Was The Dispersion At Babel A Real Event?
Bodie Hodge M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries, June 13, 2025 (Donate)
When did the events at the Tower of Babel happen? What did
the tower look like? Are there any records of Noah’s descendants found
throughout the world after they left Babel? What about different languages? Are
Noah and his sons found in any ancient genealogies?
In this chapter, we’ll examine the fascinating answers to
questions about what happened on the plain of Shinar. For background to this
chapter, please read Genesis 10–11.
When Did The Event At Babel Occur?
Renowned chronologist Archbishop James Ussher[1]
placed the time of Babel at 106 years after the Flood, when Peleg was born.[2]
To Eber were born two sons: the name of one was
Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was
Joktan. (Genesis 10:25, NKJV)
Although this may not be the exact date (due to the age of
Peleg’s father and his brother Joktan who already had 13 sons), it is in range
because Peleg was in the 4th generation after the Flood.
Some have suggested that this division refers to a geophysical
splitting of the continents; however, this is associated with the Flood of Noah’s time—not
the events at Babel. The massive amounts of water and the crustal breakup
indicated in Genesis 7:11 (the fountains of the great deep burst forth) were substantial
enough to cause catastrophic movements of plates. Continental collision formations,
such as high mountains, were already in place prior to Peleg’s day.
For example, we know the mountains of Ararat had formed by
the end of the Flood because the Ark landed there. These mountains are caused
by a collision with the Arabian plate and the Eurasian plate. So these would
have already moved by the time of the Flood had ended.
Continental splitting during the day of Peleg would have
caused another global Flood! Instead, the division mentioned here refers to the
linguistic division that happened when God at Babel. Even the Jewish historian
Josephus (who lived near the time of Christ) stated:
He was called Peleg, because he was born at the
dispersion of the nations to their various countries . . . .[3]
Prominent modern theologians such as John Whitcomb reaffirm
this as well.[4]
According to Archbishop Ussher, the date of Babel would have been near 2242 BC.[5]
See table 1 for a comparison to other events according to Ussher.
Table 1 Major Dates According to Ussher
|
Major event |
Date (According to Ussher) |
|
Creation |
4004 BC |
|
Global Flood |
2348 BC |
|
Tower Babel |
2242 BC |
|
Call of Abraham |
1922 BC |
|
Time of the Judges (Moses was
first) |
1491 BC (God appeared to Moses
in the burning bush) |
|
Time of the Kings (Saul was the
first) |
1095 BC |
|
Split kingdom |
975 BC |
|
Christ was born |
4 BC |
It was during the days of Peleg that the family groups left the plain of Shinar and traveled to different parts of the world taking with them their own language that other families couldn’t understand. Not long after this, Babylon (2234 BC), Egypt (2188 BC) and Greece (2089 BC) began.[6] Civilizations that were closer to Babel (e.g., those in the Middle East) were established prior to civilizations farther from Babel (e.g., those in Australia or the Americas).
Even more fascinating is that as people went around the
world, they left evidence of this event! Let’s take a look.
Ziggurats Throughout The World
The Tower
of Babel has traditionally been depicted as a type of ziggurat, although
the Bible doesn’t give specific dimensions. The Hebrew word for tower
used in Genesis 11, referring to the Tower of Babel, is migdal: a
tower; by analogy, a rostrum; figuratively, a (pyramidal) bed of flowers.
Interestingly, this word means tower but figuratively
reflects a flower bed that yields a pyramidal shape. This gives a
little support to the idea that the Tower of Babel may have been pyramidal or ziggurat-shaped.
In what is now Iraq, Robert Koldewey excavated a structure some think to be the foundation of the original Tower of Babel (further archaeological research reveals there are three different base platforms). It underlays a later ziggurat that was thought to be built by Hammurabi in the nineteenth century BC.[7]
When people were scattered from the Tower of Babel in the time of
Peleg, they likely took this building concept with them to places
all over the world. It makes sense that many of the families that were
scattered from Babel took varying ideas of the tower to their new lands and
began building projects of their own.
Ziggurats, pyramids, mounds, and the like have been found
in many parts of the world—from Mesopotamia to Egypt to South America. The
ancient Chinese built pyramids and the Mississippian culture built mounds. Pyramids
are classed slightly differently from ziggurats, as are mounds, but the
similarities are striking.
Why did the people at Shinar build a tower? Some suspect
that they were afraid of another flood, similar to the one that Noah and his
sons had informed them about. However, Dr. John Gill casts doubt on this idea.
