GENESIS
CHAPTER
11
1. Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.
(Genesis chapter 11 verse 1)
On reflecting during our times, meaning 2013, the world is also becoming, one in the sense of having almost one currency and sharing the same worldly principles and values. By means of means such as the internet, boundaries are becoming non existent and a new language as in that used on cell phones, chat rooms has already formed and is used by many users. In both a positive and negative way we are experiencing the use and even abuse of this form of modern communication. Dates are being made with partners who relate only online with negative consequences such as murder. Many people prefer to communicate virtually instead of actually and eventually we are becoming more individualistic which is the trap of the Devil.
2. And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
(Genesis chapter 11 verse 2)
In light of God's original command to Noah and his descendants that was to flourish and dominate the earth, we now for the second time witness global disobedience on a massive level. Instead of obeying God this mass population, decided to settle down in the mentioned location.
3. And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth."
(Genesis chapter 11 verses 3 to 4)
On analyzing these two verses they can be summed up into one adjective. This is disobedience. The people were aware that God had ordered them to spread throughout the whole earth and populate it, however as a people they decided to settle down in one location. This went directly against the will of God. Moreover the other word that can also express the behaviour of the people is arrogance. The people that were know armed in unity and in intelligence decided to become on the same level as God. The tower that they planned to build had the purpose of reaching the heavens, thus making them on the same level as God.
From these verses we learn that although we may have all the resources at hand in order to accomplish our goals, this may not always be according to God's will. In order to be sure if our plans match with God's will we are to use the tools of discernment in a Spirit of prayer and God will show us if this course of action is according to the Holy Will of God or not. In order to learn more about discerning the will of God please enter 'Discerning the will of God the Ignatian way' in your browser and browse through the many articles on how to discern the will of God as part of our decision making process.
5. The LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. 6 And the LORD said, " Look they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.
(Genesis chapter 11 verses 5 to 6)
God who is all knowledge of past present and future proclaimed that once humans unite and become motivated they would be an non stoppable force, because through communication they could be creative in both positive and even in negative acts. Therefore they became a serious threat to God's plan for our salvation. Moreover when we unite in projects that have not God as their center or foundation stone we are bound to hit the rocks and end up hurt in the process. Therefore in such situations God intervenes in order to restore the much needed balance, either directly or by means of significant others.
7. Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another's speech." 8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore it was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
(Genesis chapter 11 verses 7 to 9)
As in many conflicts between couples or even nations or small communities, the major problem is that of communication. We invest time and energy in talking with others, however during our communication, we do not invest the same energy in listening to each other's feedback in order to make the communication process of transmission and feedback loop complete. Therefore when this process is disrupted the message does not go through and there is confusion and discord, that breeds a serious lack of harmony and even the creation of boundaries, hurts and serious, psychological, and spiritual wounds.
When communicating with God we risk making the same mistake. We may tend to invest the major part of our prayer time in asking God to give us this and that, without ever thinking of blessing, thanking and most important listening to God who always in some way or another answers our prayers. The secret is that of being in tune with God by making time and opportunity to be with Him so that He can deliver his message to us though many medias, such as the reading of God's word during mass, spending time in His presence before the Holy Eucharist, meditating on the Word of God, etc.
10. These are the descendants of Shem. When Shem was one hundred years old, he became the father of Arpachsad two years after the flood; 11 and Shem lived after the birth of Arpachsad five hundred years, and had other sons and daughters.
(Genesis chapter 11 verses 10 to 11)
It is very interesting to observe that Shem lived 500 years after the flood and is not mentioned to have died while in previous chapters his ancestors lived longer and are all referred to have died.
12. When Arpachsad had lived thirty-five years he became the father of Shelah; 13 and Arpachshad lived after the birth of Shelah four hundred three years, and had other sons and daughters.
(Genesis chapter 11 verse 12)
In contrast to his brother Shem, Arpachshad lived less than his brother and still is not mentioned to have died.
14. When Shelah had lived thirty years, he became the father of Eber; 15 and Shelah lived after the birth of Eber four hundred three years, and had other sons and daughters.
