Genesis 11:2 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.

NIV: As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

NASB: And it came about, as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.

CSB: As people migrated from the east, they found a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there.

NLT: As the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: 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.

The previous chapter described all the nations, tribes, and languages that came from Noah's three sons. Genesis 11 backs up the story to the era before the people groups were divided. Until this point, the families of Shem, Ham, and Japheth remained together as a single people group with a single culture. Verse 1 told us they all shared the same language.

Here, in verse 2, we're told that this growing extended family migrated away from the region where the ark settled to the land of Shinar. Shinar is the region where Babylon will be established. Thus, at this point in the history of the earth, all the peoples of the world were gathered together in one region.

While it sounds wonderful for mankind to be united in culture and language, human sin makes this a dangerous condition. As shown prior to the flood, mankind's natural habit is towards depravity (Genesis 6:5). The need to restrict man's cooperation with man, at least to some extent, is a major reason for God's actions in this passage (Genesis 11:7–8).

Genesis 11:1–9 recounts one of the most dramatic acts of God recorded in Genesis. Before the tribes and nations described in Genesis 10 were formed, all the people of the earth shared one language and one culture. They also shared the goal of not wanting to be separated. To that end, they decided to make themselves great by building a great city with an enormous tower—and without apparently acknowledging God. To keep humanity from being too powerful, and lapsing into the widespread sin which inspired the flood, God confuses human languages and scattered mankind around the world. The city of Babel, similar to the Hebrew word for ''confused,'' would later become known as Babylon.

Genesis 11 contains three sections: God confuses and scatters the people of the world to stop the building of Babel and its tower. A genealogy is provided showing the direct links between Noah and Abram. The ''generations'' of Terah are introduced, providing a description of the family out of which God will call Abram to become the father of His chosen people.

Genesis 10 provided a table of the nations, describing the peoples and tribes that descended from Noah's three sons and where they settled. Genesis 11 describes how God scattered the peoples of the world after confusing their languages to stop the building of Babel and its tower. The chapter also provides a direct genealogy from Noah to Abram and then introduces Abram by way of his father Terah. The following chapter will begin the story of Abram and God's chosen people, Israel.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.

Accessed 4/29/2024 7:06:11 AM