ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Genesis 11.1-9

Book: Genesis · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV (ASV)

"1. And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech. 2. And it came to pass, as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. 3. And they said one to another, Come, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. 4. And they said, Come, let us build us a city, and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven, and let us make us a name; lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. 5. And Jehovah came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 6. And Jehovah said, Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is what they begin to do: and now nothing will be withholden from them, which they purpose to do. 7. Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. 8. So Jehovah scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off building the city. 9. Therefore was the name of it called Babel; because Jehovah did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did Jehovah scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth."

"10. These are the generations of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old, and begat Arpachshad two years after the flood: 11. and Shem lived after he begat Arpachshad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters." (Genesis 11:1-11, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. The whole earth was of one language and of one speech. 2. As they traveled east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they lived there. 3. They said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. 4. They said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top reaches to the sky, and let’s make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad on the surface of the whole earth.” 5. Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men built. 6. Yahweh said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is what they begin to do. Now nothing will be withheld from them, which they intend to do. 7. Come, let’s go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8. So Yahweh scattered them abroad from there on the surface of all the earth. They stopped building the city. 9. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there Yahweh confused the language of all the earth. From there, Yahweh scattered them abroad on the surface of all the earth."

"10. This is the history of the generations of Shem: Shem was one hundred years old when he became the father of Arpachshad two years after the flood. 11. Shem lived five hundred years after he became the father of Arpachshad, and became the father of more sons and daughters." (Genesis 11:1-11, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. language: Heb. lip. speech: Heb. words 2. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. from: or, eastward 3. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. they said: Heb. a man said to his neighbour burn: Heb. burn them to a burning 4. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. 5. And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 6. And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 7. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. 8. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. 9. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. Babel: that is, Confusion"

"10. These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood: 11. And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters." (Genesis 11:1-11, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. And the whole earth is of one pronunciation, and of the same words, 2. and it cometh to pass, in their journeying from the east, that they find a valley in the land of Shinar, and dwell there; 3. and they say each one to his neighbour, 'Give help, let us make bricks, and burn [them] thoroughly:' and the brick is to them for stone, and the bitumen hath been to them for mortar. 4. And they say, 'Give help, let us build for ourselves a city and tower, and its head in the heavens, and make for ourselves a name, lest we be scattered over the face of all the earth.' 5. And Jehovah cometh down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men have builded; 6. and Jehovah saith, 'Lo, the people [is] one, and one pronunciation [is] to them all, and this it hath dreamed of doing; and now, nothing is restrained from them of that which they have purposed to do. 7. Give help, let us go down, and mingle there their pronunciation, so that a man doth not understand the pronunciation of his companion.' 8. And Jehovah doth scatter them from thence over the face of all the earth, and they cease to build the city; 9. therefore hath [one] called its name Babel, for there hath Jehovah mingled the pronunciation of all the earth, and from thence hath Jehovah scattered them over the face of all the earth."

"10. These [are] births of Shem: Shem [is] a son of an hundred years, and begetteth Arphaxad two years after the deluge. 11. And Shem liveth after his begetting Arphaxad five hundred years, and begetteth sons and daughters." (Genesis 11:1-11, YLT)

Setting

  • Speaker: Moses (traditional authorship) / narrator
  • Audience: Israelite congregation post-Exodus
  • Location: various ANE settings (Eden → Mesopotamia → Canaan → Egypt)
  • Time period: events c. creation-c. 1800 BC; composed c. 1446-1406 BC

Theological reading

Key words

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.