Genesis 11:3

Translations

Modern

And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” So they used brick instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar.

Traditional

And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.

Literal

And they said, each man to his brother, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them for burning.” And the brick was to them for stone, and the tar was to them for the mortar.

Latin

Dixitque alter ad proximum suum: Venite, faciamus lateres, et coquamus eos igni. Habueruntque lateres pro saxis, et bitumen pro cæmento:

Original

Hebrew

English

And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” So they used brick instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar.

Notes

Genesis 11:3

Stone was plentiful in Canaan. In Mesopotamia, stone was rare, so they developed brick-making technology.
They made tar from bitumen, a natural, waterproof asphalt similar to cement (see 6:14; Exodus 2:3).

Genesis 11:1–9

The story of the unfinished tower continues themes from the Table of Nations (chapter 10). These themes include language and human unity. The builders wanted independence from God, which recalls the rebellion in the garden of Eden (chapter 3). This also helps show why Abram’s faithful response to God is needed (chapter 12) during a time of disorder among the nations.

The scattering of the nations also points forward to later warnings given to Israel. God warned that idolatry would lead to their being scattered, and that their cities would be ruined (see Leviticus 26:33; Numbers 10:35; Deuteronomy 4:27; 28:64; 30:3).

In the timeline of Genesis, this goes back to an earlier time. It explains how the nations spread out during the time of Peleg (see Genesis 10:25).

Genesis 10:1–11:9

The fifth account (10:1) in Genesis (see study note on 2:4) unites the Table of Nations (10:2–32) and the Babel story (11:1–9) around the theme of scattering the nations (10:5, 18; 11:4, 8–9). The Table of Nations appears before the Babel story, but the Babel event explains how the nations and languages in that list came to exist.

By placing these events in this order, Genesis connects the filling of the earth with the blessing God gave to Noah and his sons (see 9:1 and study note). It shows that the growth of the nations comes from God’s blessing.

This order also prepares for Abram’s call (12:1–3). Abram’s call shows God’s answer to the problem seen at Babel (11:1–9), where humans were separated from God. Through Abram, God begins to restore that relationship.

Theme notes and profiles

Babylon Babel: The Dispersion of Nations Symbolic Numbers

Events

Tower of Babelc. 2246 BC

Related verses

Genesis 14:10
Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some men fell into the pits, but the survivors fled to the hill country.
Exodus 1:14
…and made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar, and with all kinds of work in the fields. Every service they imposed was harsh.
Exodus 2:3
But when she could no longer hide him, she got him a papyrus basket and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in the basket and set it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.
Hebrews 10:24
And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds.
James 5:1
Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you.
Isaiah 41:6–7
Each one helps the other and says to his brother, “Be strong!”
Isaiah 9:10
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Hebrews 3:13
But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
2 Samuel 12:31
David brought out the people who were there and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes, and he made them work at the brick kilns. He did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all his troops returned to Jerusalem.
Ecclesiastes 2:1
I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good!” But it proved to be futile.
Psalm 64:5
They hold fast to their evil purpose; they speak of hiding their snares. “Who will see them?” they say.
Isaiah 5:5
Now I will tell you what I am about to do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will tear down its wall, and it will be trampled.

Genesis 11:3

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