Bible skeptics or critics often point to alleged inconsistencies in the biblical accounts of history to try to discredit the Bible’s truthfulness and authority. An example of such an alleged inconsistency is the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11. Here is the problem: Genesis 11:1 says “Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.” However, the earlier passage Genesis 10:5 states, “From these the coastland peoples spread in their lands, each with his own language, by their clans in their nations.” (Emphasis added.) How did the whole earth have one language after the different peoples scattered out with their own languages?
The evangelical answer has to be that Genesis 11 recounts the story of Babel as an event that happens during Genesis 10. However, evangelicals have not always properly argued for this position. Often they do so by mere assertion. But this begs the question: if Genesis 11 recounts an event that occurs in Genesis 10, why wasn’t it recorded there? How does Genesis 11 fit the plot of Genesis? The source critical response could be that Genesis 10 and Genesis 11 were written by different religious traditions in Israel’s history–so there is no plot. Genesis 10 has been identified by some source critics as coming from the “priestly” source and Genesis 11:1–9 from the “Yahwist” source. Genesis 11 is a mythical aetiology explaining why people speak different languages. While this explanation is simple, it undermines the Mosaic authorship and divine inspiration of Genesis. It is therefore a threat to biblical inspiration and authority.
The best evangelical response would be to show that Genesis 11 is at just the right part of the story of Genesis to advance the plot of primeval history, so that the appropriately stylized yet entirely accurate account of history written in Genesis will be shown to be well-written and coherent. This is a feasible task.
The book of Genesis, after recounting creation, presents the fall and gives God’s promise of redemption from it: the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15). The “generations” outline of Genesis (found by divisions at Genesis 2:4, 5:1, 6:9; 10:1, 11:10, 11:27, 25:12, 25:19, 36:1, and 37:2 with the repeated formula, “These are the generations of x”) narrows the focus of that seed promise ultimately to the generations of Jacob, that is, Israel. In each of these cycles, the book shows the failure of that generation to produce the seed of the woman and redeem humanity from the curse of sin. The tower of Babel culminates one of these sections: the generations of Noah.
The “generations of Adam” concludes by showing just how bad Adam’s seed proved: Genesis 6:1–8 emphasizes the pervasive wickedness of mankind on the earth. With that failure, Noah is introduced. Noah is saved on the ark, having found favor in God’s eyes, but then is found in sin by Ham. The family discord shows a failure to redeem humanity from the curse (Gen 9:20–28).
Genesis 10:1 introduces the generations of the sons of Noah. As you read the genealogy, things seem to be going well. One could almost wonder while reading Genesis 10 if the flood had finally removed sin from the earth. The nations seem to be fruitful and multiplying, spreading out over the earth, obeying God’s command and fulfilling the purpose of creation. Nimrod is described as a “great hunter before Yahweh” (Gen 10:9), which seems like a pretty positive characterization. How will this generation fail?
The Tower of Babel story explains how the generations of the sons of Noah failed to reverse the curse. Like the past two cycles, the account of the failure is put at the end. Whereas in the genealogy of chapter 10 we saw the people spreading out on the earth, we read in chapter 11 that, perhaps even in the third generation after Noah, they rebelled. Based on Genesis 10:10, some conclude Nimrod participated in or ordered the building of the tower. Nimrod was Ham’s grandson and thus Noah’s great-grandson. It is conceivable all of humanity was still one group at this time. But in this same generation is recounted the scattering of the sons of Javan “each with his own language” in verse 5. The events of Babel must fit in this time period.
The tower of Babel was therefore likely built during the lifetime of the sons of Javan prior to their dispersion. That is as far as the genealogy takes us at this time, so it is a natural conclusion. But at this time the people rebel against God. Instead of spreading over the earth as God intended, instead of extending his kingdom as his regents as man was created for, they centralize and attempt to make their own name (Gen 11:4) in direct and express rebellion against God’s commands. It is this that disqualifies that generation from delivering humanity from the curse, as is ultimately seen in several of the generation cycles in Genesis. This is how the story fits the storyline of Genesis.
What’s more encouraging though is this: God is not thwarted by the people at Babel. They would not obey God in dispersing over the earth, so God dispersed them himself by confusing their languages. God is powerful enough to ensure that his commands are obeyed and thus to fulfill his promise of the coming seed as well.
What we learn then is that the story of the Tower of Babel is put at just the right point in the narrative of Genesis to advance the storyline of the book. It shows the sin and failure of man after the flood and humanity’s need for the coming savior Jesus Christ, the ultimate seed of the woman.
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