# Genesis 11.9 **Book:** [Genesis](/codex/genesis/) · NASB95 ## Immediate context (±2 verses) **ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/)) > 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 11:7-11, ASV) **WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/)) > 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 11:7-11, WEB) **KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/)) > 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 11:7-11, KJV) **YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/)) > 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 11:7-11, YLT) ## Setting - **Speaker:** _TBD_ - **Audience:** _TBD_ - **Location:** _TBD_ - **Time period:** _TBD_ ## Theological reading _Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added._ ## Key words _Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word._ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ ## Quoted in **Arguments and defeaters:** - [Tower of Babel Objection Defeater](/codex/tower-of-babel-objection-defeater/), via [Genesis 11.1-9](/codex/genesis-11-1-9/) **Concepts:** - [Tower of Babel Objection](/codex/tower-of-babel-objection/), via [Genesis 11.1-9](/codex/genesis-11-1-9/) - [Ziggurats and the Tower of Babel](/codex/ziggurats-and-the-tower-of-babel/) **Lexicon:** - [H8034 - shem](/codex/h8034-shem/), via [Genesis 11.1-9](/codex/genesis-11-1-9/) ## Notes _Your annotations._ ## 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](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition. - **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English. - **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base. - **[YLT](/codex/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](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.