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Genesis 11

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Part of The Nations and Babel📖 Genesis introduction

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1At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words. ✦ 2As the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there. ✦ 3They began saying to each other, “Let’s make bricks and harden them with fire.” (In this region bricks were used instead of stone, and tar was used for mortar.) ✦ 4Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.” ✦ 5But the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. ✦ 6“Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them! ✦ 7Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other.” ✦ 8In that way, the Lord scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city. ✦ 9That is why the city was called Babel, because that is where the Lord confused the people with different languages. In this way he scattered them all over the world. ✦ 10This is the account of Shem’s family. Two years after the great flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad. ✦ 11After the birth of Arphaxad, Shem lived another 500 years and had other sons and daughters. ✦ 12When Arphaxad was 35 years old, he became the father of Shelah. ✦ 13After the birth of Shelah, Arphaxad lived another 403 years and had other sons and daughters. 14When Shelah was 30 years old, he became the father of Eber. 15After the birth of Eber, Shelah lived another 403 years and had other sons and daughters. 16When Eber was 34 years old, he became the father of Peleg. ✦ 17After the birth of Peleg, Eber lived another 430 years and had other sons and daughters. 18When Peleg was 30 years old, he became the father of Reu. ✦ 19After the birth of Reu, Peleg lived another 209 years and had other sons and daughters. 20When Reu was 32 years old, he became the father of Serug. ✦ 21After the birth of Serug, Reu lived another 207 years and had other sons and daughters. 22When Serug was 30 years old, he became the father of Nahor. ✦ 23After the birth of Nahor, Serug lived another 200 years and had other sons and daughters. 24When Nahor was 29 years old, he became the father of Terah. ✦ 25After the birth of Terah, Nahor lived another 119 years and had other sons and daughters. 26After Terah was 70 years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. ✦ 27This is the account of Terah’s family. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot. ✦ 28But Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, the land of his birth, while his father, Terah, was still living. ✦ 29Meanwhile, Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah. (Milcah and her sister Iscah were daughters of Nahor’s brother Haran.) ✦ 30But Sarai was unable to become pregnant and had no children. ✦ 31One day Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai (his son Abram’s wife), and his grandson Lot (his son Haran’s child) and moved away from Ur of the Chaldeans. He was headed for the land of Canaan, but they stopped at Haran and settled there. ✦ 32Terah lived for 205 years and died while still in Haran.

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Where this chapter connects

Gen 10 ·15Gen 11 ·13Luke 3 ·6Luke 1 ·5Josh 24 ·4Dan 4 ·3Gen 24 ·31 Chr 1 ·3

Christ at the center

From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.

How Genesis 11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Resources, by level

Lay

  • ★ Start hereDocumentaryExpedition BibleJoel Kramer · Free · evangelical

    On-location biblical archaeology from a credentialed archaeologist (M.A., excavated in Israel) — the best free place to start on "did it really happen?"

  • ★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical

    A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

  • ★ Start hereVideoOverview: Genesis 1–11BibleProject · 9 min · Free

    The single best free starting point for Genesis 1–11 — clear, visual, and faithful to the literary design.

  • VideoSpoken GospelSpoken Gospel · Free · evangelical

    Short, gospel-centered videos and spoken-word poems showing how each passage points to Jesus — especially strong on the Old Testament.

  • ReferenceBook of Genesis — Visual GuideBibleProject · Free

    A free structured guide to the whole book — outline, themes, and links to each video.

  • DocumentaryIs Genesis History?Del Tackett · Free · evangelical

    A young-earth-creationist case for a literal Genesis, free on YouTube. (YEC is one view held by faithful Christians; others read Genesis differently — see the genre guide on how to read it.)

Pastoral

  • SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical

    Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Seminary

  • ★ Start hereCommentaryGenesis (Word Biblical Commentary)Gordon J. Wenham · Paid · evangelical

    For decades the gold-standard commentary on Genesis — technical but rich. (See the ranked list for alternatives like Hamilton, NICOT.)

  • BookThe Pentateuch as NarrativeJohn H. Sailhamer · ~560 pp · Library · evangelical

    A literary-theological reading that makes Genesis's design visible.

Commentaries & study tools

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