It is generally thought what led them to it was to
secure them from another flood, they might be in fear of; but this seems not
likely, since they had the covenant and oath of God, that the earth should
never be destroyed by water any more; and besides, had this been the thing in
view, they would not have chosen a plain to build on, a plain that lay between
two of the greatest rivers, Tigris, and Euphrates, but rather one of the
highest mountains and hills they could have found: nor could a building of brick
be a sufficient defense against such a force of water, as the waters of the
flood were; and besides, but few at most could be preserved at the top of the
tower, to which, in such a case, they would have betook themselves.[8]
The Bible records that the people said among themselves:
And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city,
and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for
ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis
11:4, NKJV)
It seems that the tower was to be a special place to keep
people together, rather than filling the earth as God had commanded them to (Genesis
9:1). It is possible that the tower was built under the guise that it was a
place for sacrifice unto God. This would have prevented people from going too
far since they would have to come back to offer sacrifices at Babel.
A recurring theme in Scripture is that people seek to do
things they think will honor God but end up disobeying God. One example is when
Saul offered a sacrifice when he wasn’t supposed to (1 Samuel 13:8–13). It is
better to obey than sacrifice. In fact, many ziggurats and pyramids around the
world were used for sacrifice or other sacred religious events, such as burying
people (e.g., pharaohs of Egypt). Perhaps the concept of sacred sacrifice and
religious festivities with ziggurats was a carryover from Babel.
Regardless, ziggurats and pyramids all over the world are
an excellent confirmation of the original recorded in God’s World— the Tower of
Babel.
Noah In Royal Genealogies Of Europe
The Bible in Genesis 10 gives an outline of family groups
that left Babel (see Table 2).
Table 2 Biblical Table of Nations
These people moved throughout the world and populated
virtually every continent (was Antarctica ever settled in the past—at this
point I am unaware). Historian Bill Cooper[9]
has researched genealogical records and other ancient documents on the origins
of royalty for the Britons, Danes, Anglo-Saxons, Irish, Norwegians, and so on.
These genealogies seem to connect prominent modern houses
and royal lines with the Table of Nations listed in the Bible. In these
genealogies, Noah is found on the top of the lists on many of these documents,
some of which feature variant spellings such as Noe, Noa, and
Noah.
Mr. Cooper also found a relationship between the ancient
name of Sceaf (Seskef, Scef) and the biblical Japheth.[10]
This seems reasonable as Japheth has traditionally been seen as the
ancestor of the European nations. Most of the European genealogies researched
have a variant of Sceaf with the exception of Irish genealogies, which
still used the name Japheth. The Irish genealogical chart is
re-printed in table 3.[11]
Table 3 Irish Genealogies
Anglo-Saxon chronologies feature six royal houses and can be
found in a chart in Bill Cooper’s book.[12] Nennius’s
table of nations is also fascinating as it offers the lineages of many of the European
people groups from Noah’s son Japheth: Gauls, Goths, Bavarians, Saxons, Romans.
Nennius’s table of nations is reproduced in table 4[13]:
Table 4 Nennius’s Table of Nations
Though it repeats the Goths in two different areas, Nennius’s
chart bears strong similarities to the history that Josephus recorded,[14]
as well as the Bible’s Table of Nations. However, there are clearly enough
differences to show that it was neither a copy from the biblical text nor from
the Jewish historian Josephus.[15]
Chinese records also describe Nuah with three
sons, Lo Han, Lo Shen, and Jahphu, according to the
Miautso people of China.[16] Although
original documents of ancient sources sometimes no longer exist and one has to
rely on quotes from other ancient books, it is interesting how in many places
we find similarities to the Table of Nations given in the Bible.
Noah’s Grandsons’ Names Are Everywhere!
History abounds with names that are reused. Names of
places become names of people; names of people become names of places. After
the Flood, several of Noah’s descendants were named for places prior to the
Flood. See Table 5 for a list.
Table 5 A Fes Pre-Flood and Post-Flood References
|
Name |
Bible Reference Pre-Flood |
Bible reference Post-Flood |
Person |
|
Havilah |
Genesis 2:11 |
Genesis 10:7, Genesis 10:29 |
Noah’s grandson through Ham;
Noah’s great, great, great, great grandson through Shem. |
|
Cush |
Genesis 2:13 |
Genesis 10:6 |
Noah’s grandson through Ham |
|
Asshur |
Genesis 2:14 |
Genesis 10:22 |
Noah’s grandson through Shem |
Names may vary throughout history. For example, Pennsylvania was named for William Penn; St Petersburg in Russia was named for Peter the Great who was ultimately named for Peter, who penned two books of the Bible. Names can undergo many changes such as variations in spelling, differences in symbols, and alterations in pronunciation.
