The Tower Of Babel.

There is no doubt that one of the most striking and attractive episodes of the sacred narrative of Genesis is the Tower of Babel. It has attracted the attention of all from its circumstantial details, and has, as an authoritative narrative, had the full belief of all the faithful for many thousand years. This being the case, it is needful to go rather carefully into the matter, not only to try to account for its origin, but also to satisfy the believer of to-day with regard to the story being a real historical fact.

“Of these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands,”—“These are the sons of Ham, after their families,”—“These are the sons of Shem, after their families,” says the author of Genesis in ch. x. 5, 20, and 31, and then he adds, in slightly varying words, “after their tongues, in their lands, in their nations.”

Yet, after this (ch. xi. 1) we have the statement, “And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.” Moreover, how was it possible that the whole of the nations of the earth there enumerated in the tenth chapter should have had their origin at Babel, the beginning of Nimrod's (Merodach's) kingdom, coeval with Erech, Akkad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar? The effect of such a statement as this would surely be to make the language of Nimrod the primitive language of the world, unless, indeed, all the languages of the earth resulting from the confusion of tongues were regarded as new, the primitive speech of man having been destroyed on that occasion. Then, again, as we know, the building of the city was not stopped, for it continued until it became the greatest and most important centre in the known world when it was at the height of its glory.

With the best will in the world, therefore, there [pg 133] seems to be no escape from regarding both the story of the Tower of Babel, and the reference to Nimrod and Asshur in the foregoing chapter as interpolations, giving statements from ancient and possibly fairly well-known records, recording what was commonly believed in the ancient East in those early ages. It is also noteworthy, that both extracts, referring as they do, to Babylonia, are probably on that account from a Babylonian source. May it not be possible, that they have been inserted in the sacred narrative as statements of what was the common opinion among the more well-informed inhabitants of Western Asia at the time, without any claim to an inspired authority being either stated or implied? This would seem to be the most reasonable way of looking at the matter, and would take away what might well be regarded as a great difficulty to the believer in good faith.

If this be conceded, we can with the greater ease analyze this portion of the eleventh chapter of Genesis, and estimate it at its true value.

In any case, there is great improbability that the statement that the whole earth was of one language and of one speech, was ever believed, by thinking men at the time as an actual historical fact. A better translation would be “the whole land,” that is, the whole tract of country from the mountains of Elam to the Mediterranean Sea, rather than “the whole earth.” The same word is used when the “land” of Israel is spoken of, and also when “the land of Egypt” is referred to. It will thus be seen that no violence whatever is done to the text if the restricted use of the word be accepted.

That this is, in a sense, provable as an historical fact, we shall see in the sequel.

Having thus in a measure cleared the way, the various points of the first nine verses of the eleventh chapter of Genesis may be taken in order.

“As they journeyed in the east” apparently refers [pg 134] to the remembrance of the migrations that many a nation, handing down its traditions from mouth to mouth, must have preserved in ancient times. Whilst thus engaged, “they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there”—a statement which would seem to point to the migrants having been wandering about in various districts, some of them mountainous—like Armenia on the north of Assyria, and Elam and other mountainous tracts on the east. This would seem to agree with the migration which, from the evidence of the monuments of Babylonia, the Akkadians apparently made before they settled in that country. And here it may be noted, in support of that fact, that the ideograph14 for Akkad, Uri or Ura in Akkadian, and Akkadū in Semitic Babylonian, not only stood for Akkad, but also (often used in the Assyrian letters) for Ararat (Urṭū), and likewise (this in a syllabary only) for Amurrū, the land of the Amorites, or Phœnicia. Both these being districts more or less mountainous, it is only reasonable to suppose that the original home of the Akkadians was likewise of the same nature, and that they were not aborigines of the Babylonian plain. The Akkadians at least, therefore, “journeyed in the east.”

In the expression “they found a plain in the land of Shinar,” we have a reference to the old name of a district of Babylonia, generally regarded as the Šumer of the Babylonian inscriptions, called Kingi or Kengi “the country” par excellence in the native tongue of the inhabitants. The land of Shinar here spoken of, if this explanation be correct, not merely contained a plain—it was, in fact, itself a large plain, through which the rivers Tigris and Euphrates ran, and it was covered, when the land had been brought into a really good state of cultivation, by a network of canals connected with them. It must, when the ancient Akkadians first settled there, have been a land of remarkable [pg 135] fertility, and would be so still were it brought into the same efficient state of cultivation, with irrigation and drainage, such as the old inhabitants effected.

