Of the many biblical accounts that fascinate me, I find the Tower of Babel to be one of the more mysterious and intriguing.
Featured in only a few short verses within the book of Genesis (Genesis 11:1-9), the Bible speaks of the whole world as having one language. In this same language mankind unites to build a tower to reach the heavens. The objective; make a name for themselves to avoid being scattered over the face of the whole earth. When the Lord descends to view the city and the tower, He is not pleased with the actions the people have taken. He then confuses their language, so the people can no longer understand one another, and scatters them across the globe.
The Tower of Babel is one of the first accounts after the flood, and it captivates me for several reasons.
- The ark sustained Noah and his family, who the Bible describes as being the only humans spared from the flood. It makes sense to me that this small group of people would speak the same language, as would their children for many years afterward.
- A great deal of time must have passed since the flood, as the biblical description indicates there were a great many people involved in building the tower.
- I find it interesting how so many modern-day languages seem to share the same foundation for similar words, albeit slightly different spellings and pronunciations. Almost as if the words we use today spawned from a single source, each region branching off until they had their own spin on speech. You don’t have to look far across the United States to imagine languages evolved in that way. Despite being one country, if you visit New England and ask for a soda, they might look at you funny, and when you travel to the south and ask for pop, they might assume you’re looking for someone’s father, (or fireworks if it’s close to Independence Day).
Bound by the history we know of, it’s hard not to imagine something incredible happened to fill these historic gaps. While conducting research for Universal Translator, I must admit I was surprised by some of what I learned, and how closely the biblical account tied into ancient Mesopotamian legends. These findings and other mysteries are featured throughout my writings and explore the possibilities of how things could have played out.
If you find yourself just as enthralled as I am about these ancient mysteries and lore of the past, I encourage you to follow my blog.
Better yet, pick up a copy of Universal Translator, for yourself. I’d love to hear from you.