I/W: 2025 H: Various Theory, Spirit
Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” 5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 6 And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech.” 8 So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused[a] the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth. Genesis 11:1-9
The Bible’s tower of Babel story is an important part of human history. It also carries question marks as to what exactly took place. In this post, I will break down the various elements of what happened and why. First determining what this language actually was by looking at surrounding text, the text at hand, and my own experiences. Then why it was taken away, and finishing with if it will return.
What Was This Language?
What Was Language Like Before Babel?
There’s virtually nothing about what language was spoken before the Babel story but there’s still sufficient information to get a good idea. For starters, everyone is able to communicate fluidly. This goes for humans and non-humans. Adam, Eve, God, and the serpent, all appear to be able to understand one another without issue (Ge 3:1-2, 9-10). The reasonable implication is they all speak the same language as opposed to multiple languages For example, God speaks to the humans and the serpent in succession (Ge 3:14-19).
To hit on this point further, the Noah’s ark story implies the same. Again, there’s no mention of language here but you can get a fair idea. Noah (and assumingly his family) are tasked by God to put two of every living thing (one male, one female) on an ark God instructed him to build so their species will survive a flood God will cause (Ge 6:19-20). The question is: How did they do this? This includes birds, large animals, violent animals, insects that can’t be seen, and so on. Even more so, the text suggests the living things were taken onto the ark on the same day the family entered it when the flood started (Ge 7:11-16). This would mean they’d have to be kept outside the ark without them escaping. Mind you, this was roughly around 2000 BC. The answer to how they accomplished all this would simply be they were able to communicate with the living things. This is what would make possible what seems near impossible. Given it’s already set up in the garden of Eden humans can communicate with animals, it’s reasonable humans can still communicate with animals (living things) in Noah’s time.
Is the Bible’s Dating of the Start of Humanity Accurate?
To take the point further, at a later time a man named Balaam is able to communicate with a donkey (Nu 22:28-30). This happens post-Babel at the backend of God’s spirit leaving people. Also, it says “the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey” (Nu 22:28). Implying God granting back the lost language to Balaam and his donkey so they could communicate for a short time.
How Long It Takes for God’s Spirit to Leave People and Enter People
This all implies the existence of a universal language that intelligent life can use to communicate with their own and other species.
What the Text Says
The tower of Babel story says “The whole earth had one language” (Ge 11:1). But the chapter preceding it, which lists the descendants of Noah, indicates they broke into numerous tribes in their own regions and spoke their own language (Ge 10:5, 20, 31). So the text is saying everyone speaks the same language and also doesn’t speak the same language. To decipher this conundrum, looking at the original Hebrew words clears it up fairly quickly, while still leaving questions that will be explored. Simply, the Hebrew word used in chapter 10 for language is different than the word used in chapter 11. The chapter 11 word can be translated as language but just as accurately as framework or perimeter. In ESV, the version I’m using, the chapter 11 word is mainly “language” but “speech” is used once in verse 7 (Ge 11:1, 6, 7, 9).
So one language everyone on earth uses and understands each other with, which is like a framework, and the other is unique to their tribe. This is similar to how humans speak verbally, which is their framework, but the verbal sounds they speak are unique to the human created language they’re speaking. This also means the framework language they were using in chapter 11 wasn’t a verbal speech, as they wouldn’t be able to understand each other to build the city and tower if it were. The framework of speaking verbally on its own doesn’t cause everyone to understand one another. And if their languages were unique to their tribe, then even more so they wouldn’t understand each other, if it were verbal. Therefore, they weren’t speaking verbally.
Language is based on knowledge. Each tribe would have their own identifiable knowledge based on their own experiences, and this would be the language unique to them. The one language (framework) they all understand one another through would be how they convey their knowledge to one another.
In the text, God says “they are one people” (Ge 11:6), which means they’re united, something that can’t be said after that time. So something united them, and this would assumingly be the language, “they have all one language” (Ge 11:6). God taking away the language (confusing it) divides them, “the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth” (Ge 11:7-8), so it’s assumed they’re united by the one language they use.
What the Text Implies
“Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”” (Ge 11:4). What’s important to note here, is the exact thing they fear will happen, does happen. Their building of the city and tower is an attempt to stop it from happening. Some important questions to ask are: Why build the tower into the heavens when they have an abundance of land? Who are they trying to make a name for themselves to?
