Genesis 11:2

Genesis 11:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
• New International Version (NIV)As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there.

Context of Genesis 11:2

1Now the whole world had one language and a common form of speech. And as people journeyed eastward, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3And 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. 4“Come,” they said, “let us build for ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens, that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of all the earth.”

Genesis 11:2 word by word

וַֽיְהִ֖י בְּנָסְעָ֣ם מִקֶּ֑דֶם וַֽיִּמְצְא֥וּ בִקְעָ֛ה בְּאֶ֥רֶץ שִׁנְעָ֖ר וַיֵּ֥שְׁבוּ שָֽׁם׃Read the interlinear

• Andהָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961
• as people journeyedנָסַעnâsa‛ · to set outH5265
• eastwardקֶ֫דֶםqedem qêdmâh · front: eastH6924
• they foundמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
• a plainבִּקְעָהbiq‛âh · valleyH1237
• in the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• of Shinarשִׁנְעָרshin‛âr · ShinarH8152
• and settledיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
• thereשָׁםshâm · thereH8033

Cross-references for Genesis 11:2

• Genesis 13:11So Lot chose the whole plain of the Jordan for himself and set out toward the east. And Abram and Lot parted company.
• Genesis 11:9That is why it is called Babel, for there the LORD confused the language of the whole world, and from that place the LORD scattered them over the face of all the earth.
• Genesis 10:10His kingdom began in Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
• Genesis 14:1In those days Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim
• Isaiah 11:11On that day the Lord will extend His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
• Daniel 1:2And the Lord delivered into his hand Jehoiakim king of Judah, along with some of the articles from the house of God. He carried these off to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, where he put them in the treasury of his god.
• Zechariah 5:11“To build a house for it in the land of Shinar,” he told me. “And when it is ready, the basket will be set there on its pedestal.”

Commentaries on Genesis 11:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2As they journeyed from the east - Assyria, Mesopotamia, and the country on the borders and beyond the Euphrates, are called the east in the sacred writings. Balaam said that the king of Moab had brought him from the mountains of the east, Numbers 23:7. Now it appears, from Numbers 22:5, that Balaam dwelt at Pethor, on the river Euphrates. And it is very probable that it was from this country that the wise men came to adore Christ; for it is said they came…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-9Verses 1-9 - The Confusion of Tongues 1. נסע nāsa‛ “pluck out, break up, journey.” מקדם mı̂qedem “eastward, or on the east side” as in Genesis 2:14; Genesis 13:11; Isaiah 9:11 (12). 6. החלם hachı̂lām “their beginning”, for החלם hăchı̂lām the regular form of this infinitive with a suffix. יזמוּ yāzmû as if from יזם yāzam = זמם zāmam נבלה nābelâh usually said to be for נבלה nābolâh from בלל bālal but evidently designed by the punctuator to be…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2journeyed eastward: See study note on 3:24. Shinar (Babylonia) was in southern Mesopotamia, where Nimrod later built his empire and cities (see 10:10; Isaiah 11:11; Daniel 1:2; Zechariah 5:11).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. land of Shinar--The fertile valley watered by the Euphrates and Tigris was chosen as the center of their union and the seat of their power.Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 11:2

• Babel
• Babylon
• Confusion
• Dispersion
• Exodus
• Language
• Miracles
• Tongue
• Tower

In the dictionaries

• Shinar
• Babel, tower of
• Begin
• Confound
• Earth
• Mesopotamia
• Noah
• Plain
• Scatter
• Shinar, The Land of

Commentaries on Genesis 11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings