(1) Everyone on earth had the same language and the same words.(2) And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there.(3) They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them hard.”—Brick served them as stone, and bitumen served them as mortar.—(4) And they said, “Come, let us build us a city, and a tower with its top in the sky, to make a name for ourselves; lest we be scattered all over the world.”

(5) יהוה came down to look at the city and tower that humanity had built,(6) and יהוה said, “If, as one people with one language for all, this is how they have begun to act, then nothing that they may propose to do will be out of their reach.(7) Let us, then, go down and confound their speech there, so that they shall not understand one another’s speech.”(8) Thus יהוה scattered them from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city.(9) That is why it was called Babel, because there יהוה confounded the speech of the whole earth; and from there יהוה scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

(1) Everyone on earth had the same language and the same words.(2) And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there.(3) They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them hard.”—Brick served them as stone, and bitumen served them as mortar.—(4) And they said, “Come, let us build us a city, and a tower with its top in the sky, to make a name for ourselves; else we shall be scattered all over the world.”(5) יהוה came down to look at the city and tower that humanity had built,(6) and יהוה said, “If, as one people with one language for all, this is how they have begun to act, then nothing that they may propose to do will be out of their reach.(7) Let us, then, go down and confound their speech there, so that they shall not understand one another’s speech.”(8) Thus יהוה scattered them from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city.(9) That is why it was called Babel,*Babel I.e., “Babylon.” because there יהוה confounded*confounded Heb. balal “confound,” play on “Babel.” the speech of the whole earth; and from there יהוה scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

(6) Rabbi Phineas said: There were no stones there where-with to build the city and the tower. What did they do? They baked bricks and burnt them like a builder (would do), until they built it seven mils high, and it had ascents on its east and west. (The labourers) who took up the bricks went up on the eastern (ascent), and those who descended went down on the western (descent). If a man fell and died they paid no heed to him, but if a brick fell they || sat down and wept, and said: Woe is us ! when will another one come in its stead?

(11) And they wished to speak one to another in the language of his fellow-countryman, but one did not understand the language of his fellow. What did they do? Every one took his sword, and they fought one another to destroy (each other), and half the world fell there by the sword, and thence the Lord scattered them upon the face of all the earth, as it is said, "So the Lord scattered them abroad on that account, upon the face of all the earth" (Gen. 11:8).

(6) Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Yoḥanan, Rabbi Elazar says: … The generation of the Dispersion said: ‘How arrogant of Him to select the upper reaches for Himself and to give us the lower reaches. Instead, let us come and make a tower and craft an idol at its top, place a sword in its hand, and it will appear as though it is waging war against Him.’ Yet those of the generation of the Flood, no remnant of them remained, while those of the generation of the Dispersion, a remnant of them remained. The explanation is that the generation of the Flood, because they were steeped in robbery, as it is stated: “They move boundaries; they rob a flock and herd it” (Job 24:2), that is why no remnant of them remained. But these, [the generation of the Dispersion], they loved each other, as it is stated: “The entire earth was of one language,” that is why a remnant of them remained.

Once in the days of Joshua, as stated (in Josh. 9:2): THEN < ALL THE KINGS > GATHERED TOGETHER [WITH ONE ACCORD] TO FIGHT AGAINST JOSHUA [AND AGAINST ISRAEL]. What is the meaning of TOGETHER? That they took issue with the Holy One.

Once in the days of Gog and Magog, as stated (in Ps. 2:2): THE KINGS OF THE EARTH TAKE THEIR STAND … < AGAINST THE LORD AND AGAINST HIS ANOINTED >.

Here, as stated (in Gen. 11:1): NOW THE WHOLE EARTH HAD [ONE LANGUAGE AND THE SAME WORDS], words of blasphemy < which > they were uttering against the Holy One. Even though the scriptures have not specified < the blasphemies >, our masters have specified some of them. What were they saying? After a thousand years and one day plus six hundred and fifty-six years, a flood is coming to the world. Then the heavens are to be shaken, and the waters above shall fall upon us. But come and let us make ourselves purgoi {i.e., columns}, so that if the heavens fall, they will support them. Ergo (in Gen. 11:1): AND THE SAME WORDS.

