5
YHWHיְהוָהcame downוַיֵּרֶדto seeלִרְאֹתthe cityאֶת הָעִירand the towerוְאֶת הַמִּגְדָּלthatאֲשֶׁרthe human beingsבְּנֵי הָאָדָםhad built.בָּנוּ
Genesis 11:5
Study it in the app“YHWH came down to see the city and the tower that the human beings had built.”
With the Hebrew beneath
Genesis 11:5, word by word
- YHWHיְהוָהyehva
YHWH
The personal name of the God of Israel, written in Hebrew with four letters, Y-H-W-H, without vowels. Out of reverence Jews stopped pronouncing it and read "Adonai" (Lord), so many Bibles put "the LORD" or "Jehovah". This translation keeps the four letters. The name is related to the verb "to be" (Exodus 3:14-15). He is not a god other than Elohim: "YHWH Elohim" is the same Creator God, called by his name.
Where else “yehva” appears- came downיֵּרֶדyered
go down
To go from a higher place to a lower one, like from the mountain to the valley.
Where else “yered” appears- to seeרְאֹתreot
see
To see with one's eyes.
Where else “reot” appears- the cityעִירir
city
A settled place protected by a wall, with a gate and houses.
Where else “ir” appears- and the towerמִּגְדָּלmigdal
tower
A tall, strong structure, for keeping watch or defense.
Where else “migdal” appears- the human beingsבְּנֵיbene
human being
Literally "son of Adam": any person, a mortal.
Where else “bene” appears- the human beingsאָדָםadam
human being
All humankind, men and women, as creatures God formed.
Where else “adam” appears- had builtבָּנוּbanu
build
To raise a house, a city or an altar, setting stone on stone.
Where else “banu” appears
The context
4And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, so that we are not scattered over the face of all the earth.”
5 · This verse (above)
6And YHWH said, “Look, they are one people, and they all have one language, and this is what they have begun to do; and now nothing that they plan to do will be out of reach for them.
To study Genesis 11 in a group
1. What it says
What did the people in the land of Shinar say as they built their city and tower (vv. 3-4)?
2. What it means
Why did YHWH confuse their language and scatter them over the whole earth (vv. 6-9)?
3. How I live it
In what you are planning, what is for making a name for yourself, and what is for serving others?