Babel

Discussions about the Bible, and any issues raised by Scripture.
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EachNewDawn
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Babel

Post by EachNewDawn »

I've always understood the Tower of Babel story to be about mankind disobeying God's command to fill the earth and that God confused their language to enforce His command. Yet I hear so many people describe this as 'a myth about the origins of different languages'. Where exactly does this interpretation come from? My thoughts are that some people read this as they would a Greek or Roman myth or that they consider mankind to be the most important "character" in the Bible, such that God is seen as a means of explaining things. What do you guys think?

:)
I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. (Psalm 116:1-2)

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)
PaulSacramento
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Re: Babel

Post by PaulSacramento »

There are many ways to interpret the story.
We can certainly see it as the "explanation" of different languages and we can also see it as an example of Man, once again, trying to be like God, or we can even see it as a lesson in humility for any king ( Nimrod being the example in this case) and so forth.
OR we can see it as being all those ( and more).
It is important to realize that we CAN have multiple lessons being taught in almost every story in the bible.
We can also see, in ACTS, the "reversal" of this event when the HS allows those followers to be able to understand all languages.
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