And they have been engaged in building for a very long time, so that they had already built the ‎city, and the tower therein reached an enormous height. And by reason of the very great ‎height it took a full year to carry upwards the stones and the bricks, to reach the builders. And ‎thus it was done all the time, some going up and others coming down, and so difficult was the ‎ascension and descension that when a brick would happen to fall down and break, all would ‎lament and weep over the great loss. But when a man would fall down and be killed, no one ‎would take the least notice of his death. And the Lord knew all their wicked thoughts. And ‎they shot arrows towards heaven, and all the arrows fell down upon them full of blood, and ‎seeing that all rejoiced, saying: We have killed all those that were in heaven. For it was the will ‎of God to mislead them, and to wipe them out from the face of the earth. And they continued ‎building the city and tower, and they acted so wickedly every day, until many days and years ‎had passed. And the Lord said to the seventy angels that stand first and nearest unto the ‎throne, saying: Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not ‎understand one another's speech. And the Lord did unto them accordingly. And they forgot at ‎once each other's speech, and they could no more speak nor understand the same language. ‎And when the builder would receive from the hands of the carrier the wrong bricks, or ‎something else he was not ordered to bring, the builder in his anger would fling it away, and ‎cast it upon someone and kill him. And this disorder continued for many days, and a great ‎number were killed in that way. And the three parties were punished by the Lord according to ‎what they have said and done. Those that said: We will go up into heaven and there enthrone ‎our gods and worship them, turned into apes and into elephants. Those that said: We will go ‎up and kill all those that are in heaven, with our spears and arrows, the Lord caused to perish ‎every man by the hand of his neighbor. And the third party that said: We will go up into ‎heaven and wage war against the Lord, the Lord dispersed through all the earth. And those ‎that belonged to neither of the parties remained there. But they soon came to know and ‎understand the evil which hath come over them and they abandoned the building, and of their ‎own accord dispersed themselves over the face of the whole earth. So it came that the sons of ‎man ceased to build the city and tower. Therefore the name of that place is called Babel; ‎because the Lord confounded there, the language of all the earth. And the place was to the ‎east of the land of Shinar. And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up one third of the ‎tower, and fire came down from heaven and consumed another third thereof, and one-third ‎remains unto this day, hanging in the air of the heaven; and its length is the distance of three ‎day's journey. And so many of the sons of man died in the work of that building, that they ‎could not be even numbered.

Any love that is dependent on something, [when that thing perishes, the love perishes]. What is an example of love that is dependent on something? [The love of Amnon for Tamar.]Any debate that is carried out for the sake of Heaven [is destined to endure]. What is an example of a debate that is carried out for the sake of Heaven? [The debate between Hillel and Shammai].
Any gathering that is for the sake of performing the commandments…. What is an example of a gathering that is for the sake of performing the commandments? The Men of the Great Assembly. What is an example of a gathering that is not for the sake of performing the commandments? The assembly of the men of the Generation of the Dispersal [those who built the Tower of Babel]. 17.

§ The mishna teaches that the members of the generation of the dispersion have no share in the World-to-Come. The Gemara asks: What sin did they perform? Their sin is not explicitly delineated in the Torah. The school of Rabbi Sheila say that the builders of the Tower of Babel said: We will build a tower and ascend to heaven, and we will strike it with axes so that its waters will flow. They laughed at this explanation in the West, Eretz Yisrael, and asked: If that was their objective, let them build a tower on a mountain; why did they build it specifically in a valley (see Genesis 11:2)?

