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Genesis 11:1–4 — A City and a Tower | Bible Commentary · A Tithe of Time Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to a tithe of time, verse by verse.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: Today we begin reading from the ESV, Genesis 11, 1-4, A City and a Tower.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: And they said to one another, Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: And they had brick for stone and bitumen for mortar.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Then they said, Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's look closer.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: The passage begins by telling us that the whole earth had one language and the same words.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: Genesis 10 has already described nations, lands, and languages, so Genesis 11 is now stepping back to explain how that division came about.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: The people settle in the land of Shinar.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: That name should sound familiar because Genesis 10 connected Shinar with Babel and the beginning of Nimrod's kingdom.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: Then the passage slows down enough to describe their building method.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: They make bricks, burn them thoroughly, and use bitumen for mortar.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Genesis is showing organized human effort, cooperation, and technical skill.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: But the most important part is what they say about why they are building.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: Let us make a name for ourselves.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: Their goal is not simply to build somewhere to live, they want significance, reputation, and a lasting name for themselves.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: Then they give another reason, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: That directly connects this scene to what God had already told humanity to do.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: Instead of spreading out, these people settle together and build in a way meant to keep themselves from being dispersed.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: The tower is described as having its top in the heavens.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: The text does not tell us that they believed they could literally reach God or climb into heaven.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: What it clearly tells us is that they wanted to build something great, make a name for themselves, and avoid being scattered.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: That distinction matters because the passage gives us their motive in their own words.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: We do not need to add another motive that Genesis does not state.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the picture Genesis 11 1-4 leaves us with.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: This concludes Genesis 11 1 4.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: Next, we'll continue with Genesis 11 5 9.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: And remember, tithe your time.