From the Flood to Abraham
Gen. Chs. 9-11.
Noah's Shame and Prophecy. Just what the vocation of Noah bad been
before his call to prepare for the flood we do not know. But after the
flood, perhaps compelled by necessity, he became an husbandman. He had
probably settled on the slopes or in the valleys of Ararat where he
planted a vineyard. On one occasion at least he fell under the
intoxicating influence of the fermented wine. This man upon whom God
had conferred such great favor and who alone preserved the race alive
lay naked and helpless in his tent.
In this shameful condition he was discovered by his sons whose conduct
led him in a spirit of prophecy to assign to his three sons the
rewards and punishments which their deeds merited. The punishment and
rewards fell upon the descendants of his sons. The descendants of Ham,
because of his joy rather than sorrow over the sin and humiliation of
his father, should always be a servile race. Out of these descendants
of Ham arose the Canaanites, the Babylonians and the Egyptians who
developed the three great civilizations of antiquity. Their
ascendancy, however, soon passed. The Canaanites were subdued by the
Israelites; the Cushites of Chaldea were absorbed by Semitic
conquerors and Carthage of the Phoenicians fell before her foes. The
sons of Cush, in the scripture commonly meaning the Ethiopian and now
known as the black-skinned African, are the very synonym for weakness,
degradation and servitude.
The descendants of Japheth and Shem like those of Ham can be traced
only in part. The Japhethites probably settled around the
Mediterranean and in the northwest beyond the Black Sea. From them
"the great races of Europe, including the Greeks, the Romans, and the
more modern nations, must have sprung." The Shemites were located,
generally speaking, between the territories occupied by the sons of
Ham and Japheth. Aram, one of the sons of Japheth, settled in Syria
near Damascus in northern part of Mesopotamia and through his son, Uz,
gave the name of Uz to the territory, thus showing how that branch of
the Hebrews came from western Mesopotamia, a fact now confirmed by
modern discovery. All the other sons of Shem and their descendants are
dropped from the record of Chapter eleven, except that of Arphaxad
from whom descended Abram.
The prophecy of Noah was not only fulfilled in the case of Ham and his
punishment but in the blessing of the Others. Shem was for a long time
signally blessed as is witnessed by the Asiatic supremacy and
especially in the Jews who conquered the Canaanites (descendants of
Ham) and in whose tents God dwelt. During that period of the
ascendancy of the Shemites not much was known of the descendants of
Japheth. But now for more than two thousand years his have been the
dominant race of the earth. Year by year, the Japhethites have spread
over the globe, until whole continents are now peopled by him. He now
rests his foot upon every soil either as a trader, colonist or
national power.
The Tower of Babel. The place of this tower is in the land of Shinat,
which is the name given by the early Hebrews to the land of Babylonia
(Gen. 10:10; 14:19; Is. 11:1; Dan. 1:2; Zech. 5:11). This plain of
Shinar had become the center of the earth's population. They threw up
with infinite toil great mounds, which still stand as monuments of
human achievement. Many such mounds and ruins, any of which would have
seemed lofty in contrast with the level plain of Babylon, may be seen
by the traveler.
The exact location of this tower cannot be determined with certainty,
but it has been thought by some that a great mound on the east of the
Euphrates, which probably represents the remains of the great temple
of Marduk with its huge pyramid-like foundation, was the site of this
tower. On the west of the Euphrates, however, is a vast mound called
Birs Nimrood, which used to be regarded as the ruins of the Tower of
Babel. The fact that it early gave the impression of incompleteness
favors this claim. Nebuchadnezzar says on a tablet that another king
began it but left it unfinished. It fell into disrepair and was
completed by Nebuchadnezzar and was used as one of the great temples.
It was built of brick and was oblong in form. It measured seven
hundred yards around and rose to a height of from one hundred and
fifty to two hundred feet high. It consisted o? seven stages or
stories colored to represent the tints which the Sabeans thought
appropriate to the seven planets. Beginning from the bottom they were
black, orange, bright red, golden, pale yellow, dark blue and silver,
representing respectively the colors of Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the
Sun, Venus. Mercury, and the Moon. These marks may indicate the
prevalence of idolatry and have led some to think the tower of Babel
was intended to do honor to the gods of Babylonia.
