Genesis 11:1-9 ESV

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 11:1-2

"And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech. And it came to pass as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.""The whole earth ... one language ... one speech ..." Since all people at that time were descendants of Noah, therefore being one family, it could scarcely have been any other way than as stated here."They journeyed east ..." The older versions read "from the east" (KJV), and "when they removed from the east" (Douay), etc.;... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 11:3

"And they said one to another, Come, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar.""Brick ... slime had they for mortar ..." The absence of building stone on the plains of Shinar led to the perfection of the brick industry, thus providing materials for the ambitious project contemplated. "The word for slime here is [~hemar], that is bitumen or asphalt."[7] This was a different substance from that used in preparing the ark for Moses, or... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 11:4

"And they said, Come, let us build us a city, and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven, and let us make us a name; lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.""Whose top may reach unto heaven ..." This expression is viewed by many as merely a rhetorical way of expressing great height, or as a device by which they might avoid disaster of another flood, or as some kind of a fortification, but we cannot accept any understanding of this that leaves out of sight the religious... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 11:5

"And Jehovah came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded."The fact that no individuals being mentioned in this account and its action being mentioned as something that "the children of men" did, shows that God considered this event as a rebellion of all mankind against Himself. The willingness of mankind, generally, to receive the arrogance, pride and conceit of those people as their chosen way of life, and the perception of God that the cancer that began there... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 11:6

"And Jehovah said, Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is what they begin to do: and now nothing will be withholden from them, which they purpose to do."If we have properly understood the motives and purpose underlying this evil venture, what God foresaw was that if their wickedness had been left unhindered the true knowledge of God might easily have been totally removed from the earth. The establishment of the people of Israel as a witness of God on the earth... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 11:7

"Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.""Come, let us go down ..." The plural form here suggests the Trinitarian Godhead more fully apparent in the N.T., but certainly not any kind of a conference with angels, or some kind of a "community of gods," as imagined by some. Also, it is the height of superlative naivete that prompts men to bother with trying to reduce all these anthropomorphisms to descriptions of where God was when... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 11:8

"So Jehovah scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of the earth: and they left off building the city."God's interference with evil was successful. Of course, having endowed humanity with the freedom of the will, God would never compel people to obey Him, but as an inducement to encourage them toward the right decisions, He would forever see to it that, "The way of the transgressor is hard" (Proverbs 13:15). read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 11:9

"Therefore was the name of it called Babel; because Jehovah did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did Jehovah scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth."This is the conclusion of this remarkably important episode. We shall notice, in passing, some of the insinuations against this account, not because of any value in them, but as a notation that evil men are STILL opposed to the will of God. Skinner called this account "a myth,"[14] and Neil spoke of it as "a... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 11:1

Genesis 11:1. The whole earth— All the inhabitants of the earth, before they were divided and dispersed, spoke one common language, as descended from one common parent. The word, rendered languages שׂפה sapah, signifies lip, as the margin of our Bibles has it; and the word דברים debarim, speech, is plural, and may be rendered "the same words:" so that, probably, hereby is only expressed, that "all men used the same words pronounced in the same manner; they had the same pronunciation, and the... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 11:2

Genesis 11:2. As they journeyed from the earth— Hence it seems to follow, that the whole posterity of Noah continued together, till now, united under one common head, most probably living in tents, and, according to the most early custom, removing from place to place, for the better convenience of pasturage and the like. And it came to pass, as they journeyed thus eastward, (for so it should be rendered,) more and more towards the east, they arrived at a plain in the land of Shinar, where they... read more

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 11:1-2

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 11:3

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 11:4

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 11:5

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 11:6

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 11:7

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 11:8

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 11:9

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 11:1

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 11:2

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