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Genesis Chapter
Eleven
I.
Content of the Chapter
The
A. The whole earth
had one language and one speech (v.1);
B. Men on the earth were jointed to
build the city and tower (v.2-4);
C. God confused the language of all
the earth to scatter them abroad over the face of all the earth (v.5-9);
Genealogy from Shem to Abram
A. There are five generations from Shem to
Peleg (v.10-17);
B. There are give generations from Reu to Abram
(v.18-26);
Terah Brought Abram out of
A. The generation of Terah (v.27-30);
B. He went out from
II.
Verse by Verse Commentary
Gen. 11:1 “Now the whole earth had
one language and one speech.”
YLT: “And
the whole earth is of one pronunciation, and of the same words,”
Literal
Meaning: in the previous
chapter, it is mentioned again and again that “everyone was according to his
language” (Gen. 10:5, 20, 31) and that “in his days the earth was divided”
(Gen. 10:25). This chapter is a complementary explanation of the
above-mentioned condition in chapter ten.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) If believers “say the same thing” in the church
(1Cor. 1:10), what a beautiful situation it will be.
2) Let
our “yes” be “yes”, and “no” “no” (Matt. 5:37), and not be double-tongued.
3) If
everyone is under the government of God, all of them will be enabled to
communicate with one another. .
Gen. 11:2 “And it came to pass, as
they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the
YLT: “and
it cometh to pass, in their journeying from the east, that they find a valley
in the
Literal
Meaning: the plain they found
was just the
“Dwelt there”, it means living there permanently
and thinking that they could not and would not leave there. However, they were
afterwards scattered (see v.8).
Spiritual
Meaning: “
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) The preparations of the heart belong to men. And
only the counsel of Jehovah will stand (Pro. 16:1; 19:21).
2) In
the Pentateuch, every time it mentions “dwelling there” suggests that men
though they were safe. And it is when man himself thinks it is peaceful and
safe that it is just the chance that Satan is taking of.
Gen. 11:3 “Then they said to one
another, "Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They
had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar.”
YLT:
“and
they say each one to his neighbour, `Give help, let us make bricks, and burn
thoroughly:' and the brick is to them for stone, and the bitumen hath been to
them for mortar.”
Literal
Meaning: “asphalt”, it refers
to bitumen. Archaeologists have discovered that the area of
“They had brick for stone,
and they had asphalt for mortar”, all the materials
were replaced. Brick substituted for stone, and yet it was not as hard as
stone. And mortar was replaced by Asphalt, and yet the coagulative power was
less than mortar.
Spiritual
Meaning: “brick” was burnt by
dust, and man was made by dust (Gen. 2:7), so the work done by brick symbolized
human work.
“Stone” is the material for the Lord to build the church (Matt. 16:18).
The original meaning of “Peter” is “tiny stone”. God will transform a man of
dust into a living stone (1Pet. 2:5), so the stone symbolizes the divine work.
“Asphalt” symbolizes the natural virtues of man.
“Mortar” symbolizes the new character transformed by the Spirit.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) It tends to do wrong if we hear human ideas only
without waiting for the divine instruction.
2) A
decisive man will not hesitate to fulfill his original intention by all means.
If believers are truly willing to serve the Lord, they will not make excuses of
having not this or that.
3) The
best materials for human building are merely brick and asphalt. The spiritual
building can only be built by gold and silver and precious stones (1Cor. 12-15)
so that we will not pass the trial.
Gen. 11:4 “And they said,
"Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the
heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the
face of the whole earth."”
YLT:
“And
they say, `Give help, let us build for ourselves a city and tower, and its head
in the heavens, and make for ourselves a name, lest we be scattered over the
face of all the earth.'”
Literal
Meaning: “city”: a city with
defence installations such as ramparts;
“Tower” emphasizes the religious tone.
The
so-called “heaven” at that time means “the dwelling place of God”. Therefore,
they built the tower whose top was in the heavens ---- which meant that it
would reach unto the throne of God (Is. 14:13-14).
Or
they built such a high tower for the purpose of escaping another time of
deluge. Man only relies upon his own hand rather than the promise of God (see
Gen. 9:11).
“Let us make a name for
ourselves”: see their fame
and compliments instead of giving glory to God;
“Lest
we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth”, the will of God is to let men “fill the earth”
(Gen. 1:28; 9:1). But men would not be scattered in spite of the commandment of
God.
Spiritual
Meaning: “city”, it
symbolizes the realm of human domination.
The
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) “Come, let us
… ”, which means they rely one themselves rather than God. The world is
characterized by seeking oneself and exalting oneself and yet forsaking God.
2) The
world is fond of performing oneself and making oneself known. And this is the
root of man’s rebellion against God.
