Hebrew Bible · Genesis 11:4–7

Babel: 'let us go down'

ReferenceGenesis 11:4–7

Writtenc. 900–500 BCE

SetAfter the Flood, Mesopotamia

Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven… And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower… Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.

Translation: KJV

Read it literally

A group descends to inspect a project and scrambles human communication so people cannot cooperate at scale. That is a policy decision by a council, not a lone act.

What scholars say

Usually read as a story about Babylon's ziggurats; the plural 'us' is read as God speaking to a heavenly council.

Council of gods From the sky

People and places hereBabylon

Quick answers about Genesis 11:4–7

Where is Genesis 11:4–7 found?

Genesis 11:4–7 (Hebrew Bible). Translation quoted: King James Version (1611; standard 1769 text), with Apocrypha.

When was Genesis 11:4–7 written?

c. 900–500 BCE.

What do scholars say about Genesis 11:4–7?