Yahweh would leave a spiritual bread-crumb trail back to himself. From the fateful decision at Babel onward, the story of the Old Testament is about Israel versus the disinherited nations, and Yahweh versus the corrupt, rebel gods of those nations.
The division of the nations and their allotment under other elohim is behind the scenes in all sorts of places in biblical history. The day of Pentecost is an event remembered by millions of Christians each year. Although Acts 2 is one of the more familiar passages in the New Testament outside the Gospels, what the passage describes as happening that day definitely sounds strange.
And suddenly a sound like a violent rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. And divided tongues like fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit gave them ability to speak out. Now there were Jews residing in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven.
And when this sound occurred, the crowd gathered and was in confusion, because each one was hearing them speaking in his own language. And how do we hear, each one of us, in our own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and those residing in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya toward Cyrene, and the Romans who were in town, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own languages the great deeds of God!
The whirlwind is familiar from divine encounters of Elijah 2 Kings , 11 and Job Job ; This motif is often accompanied by storm imagery, which can also include fire Isa.
Burning fire is a familiar element of divine-council throne-room scenes e. It is especially prominent in the appearances at Sinai Exod. The fire connects them to the throne room. The tongues are emblematic of their speaking ministry. That first glance would be mistaken. There are two key terms in the passage that connect it back to Babel in an unmistakable way. The second term, suncheo v. The multiplicity of nations represented at Pentecost is another link to Babel.
Each nation had a national language. More importantly, all those nations referred to in Acts —11 had been disinherited by Yahweh when they were divided. The other word of importance diamerizo ; v. This is a strong indication that Luke is drawing on the Septuagint, and specifically the Tower of Babel story in Genesis 11 and Deuteronomy —9, to describe the events on Pentecost. What happened there has some relationship to what happened at Babel—but what is it? As Jews gathered in Jerusalem for the celebration heard and embraced the news of Jesus and his resurrection, Jews who embraced Jesus as messiah would carry that message back to their home countries—the nations.
The nations would again be his. You can discuss this post and others in the Faithlife Today group. It all started with the Tower of Babel. Even when they attempted to defy God, they didn't stand a chance to go against his will.
Josephus, a historian, points to one of the main reasons that Nimrod ordered the construction of the Tower of Babel was to create a structure tall enough to withstand another worldwide flood, like the one seen in Genesis 6.
Nimrod appeared to have forgotten the purpose of the flood in the first place. Not to mention, the ziggurat structure had deep pagan roots before Nimrod ordered its construction. Therefore, like the people pre-Flood, the people of Shinar engage in the things of this world rather than the things of God. They settled in Shinar, in direct disobedience, and began to build this structure they hoped would last.
But salvation only comes through God. We need to find salvation through him. We also learn that if we try to directly disobey a command from God, that he will intervene. Just like Jonah tried to sail the opposite way from where God called him, God sent a huge fish to swallow him and transport him back to Nineveh Jonah And just like the people of Shinar refused to populate the whole earth and settle, God confused their languages, forcing them to move and fill the earth.
Hope Bolinger is an editor at Salem, a multi-published novelist, and a graduate of Taylor University's professional writing program. More than 1, of her works have been featured in various publications ranging from Writer's Digest to Keys for Kids. She has worked for various publishing companies, magazines, newspapers, and literary agencies and has edited the work of authors such as Jerry B. Jenkins and Michelle Medlock Adams.
Her modern-day Daniel trilogy is out with IlluminateYA. And her inspirational adult romance Picture Imperfect releases in November of Find out more about her at her website. The story of the tower of Babel describes the diversity of languages and people. The tower of Babel is only mentioned in Gen However, as the story is located in Babylon, the identification with Etemenanki is reasonable. The use of fired bricks and bitumen for mortar was unknown in ancient Israel and introduces local Babylonian building techniques and color into the story.
The literary and archaeological evidence suggests that the postexilic period is the most plausible setting for an author to write such a story. Ask a Scholar. Related Articles 3 Immigrants and Foreigners in the Bible The Hebrew Bible contains a variety of views about foreigners and their relationship to Israel and to God, reflecting the fact that Israel was in nearly constant contact with foreign peoples. Tower of Babel and Mesopotamian Influence?
HarperCollins Dictionary Abraham. Temple, The. Related Passages Gen Acts Gen The Tower of Babel 1Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. The first 11 chapters of the book of Genesis, up to the birth of Abraham. Characteristic of a deity a god or goddess.
A story that explains the origins or cause of an object, belief, or event. Gen 9Therefore it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of al A recurring element or symbolism in artwork, literature, and other forms of expression. An ancient Mesopotamian temple, taking the form of a stepped pyriamid. Gen Six Days of Creation and the Sabbath 1In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth,2the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face o Gen 31Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram's wife, and they went out together from Ur of the Cha Gen 2And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
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