But Is, the events of Genesis 11 (save for excerpts of the geneaology that lead to Abram) all occur before the events of Genesis 10. Genesis 10 deals with Noah's descendants (by way of his sons) and how they dispersed after the Tower of Babel incident. Then Genesis 11 shows us what led to that dispersal in the first place. The chronology isn't linear and that's the way it happens sometimes in ancient Hebrew writings.
Think about this passage in Genesis 7. Do you notice anything strange?
[SUP]11 [/SUP]In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. [SUP]12 [/SUP]The rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights. [SUP]13 [/SUP]On the very same day Noah with his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons entered the ark, [SUP]14 [/SUP]they and every wild animal of every kind, and all domestic animals of every kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every bird of every kind—every bird, every winged creature. [SUP]15 [/SUP]They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. [SUP]16 [/SUP]And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in.[SUP] 17 [/SUP]The flood continued forty days on the earth; and the waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.
Noah and his family and all of the animals are already on the Ark and the Flood has been raging for 40 day and 40 nights. And yet, in the midst of all that, the narrator returns to Noah and the others all getting onto the Ark (which we've already been told about earlier this chapter) before continuing with the Flood account. Does this mean they entered the Ark two times? One time before the Flood, and another time during the Flood? No, of course not. But that's just another demonstration of the uniqueness of ancient Hebrew writings. They're not always linear.