Here, having settled down, they built a city and a tower, using brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar—just as they are proved to have done from the remains of cities found in the country at the present day. That Babylon was the site of the first settlement of the nature of a city is conceivable, and it is very possible that the first tower in Babylonia, which in later times had many towers, as had also Assyria, was situated in that ancient city. Everything points, therefore, to the correctness of the statements made in this portion of the sacred narrative. According to native tradition, however (and this seems to be supported by the statements in ch. x. 10), there were other important cities on the Babylonian plain of almost equal antiquity, namely, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh, which last is identified with Niffer (see p. 126). Notwithstanding the extensive ruins, proof of the same remote date for Babylon will doubtless be difficult to obtain, on account of the country around and a large portion of the site of the city being so marshy. The result of this condition of things will in all probability be, that very few remains of a really ancient date will be discovered in a condition to render services to archæology. To this must also be added the fact, that the city, being the capital for some thousands of years, underwent many changes at the hands of its various kings, partly from the necessity of keeping in good repair the many comparatively perishable brick monuments that the city contained, and partly from a desire to add more to the glories of the city than any of their predecessors had done.

“And they said, Come, let us build us a city, and a tower, and its top (lit. head) shall be in the heavens.” To all appearance, this means simply that they would [pg 136] build a very high structure,—to many a student of the sacred text it has seemed that the writer only intended to say, that the tower (migdol) that they were about to build was to be very high. The mountains of Elam were not so very far off, and travellers from that part would have been able to assure them that the heavens would not be appreciably nearer on account of their being a few hundred cubits above the surface of the earth, even if traditions of their fathers' wanderings had not assured them of the same thing. They wished simply to make them a name and a rallying-point, “lest,” as the sacred text has it, “we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”

And here a few remarks upon the temple-towers of the Babylonians might not be out of place.

As has already been stated, most of the principal towns of Babylonia each possessed one. That of Babylon (called Šu-ana in the list published in the Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, vol. ii., pl. 50) was named Ê-temen-ana, “the temple of the foundation-stone of Heaven”; that of Borsippa, near to Babylon, was called Ê-ur-imina-ana, generally translated “the temple of the seven spheres of heaven,” on account of its being dedicated to the sun, moon, and planets. This was a high and massive tower in seven stages, each coloured with an emblematic tint indicating the heavenly body with which each stage was associated. At Niffer the tower seems to have had three names, or else there were three towers (which is unlikely), the principal one being Im-ur-sag. Agade, the Akkad of Gen. x. 10, had two of these temple-towers, Ê-Dadia, apparently meaning “the temple of the (divine) Presence,” and Ê-šu-gala or Ê-igi-ê-di, the latter apparently meaning “the temple of the wonder (of mankind),” which was dedicated to the god Tammuz. At Cuthah there was the temple of Nannara (Nan-naros); at Ur the temple Ê-šu-gan-du-du; at Erech Ê-gipara-imina, “the temple of the seven enclosures”; [pg 137] at Larsa Ê-dur-an-ki, “the Temple of the bond of heaven and earth.”

The only temple-tower that contains in its name a distinct reference to the seven stages of which it was composed, is that at Borsippa, though that at Erech may possibly have in its name “seven enclosures” a suggestion of something of the kind. As, however, the ruins of the towers at Dûr-Sargina (Khorsabad) in Assyria, Erech, Niffer, and elsewhere, show distinctly this form of architecture, there is every probability that they were all, or almost all, built on the same plan. In his description of the glories of Babylon, Herodotus gives details, in his usual minute way, of the temple of Belos (Ê-sagila) there. He describes it as having eight stages (the platform upon which the tower proper was built being counted as one), and judging from his description, this building must have differed somewhat from the others, the various platforms being connected by a gradually rising ascent, arranged spirally as it were, so that by constantly walking upwards, and turning at the corners of the edifice, one at last reached the top. About the middle of this long ascending pathway there was a stopping-place, with seats to rest upon. Having reached the top of the structure, the visitor came upon a cell, within which there was a couch and a golden table. Here it was supposed that the god descended from time to time to dwell. Below, he relates, there was another cell, wherein was a large statue of Zeus (Belos) sitting. This image was of gold, as were also the table in front of it, the god's footstool, and his seat. It is probable that at the time to which the narrative in Genesis refers, the tower was neither so high, nor the workmanship so splendid and valuable, as in later times.

