The Tower of Babel

The story of the Tower of Babel is recorded in Genesis chapter 11. According to Josephus’s Antiquities of the Jews, Book 1, Chapter 4, Verse 113, it was Nimrod who incited the people to build the tower. Nimrod was the great-grandson of Noah and the grandson of Ham, described in Genesis as “the first on earth to be a mighty warrior.” He was a brave hunter, a fierce warrior, and an ambitious man who wanted to challenge heaven itself by building a tower for his own fame. This tower was a stepped temple-tower, built with bricks and asphalt mortar. The massive tower had stairs that ascended continuously, and its top usually featured astrological symbols. However, Nimrod built this tower not to worship the stars but to demonstrate his own power and greatness. The pride, audacity, and arrogance of humanity are hard to fathom. Fueled by pride, the human heart continuously builds towers for itself, revealing a complete lack of reverence for God.

The construction of the Tower of Babel greatly angered God. He said, “If I allow them to continue building a tower for themselves, they will become even more lawless and rebellious in the future.” So God gave humanity different languages, causing them to be unable to understand each other. From that time on, humanity was scattered across the earth. The place where the tower was built was later called “Babylon,” a name derived from the word for “confusing the language.” The Hebrews called “confusion” Babel.

When Adam’s fall spread across the entire earth and affected every aspect of life, human hearts today remain proud, believing they are all-powerful and do not need God. God is both just and merciful. When God’s people are rebellious, should God show justice or mercy? This conflict is a constant theme throughout the Old Testament, where heavenly justice and love meet. This conflict could only be resolved at the cross.

(Compiled and edited based on the Chinese Union Version and a comprehensive biblical interpretation.)