Tower of Babel and Etemenanki
The tower of Genesis 11 and the real stepped ziggurat of Babylon, Etemenanki, that most scholars think inspired it.
- Biblical source
- Genesis 11:1–9
- Etemenanki meaning
- 'Temple of the foundation of heaven and earth'
- Location
- Babylon, beside the Esagila temple, Iraq
- Rebuilt
- By Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar II after 689 BCE
- Size
- Base about 91 m square; height perhaps 60–90 m
- Fate
- Alexander ordered it cleared for rebuilding (323 BCE); only the foundation survives
What are Tower of Babel and Etemenanki known for?
In Genesis 11, people in the land of Shinar build a city and a tower 'whose top may reach unto heaven'. God confuses their language and scatters them, and the city is called Babel. Later Jewish tradition, including Josephus, made Nimrod the builder who wanted a tower too high for any flood to reach.
Many scholars connect the story with Etemenanki, the great ziggurat of Marduk in Babylon, whose Sumerian name means 'temple of the foundation of heaven and earth'. It stood beside the Esagila temple. After the Assyrian king Sennacherib sacked Babylon in 689 BCE, it was rebuilt over decades and finished by Nebuchadnezzar II. A cuneiform tablet gives its base as about 91 meters square; its real height is debated.
Alexander the Great ordered it cleared for rebuilding, but he died in 323 BCE and it was never restored. Today only the outline of its foundation remains in the ruins of Babylon.
Legend made Nimrod the tower's builder; Etemenanki is the real ziggurat usually linked with it.
Mentioned on these pages
- Rabbit holeMarduk
- Rabbit holeNimrod
- PersonNebuchadnezzar II
- PlaceBabylon
- PlaceEsagila
Sources
- Wikipedia, 'Etemenanki'Reference
- Genesis 11 (KJV), Bible GatewayPrimary text
- Livius, 'Babylon, Esagila'Reference
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