But was this the Tower of Babel? We do not know. The general opinion is that the great and celebrated temple-tower at Borsippa, extensive remains [pg 138] of which still exist, was that world-renowned erection. Its name, however, was Ê-zida, and it was not situated within Babylon. Notwithstanding the fact, therefore, that Borsippa, the town on the outskirts of the great city, was called “the second Babylon,” and that tradition associates the site of the Tower of Babel with that spot, it must still be held to be very doubtful whether that was really the place. Neither the renown of Ê-zida nor that of Ê-sagila prove that either of them must have been the place, for the populace is fickle-minded in this as in other matters, and holy fanes have the periods when they are in fashion, just like anything else.

This being the case, the question is, what was that Ê-temen-ana-kia which is apparently mentioned in the list of temple-towers quoted above? In many an inscription of Nebuchadnezzar, this temple-tower is referred to, though very shortly, as having been restored by him. Thus, in the great cylinder of Nebuchadnezzar, 85-4-30, i, the following occurs—

“I caused the fanes of Babylon and Borsippa to be rebuilt and endowed.

Ê-temen-ana-kia, the temple-tower of Babylon;

Ê-ur-imina-ana-kia, the temple-tower of Borsippa, all their structure with bitumen and brick

I made, I completed.”

In the above Ê-temen-ana-kia takes the place of Ê-sagila, and Ê-ur-imina-ana-kia that of Ê-zida, implying that they respectively belonged to each other. The passage corresponding to the above in the India House Inscription is greatly expanded, and recounted with much detail. The portion referring to Ê-temen-ana-kia is as follows—

“The vessels of the temple Ê-sagila with massive gold—

[pg 139]

the bark Ma-kua (Merodach's shrine) with electrum and stones—

I made glorious

like the stars of heaven.

The fanes of Babylon

I caused to be rebuilt and endowed.

Of Ê-temen-ana-kia

with brick and bright lapis stone

I reared its head.

To rebuild Ê-sagila

my heart urged me—

constantly did I set myself,” etc., etc.

According to the plan of Babylon drawn up by Weissbach, one of the German explorers, Ê-temen-ana-kia was situated to the north of Ê-sagila, which latter was evidently the temple connected with it. As both were dedicated to Merodach (Bel), they practically formed one centre of worship, and it is possibly on this account that the Tower is called “the Temple of Belus” in Herodotus. The description, from a Babylonian tablet probably in private hands, published by the late George Smith, agrees well with that given by Herodotus, but has some noteworthy differences—the great height of the lowest stage, the sloping (?) sides of the second stage, and the buildings grouped near it. Unfortunately, the baked brickwork of Ê-temen-ana-kia has been cleared away, practically destroying the remains.

Concerning the miracle of the confusion of tongues, there is, of course, no historical reference. The Babylonian inscriptions know nothing of it. Yet the stranger visiting Babylon could not have been otherwise than struck by the number of languages spoken there. There was the religious tongue, which is called by modern scholars Akkadian or Šumerian, and its dialect, together with the language known as Assyrian, or, more correctly, Semitic Babylonian. [pg 140] Besides this, there were various Aramaic dialects—Chaldee, Aramean (Syriac), and the language of the dockets on the trade-documents, which is also found in Assyria. In addition to these, the Elamite and Kassite conquerors of Babylonia brought with them large numbers of people, and each of these nations naturally introduced, in larger measure than before, the use of their respective languages. Speakers of other tongues long since dead must also have visited the city for the purposes of trade, and of this the so-called Hittite is in all probability an example (in the researches of Profs. Sayce and Jensen we shall, perhaps, see the beginnings of the recovery of this tongue), and a docket in an unknown script implies that yet another language heard there in later times has to be discovered, though this may simply be some other way of writing one of the tongues spoken there that is already known to scholars. With regard to the oneness of the language of the rest of the earth, in all probability this expression referred, as has been already remarked, to the tract enclosed between the mountains of Persia on the east, the Mediterranean on the west, Asia Minor and Armenia on the north, and Arabia on the south—a tract in which the lingua franca of diplomacy was, as is proved by the Tel-el-Amarna tablets, the tongue now called Assyrian, which could easily have been regarded as the proofs and the remains of the thing that had been.

To recapitulate: The story of the Tower of Babel is a break in the narrative of the genealogies, so striking that any thinking man must have been able to recognize it easily. It is a narrative that practically glorifies Babylonia, making it the centre of the human race, and the spot from which they all migrated after the dispersion caused by the confusion of tongues. It was probably given for, and recognized as, the legend current in Babylonia at the time, and must, [pg 141] therefore, have been recognized and valued by the people of the time at its true worth.