Genesis 11:1-12:20

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Genesis 11:1

earth = people of the earth. Figure of speech Metonymy (of Subject). App-6 ; "earth" put for inhabitants. language. Hebrew "lip". Figure of speech Metonymy (of cause); lip put for language. The chapter begins with man's attempt to unify mankind, and ends with God's new provision to unify all in blessing with Abraham's seed. read more

James Burton Coffman

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

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

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Genesis 11:1

1. the whole earth was of one language. The descendants of Noah, united by the strong bond of a common language, had not separated, and notwithstanding the divine command to replenish the earth, were unwilling to separate. The more pious and well-disposed would of course obey the divine will; but a numerous body, seemingly the aggressive horde mentioned ( :-), determined to please themselves by occupying the fairest region they came to. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 11:1-2

Some of the Hamites migrated "east" (specifically southeast) to the plain of Shinar (cf. Genesis 10:10). This was in the Mesopotamian basin (modern Iraq)."In light of such intentional uses of the notion of ’eastward’ within the Genesis narratives, we can see that here too the author intentionally draws the story of the founding of Babylon into the larger scheme at work throughout the book. It is a scheme that contrasts God’s way of blessing (e.g., Eden and the Promised Land) with man’s own... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 11:1-9

2. The dispersion at Babel 11:1-9This pericope is a flashback that explains the division of the earth in Peleg’s time (Genesis 10:25). The main emphasis in this section is not the building of the tower of Babel but the dispersion of the peoples. We can see this in the literary structure of the passage. [Note: Ross, Creation and . . ., p. 235. Cf. J. P. Fokkelman, Narrative Art in Genesis, p. 22; Wenham, Genesis 1-15, pp. 234-38; and Waltke, Genesis, pp. 176-77.] A All the earth had one language... read more

Thomas Constable

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

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

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Genesis 11:1-32

Youth and After Genesis 11:32 'And Terah died in Haran.' What of that? It was not until they came to Haran that they touched, as it were, their first footprints and found the old religion. There had been little temptation to pause before on the score of a people's worship, but when, worn out in body and mind, Abram suddenly came upon the old religion, his journeyings after another faith and form of worship were at an end. It was Abram the younger man who withstood the temptations of Haran. I.... read more

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