New American Standard Bible 1995
Genesis 11:3
3They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used 1tar for mortar.
Genesis 11:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
- New International Version (NIV)They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar.
Context of Genesis 11:3
1Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words. 2It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. 4They said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” 5The Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.
Read all of Genesis 11Genesis 11:3 word by word
וַיֹּאמְר֞וּ אִ֣ישׁ אֶל־רֵעֵ֗הוּ הָ֚בָה נִלְבְּנָ֣ה לְבֵנִ֔ים וְנִשְׂרְפָ֖ה לִשְׂרֵפָ֑ה וַתְּהִ֨י לָהֶ֤ם הַלְּבֵנָה֙ לְאָ֔בֶן וְהַ֣חֵמָ֔ר הָיָ֥ה לָהֶ֖ם לַחֹֽמֶר׃Read the interlinear
- They saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- to oneאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
- anotherרֵעַrêa‛ rêya‛ · neighborH7453
- Comeיָהַבyâhab · to giveH3051
- let us makeלָבַןlâban · to make bricksH3835
- bricksלָבַןlâban · to make bricksH3835
- and burnשָׂרַףώâraph · to burnH8313
- thoroughlyשְׂרֵפָהώerêphâh · fireH8316
- And they usedהָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961
- brickלְבֵנָהlebênâh · brickH3843
- for stoneאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH68
- tarחֵמָרchêmâr · bitumenH2564
- for mortarחֹ֫מֶרchômer · clayH2563
Cross-references for Genesis 11:3
- Genesis 11:4They said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
- Psalms 64:5They hold fast to themselves an evil purpose; They talk of laying snares secretly; They say, “Who can see them?”
- Proverbs 1:11If they say, “Come with us, Let us lie in wait for blood, Let us ambush the innocent without cause;
- Ecclesiastes 2:1I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure. So enjoy yourself.” And behold, it too was futility.
- Isaiah 5:5So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground.
- Isaiah 41:6Each one helps his neighbor And says to his brother, “Be strong!”
- James 4:13Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.”
- James 5:1Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you.
- Hebrews 3:13But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
- Hebrews 10:24and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,
- Exodus 1:14and they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they rigorously imposed on them.
- Exodus 5:7“You are no longer to give the people straw to make brick as previously; let them go and gather straw for themselves.
- 2 Samuel 12:31He also brought out the people who were in it, and set them under saws, sharp iron instruments, and iron axes, and made them pass through the brickkiln. And thus he did to all the cities of the sons of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 9:10“The bricks have fallen down, But we will rebuild with smooth stones; The sycamores have been cut down, But we will replace them with cedars.”
- Isaiah 65:3A people who continually provoke Me to My face, Offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on bricks;
- Nahum 3:14Draw for yourself water for the siege! Strengthen your fortifications! Go into the clay and tread the mortar! Take hold of the brick mold!
Commentaries on Genesis 11:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Let us make brick - It appears they were obliged to make use of brick, as there was an utter scarcity of stones in that district; and on the same account they were obliged to use slime, that is, bitumen, (Vulg). , (Septuagint) for mortar: so it appears they had neither common stone nor lime-stone; hence they had brick for stone, and asphaltus or bitumen instead of mortar.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. 3Stone was plentiful in Canaan. In Mesopotamia, stone was rare, so they developed brick-making technology. They made tar from bitumen, a natural, waterproof asphalt similar to cement (see 6:14; Exodus 2:3).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. brick--There being no stone in that quarter, brick is, and was, the only material used for building, as appears in the mass of ruins which at the Birs Nimroud may have been the very town formed by those ancient rebels. Some of these are sun-dried--others burnt in the kiln and of different colors. slime--bitumen, a mineral pitch, which, when hardened, forms a strong cement, commonly used in Assyria to this day, and forming the mortar found on the burnt…Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 11:3
In the dictionaries
Notes
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
New American Standard Bible 1995 — © 1960–1995 The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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