Wayfinding Bible - Flipbook - Page 24
18
Genesis 11
PG 16
11:1-9
SCENIC
8
THE TOWER OF BABEL
After the Flood, Noah and his family settle on dry land to begin life again. The animals leave the ark and scatter across the plains. Shem, Ham and Japheth have
large families, fulfilling God’s mandate: “Be fruitful and multiply, and repopulate
the earth” (9:7). People soon populate the region where Noah’s boat landed.
Eventually, they migrate east and settle down. That’s when the trouble begins.
The descendants of Shem were Elam,
Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.
23
The descendants of Aram were Uz, Hul,
Gether, and Mash.
24
Arphaxad was the father of Shelah,* and
Shelah was the father of Eber.
25
Eber had two sons. The first was named
Peleg (which means “division”), for during
his lifetime the people of the world were
divided into different language groups. His
brother’s name was Joktan.
26
Joktan was the ancestor of Almodad,
Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27 Hadoram,
Uzal, Diklah, 28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba,
29
Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were
descendants of Joktan. 30 The territory they
occupied extended from Mesha all the way
to Sephar in the eastern mountains.
31
These were the descendants of Shem, identified by clan, language, territory, and national
identity.
22
CONCLUSION
These are the clans that descended from
Noah’s sons, arranged by nation according to
their lines of descent. All the nations of the
earth descended from these clans after the
great flood.
32
THE TOWER OF BABEL
11
At one time all the people of the world
spoke the same language and used
the same words. 2 As the people migrated to
the east, they found a plain in the land of
Babylonia* and settled there.
3
They began saying to each other, “Let’s
make bricks and harden them with fire.” (In
this region bricks were used instead of stone,
and tar was used for mortar.) 4 Then they said,
“Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves
with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will
make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.”
5
But the Lord came down to look at the
city and the tower the people were building.
6
“Look!” he said. “The people are united, and
they all speak the same language. After this,
nothing they set out to do will be impossible
for them! 7 Come, let’s go down and confuse
the people with different languages. Then they
won’t be able to understand each other.”
8
In that way, the Lord scattered them all
over the world, and they stopped building the
city. 9 That is why the city was called Babel,*
because that is where the Lord confused the
people with different languages. In this way he
scattered them all over the world.
THE LINE OF DESCENT FROM SHEM
TO ABRAM
10
This is the account of Shem’s famil y.
Two years after the great flood, when Shem
was 100 years old, he became the father of*
Arphaxad. 11 After the birth of* Arphaxad,
Shem lived another 500 years and had
other sons and daughters.
12
When Arphaxad was 35 years old, he
became the father of Shelah. 13 After the
birth of Shelah, Arphaxad lived another
403 years and had other sons and
daughters.*
10:24 Greek version reads Arphaxad was the father of Cainan,
Cainan was the father of Shelah. Compare Luke 3:36. 11:2 Hebrew
Shinar. 11:9 Or Babylon. Babel sounds like a Hebrew term that
means “confusion.” 11:10 Or the ancestor of; also in 11:12, 14, 16,
18, 20, 22, 24. 11:11 Or the birth of this ancestor of; also in 11:13, 15,
17, 19, 21, 23, 25. 11:12-13 Greek version reads 12When Arphaxad
was 135 years old, he became the father of Cainan. 13After the birth
of Cainan, Arphaxad lived another 430 years and had other sons
and daughters, and then he died. When Cainan was 130 years old,
he became the father of Shelah. After the birth of Shelah, Cainan lived
another 330 years and had other sons and daughters, and then he
died. Compare Luke 3:35-36.
