Genesis 11

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 11:1-26

I. PRIMEVAL EVENTS 1:1-11:26Chapters 1-11 provide an introduction to the Book of Genesis, the Pentateuch, and the whole Bible."What we find in chaps. 1-11 is the divine initiation of blessing, which is compromised by human sin followed by gracious preservation of the promise: blessing-sin-grace." [Note: Mathews, p. 60.] "His [Moses’] theological perspective can be summarized in two points. First, the author intends to draw a line connecting the God of the Fathers and the God of the Sinai... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 11:3-4

The motivation for building a city was to make the builders a name (cf. Psalms 14:1). Later God would "make a name" for Abram (Genesis 12:2-3). The object of this endeavor was to establish a center by which they might maintain their unity."A defensive wall is the hallmark of a city (see Genesis 4:17). Cities in the ancient Near East were not designed to be lived in but were intended for religious and public purposes." [Note: Waltke, Genesis, p. 179.] God desired unity for humankind, but one... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 11:5-6

The builders undoubtedly expected to ascend to heaven to meet God. Instead God descended to earth to meet them. If God had allowed this project to continue the results would have been even worse and more serious than they were at this time. The sin of the builders was their refusal to obey God-given directives."Depraved humanity are united in their spiritual endeavor to find, through technology, existential meaning apart from God and the means to transgress its boundaries. Unless God intervenes... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 11:7

God’s soliloquy in this verse mimics the language of the tower builders in Genesis 11:3-4 (cf. Genesis 1:26). The tower was so puny that He had to come down to see it (cf. Isaiah 40:22). The confusion of language probably involved more than just the introduction of new words."If language is the audible expression of emotions, conceptions, and thoughts of the mind, the cause of the confusion or division of the one human language into different national dialects might be sought in an effect... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 11:8

The resultant confusion led to a scattering of the people over the "whole earth" (cf. Genesis 11:9). God did not allow human rebellion to reach the level that it did before the Flood. God forced people to do what they refused to do voluntarily, namely, scatter over the face of the earth.Some interpreters take the confusion of languages to have been a local phenomenon only. One writer believed lightning struck the tower of Babel and the confusion of speech that followed resulted from a... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 11:9

"Babel" sounds like the Hebrew word for "confuse" (balal), and it means "the gate of gods" in Akkadian.". . . Genesis 11:1-9, the tower of Babel story, is a satire on the claims of Babylon to be the center of civilization and its temple tower the gate of heaven (E[numa]E[lish] 6:50-80): Babel does not mean gate of God, but ’confusion’ and ’folly.’ Far from its temple’s top reaching up to heaven, it is so low that God has to descend from heaven just to see it! (Genesis 11:4-9)." [Note: Wenham,... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 11:10-26

F. What became of Shem 11:10-26"The Babel account (Genesis 11:1-9) is not the end of early Genesis. If it were, the story would conclude on the sad note of human failure. But as with earlier events in Genesis 1-11, God’s grace once again supersedes human sin, insuring the continued possibilities of the promissory blessings (Genesis 1:28; Genesis 9:1). . . . The scaffolding of human pride would be dismantled by the erection of the Shemite line that culminates in obedient Abraham, who likewise is... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 11:27-32

Abram’s ancestors 11:27-32"The function of this genealogy is not so much to connect Abraham with the preceding events, as the previous genealogies have done, but to provide the reader with the necessary background for understanding the events in the life of Abraham. The list includes eight names. All the individuals named are relevant for understanding the events of the following narrative except ’Iscah’ (Genesis 11:29). The inclusion of this otherwise insignificant name in the list suggests... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 11:1-32

The Tower of Babel. The Descendants of Shem to AbrahamWe have here the ancient Hebrew explanation of the diversity of human language, and of the wide dispersion of the human race. Babylon is represented as the original centre of human civilisation after the Flood. The splendid buildings of Babylonia were among the most remarkable achievements of human power and pride. But they were repugnant to the Jews as being associated with idolatry, and their erection is here regarded as rebellion against... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 11:1

XI.(1) The whole earth.—That is, all mankind. After giving the connection of the various races of the then known world, consisting of Armenia, the regions watered by the Tigris and Euphrates, the Arabian peninsula, the Nile valley, with the districts closely bordering on the Delta, Palestine, the Levant, and the islands of Cyprus, Rhodes, and Crete; with Lud on his journey to Asia Minor, and the Japhethites breaking their way into Europe through the country between the Caspian and the Black... read more

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 11:1-26

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 11:3-4

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 11:5-6

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 11:7

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 11:8

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 11:9

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 11:10-26

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 11:27-32

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 11:1-32

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 11:1

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