(Genesis chapter 11 verses 14 to 15)
Four some reason that is not mentioned Shelah outlived his predecessor by three years but bore offspring at a younger age than the latter. This could reflect his having had lived a good life as in the case of some of his predecessors.
16. When Eber had lived thirty-four years, he became the father of Peleg; 17 and Eber lived after the birth of Peleg four hundred thirty years, and had other sons and daughters.
(Genesis chapter 11 verses 16 to 17)
If a long life actually reflects a good life, it seems that life on earth started to improve because when looking at the following exhibit, the number of years lived by the mentioned characters is always on the increase.
18. When Peleg had lived thirty years, he became the father of Reu; 19 and Peleg lived after the birth of Reu two hundred nine years, and had other sons and daughters.
(Genesis chapter 11 verses 18 to 19)
In contrast to his predecessor Peleg lived alot less. This may again reflect an increase of evil in the world. This may be a technical device used by the author to reflect this drastic change in global spiritual welfare.
20. When Reu had lived thirty-two years, he became the father of Serug; 21 and Reu lived after the birth of Serug two hundred seven years, and had other sons and daughters.
(Genesis chapter 11 verses 20 to 21)
It seems that Reu's lifespan was even shorter that that of Peleg who lived 209 years in comparison to the 207 years lived by Reu.
22. When Serug had lived thirty years he became the father of Nahor; 23 and Serug lived after the birth of Nahor two hundred years, and had other sons and daughters.
(Genesis chapter 11 verses 22 to 23)
In contrast to his predecessors Serug lived only 200 years which is even less than his brother Reu who lived 207 years.
It seems that the world had embarked on a spiritual and social decline. This may be reflected by the gradual decrease in lifespan.
24. When Nahor had lived twenty-nine years, he became the father of Terah; 25 and Nahor lived after the birth of Terah one hundred nineteen years and had other sons and daughters.
(Genesis chapter 11 verses 24 to 25)
It seems that the degradation became more serious because the lifespan reached an astounding rate of 119 years, which is the least in both the pre-flood and even post-flood generations as displayed in the following exhibit.
26. When Terah had lived seventy years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.
(Genesis chapter 11 verse 26)
In contrast to his predecessors Terah fathered offspring at the age of 70 years, which is very late in life. In fact when comparing Terah to others mentioned he can be said to have broken the pattern because the others all fathered children at an earlier time as found in this chapter of the book of Genesis.
On reflecting this may be very significant, thus showing that this tribe or descendant of Noah, was to be in some way different or special in contrast to his other descendants. In order to draw the comparison between Terah and his ancestors we have the following exhibit on which to reflect:
On making a list of the post-flood descendants of Noah we are given the following results;
On comparing the post flood descendants of Noah with that of the pre-flood generations we can make the following comparison;
3. And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth."
(Genesis chapter 11 verses 3 to 4)
On analyzing these two verses they can be summed up into one adjective. This is disobedience. The people were aware that God had ordered them to spread throughout the whole earth and populate it, however as a people they decided to settle down in one location. This went directly against the will of God. Moreover the other word that can also express the behaviour of the people is arrogance. The people that were know armed in unity and in intelligence decided to become on the same level as God. The tower that they planned to build had the purpose of reaching the heavens, thus making them on the same level as God.
From these verses we learn that although we may have all the resources at hand in order to accomplish our goals, this may not always be according to God's will. In order to be sure if our plans match with God's will we are to use the tools of discernment in a Spirit of prayer and God will show us if this course of action is according to the Holy Will of God or not. In order to learn more about discerning the will of God please enter 'Discerning the will of God the Ignatian way' in your browser and browse through the many articles on how to discern the will of God as part of our decision making process.
5. The LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. 6 And the LORD said, " Look they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.
(Genesis chapter 11 verses 5 to 6)
God who is all knowledge of past present and future proclaimed that once humans unite and become motivated they would be an non stoppable force, because through communication they could be creative in both positive and even in negative acts. Therefore they became a serious threat to God's plan for our salvation. Moreover when we unite in projects that have not God as their center or foundation stone we are bound to hit the rocks and end up hurt in the process. Therefore in such situations God intervenes in order to restore the much needed balance, either directly or by means of significant others.
7. Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another's speech." 8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore it was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
(Genesis chapter 11 verses 7 to 9)
As in many conflicts between couples or even nations or small communities, the major problem is that of communication. We invest time and energy in talking with others, however during our communication, we do not invest the same energy in listening to each other's feedback in order to make the communication process of transmission and feedback loop complete. Therefore when this process is disrupted the message does not go through and there is confusion and discord, that breeds a serious lack of harmony and even the creation of boundaries, hurts and serious, psychological, and spiritual wounds.
When communicating with God we risk making the same mistake. We may tend to invest the major part of our prayer time in asking God to give us this and that, without ever thinking of blessing, thanking and most important listening to God who always in some way or another answers our prayers. The secret is that of being in tune with God by making time and opportunity to be with Him so that He can deliver his message to us though many medias, such as the reading of God's word during mass, spending time in His presence before the Holy Eucharist, meditating on the Word of God, etc.
10. These are the descendants of Shem. When Shem was one hundred years old, he became the father of Arpachsad two years after the flood; 11 and Shem lived after the birth of Arpachsad five hundred years, and had other sons and daughters.
(Genesis chapter 11 verses 10 to 11)
It is very interesting to observe that Shem lived 500 years after the flood and is not mentioned to have died while in previous chapters his ancestors lived longer and are all referred to have died.
12. When Arpachsad had lived thirty-five years he became the father of Shelah; 13 and Arpachshad lived after the birth of Shelah four hundred three years, and had other sons and daughters.
(Genesis chapter 11 verse 12)
In contrast to his brother Shem, Arpachshad lived less than his brother and still is not mentioned to have died.
14. When Shelah had lived thirty years, he became the father of Eber; 15 and Shelah lived after the birth of Eber four hundred three years, and had other sons and daughters.
(Genesis chapter 11 verses 14 to 15)
Four some reason that is not mentioned Shelah outlived his predecessor by three years but bore offspring at a younger age than the latter. This could reflect his having had lived a good life as in the case of some of his predecessors.
16. When Eber had lived thirty-four years, he became the father of Peleg; 17 and Eber lived after the birth of Peleg four hundred thirty years, and had other sons and daughters.
(Genesis chapter 11 verses 16 to 17)
If a long life actually reflects a good life, it seems that life on earth started to improve because when looking at the following exhibit, the number of years lived by the mentioned characters is always on the increase.
18. When Peleg had lived thirty years, he became the father of Reu; 19 and Peleg lived after the birth of Reu two hundred nine years, and had other sons and daughters.
(Genesis chapter 11 verses 18 to 19)
In contrast to his predecessor Peleg lived alot less. This may again reflect an increase of evil in the world. This may be a technical device used by the author to reflect this drastic change in global spiritual welfare.
20. When Reu had lived thirty-two years, he became the father of Serug; 21 and Reu lived after the birth of Serug two hundred seven years, and had other sons and daughters.
(Genesis chapter 11 verses 20 to 21)
It seems that Reu's lifespan was even shorter that that of Peleg who lived 209 years in comparison to the 207 years lived by Reu.
22. When Serug had lived thirty years he became the father of Nahor; 23 and Serug lived after the birth of Nahor two hundred years, and had other sons and daughters.
(Genesis chapter 11 verses 22 to 23)
In contrast to his predecessors Serug lived only 200 years which is even less than his brother Reu who lived 207 years.
It seems that the world had embarked on a spiritual and social decline. This may be reflected by the gradual decrease in lifespan.
24. When Nahor had lived twenty-nine years, he became the father of Terah; 25 and Nahor lived after the birth of Terah one hundred nineteen years and had other sons and daughters.
(Genesis chapter 11 verses 24 to 25)
It seems that the degradation became more serious because the lifespan reached an astounding rate of 119 years, which is the least in both the pre-flood and even post-flood generations as displayed in the following exhibit.
