The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 11:7
Babel and Zion. 1. Confusion, division, dispersion. 2. Gathering the dispersed, uniting the divided, restoring order to the confused.— W . §6. THE GENERATIONS OF SHEM ( Genesis 11:10-26 ). read more
Genesis-11:1-8,-genesis-12:1-9
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 11:8
So (literally, and) the Lord scattered them abroad (as the result of the confusion of their speech) upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. I .e. as a united community, which does not preclude the idea of the Babylonians subsequently finishing the structure. read more
Albert Barnes
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Genesis 11:1-9
- The Confusion of Tongues1. נסע nāsa‛ “pluck out, break up, journey.” מקדם mı̂qedem “eastward, or on the east side” as in Genesis 2:14; Genesis 13:11; Isaiah 9:11 (12).6. החלם hachı̂lām “their beginning”, for החלם hăchı̂lām, the regular form of this infinitive with a suffix. יזמוּ yāzmû as if from יזם yāzam = זמם zāmam.7. נבלה nābelâh usually said to be for נבלה nābolâh from בלל bālal; but evidently designed by the punctuator to be the third singular feminine perfect of נבל nābal... read more
Joseph Benson
Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Genesis 11:1-2
Genesis 11:1-2 . The whole earth was of one language This even heathen writers acknowledge; and that language was, probably, the Hebrew. They journeyed from the east of Shinar, where Noah had settled when he left the ark. They were, therefore, now travelling westward. read more
Joseph Benson
Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Genesis 11:3-4
Genesis 11:3-4 . Let us make brick, let us build a city The country, being a plain, yielded neither stone nor mortar; yet this did not discourage them; but they made brick to serve instead of stone, and slime instead of mortar; a kind of clay or pitch called bitumen, which, as Pliny testifies, is liquid and glutinous, and fit to be used in brick buildings, as Strabo, Dion, and others observe. And that Babylon was built with this and with brick, as is here said, we have the joint testimony... read more
Joseph Benson
Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Genesis 11:5
Genesis 11:5. And the Lord came down to see the city This is an expression after the manner of men; he knew it as clearly as men know that which they come upon the place to view. Genesis 11:6-9 . And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, &c. And if they continue one, much of the earth will be left uninhabited. Let us confound their language This was not spoken to the angels, as if God needed either their advice or their assistance; but God speaks it to himself, or the Father... read more
Donald C. Fleming
Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Genesis 11:1-9
Rebellion against God at Babel (11:1-9)Babel was one of the cities founded by Nimrod in the land of Shinar, ancient Babylonia (see 10:8-12). The people of this region, proud of the society they had established, displayed the same anti-God spirit as had brought about God’s judgment through the flood. They joined together to build for themselves a new city that would make them famous and give them complete security. They decided to crown their city with what they considered to be a skyscraper, as... read more
E.W. Bullinger
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
E.W. Bullinger
E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Genesis 11:2
from the east = eastward. Shinar = Babylonia. read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 11:7
Go to . An ironical contrast to the "Go to" of the builders (Lange). Let us (cf. Genesis 1:26 ) go down, and there confound their language ( vide infra, Genesis 11:9 ), that they may not understand (literally, hear ; so Genesis 42:23 ; Isaiah 36:11 ; 1 Corinthians 14:2 ) one another's speech. Not referring to individuals ( singuli homines ), since then society were impossible, but to families or nations ( singulae cognationes ) , which each had its own... read more