GENESIS LESSON 20
We will begin this lesson today in chapter 11 of Genesis 11:1
"And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech."
We know that when Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth were on the ark,
all the people of the earth, eight, truly did speak the same language
As we have said before, the Bible was not written in chronological
order. At what point in history Chapter 11 verse 1 occurred, is hard to
say. this was, probably, an explanation of some of the things we have
read in the previous chapter. Details very often overlap in the Bible.
Genesis 11:2 "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."
This "They", that was spoken of above, means the descendents of Ham
that we read about in the last lesson. We learned in our last
lesson that the descendents of Nimrod settled in Babel, Erech, Accad
and Calneh, which was in the area of the tower of Babel. This area was
in the land of Shinar.
Japheth's children scattered, and even went to the islands, we
learned two lessons ago. It seemed the group that did not want to
scatter was Ham's descendents. I believe that was the group that built
the tower of Babel.
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."
Verse 3 was, probably, the first mention in the Bible about
people making brick for building. It must have been very similar to
the brick we use today. They even baked them, as we do.
Genesis 11:4 "And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a
tower, whose top [may reach] unto heaven; and let us make us a name,
lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth."
These people were not interested in following what God told them
to do (scatter). They were defiant, doing exactly the opposite. they
were seeking worldly fame. Probably, the heaven that they were speaking
of was the immediate heaven that they could see with their natural
eyes. Many teachers and historians believe they built a zigarut like
similar structures which were built in adjoining towns. the Bible was
not clear on this. It just spoke of a very tall tower.
Jesus is the way to heaven, anyone who tries to get to heaven any
other way, but through Jesus, is a thief and a robber.
Genesis 11:5 "And the LORD came down to see the city and the
tower, which the children of men builded."
You notice in the Scripture above, that God called them children
of men. they were followers of the flesh, and not the spirit. Whatever
felt good, they did, following their fleshly lust.
Genesis 11:6 "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."
These people remind me of little children. One child will not get
into much trouble, but when you add the second child, they get into
ten times as much.
These people had evil hearts with every evil imagination. The
fact that they spoke the same language, made it much easier for them
to work together. Working together, people can accomplish more than
working as individuals.
Even today, if the Russian and American common people could sit
down and talk together in the same language, we would find that we
have many things in common. They love their families, just as we do;
they want a peaceful world, just as we do. You see, the heads of
government are the ones who have many problems, seeking power.
These people working together were not good, because Nimrod's
descendents followed false gods. Whatever they did would be bad,
because their hearts were evil.
Genesis 11:7 "Go to, let us go down, and there confound their
language, that they may not understand one another's speech."
God the Father was speaking to Jesus, probably. Jesus is the doer
of the God Head. They were going to make it impossible to understand
each other.
Genesis 11:8 "So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon
the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city."
God scattered this wicked group to many countries and changed
their language, so they would not be able to cooperate in their
evil adventures. What a contrast to the day of Pentecost, when every
man heard in his own language the message of God.
Genesis 11:9 "Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because
the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from
thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the
earth."
The word Babel is used today to mean something spoken
unintelligiblly, something difficult to understand. If they would not
scatter on their own, then God would do it for them.
There is a definite break here. We will take up the ancestry of
Shem which was another group entirely.
Genesis 11:10 "These [are] the generations of Shem: Shem [was]
an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood:"
Genesis 11:11 "And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five
hundred years, and begat sons and daughters."
Verse 10 lets us know that Shem was 98 years old, when the flood
was over. This, too, makes you wonder about the belief that Noah was
120 years building the ark.
Notice here in V-11, the apparent dropping of the names of the
other children who were not in the lineage of Jesus. Here, again, you
see, the Bible is not written in chronological order. these few verses
were going more into detail about those who were mentioned in Jesus'
lineage.
Genesis 11:12 "And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and
begat Salah:" Genesis 11:13 "And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah
four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters." Genesis
11:14 "And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber:" Genesis 11:15
"And Salah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and
begat sons and daughters." Genesis 11:16 "And Eber lived four and
thirty years, and begat Peleg:" Genesis 11:17 "And Eber lived after he
begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and
daughters." Genesis 11:18 "And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat
Reu:" Genesis 11:19 "And Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred
and nine years, and begat sons and daughters."
Have you noticed something here? These years were like our years,
because these people were having their first children around the age of
thirty, Something else interesting, the life spans were decreasing just
a little bit.