The specific purpose of this tower is difficult to determine. Josephus
says the object was to save the people in case of another flood. The
scripture record (11:4) indicates that they were moved by an unholy
pride and selfish desire to make for themselves a great name. It also
was intended to become a sort of rallying-point which would keep the
people together and prevent the destruction of their glory which they
thought would result from their separation. In 11:6 God says "nothing
will be restrained from them which they have imagined to do." In this
there is an implication that they are at cross purposes with God. It
was an act that defied God and showed the need of punishment. It is
not unlikely that idolatry had begun to prevail and that the tower was
built in honor of those false Gods whom men were disposed to trust.
The incompleteness of the tower is attributed to divine intervention.
Hitherto all the descendants of Noah had spoken the same language, but
now by a direct divine interposition they are caused to speak several,
and then separated so they can no longer cooperate with each other in
carrying out their plans which had so displeased God. The different
languages then are regarded as a punishment of the race which had
rebelled against God.
Traditions of such a tower may be found in many forms and in many
countries. _In Babylonia_ there was a tradition that not long after
the flood men were tall and strong and became so puffed up that they
defied the gods and tried to erect a tower called Babylon by means of
which they could scale heaven. But when it reached the sky the gods
sent a mighty wind and turned over the tower. They said that hitherto
all men had used the same language, but that at this time there was
sent on them a confusion of many tongues, from which confusion the
tower was named Babel. _In Greece_, there was a legend in which we
trace the story of the tower of Babel. According to this legend a race
of giants tried to reach Mount Olympus, which was supposed to be the
residence of the gods, by piling Mount Ossa upon Pelion. But the gods
interfered with their plan and scattered the impious conspirators.
This effort of the Titans to mount up to heaven corresponds so well to
the motive of the builders of the tower as to indicate that there was
a common origin for both stories.
There is also a Greek tradition that Helen had three sons: Aeolus,
Dorus, and Ion, who were the ancestors of the three great branches of
the Hellenic race. This again corresponds to the prophetic table of
nations which were to descend from Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the three
sons of Noah.
The Civilization of the Ancient World. Just when and where
civilization began we have no means of telling. The Bible speaks of a
very high state of civilization at a very early time (Gen. 4:20-22).
In ages long before Abraham and Moses the world had made great
advancement in culture, commerce, law and religion. From the monuments
and engraven vases that have been found in such unearthed cities as
Nippur, we now know that Abraham and Moses did not live in a crude and
undeveloped age, but, as the Bible would imply, in an age of great
progress. We even learn that long before their time there was a most
complete and complex civilization.
Two Great Empires of Antiquity. It is impossible to tell which of two
great nations, the Chaldeans and the Egyptians, first attained to a
high state of civilization. They appear to have started very early in
the race, the Chaldeans in the plains on the banks of the Euphrates
and the Egyptians in the plains on the banks of the Nile. They seem to
have made about equal progress in all the arts of civilization.
Nimrod, a descendent of Ham, is declared to be the founder of the
Chaldean Empire. His exploits as a hunter seem to have aided him to
the throne. He began to reign at Babel and had a number of cities in
the plain of Shinar. Later he went out in the district of Assyria and
built Ninevah and a number of other cities. From the Assyrian and
Chaldean ascriptions, we have learned much of the Accadians, whose
influence carried forward that early civilization. We thereby confirm
the Biblical claim that it was under Nimrod the Cushite, and not
through the Semitic race, that the Chaldean kingdom began.
Of the beginning of the Egyptian empire, the other great center of
civilization, we have no certain knowledge. So far as the records of
the scriptures or of the earliest records to which the monuments bear
witness, Egypt comes before us full grown. The further back we go the
more perfect and developed do we find the organization of the country.
