Genesis 11:5

Genesis 11:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
• New International Version (NIV)But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built.
• New King James Version (NKJV)But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.

Context of Genesis 11:5

3They said to each other, ‘We should make bricks and cook them until they are hard.’ These people used bricks instead of stones to build houses. They used tar to hold the bricks together, instead of cement. 4They said, ‘Let us build a city to live in. We should also build a very tall tower. The tower will go up into the heavens. Then we will always be famous. If we do that, we will not have to separate and go to live in different places on the earth.’ But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower. He saw that the people had started to build them. 6The Lord said, ‘Because they all speak the same language, they are able to do this. If they can do this together, they may decide to do whatever they want. 7Now we must go down to them. We must make their language become confused. Then they will not be able to understand each other.’

Genesis 11:5 word by word

וַיֵּ֣רֶד יְהוָ֔ה לִרְאֹ֥ת אֶת־הָעִ֖יר וְאֶת־הַמִּגְדָּ֑ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר בָּנ֖וּ בְּנֵ֥י הָאָדָֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• came downיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
• to seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• the cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• and the towerמִגְדָּלmigdâl migdâlâh · towerH4026
• which the childrenבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• of menאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• buildedבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129

Cross-references for Genesis 11:5

• Genesis 18:21So I must go down there to see if it is really true. I will see if those people are as bad as everybody says they are. Then I will know what is true.’
• Exodus 19:11They must be ready on the third day. On that day, I will come down on Sinai mountain, so that all the people see me.
• Psalms 11:4The Lord is in his holy temple. He rules from his throne in heaven. He carefully watches what people are doing. He knows about each person.
• Psalms 33:13The Lord looks down from heaven. He sees every man, woman and child.
• Jeremiah 23:23The Lord says, ‘Am I a God in only one place? No! I see everything everywhere!
• John 3:13The Son of Man came down from heaven. Nobody else has gone up to heaven except him.
• Hebrews 4:13There is nothing in the whole world that can hide from God. He sees everything clearly and he knows everything. We will have to explain to him everything that we have done during our lives.

Commentaries on Genesis 11:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5And the Lord came down - A lesson, says an ancient Jewish commentator, to magistrates to examine every evidence before they decree judgment and execute justice.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
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-9Verses 5-9 Here is an expression after the manner of men; The Lord came down to see the city. God is just and fair in all he does against sin and sinners, and condemns none unheard. Pious Eber is not found among this ungodly crew; for he and his are called the children of God; their souls joined not themselves to the assembly of these children of men. God suffered them to go on some way, that the works of their hands, from which they promised themselves…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5came down: The tower was a human attempt to reach up to God’s realm (God’s dwelling place; see Deuteronomy 26:15; Psalms 2:4; 103:19; 115:16). This effort was foolish. God had to “come down” to see what they were building, which shows how small and weak their work really was.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-321. the whole earth was of one language. The descendants of Noah, united by the strong bond of a common language, had not separated, and notwithstanding the divine command to replenish the earth, were unwilling to separate. The more pious and well-disposed would of course obey the divine will; but a numerous body, seemingly the aggressive horde mentioned (Ge 10:10), determined to please themselves by occupying the fairest region they came to.Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 11:5

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

In the dictionaries

• Babel, tower of
• Begin
• Confound
• Earth
• Mesopotamia
• Noah
• Scatter
• Shinar, The Land of
• Slime
• Tongues, Confusion 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