assisted by rendering (
Hebrew characters) 'in the direction of' (see on v.19); for in any
case Ẓafār must have been the terminus in a southern direction. The
commonly received opinion is that (Hebrew characters) is the name of the Frankincense
Mountain between Ḥaḍramaut and Mahra (see Di.).
XI. 1-9.—The Tower of Babel (J). A mythical or legendary account of the breaking up of the primitive unity of mankind into separate communities, distinguished and isolated by differences of language. The story reflects at the same time the impression made on Semitic nomads by the imposing monuments of Babylonian civilisation. To such stupendous undertakings only an undivided humanity could have addressed itself; and the existing disunitedness of the race is a divine judgement on the presumptuous impiety which inspired these early manifestations of human genius and enterprise.
Gu. has apparently succeeded in disentangling two distinct but kindred legends, which are both Yahwistic (cf. (Hebrew characters), vv.5 6. 8. 9. 9), and have been blended with remarkable skill. One has crystallised round the name 'Babel,' and its leading motive is the "confusion" of tongues; the other around the memory of some ruined tower, which tradition connected with the "dispersion" of the race. Gu.'s division will be best exhibited by the following continuous translations:
A. The Babel-Recension: (1) And it was, when all the earth had one speech and one vocabulary, (3a) that they said to one another, Come! Let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly. (4a(Greek characters), (Greek characters)) And they said, Come! Let us build us a city, and make ourselves a name. (6a(Greek characters)) And Yahwe said, Behold it is one people, and all of one language. (7) Come! Let us go down and confound there their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech, (8b) and that they may cease to build the city. (9a) Therefore is its name called 'Babel' (Confusion), for there Yahwe confused the speech of the whole earth
B. The Tower-Recension: . . .
(2) And when they broke up from
the East, they found a plain in the
land of Shin'ar, and settled there.
[And they said, Let us build] (4aβb)
a tower, with its top reaching to
heaven, lest we disperse over the
face of the whole earth. (3b) And
they had brick for stone and asphalt
for mortar. (5) And Yahwe came
down to see the tower which the
sons of men had built. [And He
said . . .] (6aβb) and this is but the
beginning of their enterprise; and
now nothing will be impracticable
to them which they purpose to do.
(8a) So Yahwe scattered them over
the face of the whole earth. [?Therefore
the name of the tower was
called 'Pîẓ' (Dispersion), for] (9b)
from thence Yahwe dispersed them
over the face of the whole earth.
