Gen 11:6-27
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†. Gen 11:6 . . and Yhvh said: If, as one people with one language for
all, this is how they have begun to act, then nothing that they may
propose to do will be out of their reach.
I don't think Yhvh objected to the people's unity per se. I mean, after all; it's
Christ's wish that his church be unified (John 17:1-26). I think what He
objected to was the direction that humanity's unity was taking; and it was
no doubt similar to the direction depicted below.
"Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the
earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against Yhvh and
against His anointed. Let us break their chains-- they say --and throw off
their fetters." (Ps 2:1-3)
An organized world-wide rebellion against God is eventually going to
happen, but not just yet. (2Thes 2:1-12)
To whom was Yhvh speaking when He spoke those words? Well; there's
been a lot of theory and speculation in that regard. Apparently Yhvh has
associates and companions; which we might label courtiers and/or
bureaucrats. They're the competent behind-the scenes "gophers" that keep
government business running smoothly. I think that God rather enjoys
delegating a great deal of His business to trusted underlings rather than
doing it all Himself.
†. Gen 11:7 . . Let us, then, go down and confound their speech
there, so that they shall not understand one another's speech.
"let us" is the language of Gen 1:26 when God created man. Exactly who
accompanied Yhvh on this mission isn't stated; but it's difficult to imagine
Him traveling solo without an entourage of some sort. (cf. Matt 25:31)
†. Gen 11:8 . .Thus the Lord scattered them from there over the face
of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city.
The language barrier was only a temporary delay because later on the city of
Babylon was eventually built. But at this point in time, the world had no
choice. It was just impossible to continue. Incidentally; the entire world has
never again been unified in a singular endeavor like it was on that tower.
†. Gen 11:9 . .That is why it was called Babel, because there the Lord
confounded the speech of the whole earth; and from there the Lord
scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
In time, men did branch out and colonize the whole planet. But barely
anything is said in the Bible about the world in the years between Babel and
Abraham. On the pages of scripture, it seems but a brief interlude, but in
reality, it's truly a millenniums-wide quantum leap when taking into
consideration the ice ages and regions that today are now deserts (Sahara;
et al) which were once pluvial with abundant water resources and arable soil
able to support developing civilizations.
Relative to the grand scale of time; Abraham was practically a modern man
though he lived something like 4,000 years ago. But 4,000 years is merely a
tick-tock on the earth's geological clock that's been ticking for something like
4.5 billion years. If we let 4.5 billion years represent 24 hours, then 4,000
years is about equal to 8/100th second.
FYI: The 5,300 year old ice man, written up in the November 2011 edition of
National Geographic Magazine, lived in the Italian portion of the Öztal Alps a
mere 1/10th second ago relative to a 24-hour geological clock.
According to the January 2015 issue of National Geographic Magazine,
human artifacts as old as 100,000 years has been discovered in a cave
located on the southern tip of Africa-- geologically, that many years is barely
2 seconds.
†. Gen 11:10a . .This is the line of Shem.
Well; that's pretty much about it for the other brothers. From now on, the
Bible will direct its focus mainly upon Shem's line. But not all. Just specific
ones that are connected to Abraham's covenant; and ultimately to Messiah.
Noah was a pretty simple kind of guy. He probably tore apart the ark for its
wood and built a home, and barns, and whittled fence posts and split rails to
corral his livestock. The rest of the ark's lumber he could distribute to his
sons and grandchildren for their own ranches after setting aside enough
firewood for many years to come. He more than likely stayed pretty close to
where the ark went aground and stayed behind when the others migrated
out west. After all, if Noah could raise food right where he was, plus his
grapes, then why move away? He'd seen it all anyway and lived the
adventure of a lifetime.
†. Gen 11:10b . . Shem was 100 years old when he begot
Arpachshad, two years after the Flood.
That would make Shem about 97 years old when the flood began.
†. Gen 11:11 . . After the birth of Arpachshad, Shem lived 500 years
and begot sons and daughters.
Each of the patriarchs probably had at least as many daughters as well as
sons even though girls' names are rarely listed in the record.
†. Gen 11:12-25 . .When Arpachshad had lived 35 years, he begot
Shelah. After the birth of Shelah, Arpachshad lived 403 years and
begot sons and daughters . .When Nahor had lived 29 years, he
begot Terah. After the birth of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and
begot sons and daughters.
Included in the genealogy is a man named Eber. His name carries on to this
day in a people well known as Hebrews; for the Old Testament word for
Hebrew is 'Ibriy (ib-ree'); which means an Eberite; viz: a descendant of
Eber.