Genesis 11:20 "And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat
Serug:" Genesis 11:21 "And Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred
and seven years, and begat sons and daughters." Genesis 11:22 "And
Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor:"
I guess it is time to stop and look at a few of these names.
"Reu" means friend. In Luke, Reu was called Ragau. Being in the
ancestry of Abraham, it is very important to remember these people.
Reu's son, Serug, is the great grandfather of Abraham. Serug was the
father of Nahor. In Luke, his name was translated in Greek and came
out Saruch. There was a city in Mesopotamia near Haran, which tells
us these Hebrews really did come to Haran to live. "Nahor" means snoring.
Nahor was the son of Serug, and father of Terah. Nahor would be
the grand-father of Abraham. Later on in this lesson, we will realize
that one of Abraham's brothers was named Nahor, as well. In Luke,
many of these names sound a little different, because they have
been translated into Greek.
Genesis 11:23 "And Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred
years, and begat sons and daughters." Genesis 11:24 "And Nahor lived
nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:" Genesis 11:25 "And Nahor
lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat
sons and daughters." Genesis 11:26 "And Terah lived seventy years, and
begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran."
Now the reason three sons were mentioned here, specifically, was
because all three would enter into the movement of the history of
Abraham.
Terah, the father of Abram (Abraham), was an idolater, as we read
in Joshua 24:2 "And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the
LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood
in old time, [even] Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of
Nachor: and they served other gods." We will find later on that they
settled in Ur of the Chaldees. the word Abram means high father. We
will see the name Abram changed to Abraham in future lessons. the name
Haran means road, caravan, route.
Genesis 11:27 "Now these [are] the generations of Terah: Terah
begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot." Genesis 11:28
"And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity,
in Ur of the Chaldees."
We see, here, that Abram's brother, Haran, died and left Abram with
Lot (Abraham's nephew). It seemed that the whole family lived in Ur of
the Chaldees at this time.
Genesis 11:29 "And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of
Abram's wife [was] Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the
daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah."
Milcah was mentioned prominently,here, because she was the
grandmother of Rebekah, who later on married Isaac.
Genesis 11:30 "But Sarai was barren; she [had] no child."
"Sarai", probably, means contentious. Later on, God changed her name
to "Sarah", which means princess, Later in the Scriptures, Abraham would
call Sarah his sister. Genesis 20:12 "And yet indeed [she is] my
sister; she [is] the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my
mother; and she became my wife." It seems, she was his half-sister. The
Scriptures did not go into detail on this. At any rate Sarai had not
had children at this point.
Genesis 11:31 "And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of
Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's
wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go
into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there."
The city Haran was named for the man Haran. Abram, at this time,
seemed to have already taken the responsibility for Lot, his nephew.
Genesis 11:32 "And the days of Terah were two hundred and five
years: and Terah died in Haran."
Now, with the death of Abram's father, Terah, this left Abram
kind of in charge of the entire family. At any rate from this point
on, Abram felt responsible for Lot. Note, again here, that the life
spans were getting a little shorter.
One thing that I forgot to mention before is that if you begin
with Adam and add up all of years to Abram, you will discover that
Abram was born 1948 years after Adam. Abram is the promise to the
believers. Israel, the promise to the Jews, was born in 1948 our time.
How interesting.
Next lesson study chapter 12.
Notes
Questions 20
1. We know for sure the language was one at what time?
2. We learned in a previous lesson that what tribe, or descendents
settled there in Shinar?
3. What four cities were located in Shinar?
4. Was this the type brick that we know today? Why?
5. Where was the tower to reach?
6. What were they doing in defiance to God?
7. What were they seeking?
8. What is the only way to heaven?
9. Why did God call them children of men?
10. Why was it not good for these people to work together?
11. Did they finish their city and tower?
12. Why was it called Babel?
13. Why did I say there was a break at verse 10?
14. How old was Shem when the flood was over?
15. What makes me think that these are regular years like ours?
16. Why was Reu translated Ragau in Luke?
17. Who was the father of Abram?
18. Why were 2 of Abram's brothers named specifically?
19. Who in Abram's brothers named specifically?
20. Where did they settle?
21. What does the word Abram mean?
22. Name Abram's brothers.
23. Who was Abram's wife?
24. Who was Nahor's wife?
25. What relation was Lot to Abram?
26. Where did Terah die?
27. How many years after Adam was Abram born
28. What relation, besides wife, was Saria to Abram?
Home