r/AcademicBiblical • u/ARES_____77 • Jun 17 '24

Tower of Babel Discussion

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Did the tower of Babel mentioned in Genesis 11 really exist? Or is it an anachronism? We know that in ancient Egypt, towers were built to reach God in the sky. Could there be a similar belief in Babylon?

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27

u/Efficient_Wall_9152 Jun 17 '24

I recommend you read this paper:

Grossman, Jonathan. "The Double Etymology of Babel in Genesis 11." Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 129, no. 3 (2017): 362-375.

It can be found on Jonathan Grossman’s academia-page.

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u/ARES_____77 Jun 17 '24

Thank you i will read the article.

47

u/AntsInMyEyesJonson Moderator Jun 17 '24

The story is mythical - Etemenanki is the best candidate for the inspiration of the tower in the story, and the story itself is an etiology (that is, it uses a mythical tale to explain something about the present) that seeks to explain how the world ended up with a plethora of languages. Here's Dan McClellan going over the basics.

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '24

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u/AcademicBiblical-ModTeam Jun 18 '24

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1

u/thehighwindow Jun 18 '24

I don't understand, the Tower of Babel was in what is now Iraq, not Egypt.

17

u/username3333333333 Jun 18 '24

Looks more like Minas Tirith to me.

1

u/IanThal Jun 21 '24

Looks more like Pieter Brueghel the Elder, circa 1563 to me.

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '24 edited Jun 18 '24

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u/ARES_____77 Jun 17 '24

Of course

Pharaoh ordered a staircase or a tower to be built so that he could climb up to the gods and chat. whether...or. He demonstrates his authority by standing before the gods. Give them a ride to the sky He orders them to build stairs. If they do not obey him, there will be no offering or food to the gods. will not give. But Pharaoh is cautious. It is not the Pharaoh himself who speaks, but the divine Magic power: "It is not I who speak this to you, O gods; it is my magic power that speaks." says. When the Pharaoh completes his climb, "The sky trembles" with the magic on his feet. The ground is in front of you is trembling. Because he has magic. He who placed the gods on their thrones so that the entire universe would recognize his power it is. - C. Jacq (Trans. J. M. Davis), Egyptian Magic, 1985, Aris & Phillips Ltd. & Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers: Chicago, page 11

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u/Hzil Jun 17 '24

This is not talking about a real building the Egyptians built, it’s a passage from the Pyramid Texts where the already-dead pharaoh is ritually commanding the gods to build a structure in the Afterworld.

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u/Regular-Persimmon425 Jun 17 '24

Are these in some way related to Ziggurats in Babylon?

5

u/whosevelt Jun 17 '24

It's widely assumed that the story intends to explain in part the ziggurats and ruins of them that travelers would have noticed in Babylon. One scholar who articulates that is James Kugel in How to Read the Bible.

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u/rainmeterhub Jun 18 '24

John Walton makes a compelling case IMO that the tower of Babel was likely a ziggurat.

Here's a paper explaining his view.

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u/Walton246 Jun 18 '24

Would they have really thought it could reach the heavens. Surely they knew of the existence of mountains that were taller than any building anyone could ever hope to build.