Despite any changes, however, the names of post-Flood regions,
cities, rivers, or languages should bear similarity to the names of those
leaving Babel. One would be surprised how often these names appear. Table 6
lists some of these.
Table 6 Noah’s Descendants’ Names Reflected Around the World
|
Name |
Descendant of Noah |
|
|
Aramaic |
Aram |
Language that came out of Babel
and still survives, likely with changes down the ages. Some short parts of
the Bible are written in Aramaic. Jesus spoke it on the cross when He said:
“ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” (Mark 15:34) |
|
Cush |
Cush |
Ancient name of Ethiopia. In
fact, people of Ethiopia still call themselves Cushites. |
|
Medes |
Madai |
People group often associated
with the Persians |
|
Ashkenaz |
Ashkenaz |
Still the Hebrew name for Germany, |
|
Galacia, Gaul and Galicia |
Gomer |
These regions are the old names
for an area in modern Turkey, France and North-western Spain respectively,
where Gomer was said to have lived. His family lines continued to spread
about across southern Europe. The book of Galatians by Paul was written to
the church at Galatia. |
|
Gomeraeg |
Gomer |
This is the old name for the Welsh
language on the British Isles from their ancestor, Gomer, whose ancestors
began to populate the Isle from the mainland. |
|
Javan |
Javan |
This is still the Hebrew name
for Greece. His sons, Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim (Chittim) and Dodanim still
have reference to places in Greece. For example, Paul, the author who penned
much of the New Testament, was from the region of Tarshish (Acts 21:39) and a
city called Tarsus. Jeremiah mentions Kittim in Jeremiah 2:10 and is modern
day Cyprus (and other nearby ancient regions that now had varied names such
as Cethim, Citius, Cethima Cilicia). The Greeks worshiped Jupiter Dodanaeus
from Japheth/Dodanim. The Elysians, were ancient Greek people. |
|
Meshech/ Moscow |
Mechech |
Mechech is the old name for
Moscow, Russia and one region called the Mechech Lowland still holds the
orignal name today. |
|
Canaan |
Canaan |
The region of Palestine that God
removed from the Canaanites for their sin and gave as an inheritance to the
Israelites beginning with the conquest of Joshua. It is often termed the Holy
Land and is where modern day Israel resides. |
|
Elamites |
Elam |
This was the old name for the
Persians prior to Cyrus. |
|
Assyria |
Asshur |
Asshur is still the Hebrew name
for Assyria. |
|
Hebrew |
Eber |
This people group and language
was named for Eber. Abraham was a Hebrew and the bulk of the Old Testament is
written in Hebrew. |
|
Taurus/Toros |
Tarshish |
A mountain range in Turkey |
|
Tanais |
Tarshish |
The old name of the Don River
flowing into the Black Sea. |
|
Mizraim |
Mizraim |
This is still the Hebrew name
for Egypt. |
We Don’t Speak The Same Language Anymore!
The Tower of Babel explains why everyone doesn’t speak the
same language today.
There are over 6,900 spoken languages in the world today.[20]
Yet the number of languages emerging from Babel at the time of the dispersion
would have been much less than this—likely less than 100 different original
language families.
So where did all these languages come from? Linguists
recognize that most languages have similarities to other languages. Related
languages belong to what are called language families. These original language
families (probably less than 100) resulted from God’s confusion of the language
at Babel. Since that time, the original language families have grown and
changed into the abundant number of languages today.
Noah’s great, great grandson Eber fathered Peleg when the
events at Babel took place. The modern language of Hebrew is named
after Eber. Noah’s grandson Aram was the progenitor of Aramaic. The
Bible lists Noah’s grandsons, great grandsons, great-great grandsons, and
great-great-great grandsons who received a language at Babel in Genesis 10. Eber
and Aram were but two!
From Japheth (Genesis 10:2–5) came at least 14 language families;
from Ham (Genesis 10:6–20), 39; from Shem (Genesis 10:22–31), at least 25
(excluding Peleg and other children who may have just been born). The total
number of languages that may have come out of Babel according to Genesis 10 may
have been at least 78, assuming Noah, Ham, Shem, Japheth, and Peleg didn’t
receive a new language. This excludes some descendants of Shem who are given
slight mention in Genesis 11:11–17; they may have also received a language.
