Gênesis 11
Warren Wiersbe · Citado em PreceptAustin
Gênesis 11
Wiersbe has an excellent introduction to Genesis 11 writing that "Man proposes, but God disposes.” That familiar statement is almost a religious cliché. Many people who use it don’t even know what it means. It was written by the Augustinian monk Thomas à Kempis (ca. 1380–1471) in his classic book On the Imitation of Christ. An expanded version is the proverb, “Man does what he can, God does what He will.” Solomon used more words but said it best: “There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand” (Prov. 19:21 nkjv). Few chapters in the Bible illustrate this truth better than Genesis 11. When you read the narrative about Babel and then read the genealogies that follow, your immediate impression is that God is at work in His world and is accomplishing His purposes in spite of the plans and projects of sinful people. Four great events are recorded in Genesis 1—11: the creation of the universe, the fall of man, the flood, and the attempted construction of the Tower of Babel. These chapters reveal that where mankind disobeys God, the Lord judges sin, and then in His grace makes a new beginning. Adam and Eve sinned, but God clothed them and promised to send the world a Redeemer. Cain killed Abel, but God sent Seth to carry on the godly line. The Sethites intermarried with the godless Cainites, and God had to wipe the earth clean with a flood, but Noah and his family believed God’s Word and were spared. After the flood, the descendants of Noah’s three sons repopulated the earth. But the new beginning with Noah eventually led to one of the most arrogant revolts against God recorded anywhere in Scripture." Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words (Hebrew = one lip) - This fact sets the stage for what God will soon do to the world's language. In a sense this parallels Ge 10:1 where "the generations of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah" all had a common language. Whole earth reminds me of the old chorus "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." Keep in mind in Genesis 10 we see the whole earth (the inhabitants thereof) had been scattered into multiple nations (Ge 10:5). Same words is literally "one lip" signifying they had the same vocabulary. As an aside the actual first language is not known. NET NOTE - The whole earth. Here “earth” is a metonymy of subject, referring to the people who lived in the earth. Genesis 11 begins with everyone speaking a common language, but chap. 10 has the nations arranged by languages. It is part of the narrative art of Genesis to give the explanation of the event after the narration of the event. On this passage see A. P. Ross, “The Dispersion of the Nations in Genesis 11:1–9,” BSac 138 (1981): 119–38. (SEE BELOW) The Same Words = Heb “one lip and one [set of] words.” The term “lip” is a metonymy of cause, putting the instrument for the intended effect. They had one language. The term “words” refers to the content of their speech. They had the same vocabulary. Bob Deffinbaugh: Now there is nothing wrong with a common language. It is not evil, nor is it the cause of evil. Communication was greatly enhanced by it. It facilitated community life and was the foundation for unity. Potentially, a common language could have drawn men and women together in the worship and work of God. Practically, it was perverted to promote disobedience and unbelief. God’s gift of language, like other gifts of His grace, was misused. Sinful man cannot do anything but misappropriate God’s gifts of grace. (Genesis 11:1-9 - The Unity of Unbelief) MacArthur Study Bible (Borrow) - God, who made man as the one creature with whom He could speak (Ge 1:28), was to take the gift of language and use it to divide the race, for the apostate worship at Babel indicated that man had turned against God in pride (Ge 11:8, 9). Bob
Gênesis 11
Wiersbe - The word “Shem” means “name” in Hebrew, and Abraham, a descendant of Shem, was promised that God would make his name great (Gen. 12:2). The people of the world depend on their own wisdom and efforts, and yet they fail to achieve lasting fame. Who knows the name of anybody who worked on the famous Tower of Babel? Yet the name of Abraham is known around the world and revered by Jews, Muslims, and Christians. There’s a vast difference between mankind’s “We will make our name great!” and God’s “I will make your name great!” Steven
Gênesis 11
Wiersbe writes "Whom the gods would destroy,” wrote historian Charles Beard, “they first make drunk with power.” From Babel to Belshazzar (Dan. 5), and from Herod (Acts 12:20–25) to Hitler, God has demonstrated repeatedly that it doesn’t pay to rebel against His will. “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16:18 nkjv), and Jesus warned that those who exalt themselves will be abased (Matt. 23:12) Ross on came down - Midrash Pirke of R. Eliezer (c. 14) records ten comings down of the Lord: Paradise, Babel, Sodom, the Bush, Sinai, twice at the Rock, twice at the Tabernacle, and once in the last day. The coming down was viewed as Yahweh’s revealing of Himself. It is seen in Scripture as the divine intervention breaking through the course of events (Exod. 19:20; 34:5; Num. 11:25; 12:5); however, one should also see Exodus 3:8 and Numbers 11:7 (for deliverance and blessing). Sons of men - In referring to them as בְּנֵי הָאָרָם (“sons of the earth”), he shows them to be earthlings. This strikes at the heart of the Babylonian literature which credited the work to the Anunnaki gods. The work, according