The Tower of Babel, from the Book of Genesis, tells of humanity’s attempt to build a tower to reach heaven. God confuses their language as punishment, causing chaos and scattering people across the Earth. Some scholars believe it is a commentary on Mesopotamian ziggurats.
The Tower of Babel is a structure referred to in chapter 11 of the Book of Genesis in the Bible. His story is often told as a parable to impart lessons such as humility and modesty. It is also sometimes taken literally and used to explain the presence of multiple languages in the world.
The story of the Tower of Babel tells us that in the beginning people had only one language. Everyone in the world could understand everyone else, and this led to peace and harmony all over the world. There came a time, however, when the man’s pride began to get the better of him. The men agreed that because they had grown so much in intelligence and grace, it was likely within their power to build a tower that would reach even heaven itself. And so a united humanity began the construction of a building so tall that it touched the heavens. This was supposed to be the Tower of Babel.
However, when God looked down on mankind, what He saw was their arrogance hubris. They were trying to take over heaven and make themselves equal to God. Therefore, to teach them a lesson, God confused their language and they began to speak in different tongues. Chaos and confusion ensued, bringing with it misunderstanding and mistrust. With that came anger, and soon humanity fell into discord and scattered across the Earth.
Some biblical scholars point out that the Tower of Babel is likely some sort of commentary on or reaction to the ziggurats, designed by the ancient Mesopotamians to be literally stairways to heaven. Ziggurat tended to loom rather intimidatingly over the Mesopotamian valley in those times; in fact, they are some of the largest religious buildings ever built. A ziggurat is said to resemble a terraced pyramid, with ever-decreasing levels as it rises.
The Tower of Babel was not explicitly destroyed in the Book of Genesis. However, it is reported again in the Book of Jubilees, an ancient Jewish work, where it is stated that God destroyed it with a strong gust of wind.
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