Both Vistawide World Languages and Cultures[21]
and Ethnologue, [22]
companies which provide statistics on languages, agree that only 94 languages families
have been so far ascertained. With further study in years to come, this may change,
but this figure is well within the range of families that dispersed from Babel
(Genesis 10).
Is it feasible for 7,000 languages to develop from less
than 100 in 4,000 years? The languages that came out of the confusion at Babel
were “root languages” or language families. Over time, those root languages
have varied: borrowing from other languages; developing new terms and phrases;
losing previous words and phrases.
Let’s look at changes in the English language, as an example. English has changed so much over the course of 1,000 years that early speakers would hardly recognize it today. Table 7 provides a look at the changes in Matthew 6:9.
|
Beginning of Matthew 6:9[23] |
Date |
|
Our Father who art in
heaven and/or Our Father who is in
heaven |
Late Modern English (1700s) |
|
Our father which art in
heauen |
Early Modern English (1500–1700)
(KJV 1611) |
|
Oure fader that art in
heuenis |
Middle English (1100–1500) |
|
Fæder ure þu þe eart on
heofonum |
Old English (c. 1000 AD) |
Just as English has changed significantly over the past
1,000 years, it becomes easy to see how the original languages at Babel could
have rapidly changed in the 4,000 years since that time, whether spoken or
written.
In conclusion, there a great many confirmations of the
Bible’s account of the Tower of Babel and what happened as a result. Even stories
about a tower and sudden language changes appear in ancient histories from
Sumerian, Grecian, Polynesian, Mexican, and Native American sources.[24]
This is what we would expect since the Tower of Babel was a real event. Language
changes, Ziggurats, names of Noah and his descendants found throughout the
world and tower legends are an excellent confirmation of the events at Babel.
Originally here: https://answersingenesis.org/tower-of-babel/was-the-dispersion-at-babel-a-real-event/;
Republished by permission.
[1] James
Ussher, The Annals of the World (Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2003),
p. 22. Translated by Larry and Marion Pierce.
[2] The use
of Ussher’s dates are not an across-the-board endorsement of his work. We
recognize that any human work contains errors; however Ussher meticulously
researched biblical and ancient history and we are comfortable with using many
of the dates he proposed.
[3] William
Whiston, The Works of Josephus Complete
and Unabridged (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1987), p. 37.
[4] John
Whitcomb, “Babel,” Creation, June 2002, pp. 31–33, online at www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v24/i3/babel.asp.
[5] Ussher, The
Annals of the World, p. 22.
[6] Larry
Pierce, “In the days of Peleg,” Creation,
December 1999, pp. 46–49.
[7] David
Down, “Ziggurats in the News,” Archaeological Diggings, March–April
2007, pp. 3–7.
[8] Note on
Genesis 11:4 in: John Gill, D.D., An Exposition of the Old and New
Testament; The Whole Illustrated with Notes, Taken from the Most Ancient Jewish
Writings (London: printed for Mathews and Leigh, 18 Strand, by W. Clowes,
Northumberland-Court, 1809). Edited, revised, and updated by Larry Pierce, 1994–1995
for The Word CD-ROM.
[9] Bill
Cooper, After the Flood (New Wine Press, 1995).
[10] Ibid.,
pp. 92–96.
[11] Ibid.,
p. 108.
[12] Ibid.,
pp. 84–86.
[13] Ibid.,
p. 49.
[14]
Whiston, The Works of Josephus Complete
and Unabridged, pp. 36–37.
[15] Cooper,
After the Flood, chapter 3.
[16] Edgar
Traux, “Genesis According to the Miao People,” Impact, April 1991,
online at www.icr.org/article/341/.
[17]
Whiston, The Works of Josephus Complete
and Unabridged, pp. 36–37.
[18] Cooper,
After the Flood, pp. 170–208.
[19] Harold
Hunt, “The sixteen grandsons of Noah,” Creation,
September 1998, pp. 22–25, online at www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v20/i4/noah.asp.
[20]
Vistawide, “World Language Families,” www.vistawide.com/languages/language_families_statistics1.htm.
[21]
Vistawide, “World Language Families,” www.vistawide.com/languages/language_families_statistics1.htm.
[22]
Ethnologue, “Statistical Summaries,” www.ethnologue.com/ethno_docs/distribution.asp?by=family.
[23] Comparison
of Matthew 6:9, Mansfield University, faculty.mansfield.edu/bholtman/holtman/101/GmcVaterunser.pdf.
[24] Pam
Sheppard, “Tongue-Twisting Tales,”
Answers, April-June 2008, pp.56-57.
