בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית • B'resheet
(“In Beginning” or “At First”)
The First Book of Moses,
Commonly Called
Genesis

~ 11 ~

Parashah 2: Noach (Continued)
(Noach, Gen. 6:9-11:32)

G. Dispersion of the Human Family (11:1-9)

1. Commonness of Mankind (11:1-2)

Shvi'i (Seventh) 1 The whole earth had one language and a common form of speech.[1] 2As people migrated eastward,[2a] they found a plain in the land of Shin'ar,[2b] [MAP] and settled there.

2. Plan to Build a City (11:3-4)

3They said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.”[3] So they used brick instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar. 4“Come,” they said, “let’s build ourselves a city, with a tower whose top reaches to the heavens,[4a] and let’s make a name for ourselves and not be scattered abroad on the surface of the whole earth.”[4b]

3. Attitude Displeases God (11:5-7)

5Y^ehovah [GN] came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men were building. 6Y^ehovah said, “If they have begun to do this as one people speaking the same language, then nothing they decide to do will be beyond them. 7Come, let’s go down[7] there and confuse their language, so they will not understand one another’s speech.”

[Babel [MAP] 1765 BCE, 1996 AC]

4. Language Confused (11:8-9)

 8So Y^ehovah scattered them from there over the face of the whole earth,[8] and they stopped building the city. 9That is why it is called BavelBabel, confusion (by mixing),[9] because there Y^ehovah confused the language of the whole world, and from there Y^ehovah scattered them abroad on the face of the whole earth.

Were we WRONG About the Tower of Babel?
Answers in Genesis

H. Descendants from Shem to Avram (11:10-32)

1. Shem (11:10a)

10This is the record of the descendants of Shem:

2. Arphaxad (11:10b-11) [2317 BCE]

Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of ArpakhshadArphaxad. 11And after he had become the father of Arpakhshad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

3. Shelah (11:12-13) [2282 BCE]

12When Arpakhshad was 135[12] years old he became the father of ShelachShelah. 13And after he had become the father of Shelach, Arpakhshad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

4. Eber (11:14-15) [2252 BCE]

14When Shelach was 130 years old he became the father of 'EverEber. 15After he had become the father of 'Ever, Shelach lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

5. Peleg (11:16-17) [2218 BCE]

16When 'Ever was 134 years old he became the father of Peleg. 17After he had become the father of Peleg, 'Ever lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

6. Reu (11:18-19) [2188-1949 BCE]

18When Peleg was 130 years old he became the father of Reu. 19After he had become the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

7. Serug (11:20-21) [2156-1926 BCE]

20When Reu was 132 years old he became the father of Serug. 21After he had become the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

8. Nahor (11:22-23) [2126 BCE]

22When Serug was 130 years old he became the father of Nahor. 23After he had become the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years [d 1926 BCE] and had other sons and daughters.

9. Terah (11:24-25) [2097 BCE]

24When Nahor was 179 years old he became the father of Terah. 25After he had become the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 and had other sons and daughters.

[Nimrod (founder of Babylon) dies 2032 BCE]

10. Avram, Nahor, and Haran (11:26-32) [2027 BCE]

26When Terah was 70 years old he became the father of AvramAbram, “exalted father”, Nahor“snorting”, and Haran“mountaineer”.

a. Terah (11:27a)

27Now this is the history of the generations of Terah.[27] Terah became the father of Avram [ca April 1 1967 BCE], Nahor [2000 BCE],  and Haran [2027 BCE].

[Ur of the Chaldeans [MAP]]

b. Lot Born; Haran Dies (11:27b-28)

Haran became the father of Lot [c 1967 BCE]. 28During his father Terah’s lifetime, Haran died [ca 1925 BCE] in his native land, in Ur-KasdimUr of the Chaldeans.[28]

[TO PARASHAH TOP] 

[Job’s trials begin ca 1965 BCE]

c. Avram and Nahor Take Wives (11:29-30)

Maftir (Concluding) 29 Avram and Nahor married wives [ca 1927 BCE]. Avram’s wife was named Sarai“she who strives,” “contentious” [b 1957 BCE], and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcahqueen [b ca 1963 BCE], the daughter of Haran, who was also the father of Iscah“one who looks forth”. 30Sarai was barren. She had no child.

d. Terah Moves Family to Haran (11:31-32) [Ur [MAP] to Haran [MAP], ca 1924-1927 BCE]