26. When Terah had lived seventy years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.
(Genesis chapter 11 verse 26)
In contrast to his predecessors Terah fathered offspring at the age of 70 years, which is very late in life. In fact when comparing Terah to others mentioned he can be said to have broken the pattern because the others all fathered children at an earlier time as found in this chapter of the book of Genesis.
On reflecting this may be very significant, thus showing that this tribe or descendant of Noah, was to be in some way different or special in contrast to his other descendants. In order to draw the comparison between Terah and his ancestors we have the following exhibit on which to reflect:
On making a list of the post-flood descendants of Noah we are given the following results;
Shem when 100 years old fathered children and died at 500 years
Arpachshad when 35 years old fathered children and died at 400 years.
Shelah when 30 years old fathered children and died at 403 years.
Eber fathered children when 34 years old and died at 430 years.
Peleg fathered children at 30 years old and died at 209 years.
Reu fathered children at 32 years old and died at 207 years.
Serug fathered children at 30 years old and died at 200 years.
Nahor fathered children at 29 years old.
On comparing the post flood descendants of Noah with that of the pre-flood generations we can make the following comparison;
Adam lived 930 years.
Seth lived 912 years.
Enosh lived 905 years.
Kenan lived 910 years
Mahalalel lived 895 years.
Jared lived 962.
Enoch lived 365 years.
Methuselah lived 969 years.
Lamech 770 lived years.
Noah lived 950 years
27. These are the descendants of Terah. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot. 28 Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans.
(Genesis chapter 11 verse 27 to 28)
On reflecting more ambiguities arise from this family. It is said that Haran the son died before his father Terah. This is something more mysterious, making this family more peculiar or special. When God chooses somebody He sets a new pattern and course in nature on many different levels making both the person and the family outstanding or somewhat abnormal in the sense of having particular features and qualities.
29. Abram and Nahor took wives; the name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah. She was the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah.
(Genesis chapter 11 verse 29)
On comparing verses 27 and 28 with verse 29, we can infer that Sarai and Abram were related from the father but not from the mother. Technically Sarai was Abram's sister, which makes the union in itself appear very strange. In our times the law does not permit such unions between brother and sister however it seems that during these times it was lawful.
30. Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.
(Genesis chapter 11 verse 30)
On reflecting Abram and Sarai when comparing them with their ancestors where unique in the sense that among all the descendants of Noah, Abram and Sarai were the only descendants who were childless. Moreover this makes the couple more outstanding. These peculiarities make Abraham and Sarai perfect grounds for God, to intervene because God is God of the possible and not of the impossible. This will become more clear in the following chapters.
31. Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram's wife, and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Haran, they settled there. 32 The days of Terah were two hundred five years; and Terah died in Haran.
(Genesis chapter 11 verses 31 to 32)
For some reason Abram's father did not permit his family to keep on living in the land of Ur of the Chaldeans and planned to go and live in Canaan however it may be that Terah sensed that his health would not permit him to make the journey to Canaan so they decided to settle down in the land of Haran. As we will reflect on in the following chapter that is chapter 12 and others that follow God had special plans for Abram and Sarai that would eventually lead Abram's descendants to the land of Canaan.
On reflecting from a spiritual point of view, and according to my personal knowledge Ur was a pagan land where people worshiped false pagan nature gods. God wanted Abram to be freed from the influence of such gods and their messages. So in order to accomplish this God had to lead Abram to a new environment that was free from such negative influence. It was also God's intention to lead Abram to Canaan, however at this point in time Abram and Sarai were not yet spiritually ready to make this leap of faith. They were still total strangers in their relationship with God.
I would like to end this chapter with the following prayer;
Oh God Almighty my heavenly and earthly father. Thank you for intervening in my life and in that of my family. Although I do not always understand why certain things happen especially events that have scarred me and hurt me , I know that behind the mystery you are in control and have good reasons for permitting or allowing them to take place. I would like to thank you for all that has happened, all that is now happening and all that will be happening in the present or future.
Thank You God.
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