Prior, it was common for people to live nine hundred years. But at this point
in the Bible, the human life span is beginning to shrink rapidly. Noah lived
950 years (about the same as his antediluvian forebears), but Shem lived
only 600. It became even worse by the time of Nahor; who only lived to
148. Today, even the healthiest among us begins to decline as early as our
mid thirties; with an average life expectancy of not even 80.This problem
has baffled scientists for years and no one seems to know yet just why our
body cells age and deteriorate so fast. Whoever solves that problem will get
very rich from it, that's for sure.
†. Gen 11:26-27 . .When Terah had lived 70 years, he begot Abram,
Nahor, and Haran. Now this is the line of Terah: Terah begot Abram,
Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begot Lot.
By the time of Terah, Shem's line had slipped away and no longer
worshipped Yhvh in spite of their solid spiritual heritage.
"Then Joshua said to all the people: Thus said the Lord, the God of Israel;
"In olden times, your forefathers-- Terah, father of Abraham and father of
Nahor --lived beyond the Euphrates and worshiped other gods."
(Josh 24:2-3)
Because their dad worshipped other gods, the two brothers, Abram and
Nahor, grew up as idolaters until Noah's god stepped in and broke the chain,
appeared to Abram, and told him to leave his relatives, and get out of Ur.
One has to wonder what happened with Terah. His grandfathers Shem and
Noah actually came off the ark and saw the Flood for themselves but that
was waaaaay back when. Time has a way of turning history into legend, and
anon, into myths and folklore.
NOTE: One of the problems associated with the credibility of the Flood is
finding evidence for it; and a significant portion of that problem is related to
the Flood's duration. The actual downpour lasted a mere forty days; and the
standing water was gone within a year's time; which just isn't enough time.
It takes water millennia to erode permanent features in the earth's
lithosphere. And on top of that, once the rain stopped, the Flood's waters
were essentially static like a lake or a swimming pool. In order to cause
erosion of any significance, water has to move; as a river or a stream, or as
waves along the sea shore; not stand still.
When I was a kid, the presence of sea shells and fossils way up on the sides
and tops of mountains was thought to be evidence of the Flood, but now we
know that they got up there by tectonic forces rather than by the Flood. You
know it hasn't been all that long that people began putting some faith in
continental drift. It's been barely a century since German meteorologist
Alfred Wegner proposed that Earth's dry land had once been a single
continent then gradually began separating. He was soundly mocked and
dismissed by his contemporary scientific community. Not anymore they
don't. Now pretty near all the geological scientists are in agreement that the
earth's prominent mountain ranges were produced by the grinding, colliding,
buckling, and subduction of massive sections of the earth's crust.
=============================
-
†. Gen 11:6 . . and Yhvh said: If, as one people with one language for
all, this is how they have begun to act, then nothing that they may
propose to do will be out of their reach.
I don't think Yhvh objected to the people's unity per se. I mean, after all; it's
Christ's wish that his church be unified (John 17:1-26). I think what He
objected to was the direction that humanity's unity was taking; and it was
no doubt similar to the direction depicted below.
"Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the
earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against Yhvh and
against His anointed. Let us break their chains-- they say --and throw off
their fetters." (Ps 2:1-3)
An organized world-wide rebellion against God is eventually going to
happen, but not just yet. (2Thes 2:1-12)
To whom was Yhvh speaking when He spoke those words? Well; there's
been a lot of theory and speculation in that regard. Apparently Yhvh has
associates and companions; which we might label courtiers and/or
bureaucrats. They're the competent behind-the scenes "gophers" that keep
government business running smoothly. I think that God rather enjoys
delegating a great deal of His business to trusted underlings rather than
doing it all Himself.
†. Gen 11:7 . . Let us, then, go down and confound their speech
there, so that they shall not understand one another's speech.
"let us" is the language of Gen 1:26 when God created man. Exactly who
accompanied Yhvh on this mission isn't stated; but it's difficult to imagine
Him traveling solo without an entourage of some sort. (cf. Matt 25:31)
†. Gen 11:8 . .Thus the Lord scattered them from there over the face
of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city.
The language barrier was only a temporary delay because later on the city of
Babylon was eventually built. But at this point in time, the world had no
choice. It was just impossible to continue. Incidentally; the entire world has
never again been unified in a singular endeavor like it was on that tower.
†. Gen 11:9 . .That is why it was called Babel, because there the Lord
confounded the speech of the whole earth; and from there the Lord
scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
In time, men did branch out and colonize the whole planet. But barely
anything is said in the Bible about the world in the years between Babel and
Abraham. On the pages of scripture, it seems but a brief interlude, but in
reality, it's truly a millenniums-wide quantum leap when taking into
consideration the ice ages and regions that today are now deserts (Sahara;
et al) which were once pluvial with abundant water resources and arable soil
able to support developing civilizations.
Relative to the grand scale of time; Abraham was practically a modern man
though he lived something like 4,000 years ago. But 4,000 years is merely a
tick-tock on the earth's geological clock that's been ticking for something like
4.5 billion years. If we let 4.5 billion years represent 24 hours, then 4,000
years is about equal to 8/100th second.
