Genesis 11:25 | 31
14 When She lah had lived 30 years, he
be came the fa ther of Eber. 15 And af ter he be came the fa ther of Eber, She lah lived 403 years and had oth er sons and daugh ters.
16 When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the fa ther of Pe leg. 17 And af ter he be came the fa ther of Pe leg, Eber lived 430 years and had oth er sons and daugh ters.
18 When Pe leg had lived 30 years, he
be came the fa ther of Reu. 19 And af ter he be came the fa ther of Reu, Pe leg lived 209 years and had oth er sons and daugh ters.
20 When Reu had lived 32 years, he begurats comes from the names that are given to them. For instance, the name of the ziggurat at Bab ylon, Etemenanki, means“ temple of the foundation of heaven and earth.” One at Larsa means“ temple that links heaven and earth.” Most significant is the name of the ziggurat at Sippar,“ temple of the stairway to pure heaven.” The word translated“ stairway” in this last example is used in the mythology as the means by which the messenger of the gods moved between heaven, earth, and the netherworld. As a result of these data, we can conclude that the ziggurat was a structure built to support the stairway. This stairway was a visual representation of that which was believed to be used by the gods to travel from one realm to another. It was solely for the convenience of the gods and was maintained in order to provide the deity with amenities and to make possible his descent into his temple.
At the top of the ziggurat was the gate of the gods, the entrance into their heavenly abode; adjoining the tower was the temple, where hopefully the god would descend to receive the gifts and worship of his people.
In summary, the project is a temple complex featuring a ziggurat, which was designed to make it convenient for the god to come down to his temple, receive their worship, and bless his people. The key for understanding the tower of Babel is to realize that the tower was not built so that people could ascend to heaven, but so that deity could descend to earth. ◆
11:20 g Lk 3:35 11:24 h Lk 3:34 came the fa ther of Se rug. g 21 And af ter he be came the fa ther of Se rug, Reu lived 207 years and had oth er sons and daugh ters.
22 When Se rug had lived 30 years, he became the fa ther of Na hor. 23 And af ter he be came the fa ther of Na hor, Se rug lived 200 years and had oth er sons and daughters.
24 When Na hor had lived 29 years, he
be came the fa ther of Te rah. h 25 And af ter he be came the fa ther of Te rah, Na hor lived 119 years and had oth er sons and daughters.