Genesis 11

1 Now the whole [entire, all-inclusive] world [earth, land] had [existed with, come into being with] one [unified, single] language [tongue, form of speech] and a common [shared, unified] form of speech [words with the same meaning, pronunciation]. word study 2 And as people journeyed [traveled, moved] eastward [from the east, towards the rising sun], they found [discovered, came upon] a plain [valley, low-lying area] in the land [earth, territory] of Shinar [Babylonia, a region in the east] and settled [dwelt, made their home] there [in that place, at that time]. word study 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make [form and shape] bricks [small, whitish blocks made of clay] and bake [burn with fire, thoroughly heat] them thoroughly [completely, with intense heat].” So they used brick [as a substitute for stone] instead of stone [a rock, a weight], and tar [a type of asphalt, bitumen] instead of mortar [a mixture of cement, sand, and lime]. word study 4 “Come,” they said, “let us build [construct, establish] for ourselves a city [a town, a settlement] with a tower [a lofty structure, a high stage] that reaches [stretches, extends] to the heavens [the sky, the celestial realm], that we may make [create, establish] a name [a reputation, a legacy] for ourselves and not be scattered [dispersed, dispersed abroad] over the face [the presence, the surface] of all [the entire, the whole] the earth [the land, the world].” word study 5 Then the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] came down [to a lower place, to observe] to see [to look after, to care for] the city [a place with a wall or a watchman, a settlement] and the tower [a tall structure] that the sons [descendants, children] of men [human beings, the people] were building [constructing, establishing]. word study 6 And the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] said, “If they have begun [to profane or start something new] to do this as one people [a united nation] speaking the same language [with one pronunciation], then nothing [no plan or purpose] they devise [plan or scheme] will be beyond them [impossible for them to accomplish, restrained from them]. word study 7 Come [let us proceed], let Us go down [to the earth, to intervene] and confuse [mix, mingle] their language [lips, speech, communication], so that they will not [be unable to] understand [hear, comprehend] one another’s [each other’s, neighbor’s] speech [language, words].” word study 8 So the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] scattered [to disperse, to shatter] them from there [that place, thence] over the face [presence, surface] of all [everything, the whole] the earth [land, territory], and they stopped [ceased, came to an end] building [constructing, establishing] the city [town, settlement]. word study 9 That is why it is called Babel [a city of confusion, Babylon], for there [in that place] the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] confused [to mix] the language [lips, speech] of the whole world [all the earth], and from that place [thence, from there] the LORD [the supreme God] scattered [to disperse] them over the face [presence] of all [every] the earth [land]. word study 10 This is the account [genealogy, family history] of Shem [Noah’s eldest son, the ancestor of many Semitic tribes]. Two years [a period of twenty-four months] after the flood [the great deluge, a massive inundation of water], when Shem was 100 years [a century, a long period of time] old, he became the father [to beget, to give birth to] of Arphaxad [a son of Shem, an ancestor of a region]. word study 11 And after [following, subsequent to] he had become the father [begat, gave birth to] of Arphaxad [a son of Shem], Shem [the son of Noah, ancestor of many Semitic tribes] lived [had life, was quickened] 500 [five hundred, a multitude of years] years and had [begat, gave birth to] other [additional, more] sons [male descendants, children] and daughters [female children, offspring]. word study 12 When Arphaxad [a son of Shem, ancestor of a region] was 35 years old [thirty-five, five and thirty], he became [lived to beget, had as a son] the father of Shelah [a man who lived after the flood]. word study 13 And after he had become the father [begat, to beget a child] of Shelah, Arphaxad [son of Shem, ancestor of a region] lived [to have life, to revive] 403 years [four hundred and three, a period of time] and had [to beget, to give birth] other sons [male descendants, children] and daughters [female children, women]. word study 14 When Shelah [a descendant of Cainan] was 30 [thirty] years old, he became [begat, fathered] the father of Eber [a great-grandson of Shem, the father of Peleg]. word study 15 And after [following, subsequent to] he had become the father [to beget, to generate] of Eber [a great-grandson of Shem], Shelah [a man who lived after the flood] lived [to have life, to exist] 403 years [a period of four hundred and three years] and had [to beget, to bring forth] other [additional, more] sons [male descendants, children] and daughters [female descendants, children]. word