Why the Generation of Babel Built Pillars Against Heaven

Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Noach 24:5

Curated by Arthur·Translated by Maggid (Beta)·

One [instance was] in the days of Joshua, as it is said: "they gathered together (yaḥdav) to fight with Joshua [and with Israel with one mouth]" (Joshua 9:2). What is the meaning of "together" (yaḥdav)? That they disputed against the Holy One. And one [was] in the days of Gog and Magog, as it is said: "The kings of the earth set themselves, etc." (Psalms 2:2). And here, as it is said: "And the whole earth was [of one language and of one speech]" (Genesis 11:1) — words of reviling they were uttering against the Holy One, except that the Scriptures did not explain [them]; but our Rabbis explained some of them. What were they saying? "After a thousand years and one day and six hundred and fifty-six years, a flood comes to the world, and the heavens totter, and the upper waters will fall upon us. Rather, come and let us make for ourselves parnosin (the meaning is: pillars), so that if the heavens fall, they will hold them up." Hence, "and of one speech."

Themes

NoahHeavenBabelCain And AbelHumor

Biblical References

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Sifrei DevarimHow the Builders of Babel Rebelled After Eating WellThe familiar version gives us the basic story: humanity, united, decided to build a tower reaching to the heavens, and God, displeased, scattered them, confusinBook of JubileesThe Tower of Babel Built With Fire-Baked BrickThey're not messing around. The verse reads, "they began to build, and in the fourth week they made brick with fire, and the bricks served them for stone, and tLegends of the JewsA Year-Long Climb to the Top of the Tower of BabelYears blurring into decades, every thought, every action geared toward one monumental goal. That’s the story of the Tower of Babel, but not just the part The faMekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelGod Consistently Uses the Same Instrument to Punish the Same KindThe Mekhilta extends its catalogue of divine judgment by east wind to yet another generation: the builders of the Tower of Babel. The pattern grows stronger witTargum JonathanThe Dove Brought an Olive Leaf from the Mount of the MessiahWhen the Flood ended, the Hebrew Bible says God sent a wind to dry the earth (Genesis 8:1). The Targum Jonathan says God sent "the wind of mercies." One word chPirkei DeRabbi EliezerThe Real Motive Behind the Tower of BabelThe familiar story is this: from Genesis, but there's so much more simmering beneath the surface. to a deeper layer of this iconic tale, drawing from the ancien