The assumption is their reason for building the city and tower is to keep their one language (framework) that makes them one people, as their intention in doing it is so they’re not dispersed, which is what God does to them when they lose that one language. The consequence of its removal would be their dispersing due to their inability to communicate with each other. It can further be assumed they knew they didn’t have full control over the existence of this one language and that it could be taken away from them. Meaning, they were aware of intelligent powers existing elsewhere that could take away this language. They build the tower toward the heavens where these powers assumingly reside to show their worth, “make a name for ourselves” (Ge 11:4), in an attempt to keep the language.
What Was This Language?
God’s action of taking away the language (framework) happens within the timeframe he’s taking his spirit out of humans (Ge 6:3). It’s already established it’s not a verbal language, and that humans, God, and animals can understand one another, implying they speak a universal language. The removal of the language would assumingly be linked to God removing his spirit from humans. Its degradation within them they appear aware of, “lest we be dispersed” (Ge 11:4), which was a process that began after Noah spanning approximately 1000 years. That’s explained in this post:
How Long It Takes for God’s Spirit to Leave People and Enter People
This all leads me to believe this language (framework) is a spiritual language that living intelligent beings can use to communicate. Additionally, I’ve experienced this language and it checks the boxes to fit what’s been gone over. I talk about it in detail in this post (click DIRECT for specific part):
My Experiences With Spiritual Communication (DIRECT)
I’ll still go over it a bit here though. I’ve used this language to communicate with two elder humans, God, and one ET, leading me to believe it’s universal. Of the humans, I can say for sure one can’t speak English, my only tongue, John writer of Revelation, and the other likely doesn’t speak English. Regardless, I was able to understand perfectly what they communicated. John referenced his book, but not by name, and the other referenced people, but not by name. I was able to understand what, or who, they were referencing immediately, with no hesitation or processing. Additionally, I can’t connect to this language at will but am rather connected to it in a way of that it happens when it happens.
Back to the story of Babel text, they were still able to understand one another despite having different sets of knowledge. Whatever knowledge overlap they had they would be able to communicate to one another easily, despite having different experiences of identification of their knowledge. You’d have to have knowledge of what the person is communicating to understand what they’re saying. God had shown me something I couldn’t understand because I had no knowledge or experience of it, making it difficult to comprehend.
Insight Into the Scale of the Universe Beyond the Temporal
Why Was It Taken Away?
With the likelihood of this language being taken away being part of God removing his spirit from within people, scripture implies the reasoning is because of Humanity’s evil nature (Ge 6:5-8).
But that aside, this is the best time in history to understand why such a language would be taken away. God lays out the problem is they’re advancing too fast (Ge 11:6), “this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.” The question is: Why would their advancement be a problem?
Human advancement has brought great value but it’s also brought great destruction, so it has two sides to it. The destruction part of it is the problem. The more humanity advances, the worse the potential for destruction.
There’s also a whole other element to this. Humanity destroying each other is one thing but destroying other species outside the earth’s atmosphere is another. This would bring on a whole other level of destruction.
The tower of Babel story text even conveys the existence of Ets. First, there’s the implying awareness of intelligence beyond, as previously discussed. There’s additionally God visiting the city and tower (Ge 11:5), “came down” (Ge 11:5) and “go down” (Ge 11:7) indicate physical travel. An omnipresent being wouldn’t travel in any direction because they’re already everywhere. And a being not composed of matter can’t travel any direction because there’s no matter to move. So this likely would have been an avatar of God, similarly, as implied, to when the men visit Abraham (Ge 18:1-5).
So the taking away of this language would have slowed the progress of humanity immensely. When it was taken away, if they weren’t utilizing any other frameworks of communication outside the universal one language, no one would be able to communicate with one another. Even the tribes who spoke the same language (knowledge base), mentioned in the previous chapter, wouldn’t be able to communicate, because they wouldn’t have an established vehicle (framework) to do so. The best they’d probably be able to do is body language. Their unity and ability to work together would have become lost. Then they scattered, as I suppose they saw that as their best option.
Will It Return?
It’s been established, God (and his comrades) can take this language (framework) away (Ge 11:7). And since God (and his comrades) created humans, it would be them who gave this language (Ge 1:26). That said, they would also be able to restore the language.
The Bible has a reoccurring theme of restoration which readers of it would be well aware of. But for the purpose of this section, I’ll just lay out one explicit prophecy in Zephaniah, that God will give a pure speech.
“For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord and serve him with one accord. Zephaniah 3:9
The original Hebrew word used for “speech” in this Zephaniah verse is the same word used in the Genesis chapter 11 tower of Babel story which means framework.
So, will this language return? It appears so.
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