Universal Language, Babel, Confusion
1 Now the whole earthspoke one language and used the same words (vocabulary).
2 And as people journeyed eastward, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and they settled there.
3 They said one to another, “Come, let us make bricks and fire them thoroughly [in a kiln, to harden and strengthen them].” So they used brick for stone [as building material], and they used tar (bitumen, asphalt) for mortar.
4 They said, “Come, let us build a city for ourselves, and a tower whose topwill reachinto the heavens, and let us make a [famous] name for ourselves, so that we will not be scattered [into separate groups]andbe dispersed over the surface of the entire earth [as the Lordinstructed].”
5 Now the Lordcame down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.
6 And the Lordsaid, “Behold, they are one [unified] people, and they all have the same language. This is only the beginning of what they will do [in rebellion against Me], and now no evil thing they imagine they can do will be impossible for them.
7 Come, let Us (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) go down and there confuseandmix up their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”
8 So the Lordscattered them abroad from there over the surface of the entire earth; and they stopped building the city.
9 Therefore the name of the city wasBabel–because there the Lordconfused the language of the entire earth; and from that place the Lordscatteredanddispersed them over the surface of all the earth.
Descendants of Shem
10 These arethe records ofthe generations of Shem [from whom Abraham descended]. Shem was a hundred years old when he became the father of Arpachshad, two years after the flood.
11 And Shem lived five hundred years after Arpachshad was born, and he hadothersons and daughters.
12 When Arpachshad had lived thirty-five years, he became the father of Shelah.
13 Arpachshad lived four hundred and three years after Shelah was born, and he hadothersons and daughters.
14 When Shelah had lived thirty years, he became the father of Eber.
15 Shelah lived four hundred and three years after Eber was born, and he hadothersons and daughters.
16 When Eber had lived thirty-four years, he became the father of Peleg.
17 And Eber lived four hundred and thirty years after Peleg was born, and he hadothersons and daughters.
18 When Peleg had lived thirty years, he became the father of Reu.
19 And Peleg lived two hundred and nine years after Reu was born, and he hadothersons and daughters.
20 When Reu had lived thirty-two years, he became the father of Serug.
21 And Reu lived two hundred and seven years after Serug was born, and he hadothersons and daughters.
22 When Serug had lived thirty years, he became the father of Nahor.
23 And Serug lived two hundred years after Nahor was born, and he hadothersons and daughters.
24 When Nahor had lived twenty-nine years, he became the father of Terah.
25 And Nahor lived a hundred and nineteen years after Terah was born, and he hadothersons and daughters.
26 After Terah had lived seventy years, he became the father ofAbram and Nahor and Haran [his firstborn].
27 Now these arethe records ofthe descendants of Terah. Terah was the father of Abram (Abraham), Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot.
28 Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his birth, inUr of the Chaldeans.
29 Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai (later called Sarah), and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and Iscah.
30 But Sarai was barren; she did not have a child.
31 Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went out together to go from Ur of the Chaldeans into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Haran [about five hundred and fifty miles northwest of Ur], they settled there.
32 Terah lived two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran.