Picture description: Babel Tower
Picture copyright: V. Gilbert and Arlisle F. Beers
“So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel —because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world.” (Genesis 11:8-9)
Babel implies a mess or a state of confusion. It also refers to a visionary project.
Our present world is made up of different cultures and languages, but in the very beginning, the whole world had only one language and one common speech. Out of pride, men tried to build a tower that could rise up to the heavens so that they “may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:4). Realizing their plan, God deliberately confused the language of the world and scattered them over all the earth. They had no choice but to stop building the tower, which is why it was called Babel, which sounds like the Hebrew word for “confused.”
Babel confusion mess pride sin
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Chinese Bible (???)
A lot of phrases, such as "two-edged sword" and " an eye for an eye", are taken from the English Bible. Learning the stories behind these idioms is fun, and can help boost your vocabulary. Click here to find out now!