Kejadian 11:9

11:9 That is why its name was called ¹  Babel ²  – because there the Lord confused the language of the entire world, and from there the Lord scattered them across the face of the entire earth.

Kejadian 11:2

11:2 When the people ³  moved eastward, ⁴  they found a plain in Shinar ⁵  and settled there.

1 Tawarikh 1:17

Shem’s Descendants

1:17 The sons of Shem:

Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.

The sons of Aram: ⁶ 

Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech. ⁷ 

Yesaya 13:1

The Lord Will Judge Babylon

13:1 ⁸ This is a message about Babylon that God revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz: ⁹ 

[11:9]  ¹ tn The verb has no expressed subject and so can be rendered as a passive in the translation.

[11:9]  ² sn Babel. Here is the climax of the account, a parody on the pride of Babylon. In the Babylonian literature the name bab-ili meant “the gate of God,” but in Hebrew it sounds like the word for “confusion,” and so retained that connotation. The name “Babel” (בָּבֶל, bavel) and the verb translated “confused” (בָּלַל, balal) form a paronomasia (sound play). For the many wordplays and other rhetorical devices in Genesis, see J. P. Fokkelman, Narrative Art in Genesis (SSN).

[11:2]  ³ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:2]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps “from the east” (NRSV) or “in the east.”

[11:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “in the land of Shinar.”

[11:2]  sn Shinar is the region of Babylonia.

[1:17]  ⁶ tc The words “the sons of Aram” do not appear in the Hebrew text. Apparently the phrase וּבְנֵי אֲרָם (uvÿney ’aram) has accidentally dropped out of the text by homoioteleuton (note the presence of אֲרָם just before this). The phrase is included in Gen 10:23.

[1:17]  ⁷ tc The MT of the parallel geneaology in Gen 10:23 reads “Mash,” but the LXX there reads “Meshech” in agreement with 1 Chr 1:17.

[13:1]  ⁸ sn Isa 13-23 contains a series of judgment oracles against various nations. It is likely that Israel, not the nations mentioned, actually heard these oracles. The oracles probably had a twofold purpose. For those leaders who insisted on getting embroiled in international politics, these oracles were a reminder that Judah need not fear foreign nations or seek international alliances for security reasons. For the righteous remnant within the nation, these oracles were a reminder that Israel’s God was indeed the sovereign ruler of the earth, worthy of his people’s trust.

[13:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “The message [traditionally, “burden”] [about] Babylon which Isaiah son of Amoz saw.”