-
†. 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)
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. Gen 28:12 and
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.
According to the January 2015 issue of National Geographic Magazine,
human artifacts as old as 100,000 years have 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
remained 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 of Gen 11:12-25 was 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 11:6 . . 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)
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. Gen 28:12 and
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.
According to the January 2015 issue of National Geographic Magazine,
human artifacts as old as 100,000 years have 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
remained 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 of Gen 11:12-25 was 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.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=