Wednesday, April 11, 2007

 

Babel and Pentecost: An Odd Connection


To make such a connection I think first we need to re-examine the Babel event and find out what is really going on. Most people don’t have a clue as to what the story is really about nor do they really know why it is in the Bible; other than to explain why there are so many different languages.

In the biblical text (Genesis 11:1-8) we read that the people gathered together to build a city and a tower to “reach the heavens” so that the people wont be scattered and that they could make a name for themselves. Then the Lord visits them and says that nothing would be impossible for them and he confuses their languages and scatters them abroad. So what is exactly happening here? Some of us might think that God doesn’t like tall towers, or that perhaps God was opposed to the people making a name for themselves. But I think with a little help from Ancient Near Eastern (ANE) backgrounds we could learn a lot about what is happening here.

The first thing I would like to discuss is the idea of a ziggurat. Ziggurats are ancient buildings located in and around Mesopotamia. These building were temples. Not temples in the sense that they were the place for public worship, but rather resting/dwelling places for gods. Most commonly these ziggurats housed the patron god of the city. The towers are shaped like a pyramid except flat at the top. Most of them look like a giant staircase leading to the heavens. It was thought that the ziggurat was built in such a way to invite/summonsthe deity to come and dwell among the people. In a sense some have argued that the “tower” of Babel is in fact a ziggurat of some sort. The tower of Babel was designed reach the heavens, perhaps not physically (i.e. a tower that is incredibly tall) but spiritually.

So now the story of Babel comes not primarily to describe how the languages were created, but rather to show the first sign of organized religion. What is interesting about the ziggurat set up is that man, is in control. If men do the right thing, say the right prayers, build the right building the god would in a sense be manipulated to comply with Man’s wishes. This organized religion was primarily made to make a special community; i.e. so that they were not scattered everywhere. The religion was also meant to give the people a name, fame, power, money? and who knows what else. So what did God do? He didn’t just create new languages, he destroyed the community. That I think is what is most important about the Babel story; the loss of human community in the face of man centered organized religion.

So now lets jump thousands of years later to Pentecost. I am sure now I wont have to explain this in so much depth as I guess you have probably made the connection. The first obvious connection is the elimination of language and the new creation of community. A community designed for all nations. In a sense Pentecost is the reversal of Babel not just with language but the re-creation of community.

But there is also one more point too that I would like to discuss. The religion in Babel was trying to get access to God, or the gods (I am not sure who) by performing certain tasks and trying to manipulate God/the gods. In a sense all was man initiated and controlled. Pentecost is God coming down not in some temple but the people. It was all directed, initiated and controlled by God. So Pentecost not only re-created community but also revealed true religion.


Comments:
Wow! We ask and you provide! I haven't had a chance to read this yet, but I wanted to give you props for putting something up so fast.
 
I like to do more reading on a topic after I blog and I usually find some interesting articles. I have posted a new one on Babel. This one is quite extensive and scholarly, so its not for everyone but if you have time you can browse through it.

The author doesn't necessarily agree with me but does a lot more with the text than I will ever do on a blog. Fitz I thought this would be good for you too if you are doing a paper on it.
 
I finally got to read the post and I am fascinated. I still don't know how much stock to put into the theory that the tower was a temple for some god, but it is at least clear that God did not like the "man initiated and controlled" part of the deal. This is the stuff I love about our faith. There are important little ironies and foreshadowings that we might miss the first fifty times reading over it. This is great stuff!

One thing I always wondered about though is the idea that they might actually be trying to reach the heavens. After reading a book on the history of astronomy, I realize how childish some of society's ideas were about the heavens and the universe in general. There is a piece of me that wouldn't be surprised if they actually were trying to reach the heavens physically. Still, that reading makes less sense of God's response to them. I doubt he was actually worried that they would reach the heavens.
 
Yeah you're right, the idea that the tower was a zigurrat is compelling but not rock solid. There are other instances when this language of something reaching to the heavens is used as hyperbole ex. deut. 1:28; 9:1

In fact the article I posted about said that the tower is maybe not an important part of the text. But rather the repeated phrases that occur in Genesis prior to this. ex. Gen. 11:3,4 the people say "come let us make..." mimicking divine speech in Genesis 1:26 and 11:7. Also the idea that God said that nothing is impossible for them, might mirror the idea that God said in Gen. 3:22 that man has become like God...

Furthermore, in the creation account God blesses all creation to be fruitful and multiply and cover the earth; remember this is a blessing not necessarily a command. The people decide to build a city so that they wont scatter showing that they were falling out of God's blessing (curse?). So God brings down what looks like judgment and confuses the language and breaks apart the community. But the people are then scattered and spread out, perhaps this should be looked at as a blessing from God and not a judgment...
 
I keep trying to post, but I'm having problems loggin in.
 
JW- I have actually been having the same problem on your blog. I have written two long responses and both times they were lost because the computer wouldn't accept my username and password.
 
yeah, I figured it out. I had to switch my account to the new google blogger. Once I did that, it updated my blog a bit and let me post again. I haven't switched my template yet though. P.S. Velmer--when I joined SBL it gave me access to the Journal of Biblical Literature archives, and I found a past article on Babel. I haven't read it yet, but I'll have to tell you if its relevant to this discussion at all. If it is, I'll make sure to send it to you.
 
Wow! What a well thought out and well summarized post. You're a good blogger dude.

I am intrigued by why exactly these people want so much to keep people from scattering. Certainly since God gave the order to multiply and cover the earth, Satan would work to convince people that to do otherwise would be best. But what were the people thinking? Did they just want to have an orderly system? Or was it all part of that wanting to prove their power and make a name for themselves?
 
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