Migdal Bavel
In the last module, we examined this short story carefully. At
first glance, it seems simple- a child's story, almost. People
go about building a tower, and God stops them by creating different
languages. This story (like many others in Genesis, ie. the story
of why snakes have no legs) obviously comes to answer the question
why (if we are all from one family) people speak many different
languages. In addition to providing this etymology, the story
may also serve to explain the origin of the Babylonian 'ziqqurat,'
a pyramid like structure with a flat top.
As we look deeper, we see a number of problems:
- Why does it say both 'one language' and the 'same words'?
- Why did the people build the Tower?
- Why did God not want them to build the Tower?
- Why does God say, "Let us..."? (Who is God talking to?)
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Migdal Bavel