: And Salah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters. And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg: And Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters. And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu: And Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters. And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug: And Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters. And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor: And Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah: And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters. And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees. And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah. But Sarai was barren; she had no child. And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran. (Genesis 11:10-32)
Questions
- What special promise did the Lord make to Abram?
- How does that promise still continue today?
Archeological Discoveries
- Archeologists think that they have found the city of UR. It is located in modern-day Iraq.
- When they excavated the city, they found a large ziggurat, and several royal tombs in which kings and queens were buried.
- The story of a devastating flood is common in many ancient Mesopotamian stories. C. Leonard Wooley, who led a team to excavate UR, found flood-deposited sediments underneath the city. This would seem to fit well with the Genesis account of the worldwide flood and then the account of Abram not too long afterward.
Prayer
End your family devotion by praying as a family. Thank the Creator for His Word which tells us the true history of mankind!