FYI: The 5,300 year old ice man, written up in the November 2011 edition of
National Geographic Magazine, lived in the Italian portion of the Öztal Alps a
mere 1/10th second ago relative to a 24-hour geological clock.
According to the January 2015 issue of National Geographic Magazine,
human artifacts as old as 100,000 years has been discovered in a cave
located on the southern tip of Africa-- geologically, that many years is barely
2 seconds.
†. Gen 11:10a . .This is the line of Shem.
Well; that's pretty much about it for the other brothers. From now on, the
Bible will direct its focus mainly upon Shem's line. But not all. Just specific
ones that are connected to Abraham's covenant; and ultimately to Messiah.
Noah was a pretty simple kind of guy. He probably tore apart the ark for its
wood and built a home, and barns, and whittled fence posts and split rails to
corral his livestock. The rest of the ark's lumber he could distribute to his
sons and grandchildren for their own ranches after setting aside enough
firewood for many years to come. He more than likely stayed pretty close to
where the ark went aground and stayed behind when the others migrated
out west. After all, if Noah could raise food right where he was, plus his
grapes, then why move away? He'd seen it all anyway and lived the
adventure of a lifetime.
†. Gen 11:10b . . Shem was 100 years old when he begot
Arpachshad, two years after the Flood.
That would make Shem about 97 years old when the flood began.
†. Gen 11:11 . . After the birth of Arpachshad, Shem lived 500 years
and begot sons and daughters.
Each of the patriarchs probably had at least as many daughters as well as
sons even though girls' names are rarely listed in the record.
†. Gen 11:12-25 . .When Arpachshad had lived 35 years, he begot
Shelah. After the birth of Shelah, Arpachshad lived 403 years and
begot sons and daughters . .When Nahor had lived 29 years, he
begot Terah. After the birth of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and
begot sons and daughters.
Included in the genealogy is a man named Eber. His name carries on to this
day in a people well known as Hebrews; for the Old Testament word for
Hebrew is 'Ibriy (ib-ree'); which means an Eberite; viz: a descendant of
Eber.
Prior, it was common for people to live nine hundred years. But at this point
in the Bible, the human life span is beginning to shrink rapidly. Noah lived
950 years (about the same as his antediluvian forebears), but Shem lived
only 600. It became even worse by the time of Nahor; who only lived to
148. Today, even the healthiest among us begins to decline as early as our
mid thirties; with an average life expectancy of not even 80.This problem
has baffled scientists for years and no one seems to know yet just why our
body cells age and deteriorate so fast. Whoever solves that problem will get
very rich from it, that's for sure.
†. Gen 11:26-27 . .When Terah had lived 70 years, he begot Abram,
Nahor, and Haran. Now this is the line of Terah: Terah begot Abram,
Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begot Lot.
By the time of Terah, Shem's line had slipped away and no longer
worshipped Yhvh in spite of their solid spiritual heritage.
"Then Joshua said to all the people: Thus said the Lord, the God of Israel;
"In olden times, your forefathers-- Terah, father of Abraham and father of
Nahor --lived beyond the Euphrates and worshiped other gods."
(Josh 24:2-3)
Because their dad worshipped other gods, the two brothers, Abram and
Nahor, grew up as idolaters until Noah's god stepped in and broke the chain,
appeared to Abram, and told him to leave his relatives, and get out of Ur.
One has to wonder what happened with Terah. His grandfathers Shem and
Noah actually came off the ark and saw the Flood for themselves but that
was waaaaay back when. Time has a way of turning history into legend, and
anon, into myths and folklore.
NOTE: One of the problems associated with the credibility of the Flood is
finding evidence for it; and a significant portion of that problem is related to
the Flood's duration. The actual downpour lasted a mere forty days; and the
standing water was gone within a year's time; which just isn't enough time.
It takes water millennia to erode permanent features in the earth's
lithosphere. And on top of that, once the rain stopped, the Flood's waters
were essentially static like a lake or a swimming pool. In order to cause
erosion of any significance, water has to move; as a river or a stream, or as
waves along the sea shore; not stand still.
When I was a kid, the presence of sea shells and fossils way up on the sides
and tops of mountains was thought to be evidence of the Flood, but now we
know that they got up there by tectonic forces rather than by the Flood. You
know it hasn't been all that long that people began putting some faith in
continental drift. It's been barely a century since German meteorologist
Alfred Wegner proposed that Earth's dry land had once been a single
continent then gradually began separating. He was soundly mocked and
dismissed by his contemporary scientific community. Not anymore they
don't. Now pretty near all the geological scientists are in agreement that the
earth's prominent mountain ranges were produced by the grinding, colliding,
buckling, and subduction of massive sections of the earth's crust.
=============================
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