Genesis 11

KJ3 Literal Translation — Chapter 11 of 50

1 And the whole earth was of one lip and of one speech.

2 And it happened, as they pulled up stakes from the east, they found a level valley in the land of Shinar. And they lived there.

3 And man said to his neighbor, Come, let us make brick, and burning burn them. And they had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar.

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Chapter Summary

One language in the world. 3 The building of Babel. S The confusion of tongues. 10 The generations of Shem.

Key Hebrew Words

רֵעֵ֗ friend H7453 · TWOT 2186a
חֲמֵ֥שׁ five H2568 · TWOT 686a
שְׁלֹשִׁ֣ים thirty H7970 · TWOT 2403d
עִ֗יר excitement H5892 · TWOT 1587a
עֲקָרָ֑ה barren H6135 · TWOT 1682a

People & Context

One Language and the Tower of Babel

The whole earth has one language and speech. People settling in Shinar decide to build a city and a tower reaching to the heavens to make a name for t…

Confusion of Tongues and Dispersion

God observes their unified effort and decides to confuse their language so they cannot understand each other. Jehovah then disperses them from there o…

Genealogy of Shem to Terah

The generations of Shem are listed, tracing the lineage through Arpachshad, Salah, Eber (from whom the 'Hebrews' are named, as the earth was divided i…

Timeline

One Language and the Tower of Babel

The whole earth has one language and speech. People settling in Shinar decide to build a city and a tower reaching to the heavens to make a name for themselves and avoid scattering.

Genesis 11:1-4
Confusion of Tongues and Dispersion

God observes their unified effort and decides to confuse their language so they cannot understand each other. Jehovah then disperses them from there over the face of all the earth, and they stop building the city. The city is named Babel because their language was confused there.

Genesis 11:5-9
Genealogy of Shem to Terah

The generations of Shem are listed, tracing the lineage through Arpachshad, Salah, Eber (from whom the 'Hebrews' are named, as the earth was divided in his days with his brother Peleg), Reu, Serug, Nahor, to Terah. Terah fathers Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

Genesis 11:10-27

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