The Tower of Babel, Confusion of Tongues: Fact or Parable?
by Suzanne Hayes
Copyright Suzanne Hayes.
Presented with permission of the author.
Ancient Babylon conjures up images of wealth, wisdom,
splendor and beauty but also, mystery and magic. The Tower of Babel is
perhaps one of the most intriguing of the ancient tales.
Who Built the Tower of Babel?
It is thought that Nimrod commissioned the construction of the Tower
of Babel. Nimrod was the great grandson of Noah, grandson of Ham and son
of Cush. He was King and founder of many cities following the flood - he
is associated with Babylon, Mespotonia, Uruk, Akkad and Calneh. He is
depicted as a tyrannous ruler, a hunter of both animals and men, who
established fire worship and idolatry.
What is the Story of the Tower of Babel
Genesis 11:1-2
“And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it
came to pass, as they journeyed from the East, that they found a plain
in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there”
Genesis 11:3
“And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn
them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for
mortar”
Genesis 11:4
“And they said, Go to, let us build a city and a tower, whose top may
reach into heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered
abroad upon the face of the whole Earth”
Genesis 11:5-6
“And the lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the
children of men builded. And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one,
and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now
nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do”
Genesis 11:7
“Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they
may not understand one another's speech”
Genesis 11:8-9
“So the lord scattered them abroad from hence upon the face of all
the earth and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of
it called Babel; because the lord did there confound the language of all
the earth: and from hence did the lord scatter them abroad upon the face
of all the earth”
The message from Genesis seems to be that the Babylonian citizens who
built the tower did so without God and without praise of or assistance
from God.
Without God, and a need for God, men themselves become Gods.
Speaking one tongue, and with ancient wisdom, humankind would be
capable of anything they put their minds to - this was not God's will or
plan for humankind at this point in history, the knowledge and intent
could easily be twisted for evil purposes and used to wipe out mankind -
therefore God had to slow the advancement of man.
Without clarity of communication, mankind was fragmented and
disempowered with a loss and dispersion of universal wisdom and
universal intent.
The word “babble” is based upon the incoherent speech of the
Babylonians following the destruction of the tower.
Cultural Interpretations of the Tower of Babel
Greek Account
“When all men were of one language, some of them built a high tower
as if they would thereby ascend up to heaven, but the Gods sent storms
of wind and overthrew the tower and gave everyone his peculiar language
and for this reason it was that the city was called Babylon”
Sumerian Account
“Then Enki, the Lord of abundance, (whose commands are trustworthy)
the lord of wisdom, who understands the land; the leader of the Gods,
endowed with wisdom, the Lord of Eridu changed the speech in their
mouths, contention into it, into the speech of man that (until now) had
been one.”
Mexican Account
“And as men were thereafter multiplying they constructed a very high
and strong Zacualli (a very high tower) in order to protect themselves
when again the second world should be destroyed. At the crucial moment
their languages were changed, and as they did not understand one
another, they went to different parts of the world”
Polynesian Account
“But the God in anger chased the builders away, broke down the
building and changed their language, so that they spoke diverse
tongues.”
Crow Indian Account
“Then little Coyote did something bad. He suggested to Old Man that
he give the people different languages so they would misunderstand each
other and use their weapons in wars……Old Man did what little Coyote said
and the people had different languages and made war on each other.”
The interesting question is - how much of the story of the Tower of
Babel is symbolic parable and how much is based upon factual events.
What Was the Purpose of the Tower of Babel ?
The translation of the word “Babel” - means Gate of God
According to the book of Genesis, the Tower was built to reach the
heavens, the reason for this is not known, however, if it was a symbolic
gesture, it begs the question why did the Babylonians not erect the
tower off a mountain to achieve height?
There are a number of theories regarding the purpose or use for the
Tower of Babel:
Theory 1
The city of Babylon was inhabited with descendants from Noah and the
great flood, where, they believed, the Gods had all but wiped out life
on Earth.
The tower was a statement of their triumph in the face of adversity,
and a challenge to their God - they would not cower from God but ascend
to challenge them - in an attempt to show their might and potentially
deter any further attack.
Theory 2
The city of Babylon was inhabited with descendants from Noah and the
great flood, where, they believed, the Gods had all but wiped out life
on Earth.
The tower was a statement of their triumph in the face of adversity,
and a challenge to their God - they would not cower from God but ascend
to challenge them - in an attempt to show their might and potentially
deter any further attack.
