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 .