Good morning from sunny Missouri! I am attending my son’s graduation (he is getting his MA!) at Missouri State University. It is a monumental event for our family and a date to remember. So…does anyone remember or know when the tower of Babel was erected?
The bible records this historical event taking place during the time of Peleg. “To Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan” (Genesis 10:25). The phrase ‘in his days the earth was divided’ gives us a hint that something monumental happened at that time.
“Renowned chronologist Archbishop James Ussher placed the time of Babel at 106 years after the Flood, when Peleg was born.” Thus this event would have occurred at 2242 B.C.. And though the date may not be exact, we know the approximate range, for Peleg was born in the fourth generation after the Flood.1
Some scientists try to contend that ‘the earth was divided’ pertains to the shifting of the contents. However, as discussed in earlier blogs, we know that continental drift occurred during the Noachian flood and by the end of the deluge were settled into place. Had another splitting of the continents occurred during the days of Peleg, it would have triggered another global flood; something that is not present in either historical documents nor in the physical evidence of geological layers, fossils, etc.
In many cultures the event of the tower of Babel and the splitting of languages are recorded either orally or written, all pertaining to long ago:
In the “ancient near east, family and national historical accounts were meticulously and accurately passed down from generation to generation orally. The Genesis account identifies the land of ‘Shinar’ as the location of the Tower of Babel. This is the land of ‘Sumer’ where many ancient documents of the Sumerians have been discovered. Within these documents are stories paralleling many of the Genesis accounts including creation, Noah and the flood as well as the confounding of the languages.”2
And listen to this legend form central America. “And as men were thereafter multiplying they constructed a very high and strong Zacualli, which means “a very high tower” in order to protect themselves when again the second world should be destroyed. At the crucial moment their languages were changed, and as they did not understand one another, they went into different parts of the world.”3
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Here is another on from Polynesia. “But the god in anger chased the builders away, broke down the building, and changed their language, so that they spoke divers tongues.”4
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Ok…I got a little side tracked from the date and gave you some more information on the reality of the construction. The point is, this incident really occurred in history shortly after the great global flood, and it was a major changing event in man’s history.
So, at 106 years after the flood as Archbishop James Ussher calculates, there would have been more than enough humans to take on the massive undertaking of building a tower to the heavens.
How fascinating our true human history is…
Until next time, God Bless and take care!
Willow
References:
3 Don Fernando de Alvara Ixtlilxochitl, Obras Historicas Mexico, 1891, Vol. I, p. 12.)
4 R. W. Williamson, Religious and Cosmic Beliefs of Central Polynesia Cambridge, 1933, vol. I, p. 94.)
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