3)
Some Christians donate money and build magnificent church or support public
welfare, whose starting-point is also declaring one’s own name. In the sight of
God, it is also taking part in building the
4)
Today, in many Christianity groups, they only pay attention to their name of
group and appear to be hostile to Christians who do not belong to their groups.
They have also, in principle, fallen into the condition of building the
5)
Since Satan knows God will build the city of
6) The
divine way is “coming down from the heaven” (Rev. 21:2), and yet the human way
is “reaching unto the heaven from the earth”.
7) Man
intends to life up to the heavens through his own power. That is why it is
humanly believed that man can conquer nature. However, as a matter of fact, man
can never come to the heaven without the only heavenly ladder ---- Christ (Gen.
28:12; John 1:51).
8) In
fact, the only thing of man that reaches unto the heaven is “sins” (Rev. 18:5).
Gen. 11:5 “But the LORD came down to
see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.”
YLT:
“And
Jehovah cometh down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men have
builded;”
Enlightenment
in the Word: it is all naked
before God that the inner heart and outer materials of believers’ building the
church.
Gen. 11:6 “And the LORD said,
"Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is
what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld
from them.”
YLT: “and
Jehovah saith, `Lo, the people one, and one pronunciation to them all, and this
it hath dreamed of doing; and now, nothing is restrained from them of that
which they have purposed to do.”
Literal
Meaning: God meant that if
they were not hindered, they would have their own ways and do all evils.
“The
people are one”: they are apparently the same;
“They
all have one language”: they have the same mind and views.
Since they have the foundation of the
above-mentioned two points, they will prosper in their doings.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) God does not please that man does spiritual
things by the natural flesh (Gal. 3:3).
2) God
does not please man becomes the sponsor to do anything for Him. Instead, He
pleases that men hear His words and keep His will (1Sam. 15:22).
3)
Whatever causes that does not glorify God, no matter how good they are, they
cannot please God.
4) God
is not jealous of men’s gathering to do something, but He hinders men from
having their own ways in wrong motivations, lest there should be great and
incurable faults.
Gen. 11:7 “Come, let Us go down and
there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's
speech."”
YLT:
“Give
help, let us go down, and mingle there their pronunciation, so that a man doth
not understand the pronunciation of his companion.'”
Meaning
of Words: “confuse”: it is used to describe “mixing”
the materials when cooking food so that it is hard to distinguish their
original features;
Literal
Meaning: “come, let us”, it
is opposite to the word of those arrogant men ---- “come, let us” (v.4). From
this word of God, we can find that there was still a distance between the top
of the tower and the heavens. Men think that can reach unto the heavens, but
actually, it is impossible.
“That they may not understand
one another's speech”, it means that
they could not understand one anther. “Not understand one another’s speech”, it
means they cannot communicate with one another in views and thoughts and speak
and do whatever they want.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) Hindrance of speech and mind is the main reason
for the failure of man’s cooperation. Good cooperation in the church requires
for good verbal communication.
2)
Many times, the words of man seem to be sensible, but his inner meaning has not
been expressed yet. Therefore, the speaker can still not communicate with the
hearer.
3) The
word that is not efficacious in communication is “tongue” in man’s ears.
Therefore, he has to seek the specialist of communication ---- “the interpreter
of the tongue” (1Cor. 14:27-28).
4)
God’s work is characterized by dealing with the fundamental problems instead of
the superficial ones. He did not pull down the high tower, but confused the
language of men ---- men themselves are the root of the problem.
5)
Today, divisions in the Christianity are caused by believers’ in the past
generations intending to build the “false oneness”. The only salvation is returning
to the “true oneness” that God wants.
Gen. 11:8 “So the LORD scattered
them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building
the city.”
YLT:
“And
Jehovah doth scatter them from thence over the face of all the earth, and they
cease to build the city;”
Literal
Meaning: “scattered them abroad from
there over the face of all the earth”,
men were afraid of “being scattered abroad from there over the face of all the
earth” (v.4), and yet the judgment of God just aimed at what they feared.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) No matter how tough a man is, he can in no wise
resist against God.
2) Man
has problems with God firstly and then with one another. Therefore, can human
problems only be solved only when their problems with God have been solved
above all.
3)
Unless Jehovah builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless
Jehovah guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain (Ps. 127:1).
Gen. 11:9 “Therefore its name is
called
YLT:
“therefore
hath called its name
Meaning
of Words: “
Literal Meaning:
“scatter them”, the reason lies in “the
confusion of language”.
Note
that “the (whole) earth” is mentioned five times from verse one to nine, which
shows that all the people on the earth had taken part in building the
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) Since the language through which men on the
earth can communicate with one another is changed, no wonder why there are full
of “suspicions and envy” among men.
