Genesis 11

The Tower of Babel

1 Now all the earth
Lit was one lip
used the same language and
Or few or one set of words
the same words.
2And it came about, as they journeyed
Or from the east
east, that they found a plain in the land dof Shinar and
Lit dwelt
settled there.
3Then they said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks and
I.e., in a kiln to harden them
fire them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used gtar for mortar.
4And they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top hwill reach into heaven, and let’s make ia name for ourselves; otherwise we jwill be scattered abroad over the face of all the earth.” 5Now kthe Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the
Lit sons of mankind
men had built.
6And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have
Lit one lip
,
nthe same language. And this is what they have started to do, and now nothing which they plan to do will be
Lit inaccessible to
impossible for them.
7Come,
I.e., indicating united action, not a request
,
qlet Us go down and there rconfuse their
Lit lip
language, so that they will not understand one another’s
Lit lip
speech.”
8So the Lord uscattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth; and they stopped building the city. 9Therefore it was named
Or Babylon; cf. Heb balal, confuse
,
wBabel, because there the Lord confused the
Lit lip
language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

Descendants of Shem

10 yThese are the records of the generations of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old when he fathered Arpachshad, two years after the flood; 11and Shem lived five hundred years after he fathered Arpachshad, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

12 Arpachshad lived thirty-five years, and fathered Shelah; 13and Arpachshad lived 403 years after he fathered Shelah, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

14 Shelah lived thirty years, and fathered Eber; 15and Shelah lived 403 years after he fathered Eber, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

16 Eber lived thirty-four years, and fathered Peleg; 17and Eber lived 430 years after he fathered Peleg, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

18 Peleg lived thirty years, and fathered Reu; 19and Peleg lived 209 years after he fathered Reu, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

20 Reu lived thirty-two years, and fathered Serug; 21and Reu lived 207 years after he fathered Serug, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

22 Serug lived thirty years, and fathered Nahor; 23and Serug lived two hundred years after he fathered Nahor, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

24 Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and fathered zTerah; 25and Nahor lived 119 years after he fathered Terah, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

26 Terah lived seventy years, and aafathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27 Now these are the records of the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and abHaran fathered acLot. 28Haran died
Lit before the face of
during the lifetime of his father Terah in the land of his birth, in aeUr of the Chaldeans.
29Abram and afNahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was agSarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was ahMilcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah
Lit and the father of
and Iscah.
30 ajSarai was unable to conceive; she did not have a child.

31 Now Terah took his son Abram, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they departed
Lit with them
together from alUr of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they went as far as Haran and
Lit dwelt
settled there.
32The days of Terah were 205 years; and Terah died in Haran.

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