Theory 2
The tower could have been a central religious place or meeting point
for people to seek sanctuary in times of adversity of attack “lest they
be scattered”.
However, it begs the question, if the tower was for religious
purposes, why then would the tower have brought about the wrath of God?
If however, the tower was a religious building whose intent was to
expose man to the mystery of the heavens and the greatness of God -
which was within man, ie man as God - as much of the “new age”
philosophy is currently purporting may explain the wrath.
One purpose of the tower appears to be the civilisation wanting to
“make a name for themselves” -man attempting to share in the Glory of
Theory 3
Some have taken the statement that the tower of Babel was constructed
to reach the heavens as a literal concept - ie a construct that housed,
or was itself, a type of spacecraft which could literally reach the
heavens.
Theory 4
Some have theorised that the tower was a communications device - to
either communicate with other humans around the globe who escaped the
flood - or, perhaps even with Gods within the universe.
Theory 5
The tower housed, or was itself, a weapon of mass destruction - to
wage war upon any earthly or spiritual opponent of Babylon.
Theory 6
The tower was a statement of mankind's wisdom, knowledge and
understanding of the earth, sciences. A demonstration of the power of
man - with collective consciousness, man was all powerful and could
achieve anything.
Theory 7
The tower was a commercial trading centre within the heart of the
ancient city - a shrine to commercialism over spirituality.
Could The Parable of the Tower of Babel Be Based in Fact
Origins of Language
The spoken word leaves no trace - it is therefore impossible for
language historians to determine at what point in human history,
languages were first uttered or how they developed.
The diversification of language on earth is however of great interest
to linguists. There are around 5000 languages spoken in the world today
and two main theories regarding how such a varied number of linguistic
differences occurred.
The Monogenesis Theory (or Mother Tongue Theory) supposes that in the
beginning, all modern humans came from a singular genetic source in
Africa and all spoke the same language, what exactly that language was
is a matter of discussion. This theory is supported in the book of
Genesis from the Old Testament “they all have one language”. The
original single mother tongue evolved, as humans moved and travelled in
groups, into the various language spoken today.
The Candelabra Theory supposes that different languages started in
different places on earth and evolved with each individual social group
according to geographical location and contact with other groups or
cultures.
There is however a fundamental problem with both theories - The
Candelabra theory cannot fully explain the fact that there remain common
or similar words for the same items - suggesting that language has in
fact been adapted from one singular source. The Monogenesis theorists
cannot fully explain that following rigorous analysis of language
evolution, the length of time it takes for any language to evolve into
the forms used in today's societies would have taken a longer time
period than modern man has been on the planet.
An interesting point however, is that many accomplished linguistic
historians point to the parable of the Tower of Babel to a viable
explanation for the origin of the varied languages used on the planet
today.
Archaeological Evidence Reveals Evidence of the Foundations of The
Tower of Babel
Archaeologists have uncovered what appears to be the foundation of
the Tower of Babel within the ancient city ruins of Babylon. The base is
square, 91 metres along each side, with earthen embankments.
Could the Confusion of Speech be Explained?
The loss of speech may have been a divine retribution or possibly a
natural disaster - interpreted as an act of God.
An article was published in the Telegraph in May 2008 which described
how Roger Highfield, the Telegraph's Science Editor, participated in an
experiment in which the speech area of his brain temporarily disabled by
a process of “transcranial magnetic stimulation”
The area of the brain identified to be responsible for speech, speech
tone and recognition is named after the man who discovered it - Broca's
area.
The introduction of a magnetic force effectively turned off the
ability to communicate - albeit on a temporary basis.
Is it feasible therefore to consider that a large scale
electro-magnetic emission or blast from the tower of Babel could have
affected the speech centre of those around the tower on a permanent
basis.
We cannot ascertain however if the tower contained electro magnetic
material, however, electromagnetic material could certainly support
theories 3, 4 and 5 of the purpose of the tower.
Babylon Today
Renovation to the remains of the city of Babylon - situated in war
torn Iraq, were started by Sadam Hussein. The city is now host to an
American military base - but an article in the New York Post reveals
that there are plans to turn the city into a commercial shopping centre
to attract tourists.
Copyright by Suzanne Hayes..
Presented with permission of the author.
The Tower of Babel in the background of a depiction of
the Hanging Gardens of Babylon by Martin Heemskerck.
The Tower of Babel by Pieter Breugel
|
