Kejadian 11:1

The Dispersion of the Nations at Babel

11:1 The whole earth ¹  had a common language and a common vocabulary. ² 

Kejadian 11:6

11:6 And the Lord said, “If as one people all sharing a common language ³  they have begun to do this, then ⁴  nothing they plan to do will be beyond them. ⁵ 

[11:1]  ¹ sn The whole earth. Here “earth” is a metonymy of subject, referring to the people who lived in the earth. Genesis 11 begins with everyone speaking a common language, but chap. 10 has the nations arranged by languages. It is part of the narrative art of Genesis to give the explanation of the event after the narration of the event. On this passage see A. P. Ross, “The Dispersion of the Nations in Genesis 11:1-9,” BSac 138 (1981): 119-38.

[11:1]  ² tn Heb “one lip and one [set of] words.” The term “lip” is a metonymy of cause, putting the instrument for the intended effect. They had one language. The term “words” refers to the content of their speech. They had the same vocabulary.

[11:6]  ³ tn Heb “and one lip to all of them.”

[11:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “and now.” The foundational clause beginning with הֵן (hen) expresses the condition, and the second clause the result. It could be rendered “If this…then now.”

[11:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “all that they purpose to do will not be withheld from them.”