The iniquity and godlessness of Nimrod reached their climax in the
building of the Tower of Babel. His counsellors had proposed the plan
of erecting such a tower, Nimrod had agreed to it, and it was executed
in Shinar by a mob of six hundred thousand men. The enterprise was
neither more nor less than rebellion against God, and there were three
sorts of rebels among the builders. The first party spoke, Let us
ascend into the heavens and wage warfare with Him; the second party
spoke, Let us ascend into the heavens, set up our idols, and pay
worship unto them there; and the third party spoke, Let us ascend into
the heavens, and ruin them with our bows and spears.
Many, many years were passed in building the tower. It reached so great
a height that it took a year to mount to the top. A brick was,
therefore, more precious in the sight of the builders than a human
being. If a man fell down, and met his death, none took notice of it,
but if a brick dropped, they wept, because it would take a year to
replace it. So intent were they upon accomplishing their purpose that
they would not permit a woman to interrupt herself in her work of
brick-making when the hour of travail came upon her. Moulding bricks
she gave birth to her child, and, tying it round her body in a sheet,
she went on moulding bricks.
They never slackened in their work, and from their dizzy height they
constantly shot arrows toward heaven, which, returning, were seen to be
covered with blood. They were thus fortified in their delusion, and
they cried, "We have slain all who are in heaven." Thereupon God turned
to the seventy angels who encompass His throne, and He spake: "Go to,
let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not
understand one another's speech." Thus it happened. Thenceforth none
knew what the other spoke. One would ask for the mortar, and the other
handed him a brick; in a rage, he would throw the brick at his partner
and kill him. Many perished in this manner, and the rest were punished
according to the nature of their rebellious conduct. Those who had
spoken, "Let us ascend into the heavens, set up our idols, and pay
worship unto them there," God transformed into apes and phantoms; those
who had proposed to assault the heavens with their arms, God set
against each other so that they fell in the combat; and those who had
resolved to carry on a combat with God in heaven were scattered
broadcast over the earth. As for the unfinished tower, a part sank into
the earth, and another part was consumed by fire; only one-third of it
remained standing.[88] The place of the tower has never lost its
peculiar quality. Whoever passes it forgets all he knows.[89]
The punishment inflicted upon the sinful generation of the tower is
comparatively lenient. On account of rapine the generation of the flood
were utterly destroyed, while the generation of the tower were
preserved in spite of their blasphemies and all their other acts
offensive to God. The reason is that God sets a high value upon peace
and harmony. Therefore the generation of the deluge, who gave
themselves up to depredation, and bore hatred to one another, were
extirpated, root and branch, while the generation of the Tower of Babel
dwelling amicably together, and loving one another, were spared alive,
at least a remnant of them.[90]
Beside the chastisement of sin and sinners by the confounding of
speech, another notable circumstance was connected with the descent of
God upon earth—one of only ten such descents to occur between the
creation of the world and the day of judgment. It was on this occasion
that God and the seventy angels that surround His throne cast lots
concerning the various nations. Each angel received a nation, and
Israel fell to the lot of God. To every nation a peculiar language was
assigned, Hebrew being reserved for Israel—the language made use of by
God at the creation of the world.[91]
V
ABRAHAM