31Terah took Avram his son, Lot the son of Haran, his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Avram’s wife. They went from Ur-Kasdim, to go into the land of Kena'an. [MAP] They came to Haran[31] and lived there. 32The days of Terah were two hundred five years. Terah died in Haran. [ca April 1-4, 1892 BCE]

[TO PARASHAH TOP] 

Chapter 12 • Parashah Lekh L'kha

---

[TO PARASHAH TOP]
 

Now that you’ve read Parashah Noach,
watch Rabbi Greg Hershberg’s Teaching

---

Haftarah

---

Haftarah Noach is Yesha'yahu (Isaiah) 54:1-55:5
Listen to it read from the Complete Jewish Bible

54 1 “Sing, barren, you who didn’t give birth! Break out into singing, and cry aloud, you who didn’t travail with child! For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife,” says Y^ehovah. 2 “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your habitations; don’t spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes. 3 For you will spread out on the right hand and on the left; and your offspring will possess the nations and settle in desolate cities.

4 “Don’t be afraid, for you will not be ashamed. Don’t be confounded, for you will not be disappointed.For you will forget the shame of your youth. You will remember the reproach of your widowhood no more. 5 For your Maker is your husband; Y^ehovah of Hosts is his name. The Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer. He will be called the God of the whole earth. 6 For Y^ehovah has called you as a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, even a wife of youth, when she is cast off,” says your God.

7 “For a small moment I have forsaken you, but I will gather you with great mercies. 8 In overflowing wrath I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting loving kindness I will have mercy on you,” says Y^ehovah your Redeemer.

9 “For this is like the waters of Noah to me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah will no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, nor rebuke you. 10 For the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed,but my loving kindness will not depart from you, and my covenant of peace will not be removed,” says Y^ehovah who has mercy on you.

11 “You afflicted, tossed with storms, and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in beautiful colors, and lay your foundations with sapphires. 12 I will make your pinnacles of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels, and all your walls of precious stones. 13 All your children will be taught by Y^ehovah, and your children’s peace will be great. 14 You will be established in righteousness. You will be far from oppression, for you will not be afraid, and far from terror, for it shall not come near you. 15 Behold, they may gather together, but not by me. Whoever gathers together against you will fall because of you.

16 “Behold, I have created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame, and forges a weapon for his work; and I have created the destroyer to destroy. 17 No weapon that is formed against you will prevail; and you will condemn every tongue that rises against you in judgment.This is the heritage of Y^ehovah’s servants, and their righteousness is of me,” says Y^ehovah.

55 1 “Hey! Come, everyone who thirsts, to the waters! Come, he who has no money, buy, and eat! Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Why do you spend money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which doesn’t satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in richness. 3 Turn your ear, and come to me. Hear, and your soul will live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. 4 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander to the peoples. 5 Behold, you shall call a nation that you don’t know; and a nation that didn’t know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he has glorified you.”
 

[TO PARASHAH TOP]
 

---

Ketuvei HaShalichim (Apostolic Writings)

The reading from the Gospels is Luke 17:20-27

20When asked by the ParushimPharisee when the Kingdom of God would come, He answered, “The Kingdom of God isn’t coming with signs that can be seen; 21nor will people be able to say, ‘Look, here!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ Hinneh!  The Kingdom of God is among you!”

22He said to His talmidimdisciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see even one of the days of the Son of Man, but you won’t see it. 23People will tell you, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘Look, there it is!’ Don’t go away; don’t follow after them. 24Because in His day[24a] the Son of Man will be just like lightning; when it flashes out of one part of the sky it lights up the entire sky.[24b] 25But first, He must endure terrible suffering and be rejected by this generation.

26At the time of the Son of Man it will be just like at the time of Noach. 27People went on eating, drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage, right up to the very day that Noach boarded the ark; and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

 
[TO PARASHAH TOP] [SKIP OPTIONAL, GO TO BLESSING AFTER]
 

Kepherim (Letters, optional)

Mattityahu (Matthew) 24:36-44

36 But no one knows of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37 “As it was in the time of Noach, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 In those days right before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, right up until the day that Noach entered the ark. 39 They didn’t know until the flood came, and took them all away [to judgment]. That’s how the coming of the Son of Man will be. 40 Two men will be in the field: one will be taken [to judgment] and one will be left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken [to judgment] and one will be left. 42 So be watchful, because you don’t know when your Lord will come. 43 But know this, if the master of the house had known at what time of night the burglar was coming, he would have watched, and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 44 So you also need to be ready, for at a time that you don’t expect, the Son of Man will come.

