Genesis 11:30 Kommentar

The old distinction between the sons of God and the sons of men (professors and profane) survived the flood, and now appeared again, when men began to multiply: according to this distinction we have, in this chapter, I. The dispersion of the sons of men at Babel (Gen 11:1-9), where we have, 1. Their presumptuous provoking design, which was to build a city and a tower (Gen 11:1-4). 2. The righteous judgment of God upon them in disappointing their design, by confounding their language, and so scattering them (Gen 11:5-9). II. The pedigree of the sons of God down to Abraham (v. 10-26), with a general account of his family, and removal out of his native country (Gen 11:27, etc.).

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 11 This chapter gives an account of the inhabitants of the earth before the confusion of tongues at Babel, of their speech and language, which was one and the same, and of the place where they dwelt, Gen 11:1 and of their design to build a city and tower, to make them a name and keep them together, which they put in execution, Gen 11:3 of the notice the Lord took of this affair, and of the method he took to put a stop to their designs, by confounding their speech, and dispersing them abroad upon the face of the earth, Gen 11:5 then follows a genealogy of Shem's posterity down to Abraham, Gen 11:10 and a particular relation is given of Terah, the father of Abraham, and his family, and of his going forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, in order to go into the land of Canaan, and of his death at Haran by the way, Gen 11:27.

But Sarai was barren and had no children. By the counsel of Divine Providence, it happened that she was barren in her youth, so that in her old age, by bearing the son of promise, she might symbolize the holy Church, to whom it is said, "Rejoice, O barren woman who does not bear" (Galatians IV, 27), and so on. For it was fitting that she, who in the figure of unique faith and our hope was to bear one son of promise, should give birth to him not in Chaldea, nor in Mesopotamia, but in the land of promise.

All the inhabitants of the earth, speaking one language and dwelling in one place, Gen 11:1, Gen 11:2, purpose to build a city and a tower to prevent their dispersion, Gen 11:3, Gen 11:4. God confounds their language, and scatters them over the whole earth, Gen 11:5-9. Account of the lives and families of the postdiluvian patriarchs. Shem, Gen 11:10, Gen 11:11. Arphaxad, Gen 11:12, Gen 11:13. Salah, Gen 11:14, Gen 11:15. Eber, Gen 11:16, Gen 11:17. Peleg, Gen 11:18, Gen 11:19. Ragau or Reu, Gen 11:20, Gen 11:21. Serug, Gen 11:22, Gen 11:23. Nahor, Gen 11:24, Gen 11:25. Terah and his three sons, Haran, Nahor, and Abram, Gen 11:26, Gen 11:27. The death of Haran, Gen 11:28. Abram marries Sarai, and Nahor marries Milcah, Gen 11:29. Sarai is barren, Gen 11:30. Terah, Abram, Sarai, and Lot, leave Ur of the Chaldees, and go to Haran, Gen 11:31. Terah dies in Haran, aged two hundred and five years, Gen 11:32.

CONFUSION OF TONGUES. (Gen. 11:1-32) 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 (Gen 10:10), determined to please themselves by occupying the fairest region they came to.

"And the whole earth (i.e., the population of the earth, vid., Gen 2:19) was one lip and one kind of words:" unius labii eorundemque verborum. The unity of language of the whole human race follows from the unity of its descent from one human pair (vid., Gen 2:22). But as the origin and formation of the races of mankind are beyond the limits of empirical research, so no philology will ever be able to prove or deduce the original unity of human speech from the languages which have been historically preserved, however far comparative grammar may proceed in establishing the genealogical relation of the languages of different nations.