(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) God came down to look at the city and tower that humanity had built, (6) and God 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 God 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 God confounded the speech of the whole earth; and from there God scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
Questions to consider:
1. What do we notice about language in the story?
2. What questions can we ask about language in this story?
3. The text here is bracketed with the theme of language, what does that teach us?
4. What are the aspects of communication that are highlighted in this text?
5. What is the difference between listening and speaking as reflected here?
6. How does our compassionate communication reflect this story?
7. What do we learn about the uniqueness of our communication styles?
But a devious one makes for a broken spirit.
Questions to Consider:
1. How is the proverbs verse reflective (or not) of the Tower of Babel?
2. What are the implications of this first for you?