Midrash Tanchuma, Noach 18

And the whole earth was of one language (Gen. 11:1). What is written in Scripture before this verse? These are the families of the sons of Noah … and of these were the nations divided in the earth (Gen. 10:32). This is followed by the verse and the whole earth was of one language.

Solomon declared: Though thou shouldst pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle among groats, yet will not his foolishness depart from him (Prov. 27:22). This verse indicates that if one beats a fool, the fool forgets the first blow, even while the staff is suspended above his head for the second blow. And with a pestle among groats implies that as soon as the staff is raised, he has already forgotten the second blow. Hence, Yet will not his foolishness depart from him.

Nahman the son of R. Samuel the son of Nahmani said: This may be compared to a bottle filled with locusts. One locust climbs the side of the bottle and falls; a second also climbs and falls; and a third does likewise. The third locust learned nothing from the experience of the second, and the second learned nothing from the experience of the first. When the generation of Enoch called their idols by the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is said: Then began men to call by the name of the Lord (Gen. 4:26),30The generation of Enoch was the first to practice idolatry. the Holy One, blessed be He, summoned the Mediterranean Sea and a third of the world was inundated, as it is said: That calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth, the Lord is His Name (Amos 5:8). And it says also: The waters wear the stones, the overflowings thereof wash away the dust of the earth; so Thou destroyest the hope of man (Job 14:19).

Nevertheless the generation of the flood said to God: Depart from us (Job 21:14). Because they had failed to learn anything at all from the experience of the generation of Enoch, as a result their memory was ultimately obliterated from the earth.

Similarly, the generation of the separation failed to learn from the experience of preceding generations. Hence it is written: Though thou shouldst pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle among groats, yet will not his foolishness depart (Prov. 27:22). What is meant by among groats (harifut)? This refers to the men of the generation of the separation, who blasphemed (m’harifin) the Unique One of the world.

And the whole earth was of one language. The letter sin is written in the word safah (“language”) because they brought shafu (“retribution”) upon the world. They had declared: What right has He to select the celestial sphere for Himself and assign the terrestrial sphere to us? Let us ascend to the firmament and attack Him with axes.

They separated into three groups. One said: “Let us go and dwell there”; the second insisted: “Let us go up and wage war against Him”; and the third shouted: “Let us go and serve idols there.” Those who said “Let us go and dwell there” were scattered abroad by the Holy One, blessed be He; those who insisted “Let us go and wage war against Him” were transformed into apes, spirits, and demons; and those who said “Let us go and serve idols there” were punished, as specified in the verse Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongue (Ps. 55:10). Thus it is said: And the Lord dispersed them from there (Gen. 11:8).

R. Aibu stated in the name of (R. Eliezer the son of) R. Yosé the Galilean: Mankind rebelled against the Holy One, blessed be He, three times. The first rebellion was this one; the second occurred in the days of Joshua, as it is said: They gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord (Josh. 9:2); and the third will transpire in the days of Gog and Magog,31Israel’s final battle before the coming of the Messiah. as it is said: The kings of the earth stand up and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord (Ps. 2:2).

In this instance each man said to his neighbor, Cush to Put, and Put to Canaan: Come, let us make brick (Gen. 11:3). The Holy One, blessed be He, thereupon declared: You evil men, because you have sinned with the words Come, let us, I shall confound you through those very words, as it is said: Come, let us go down there and confound their language (ibid., v. 7). R. Hiyya the son of Abba said: One third of the tower they erected was consumed in fire, another third was swallowed into the earth, and the remainder was left standing. Yet if one climbed to the summit of the remaining third, the palm trees in Jericho below appeared no larger than grasshoppers.

You find that the evil deeds of the generation of the flood were made explicit, but the evil deeds of the generation of the separation were not made explicit. Job said in reference to the generation of the flood: There are that remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks and feed them. They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take away the widow’s ox for a pledge (Job 24:2–3). They would cross over into each other’s territory and violently take away flocks and feed them; that is, they would steal each other’s sheep. They drive away the ass of the fatherless implies that whenever they saw an orphan’s ass, they would take it from him. They take the widow’s ox for a pledge indicates that whenever a widow inherited an ox, they would come and take it from her.

When others beheld their actions, they stripped off their clothing and went about naked, as it is said: So that they go about naked, without clothing (ibid., v. 10), and have no covering in the cold (ibid., v. 7). They did so because these wicked men had shouted at God: Depart from us … what is the Almighty that we should serve Him? (Job 21:14–15).

To what may the generations of the flood and the separation be compared? To the two sons of a king. One tells the king: “I cannot tolerate you or your problems”; the other declares: “Either you or I must rule. Are not all men your equal?”

Similarly, the men of the generation of the flood proclaimed: “Come, let us build us a city (Gen. 11:4), so that He may descend to earth and we may ascend to heaven. But if He should not descend, then let us wage war against Him.” The Holy One, blessed be He, did not restrain them, but declared instead: Do whatever ye desire, as it is said: And now nothing will be withholden from them, which they propose to do (ibid., v. 6). He that sitteth in heaven laugheth. The Lord hath them in derision (Ps. 2:4). Had He not permitted them to build the tower, they would have claimed: “If we had built the tower, we would have ascended and waged war against Him.” Therefore, He allowed them to erect the tower. After that, He looked down upon them and scattered them, as is said: Thence did the Lord scatter them (Gen. 11:9). He rebuked them, saying: You declared Lest we be scattered over the entire earth; therefore you shall be scattered over the face of the earth. Hence it is written: The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon them (Prov. 10:24).

And the Lord came down to see the city (Gen. 11:5). Was it necessary for Him to descend to see it? Is not everything patent and revealed to Him, as it is said: He knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with Him (Dan. 2:22)? He descended in order to teach men never to render a decision against another man or to testify concerning any matter unless he has witnessed it.

And the Lord said: Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is what they begin to do, and now nothing will be withholden from them (Gen. 11:6). What is the meaning of the words and now? They mean that though they had rebelled against Him, were contumacious, and had built a tower, the Holy One, blessed be He, stretched out His right hand toward them so that they might repent, as it is said: And now, Israel, what does the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God (Deut. 10:12). But they replied: Nothing will be withholden (yibazer) from them. Even if those men were cut off (nivzarim) from the world, they would not repent, as it is said: As a grape-gatherer (bozer) cutteth off the shoots (Jer. 6:9).

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