The activity and industry of the Egyptians, their power of erecting
great buildings and of executing other laborious tasks at this early
period is a marvel to all ages. It has been shown by Prof. Petrie that
some of the blocks in at least one of the great pyramids were cut by
tubular drills fitted with diamond points or something similar. This
to us is a very modern invention.
At least thirty dynasties of kings (according to Manetho) ruled Egypt
in succession. At least twelve of these must have reigned in Egypt
before Jacob and his sons settled within their borders. Many of the
great monuments and some of the largest of the pyramids were already
to be seen before Abraham visited that country. There had been
constant progress in all kinds of learning and art, and a highly
advanced society and government had been attained when the Bible
history first came in contact with it.
Commerce was carried on extensively on both land and sea. Long before
the time of Moses a stream of caravans were on the road between Egypt
and Babylon, passing through Canaan. Treaties were made between
different states whereby these caravans were protected and given safe
passage through the countries traversed. Three thousand years before
Christ the Phoenicians sent out ships from Tyre that had intercourse
with the cities of the Mediterranean and later with England and sailed
around Africa and traded on the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. Egypt
sent sea expeditions to South Africa in the sixteenth century before
Christ. All of this suggests how much more of geography these ancients
knew than we are accustomed to think.
Language and Literature. It is impossible to say what was the original
language. But that men once spoke the same language and that the
varieties of human tongues arose from some remarkable cause is in some
degree confirmed by the research of modern scholarship. The Bible
alone states clearly what that cause was. All existing languages
belong to three great families: the Aryan, the Semitic, and the
Turanian. These correspond roughly to three sons of Noah: Shem, Ham
and Japheth.
In the time of Abraham and long before, and on to the time of Moses
there was great literary culture. Letters passed between kingdoms and
cities. There were schools and colleges, great dictionaries and many
books on many subjects. The Babylonian language was almost universally
employed, so that the scribes could read without difficulty a letter
sent anywhere in Egypt, Babylon, Canaan, or Arabia. This unity makes
the translation of inscriptions on the monuments comparatively easy.
We know nothing of the origin of writing. As far back as we go into
their history we find, already developed, a most complex system of
writing and large libraries both in the royal cities and in small
towns.
The Motive of Their Civilization. This is not difficult to find. The
old Babylonian kings were called Priest Kings, and built their
empires, temples, and cities, and exhibited such wonderful activities
from a religious motive. The great mounds on the plain of Shinar, and
the pyramids of Egypt are the eternal monuments of the religious
devotion of these ancient people. Their religion was, however, filled
with all sorts of idolatrous abuses and God called Abraham to be the
leader of a purer religious life and to be the father of a people from
whom would come the Great Revealer of all religious truth.
The Lessons of this Period. The stories of this period have for us
several valuable lessons, among which the following are most vital.
(I) All races had a common origin and are, therefore, vitally related.
(2) By tracing the origin of the different races, we are shown
Israel's place in the family of nations. (3) Since all nations are but
branches of the same great family, all men are brothers. (4) The
Hebrews are deeply interested in all of their neighbors, and their
unique history can only be understood, in their true relation, as a
part of the ancient Semitic world. (5) God exercises a common rule
over all nations. (6) Civilization at this early age had reached a
great advancement. (7) Men had reached a stage of great wickedness and
because of their defiance of God were punished both by the confusion
of tongues and by being scattered far and wide.
For Study and Discussion. (1) The genealogies of Noah's sons. (2) The
different places where his descendants settled, the cities they built
and the names of those connected with each. Study the geography. (3)
Through which of Noah's sons the Messiah came and through which of his
sons. (4) Lessons from the shame of Noah and the spirit of his sons.
(5) The nature and fulfillment of his prophecies concerning his sons.
(6) The universality of the race and the origin of the nations. (7)
The teachings of the tower of Babel. (8) The origin of different
languages and the relation of languages to the creation of separate
nations. (9) The traditions of other peoples and their relation and
correspondence to the stories of this section. (10) The evidence of
ancient monuments that corroborate or throw light upon the meaning of
this section of the scripture. (11) The civilization of that early
time compared with that of our time.