2)
Sometimes, the dispersion of believers in the church is done by God (Acts 8:1,
4) for the purpose of letting us know and keep His will.
3) Let
the children of God learn the lesson from divisions: i.e. stop building “the
false oneness” at once.
4) God
cannot bear “the false oneness”. Therefore, He allows that confusions appear
among men. All the disorders in the church are because of not pleasing God.
Gen. 11:10 “This is the genealogy of
Shem: Shem was one hundred years old, and begot Arphaxad two years after the
flood.”
YLT: “These
births of Shem: Shem a son of an hundred years, and begetteth Arphaxad two
years after the deluge.”
Literal
Meaning: note that the
following genealogy of Shem only records the years everyone “lived”, without
the specific age of everyone when he died and the word “he died” like that in
the genealogy of Seth (Gen. 5:3-31). The purpose of their “living” was just
“begetting” one person connected with “Abram”, which revealed us that all the
people in this genealogy paved the way for the call of God.
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) Man in Adam had not significance of living
without the calling of God.
2) Men
were gathered there to build the
3)
Among those who resist the will of God, God has still left to Himself a group
of men who love Him in pure hearts (
Gen. 11:11 “After he begot Arphaxad,
Shem lived five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.”
YLT:
“And
Shem liveth after his begetting Arphaxad five hundred years, and begetteth sons
and daughters.”
Meaning
of Words: concerning the original meaning of the names
from verse eleven to seventeen, please read the commentary from verse 21 to 25
of chapter ten;
Literal
Meaning: note that in this
genealogy, it never mention “…died”, which showed that believers in Christ were
not dead but had fallen asleep and would have the hope of resurrection (1Thess.
4:13-14).
Gen. 11:12 “Arphaxad lived
thirty-five years, and begot Salah.”
YLT: “And
Arphaxad hath lived five and thirty years, and begetteth Salah.”
Gen. 11:13 “After he begot Salah,
Arphaxad lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters.”
YLT: “And
Arphaxad liveth after his begetting Salah four hundred and three years, and
begetteth sons and daughters.”
Gen. 11:14 “Salah lived thirty years,
and begot Eber.”
YLT:
“And
Salah hath lived thirty years, and begetteth Eber.”
Gen. 11:15 “After he begot Eber,
Salah lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters.”
YLT:
“And
Salah liveth after his begetting Eber four hundred and three years, and
begetteth sons and daughters.”
Gen. 11:16 “Eber lived thirty-four
years, and begot Peleg.”
YLT: “And
Eber liveth four and thirty years, and begetteth Peleg.”
Gen. 11:17 “After he begot Peleg,
Eber lived four hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters.”
YLT:
“And
Eber liveth after his begetting Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and
begetteth sons and daughters.”
Gen. 11:18 “Peleg lived thirty years,
and begot Reu.”
YLT:
“And
Peleg liveth thirty years, and begetteth Reu.”
Meaning
of Words: “Reu”: friendship, friend, friend of God;
Gen. 11:19 “After he begot Reu, Peleg
lived two hundred and nine years, and begot sons and daughters.”
YLT:
“And
Peleg liveth after his begetting Reu two hundred and nine years, and begetteth
sons and daughters.”
Gen. 11:20 “Reu lived thirty-two
years, and begot Serug.”
YLT:
“And
Reu liveth two and thirty years, and begetteth Serug.”
Meaning
of Words: “Serug”: firm, powerful,
branch, offspring;
Gen. 11:21 “After he begot Serug, Reu
lived two hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters.”
YLT:
“And
Reu liveth after his begetting Serug two hundred and seven years, and begetteth
sons and daughters.”
Gen. 11:22 “Serug lived thirty years,
and begot Nahor.”
YLT: “And
Serug liveth thirty years, and begetteth Nahor.”
Gen. 11:23 “After he begot Nahor,
Serug lived two hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.”
YLT:
“And
Serug liveth after his begetting Nahor two hundred years, and begetteth sons
and daughters.”
Gen. 11:24 “Nahor lived twenty-nine
years, and begot Terah.”
YLT: “And
Nahor liveth nine and twenty years, and begetteth Terah.”
Meaning
of Words: “Terah”: wander, late,
fallen, convert;
Gen. 11:25 “After he begot Terah,
Nahor lived one hundred and nineteen years, and begot sons and daughters.”
YLT: “And
Nahor liveth after his begetting Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and
begetteth sons and daughters.”
Gen. 11:26 “Now Terah lived seventy
years, and begot Abram, Nahor, and
YLT:
“And
Terah liveth seventy years, and begetteth Abram, Nahor, and
Meaning
of Words: “Abram”: the lofty father; “
Literal
Meaning: according to the
Book of Genesis, there were ten generations from Adam to Noah, and another ten
generations from Shem to Abram. The deluge divided them into two equal periods.