 [TO PARASHAH TOP] 
 

Lukas (Luke) 17:26-37

26At the time of the Son of Man it will be just like at the time of Noach. 27People went on eating, drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage, right up to the very day that Noach boarded the ark; and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 28Just like it was at the time of Lot: people went right on eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, and building; 29but on the very day that Lot left S'dom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

 30That is just how it will be on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. 31On that day, whoever is on the housetop with his possessions in the house, don’t go down to get them! Whoever is in the field, don’t turn back either! 32Remember Lot’s wife! 33Whoever tries to make his life secure will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserves it. 34I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken [to judgment] and the other will be left. 35Two will be grinding grain together; one will be taken [to judgment] and the other will be left.” 36Two will be in the field; one will be taken [to judgment] and the other left.”

37They asked him, “Where, Lord?”

And He answered them, “Wherever the corpse is, that’s where the vultures will gather.”

 [TO PARASHAH TOP] 
 

Kefa Alef (1 Peter) 3:18-22

18 Because Messiah also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit, 19 in whom he also went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 who before were disobedient when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ship was being built. In it, few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. 21 This is a symbol of immersion, which now saves you—not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God—through the resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah, 22 who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, angels and authorities and powers being made subject to him.

 [TO PARASHAH TOP] 
 

Kefa Beit (2 Peter) 2:4-11

4 For if God didn’t spare angels when they sinned, but cast them down to Tartarus, [Tartarus is another name for Hell] and committed them to pits of darkness to be reserved for judgment; 5 and didn’t spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, a proclaimer of righteousness, when he brought a flood on the world of the ungodly, 6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, having made them an example to those who would live in an ungodly way, 7 and delivered righteous Lot, who was very distressed by the lustful life of the wicked 8 (for that righteous man dwelling among them was tormented in his righteous soul from day to day with seeing and hearing lawless deeds), 9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, 10 but chiefly those who walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, 11 whereas angels, though greater in might and power, don’t bring a slanderous judgment against them before the Lord.
 

---

The Blessing After the Ketuvei HaShalichim Click here to listen to this canted by Jeremiah Greenberg of Messianic Liturgical Resources. Page numbers refer to his Messianic Shabbat Siddur.
Ba-rookh ah-tah, Adonai Eh-lo-hay-noo, meh-lekh hah-oh-lahm, ah-sher na-tahn la-noo Ha-d'var Ha-eh-met v'cha-yaye oh-lahm na-ta b'toe-chey-noo. Ba-rooch ah-ta Adonai, no-tain Ha-breet Ha-cha-da-sha. Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has given us the Word of Truth and has planted life everlasting in our midst. Blessed are you O Lord, Giver of the New Covenant.

The Blessing of the Messiah Click here to listen to this canted by Jeremiah Greenberg of Messianic Liturgical Resources. Page numbers refer to his Messianic Shabbat Siddur.
Ba-rookh ah-tah Adonai Eh-lo-hay-noo, meh-lekh hah-oh-lahm, ah-sher na-tahn la-noo ha-deh-rech l'y'shoo-ah b'ma-she-ahch Yeshua. Ah-mein. Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has given us the way to salvation in Messiah Yeshua. Amen.

 
[TO PARASHAH TOP] 

Chapter 12 • Parashah Lekh L'kha

---

 1. I believe that this one language for all of humanity was the language that HaShem taught to Adam and Havah. Because HaShem is eternal (timeless) and humans were created to be eternal (timeless) then the language should also be a timeless language with no tenses (past, present, future). One of the outstanding characteristics of the Hebrew language is that is has no tenses, as we think of them. Whether the action being spoken of occurs in the past, present, or future is determined by the context, not by the verb tense. Zephaniah 3:8-10 says that in the Last Days when the Gentile nations have been restored to right relationship with God, He will “change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the Name of Y^ehovah and serve Him with one accord.” I therefore believe that Hebrew is the original language of humanity, and that it will be the language of both the Kingdom Period and the eternal Olam Habah (the world to come). [BACK]

 2a. LXX reads “from the east.” [BACK]

 2b. Shinar, the fertile valley watered by the Euphrates and Tigris was chosen as the center of their union and the seat of their power. (JF&B) This is the region of what is now northern Iraq, referred to as “the fertile crescent.” [BACK]

