Genesis 11

Genesis 11:1

Now

This word shows that the writer is beginning a new part of the story.

the whole earth

"all the people on the earth"

Genesis 11:2

they journeyed

"they moved around"

in the east

Possible meanings are 1) "in the east" or 2) "from the east" or 3) "to the east." The preferred choice is "in the east" because Shinar is to the east of where scholars believe the ark came to rest.

settled

stopped moving from one place to another and began to live at one location

Genesis 11:3

Come

If your language has a way of urging or commanding people to begin work, like the English "Come on!" you might use it here.

bake them thoroughly

People make bricks out of clay and heat them in a very hot oven to make them hard and strong.

tar

a thick, sticky, black liquid that comes up from the ground

mortar

This is a thick substance made of lime powder, clay, sand, and water used to make stones or bricks stick together.

Genesis 11:4

let us make a name for ourselves

"let us make our reputation great"

we will be scattered

"we will separate from each other and live in different places"

Genesis 11:5

the descendants of Adam

"the people"

came down

"came down from heaven." This does not tell how he came down. Use a general word meaning "came down."

to see

"to observe" or "to look more closely"

Genesis 11:6

one people with the same language

All the people were one big group and they all spoke the same language.

they are beginning to do this

Possible meanings are 1) "they have begun to do this," meaning that they have begun to build the tower but it is not finished, or 2) "this is just the first thing they have done," meaning that in future they will do greater things.

nothing that they intend to do will be impossible for them

"anything they intend to do will be possible for them" or "they will be able to do anything they want to do"

Genesis 11:7

let us go down

The word "us" is plural even though it refers to God. Some translate it as "let me go down" or "I will go down." If you do this, consider adding a footnote to say that the pronoun is plural. See the note on "Let us make" in Genesis 1:26.

confuse their language

"mix up their language"

so that they may not understand each other

"so that they will not be able to understand what each other is saying"

Genesis 11:8

from there

"from the city"

Genesis 11:9

its name was called Babel, because there Yahweh confused

The name "Babel" sounds like the word that means "confused." Translators may want to add a footnote about this.

Genesis 11:10

became the father of Arphaxad

"had his son Arphaxad" or "his son Arphaxad was born"

flood

This is the flood from Noah's time when people had become so evil that God sent a worldwide flood to cover the earth.

Genesis 11:12

he became the father of Shelah

"his son Shelah was born"

Shelah

This is a man's name.

Genesis 11:26

Abram, Nahor, and Haran

We do not know the birth order of his sons.

Genesis 11:27

Now these were the descendants of Terah

"This is the account of Terah's descendants"

Genesis 11:28

Haran died in the presence of his father Terah

"Haran died while his father, Terah, was with him"

Genesis 11:29

took wives

"married wives"

Iskah

This is a female name.

Genesis 11:30

Now

This word is used to introduce new information about Sarai that will become important in later chapters.

barren

This term describes a woman who is physically unable to conceive or bear a child.

Genesis 11:31

his

Here the word "his" refers to Terah.

Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife

"his daughter-in-law Sarai, who was the wife of his son Abram"

Haran ... Haran

These are two different names and they are spelled differently in Hebrew. One refers to a person and the other refers to a city. (The "h" sound in the city's name is louder than the "h" sound in the person's name.) You might choose to spell them differently in your language to show this.