to Genesis, was terrestrial, not celestial. Procksch has an interesting comment pointing out that “Yahweh must draw near, not because he is near-sighted, but because he dwells at such tremendous height and their work is so tiny. God’s movement must therefore be understood as a remarkable satire on man’s doing.” (Cited by Von Rad, Genesis) Cassuto quipped that no matter how high they built their tower, Yahweh still had to descend to see it! NET NOTE on the phrase sons of men - Heb “the sons of man.” The phrase is intended in this polemic to portray the builders as mere mortals, not the lesser deities that the Babylonians claimed built the city (ED: THE IMPLICATION OF THE PHRASE "LESSER DEITIES" IS THAT THEY ARE ALREADY INVOLVED IN IDOL WORSHIP). John Piper on the phrase sons of men (ED: Hebrew for "men" is "adam") - Notice that He calls them “the children of man,” or translated another way, “the sons of Adam.” The building of this city and this tower are similar to what Adam did when he rebelled against God and ate of the tree. The sinful nature of Adam goes on in his descendants—including you and me. (Full sermon The Pride of Babel and the Praise of Christ) Ray
Gênesis 11
Wiersbe - As with Adam and Eve in the garden (Gen. 3:22–24), God’s judgment at Babel not only dealt with the immediate sins but also helped to prevent future problems. The unity of mankind would only give people a false sense of power that would lead them into even greater rebellion against God. By confusing their language and scattering them over all the earth, God graciously spared their lives and gave them opportunity to return to Him. He could have destroyed the builders, their city, and their tower, but He chose to let them live. The word “babel” sounds like the Hebrew word balal which means “confusion.” Because of God’s judgment, the “gate of the gods” became the “the door to confusion.” Instead of making a name for themselves, God gave the project a new name! In His church, “God is not the author of confusion” (1 Cor. 14:33), but in the world, God sometimes uses confusion to humble people and keep them from uniting against His will. Ross on confuse - The second verb describes the actual purpose: “let Us confound.” It was this confusion (בָּלַל) that led to the diversity of their understanding and thus to their dispersion. Bush explains how this would come about. This was to cause a dispersion of the multitudes congregated at Babylon; an end which did not require for its accomplishment the instantaneous formation of new languages, but simply such a confusion in the utterance of the old, as should naturally lead to misapprehension, discord and division. The dialectic discrepancies, however, thus originating, though perhaps not very great at first, would become gradually more and more marked, as men became more widely separated from each other, and by the influence of climate, laws, customs, religion, and various other causes, till they finally issued in substantially different languages." (BORROW Bush, Genesis - Volume 1 - Page 178) Once the understanding of one another was confounded, the division would be effected. God met the unity on earth with disunity from heaven Steven
Gênesis 11
Wiersbe writes "What to us is only a list of names was to God a “bridge” from the appointment of Shem to the call of Abraham. God has deigned to use people to help accomplish His will on earth, and people are fragile and not always obedient. But the “bridge” was built and the covenant promises sustained." Bob
Gênesis 11
Wiersbe - It was God’s purpose to call a man and his wife and from them build a family. From that family He would build a nation, and from that nation, God would bless all the nations of the earth (Ge 12:1–3; 18:18). From start to finish, it was a work of God’s grace; for when God called Abraham and Sarah, they belonged to a family that worshipped idols (Josh. 24:2). In both Ur of the Chaldees and Haran, the people worshipped the moon god. NET NOTE - The name Sarai (a variant spelling of “Sarah”) means “princess” (or “lady”). Sharratu was the name of the wife of the moon god Sin. The original name may reflect the culture out of which the patriarch was called, for the family did worship other gods in Mesopotamia. The name Milcah means “Queen.” But more to the point here is the fact that Malkatu was a title for Ishtar, the daughter of the moon god. And the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and Iscah - Nahor and Milcah will show up again in Genesis 22:20-24 where Nahor's offspring are delineated. Genesis 11:30 Sarai was barren; she had no child. Sarai - 13v in Bible = Gen. 11:29; Gen. 11:30; Gen. 11:31; Gen. 12:5; Gen. 12:11; Gen. 12:17; Gen. 16:1; Gen. 16:2; Gen. 16:3; Gen. 16:5; Gen. 16:6; Gen. 16:8; Gen. 17:15 barren - Ge 15:2,3 16:1,2 18:11,12 21:1,2 25:21 29:31 30:1,2 Judges 13:2 1Sa 1:2 Ps 113:9 Lu 1:7,36 Genesis 11 Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries SARAI WAS BARREN Sarai ("princess") was barren ('aqar; Lxx = steira); she had no child - The latter clause (no child) is the result of the former (barren). And keeping in mind that children are a gift from the Lord (Ps 127:3), Sarai's barrenness was from the Lord and would be the foundation for His subsequent divine, miraculous intervention. This parenthetical truth will become very important in subsequent chapters when God tells Abram he will have a son even though his wife is barren at the time God gives the promise. Sarai is the original name of Sarah, the wife and half-sister of Abraham (same father, namely Terah (Genesis 20:12). Bob