study 16 When Eber [a great-grandson of Shem] was 34 years old [four and thirty years], he became [lived to beget, gave birth to] the father of Peleg [meaning division, a son of Eber]. word study 17 And after [following, subsequent to] he had become the father of Peleg [division, a son of Eber], Eber [a great-grandson of Shem] lived [to have life, be quickened] 430 years [four hundred and thirty, a long period of time] and had [begat, gave birth to] other [additional, more] sons [male children, descendants] and daughters [female children, offspring]. word study 18 When Peleg [lived, was thirty years old] was 30 years old [thirty, a period of spiritual maturity], he became [begat, gave birth to] the father of Reu [a descendant of Shem, an ancestor of Abraham]. word study 19 And after [following, subsequent to] he had become the father [begat, gave birth to] of Reu [a descendant of Shem], Peleg [meaning division] lived [experienced life, was revived] 209 years [two hundred and nine years, a long period of time] and had [begat, fathered] other [additional, more] sons [male descendants, children] and daughters [female descendants, children]. word study 20 When Reu [a postdiluvian patriarch, thirty-two years old] was 32 years old [two and thirty years, a significant life stage], he became [lived to beget, had as a son] the father of Serug [a branch, his descendant, an ancestor of Abraham]. word study 21 And after [following, subsequent to] he had become the father [begat, gave birth to] of Serug, Reu [a descendant of Noah, an ancestor of Abraham] lived [experienced life, had existence] 207 years [a period of time, two hundred and seven solar years] and had [begat, fathered] other [additional, more] sons [male descendants, children] and daughters [female descendants, children]. word study 22 When Serug [a postdiluvian patriarch, the son of Reu] was 30 [thirty] years old, he became [lived, begat, fathered] the father [to beget, give birth to] of Nahor [a son of Terah, Abraham’s grandfather]. word study 23 And after [following, subsequent to] he had become the father [begat, generated] of Nahor [Abraham’s grandfather], Serug [meaning branch, a postdiluvian patriarch] lived [experienced life, was quickened] 200 [two hundred, a multitude of] years [periods of time, seasons] and had [begat, fathered] other [additional, more] sons [male descendants, children] and daughters [female offspring, girls]. word study 24 When Nahor [lived, was alive] was 29 years old, he became [begat, fathered] the father of Terah [his son, a child]. word study 25 And after he had become the father [begat, given birth to] of Terah, Nahor lived [experienced life, had vitality] 119 years [a hundred and nineteen years, a significant period of time] and had [begat, fathered] other sons [male descendants, children] and daughters [female children, girls]. word study 26 When Terah [the father of Abraham] was 70 [seventy years old, a span of life] years old, he became [lived to be, came to be] the father [to beget, give birth to] of Abram [the original name of Abraham], Nahor [Abraham’s brother], and Haran [a son of Terah]. word study 27 This is the account [family history, genealogy] of Terah [the father of Abraham]. Terah became the father [to beget, gave birth to] of Abram [the original name of Abraham], Nahor [Abraham’s brother], and Haran [Abraham’s other brother]. And Haran became the father [to beget, gave birth to] of Lot [Abraham’s nephew, meaning covering]. word study 28 During his father [in the presence of, before] Terah’s lifetime, Haran [Abraham’s brother, the son of Terah] died [passed away, came to an end] in his native land [birthplace, homeland], in Ur [a city in ancient Babylonia] of the Chaldeans [inhabitants of Chaldea, a region in Mesopotamia]. word study 29 And Abram [the father of a multitude, Abraham] and Nahor [a wise or enlightened man] took wives [women, brides] for themselves. Abram’s wife [helpmeet, companion] was named Sarai [my princess, lady], and Nahor’s wife [mate, partner] was named Milcah [queen, ruler]; she was the daughter [child, offspring] of Haran [a mountaineer, one who lives in the mountains], who was the father [progenitor, ancestor] of both Milcah [the queen] and Iscah [one who beholds or looks forth]. word study 30 But Sarai [was unable to conceive, sterile] was barren [childless, without offspring]; she had [possessed, gave birth to] no [not a single] children. word study 31 And Terah [the father of Abram] took his son Abram, his grandson Lot [his son’s son] son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai [a princess] the wife of Abram, and they set out [to go, to journey] from Ur [a city in Chaldea] of the Chaldeans [inhabitants of Chaldea, known for wisdom] for the land [a country, a territory] of Canaan [the promised land, a region in Mesopotamia]. But when they arrived [came, entered] in Haran [a city in Mesopotamia], they settled [dwelt, remained] there [in that place, at that time]. word study 32 Terah [the father of Abraham] lived 205 years [two hundred and five years], and he died [passed away, came to his end] in Haran [a city]. word study