When was the Tower of Babel built?
I will reference a previous article entitled “When Was The Flood?” within this article. If certain things are unclear, you may want to consult that article.
Let us look in Genesis Chapter 10 for the answer to our title question. In verse 11, we read the following: “These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood” Genesis 11:10. Therefore, Shem was 98 years old at the time of the flood, in the year 1656 after Creation. We shall then add two years to this so we may begin our count. Therefore, in 1658, Shem begets Arphaxad.
Let’s go on: “And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah” Genesis 11:12. This is quite a short time compared to the others! Noah, his grandfather, had his first child when he was 500 years old, yet Arphaxad has his firstborn when he is barely 35 years old. What a change! What about Salah? Well, “Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber” Genesis 11:14. That makes the year 1723.
In verse 16 of the same chapter, we read: “And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg… And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu. And Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters.” Genesis 16, 18.
We stop our count here, because in Genesis Chapter 10, we read the following verse: “And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan” Genesis 10:25.
So what we know so far is that the Tower of Babel was built sometime between the years 1757 and 1996 after Creation. Unfortunately I do not know if we can be any more specific than that in terms of the time of this occurrence.
Nonetheless, the Bible does give us more information about the Tower of Babel. For example, we find out that the project was likely started by one called Nimrod, the nephew of Ham, who was Noah’s son: “Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood… And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan… And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord” Genesis 10:1, 6, 8, 9.
Nimrod owned the land of Shinar: “And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar” Genesis 10:10. In Chapter 11, we read that the Tower of Babel was built in the land of Shinar: “And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. 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 morter. 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” Genesis 11:2-4.
Now, from the Babel Encyclopedia website, we find out the following: “The name Nimrod may come from the Hebrew verb ‘nimrodh’ which is translated, “Let us revolt.” Nimrod is referred to as a ‘mighty one’: this phrase derives from the Hebrew word ‘gilor’ which means “tyrant”. Nimrod was not just a powerful man on the earth at that time, he was a tyrannical leader of men. The phrase “a mighty hunter before the Lord” suggests that it was not wild beasts that Nimrod was hunting, but men. Having hunted them he would enslave them and have a tyrannical hold over them. And all this was done in direct opposition to the Lord” [1].
Therefore, it is no wonder that the Tower of Babel does not last, but that is a subject for another article.
[1] Babel Encyclopedia Web Site, http://www.cwd.co.uk/babel/nimrod.htm.