“Each man said to his counterpart: Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly. The brick was for them as stone, and the clay was for them as mortar” (Genesis 11:3).
“Each man said to his counterpart” – who said to whom? Rabbi Berekhya said: Mitzrayim said it to Kush.
“Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly [venisrefa lisrefa]” – these peoples are going to be eradicated [mishtarpa] from this world.
“The brick was for them as stone…” Rabbi Huna said: They met with success. One would come [with the intention] to lay one brick, and he would lay two. He would come [with the intention] to plaster two bricks, and he would plaster four.
“They said: Come, let us build us a city, and a tower, with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for us; lest we be dispersed upon the face of the entire earth” (Genesis 11:4).
“They said: Come, let us build us…” – Rabbi Yudan said: They built the tower, but they did not build the city [completely]. An objection was raised to him: “The Lord descended to see the city and the tower” (Genesis 11:5). He said to them: ‘Read a subsequent verse: “They ceased to build the tower” is not written here, but rather, “they ceased to build the city”’ (Genesis 11:8).
Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said: The tower that they built, one-third of it was burned, one-third of it sank [into the ground], and one-third of it still exists. If you think it is small, Rabbi Huna said in the name of Rabbi Idi: Anyone who ascends to its top sees the palm trees before him as though they were grasshoppers.
“And let us make a name [shem] for us” – Rabbi Yishmael taught: Shem is nothing other than idol worship.
“Lest we be dispersed upon the face of the entire earth” – Rabbi Shimon ben Rabbi Ḥalafta said: “A fool’s mouth is ruin for him” (Proverbs 18:7).

In this instance each man said to his neighbor, Cush to Put, and Put to Canaan: Come, let us make brick (Gen. 11:3). The Holy One, blessed be He, thereupon declared: You evil men, because you have sinned with the words Come, let us, I shall confound you through those very words, as it is said: Come, let us go down there and confound their language (ibid., v. 7). R. Hiyya the son of Abba said: One third of the tower they erected was consumed in fire, another third was swallowed into the earth, and the remainder was left standing. Yet if one climbed to the summit of the remaining third, the palm trees in Jericho below appeared no larger than grasshoppers.

Similarly, the men of the generation of the flood proclaimed: “Come, let us build us a city (Gen. 11:4), so that He may descend to earth and we may ascend to heaven. But if He should not descend, then let us wage war against Him.” The Holy One, blessed be He, did not restrain them, but declared instead: Do whatever ye desire, as it is said: And now nothing will be withholden from them, which they propose to do (ibid., v. 6). He that sitteth in heaven laugheth. The Lord hath them in derision (Ps. 2:4). Had He not permitted them to build the tower, they would have claimed: “If we had built the tower, we would have ascended and waged war against Him.” Therefore, He allowed them to erect the tower. After that, He looked down upon them and scattered them, as is said: Thence did the Lord scatter them (Gen. 11:9). He rebuked them, saying: You declared Lest we be scattered over the entire earth; therefore you shall be scattered over the face of the earth. Hence it is written: The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon them (Prov. 10:24).

Nimrod said to his people: Come, let us build a great city for ourselves, and let us dwell therein, lest we be scattered upon the face of all the earth, as the first people (were). Let us build a great tower in its midst, ascending to heaven, for the power of the Holy One, blessed be He, is only in the water, and let us make us a great name on the earth, as it is said, "And let us make us a name" (Gen. 11:4).

(Gen. 11:5:) THEN THE LORD CAME DOWN TO LOOK < AT THE CITY AND AT THE TOWER >. Everything is revealed to the Holy One; yet it is written here: THEN THE LORD CAME DOWN TO LOOK. < He did so > merely to teach people proper conduct, [i.e., not to decide a lawsuit nor talk about anything which they have not seen].

And thus do you find with the men of the tower (of Bavel), that You gave them a grace period for repentance and they did not repent. As it is written (Ibid. 11:6) "Behold, they are one people, and all of them have one language, and this is what they begin to do! And now, etc. "Now" connotes (an opening for) repentance, viz. (Devarim 10:12) "And now, O Israel, what does the L–rd your G–d ask of you" (but to repent). And You did not decree destruction upon them (the men of the tower) until they had consummated their evil before You.

