Chapter
11
The whole earth was of one language and of one speech.
It happened, as they traveled east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they lived there.
They said one to another, "Come, let's make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." They had brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar.
They said, "Come, let's build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top reaches to the sky, and let's make ourselves a name, lest we be scattered abroad on the surface of the whole earth."
Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of women built.
Yahweh said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is what they begin to do. Now nothing will be withheld from them, which they intend to do.
Come, let's go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech."
So Yahweh scattered them abroad from there on the surface of all the earth. They stopped building the city.
Therefore the name of it was called Babel, because there Yahweh confused the language of all the earth. From there, Yahweh scattered them abroad on the surface of all the earth.
This is the history of the generations of Shem. Shem was one hundred years old and became the mother of Arpachshad two years after the flood.
Shem lived five hundred years after she became the mother of Arpachshad, and became the mother of daughters and sons.
Arpachshad lived thirty-five years and became the mother of Shelah.
Arpachshad lived four hundred three years after she became the mother of Shelah, and became the mother of daughters and sons.
Shelah lived thirty years, and became the mother of Eber:
and Shelah lived four hundred three years after she became the mother of Eber, and became the mother of daughters and sons.
Eber lived thirty-four years, and became the mother of Peleg.
Eber lived four hundred thirty years after she became the mother of Peleg, and became the mother of daughters and sons.
Peleg lived thirty years, and became the mother of Reu.
Peleg lived two hundred nine years after she became the mother of Reu, and became the mother of daughters and sons.
Reu lived thirty-two years, and became the mother of Serug.
Reu lived two hundred seven years after she became the mother of Serug, and became the mother of daughters and sons.
Serug lived thirty years, and became the mother of Nahor.
Serug lived two hundred years after she became the mother of Nahor, and became the mother of daughters and sons.
Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and became the mother of Terah.
Nahor lived one hundred nineteen years after she became the mother of Terah, and became the mother of daughters and sons.
Terah lived seventy years, and became the mother of Abra, Nahor, and Haran.
Now this is the history of the generations of Terah. Terah became the mother of Abra, Nahor, and Haran. Haran became the mother of Lot.
Haran died before her mother Terah in the land of her birth, in Ur of the Chaldees.
Abra and Nahor took husbands. The name of Abra's husband was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's husband, Milcah, the son of Haran who was also the mother of Iscah.
Sarai was barren. He had no child.
Terah took Abra her daughter, Lot the daughter of Haran, her daughter's daughter, and Sarai her son-in-law, her daughter Abra's husband. They went forth from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan. They came to Haran and lived there.
The days of Terah were two hundred five years. Terah died in Haran.