In the second ten generations, only their first five generations (from Shem to Peleg) were recorded in chapter ten. Therefore
the
Another fact worthy to mention is the distinct change of man’s lifetime
before and after the deluge ---- the sharp decrease from more than nine hundred
years to six hundred years and to more than four hundred years and to more than
two hundred years and finally to more than one hundred years, which shows that
men’s sins had brought physical and environmental changes to them.
Enlightenment
in the Word: the main reason for
the shortened lifetime of men lies in the abundant sins and tribulations.
Gen. 11:27 “This is the genealogy of
Terah: Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and
YLT:
“And
these births of Terah: Terah hath begotten Abram, Nahor, and
Meaning
of Words: “
Literal
Meaning: in the original
this verse begins with a word “and”, which shows that this verse is closely
connected with the above-mentioned genealogy (v.10-26). And here the focal
point of the Bible went to the family of Abraham, which also indicated that God
would choose men out of the fallen race to have a new beginning.
“Abram, Nahor, and
Gen. 11:28 “And
YLT:
“and
Meaning
of Words: “Chaldeans”: as the one who is
out of earth, astrologer; “
Gen. 11:29 “Then Abram and Nahor took
wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife,
Milcah, the daughter of
YLT:
“And
Abram and Nahor take to themselves wives; the name of Abram's wife Sarai, and
the name of Nahor's wife Milcah, daughter of
Meaning
of Words: “Sarai”: princess, my
princess, exalted; “Milcah”: queen, take counsel; “Iscah”: watcher, observant:
Gen. 11:30 “But Sarai was barren; she
had no child.”
YLT:
“And
Sarai is barren -- she hath no child.”
Literal
Meaning: here it especially
mentions the fact that “Sarai was barren” so as to let us see the offspring of
Abraham ---- the elect of God ---- were not born of the fallen race by nature,
but of the works of God.
Gen. 11:31 “And Terah took his son
Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai,
his son Abram's wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to
go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there.”
YLT: “And
Terah taketh Abram his son, and Lot, son of
The Background: Terah served other gods in “
“The
“
There were altogether one thousand and one hundred miles of the journey
from
Literal
Meaning: this was Abraham’s
response after he was first called (Acts 7:2). His performance of faith of the
first time was not so much excellent:
1) God
said to him: “get out of your country and from your relatives” (Acts 7:3).
Indeed, he had gone out of his country. However, he got away from his relatives
only partially, for
2) The
departure of Abraham was not initiated by himself, but his father. One who had
not been called became an initiator, but a man who had been called yet became a
follower.
3)
Though he had left
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) The kindred affection and respect for the elders
and the nobles often prevent us keeping spiritual principles, thus making us
come to a standstill.
2)
Many people, without the calling and revelation of God, volunteer to lead the
church to serve by their own knowledge and talents and money and statuses and
reputations and experience, but finally accomplish nothing.
3)
Many believers obey God half and stop midway.
Gen. 11:32 “So the days of Terah were
two hundred and five years, and Terah died in
YLT:
“And
the days of Terah are two hundred and five years, and Terah dieth in Charan.”
Literal
Meaning: “Terah … died in
Spiritual
Meaning: “Terah” means
“delay”, and “
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) The earthly relationship of believers often
becomes the obstacle to our progress on the heavenly way.
2)
Death breaks up the chains of our earthly relationship. However, we shall not
expect our relatives to die, but become aware of the fact that we have been
dead with Christ ---- such knowledge makes us overcome the earthly
relationship.
III.
Outlines of the Spiritual Lessons
What is the False Oneness?
A. “They
said to one another” (v.3) ---- replace
the holy mind with the human mind;
B. “Had
brick for stone” (v.3) ---- replace
holy works with human works;
C. “Had
asphalt for mortar” (v.3) ---- replace
the spiritual with the natural;
D. “Build
ourselves a city” (v.4) ---- build a
sphere of influence that belongs to human authority;
E. “Build
… a
tower” (v.4) ---- uphold
the earthly principles;
F. “Make
a name for ourselves” (v.4) ---- care
for the name of their own group;
G. “Be
scattered abroad” (v.4) ----
maintain the false appearance of unity;
God’s Response to the False Oneness
A. God judged that the false oneness was
against Him (v.5-6);
B. God would rather let men divide than endure
their false oneness (v.6-7);
C. The false oneness “confuses” the true
oneness. Even today, the principle of “
D. God calls a group of men with pure love to
Him out of the disordered Christianity (get out of one’s country, from one’s
family and from one’s family’s house) to build the church of true oneness on
the position in the light of the Lord’s will and pleasure (see Gen. 12:1);
──
Caleb Huang《Christian Digest Bible
Commentary Series》
Translated by Mary Zhou