So why another post on Babel? It is because there is so much going on in this passage, that it cannot fully be expressed in one sermon. My hope is to give you some things that will enhance your experience during the message and give you a better context as we expound the principles in the text and draw application from them.
In this post, I want to point out a few things about the literary context of this passage. The passage itself is just another example of the exquisite literary artistry of the book. Dutch biblical scholar J.P. Fokkelman does the best job of laying out the intricate design of the tower of Babel. The following information is my summary of what he writes in his Narrative Art in Genesis:
The first thing to note is the word plays. Certain word groups are placed together by their similar sound. For example, “let us make bricks” (nilbenah lebenim), “bake them thoroughly” (nisrefah lisrefah), “tar” and “mortar” (hemar and homer), are all meant to give a rhythmic feel to the passage. The purpose of this is so that the reader would not only be drawn to the content of the story, but to the words themselves.
Another repetition of sounds that shows the ironic nature of this episode is found in the use of “the place” (sham), is what the people use as a base for storming “heaven” (shamayim) in order to make a “name” (shem) for themselves. However, God reverses the situation because it is “from there” (misham) that he disperses the people and ruins their plans.
The reversal of the people’s intention is also highlighted by the constant use of the Hebrew consonant cluster lbn, in which all are referring to the human rebellion against God. When God does come in judgment, he confuses (nbl) their language. The reversal of the consonants is meant to show the reversal that God’s judgment brought in the plans of the people. Fokkelman also reflects this in his analysis of the chiastic structure that we have already talked much about in previous post.
A 11:1 (unity of language)
B 11:2 (unity of place)
C 11:3a (intensive communication)
D 11:3b (plans and inventions)
E 11:4a (building)
F 11:4b (city and tower)
X 11:5a (God’s intervention)
F’ 11:5b (city and tower)
E’ 11:5c (building)
D’ 11:6 (counter plans and inventions)
C’ 11:7 (communication disrupted)
B’ 11:8 (disruption of place)
A’ 11:9 (disruption of language)
The unity of language (A) and place (B) and intensive communication (C) induce the people to make their plans and inventions (D), especially to the building (E) of a city and a tower (F). God’s intervention is the turning point (X). He watches the buildings (F’) that the people make (E’) and carries out a counter plan (D’) in which communication becomes impossible (C’) and the unity of place (B’) and language (A’) is broken.
What is the point? After all of this literary analysis, we can now see the story from the perspective of the pervasive pattern of sin, judgment speech, grace, and judgment that runs all throughout the book of Genesis. The sin is the building of the ziggurat. The judgment speech is God talking and deciding to go down and confuse and scatter. The grace is seen in Genesis 10 by God grouping these people by their clans and languages. The grace is that humans are still able to communicate. The judgment is God actually going down and confusing the language and dispersing the people.
The literary emphasis of the text is that though humanities sin increase with time and thus finds its zenith at Babel, God does judge. However, what the text and the rest of Genesis shows us is that God does not abandon humanity. He stays involved with them by entering into covenant with people in order to carry out his plan of redemption.