ALL HAVING ONE LANGUAGE - Each understood what his fellow would say to him, whether 'clay' or 'brick,' and this way they would build. During the time that they had one language, they were not restrained from building. Rather, I will confuse their languages and they will put aside the construction. What did G-d do? He called the divine messengers and commanded them to descend below, and each one [of the messengers would teach] each family a different language, so that this family would not understand that family. And so they did, as it says, "Come, let us descend."

“Come, let us descend, and we will muddle their language there, so that one will not understand the language of his counterpart” (Genesis 11:7).
“Come, let us descend” – this is one of the instances that they altered for King Ptolemy – [they wrote:] “Come, I shall descend and I shall muddle.”
“And muddle [navla] their language there” – Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: From their language, I will make them into carcasses [nevela]. One of them would say to another: ‘Give me an axe,’ and he would give him a shovel. He would then strike him and split his skull. That is what is written: From their language, I will make them into carcasses [nevela].
“The Lord dispersed them from there upon the face of the entire earth, and they ceased to build the city” (Genesis 11:8).
“The Lord dispersed [vayafetz] them from there” – Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemya, Rabbi Yehuda said: The residents of Tyre went to Sidon, and the residents of Sidon to Tyre. Each land retained its borders. Rabbi Neḥemya said: Each and every person retained his land of his original residence and returned there. What, then, is meant by “He dispersed”? It is that each [of the residents] of the lands gathered at the mountaintops, and each one [mountaintop] would absorb the residents of its place.
The Rabbis say: Vayafetz is nothing other than inundated [vayatzef] – He inundated them with the sea and drowned thirty families of them. Rabbi Levi said: There is no misfortune that befalls a person that others do not benefit from it. Those thirty families, from where were they replaced? It was from Abraham: sixteen from Ketura, twelve from Ishmael, and the other two: “The Lord said to her: Two peoples are in your womb” (Genesis 25:23).

Come, let us go down there and confound their language (Gen. 11:7). He confounded their speech to such a degree that no one was able to understand his companion’s speech. Originally, they had spoken to each other in Hebrew, the language with which the world was created.

§ The mishna teaches that the members of the generation of the dispersion have no share in the World-to-Come. The Gemara asks: What sin did they perform? Their sin is not explicitly delineated in the Torah. The school of Rabbi Sheila say that the builders of the Tower of Babel said: We will build a tower and ascend to heaven, and we will strike it with axes so that its waters will flow. They laughed at this explanation in the West, Eretz Yisrael, and asked: If that was their objective, let them build a tower on a mountain; why did they build it specifically in a valley (see Genesis 11:2)?Rather, Rabbi Yirmeya bar Elazar says: They divided into three factions; one said: Let us ascend to the top of the tower and dwell there. And one said: Let us ascend to the top of the tower and engage in idol worship. And one said: Let us ascend to the top of the tower and wage war. With regard to that faction that said: Let us ascend to the top of the tower and dwell there, God dispersed them. And that faction that said: Let us ascend to the top of the tower and wage war, became apes, and spirits, and demons, and female demons. And with regard to that faction that said: Let us ascend to the top of the tower and engage in idol wor-ship, it is written: “Because there the Lord confounded the language of all the earth” (Genesis 11:9).It is taught in a baraita: Rabbi Natan says: All of those factions intended to build the tower for the sake of idol worship. It is written here: “And let us make a name for us” (Genesis 11:4), and it is written there: “And make no mention of the name of the other gods” (Exodus 23:13). Just as there, the connotation of “name” is idol worship, so too here, the connotation of “name” is idol worship.Rabbi Yoḥanan says: The uppermost third of the tower was burned, the lowermost third of the tower was swallowed into the earth, and the middle third remained intact. Rav says: The atmosphere of the tower causes forgetfulness; anyone who goes there forgets what he has learned. As a result of the building of the tower, forgetting was introduced into the world. Rav Yosef says: Babylonia and the adjacent place, Bursif, are each a bad omen for Torah, i.e., they cause one to forget his knowledge. The Gemara asks: What is the meaning of Bursif? Rabbi Asi says: It is an abbreviation of empty pit [bor shafi].