Genesis 11:31 NIV

L. M. Grant's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 11:1-32

BABEL: THE CITY AND THE TOWER Up to this time there was only one language. In the world today men wish they could have this advantage, but God is wiser than men. Men desire this for the very same reason that Caused God to impose various languages upon them. They are infected by pride that wants to unite independently of God, so as to have a great civilization. They journeyed "from the east," literally "from the sun rising." This is strikingly typical of man's turning his back upon the... read more

James Gray

James Gray's Concise Bible Commentary - Genesis 11:1-32

THE TOWER OF BABEL The contents of this chapter seem to precede in time those of chapter 10. There we have the story of how the nations were divided, and here why they were divided. What was true of the race linguistically until this time (Genesis 11:1 )? To what locality had they been chiefly attracted (Genesis 11:2 )? What new mechanical science is now named (Genesis 11:3 )? What two-fold purpose was the outcome of this invention (Genesis 11:4 )? What was the object in view? Is there a... read more

James Gray

James Gray's Concise Bible Commentary - Genesis 11:10-32

THE ORIGIN OF ISRAEL THE DIVINE PURPOSE We have reached a fourth experiment in God’s dealings with the apostate race, only this shall not ultimately be the failure the others proved. It should be understood, however, that in speaking of failure the reference is to man’s part and not God’s. Before the flood the sin of the race was atheism, outright denial of divine authority with the indulgence of sinful lusts it produced and the dissolution of moral and social bonds. But after the flood... read more

Joseph Parker

The People's Bible by Joseph Parker - Genesis 11:1-32

On the Building of Babel Genesis 11:0 Comparing this account with our own method of life and art, it is clear that from the beginning of time men have been doing pretty much the same thing all the world over. The world's story is but short; it is very much like a series of repetitions: the actors, indeed, have been innumerable, but the drama has always been contracted, and seldom profound. The actors have made noise enough, but when there has been a little break through the dust, we have... read more

Robert Hawker

Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary - Genesis 11:31

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. Harran is the same as Charran, between Ur and Canaan, Acts 7:4 . Sarai was Abram's half sister, Genesis 20:12 , and supposed to be the same as Iscah Genesis 11:29 . read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 11:27-32

27-32 Here begins the story of Abram, whose name is famous in both Testaments. Even the children of Eber had become worshippers of false gods. Those who are through grace, heirs of the land of promise, ought to remember what was the land of their birth; what was their corrupt and sinful state by nature. Abram's brethren were, Nahor, out of whose family both Isaac and Jacob had their wives; and Haran, the father of Lot, who died before his father. Children cannot be sure that they shall outlive... read more

Paul E. Kretzmann

The Popular Commentary by Paul E. Kretzmann - Genesis 11:27-32

The Generations of Terah v. 27. Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. Haran may have been the oldest son, and his son Lot was nearer to Abraham's age. v. 28. And Haran died before, that is, during the lifetime of, his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees. This, then, was the ancestral home of this family of the descendants of Shem. v. 29. And Abram and Nahor took them wives; the name of Abram's wife was... read more

Johann Peter Lange

Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Critical, Doctrinal and Homiletical - Genesis 11:10-32

FIFTH SECTIONThe race of Shem. The Commenced and Interrupted Migration of Terah to Canaan. The Genesis of the Contrast between Heathendom and the germinal Patriarchalism Genesis 11:10-321. Genealogy of Shem—to Terah.10These are the generations of Shem: Shem was a hundred years old and begat 11Arphaxad10 [Knobel: probably, highland of Chaldæa] two years after the flood. And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. 12And Arphaxad lived five and thirty... read more

Frederick Brotherton Meyer

F.B. Meyer's 'Through the Bible' Commentary - Genesis 11:10-32

the Generations until Abram Genesis 11:10-32 The inwardness of the movement of Terah’s clan from Ur is given in Acts 7:3 . Apparently his father was unwilling for Abram to go alone on his far-pilgrimage, and so the whole family moved along the valley of the Euphrates to the famous ford of Haran. There was no other practicable way by which travelers could strike the route for Canaan. But Terah never advanced beyond that point; and it was only when his father was dead that Abram resumed his... read more

G. Campbell Morgan

G. Campbell Morgan's Exposition on the Whole Bible - Genesis 11:1-32

In this chapter we have the account of a human movement against dispersion. The movement was one of rebellion and was frustrated by divine interposition. The divine intention was the covering of the whole earth. The human action was in opposition to that, as men said, "Lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." This rebellious purpose was frustrated by the confusion of tongues. Necessarily belief in this story demands belief in the possibility of God's direct intervention... read more