 3. brick—There being no stone in that quarter, brick is, and was, the only material used for building, as appears in the mass of ruins which at the Birs Nimroud may have been the very town formed by those ancient rebels. Some of these are sun-dried, others burnt in the kiln and of different colors.
tar—bitumen, a mineral pitch, which, when hardened, forms a strong cement, commonly used in Assyria to this day, and forming the mortar found on the burnt brick remains of antiquity. (JF&B) [BACK]

4a. Literally: “…a tower; at its top, the heavens...,” very probably a reference to the astrological signs of the Zodiac. The city of Bavel (Babel) was built by Nimrod, and he was king there. It was there that the pagan religion known as “the Babylon Mystery Religion” or “Mystery Babylon” (Rev 17:5) was developed. This religion was developed around the worship of Nimrod and is the ancestor of all pagan religions (including the many pagan aspects of “Christianity” — don’t get upset, just read the article). One significant element of this religion is that it is the source of the occult practice of astrology. The tower was very likely a combination temple and observatory from which to study the stars for the express purpose of divination. Some believe that it was the goal of warlike mankind to build the tower into the heavenly realm so they could attack the bnei Elohim and take their place in the heavenly council. Notice how the goal of humanity to ascend to the heavens is part and parcel of the sin of Lucifer:

“How did you come to fall from the heavens, Morning Star, son of the dawn? How did you come to be cut to the ground, conqueror of nations? You thought to yourself, ‘I will scale the heavens, I will raise my throne above God’s stars. I will sit on the Mount of Assembly far away in the north. I will rise past the tops of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High.’” (Isaiah 14:12-14) [BACK]

4b. Note that this is in direct disobedience to God’s command to “spread out across the earth and multiply upon it” (Gen 9:7). [BACK]

 7. If Y^ehovah is an absolute Unity, to Whom is He speaking, and Who is the “Us” to Whom He suggests, “Let Us go down…”? [BACK]

 8. At the end of the Flood, HaShem commanded Noah to “… be fruitful, multiply, swarm on the earth and multiply on it” (Gen 8:17; 9:7). Instead, apparent virtually all of Noach’s descendants had decided to settle on or near the “plain in the land of Shin'ar.” [BACK]

 9. Bavel (or Babel) later became Babylon. [BACK]

12. I have used the ages of the patriarchs from Arpakhshad to Nahor (v. 20) as given in the Septuagint and Samaritan Pentateuch (cited by Josephus), which predate the Hebrew Masoretic text used for most English translations. This moves the date of the flood (and all earlier events) backwards in time by at least 700 years from the dates given so far in my commentary. Watch this excellent YouTube video. [BACK]

27. The Tanakh tells us that Terah was not only an idol worshipper (Josh 24:2), he also had a very successful business making and selling idols, and the remains of his fine home have been identified by modern archaeology. According to a fanciful Midrash in B'resheet Rabah 38, Terah needed to leave his store, and he appointed Abram to sell the idols while he was away. However, Abram discouraged potential customers from buying the idols, explaining to them the futility of worshipping statues that were only fashioned that very day. Not satisfied with this, Abram took an axe and destroyed all but one of his father’s idols. He took the axe and placed it in the hand of the largest idol, the only one that remained intact. When Terah returned and saw what had happened, he accused Abram. But Abram explained that the largest idol had broken all the others in a fight over an offering that a woman had brought to the store. Terah exclaimed that such a thing was impossible. He then realized that his son had tricked him into admitting that his idols were powerless. The Midrash recounts that Terah was a “stargazer” (astrologer, using the Zodiac for divination as part of the religion of Nimrod, note 4a.) [BACK]

28. Ur, Hebrew אור, 'Uwr, flame; “Its name probably derived from its being devoted to the rites of fire-worship. Terah and his family were equally infected with that idolatry as the rest of the inhabitants (Joshua 24:15)” (JF&B). One might wonder if this “fire-worship” isn’t a reference to the worship of Ba'al (or Molech), in which children were burned alive as a sacrifice. [BACK]

31. Haran [MAP] was two days’ journey south-southeast from Ur, on the direct road to the ford of the Euphrates at Rakka, the nearest and most convenient route to what is now Israel. [BACK]

---

Other commentaries on Genesis 11
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
Pulpit Commentary
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Added dates, map links, and a few notes on Friday, 02 July 2021
Revised on Monday, 14 February 2022; see note 12