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 Living Translation (NLT)As the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there.

Context of Genesis 11:2

1Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. 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. 3Then 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. 4And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

Genesis 11:2 word by word

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• And it came to pass, as they journeyedנָסַעnâsa‛ · to set outH5265
• from the eastקֶ֫דֶםqedem qêdmâh · front: eastH6924
• that they foundמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
• a plainבִּקְעָהbiq‛âh · valleyH1237
• in the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• of Shinarשִׁנְעָרshin‛âr · ShinarH8152
• and they dweltיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427

Cross-references for Genesis 11:2

• Genesis 13:11Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other.
• Genesis 11:9Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
• Genesis 10:10And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
• Genesis 14:1And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations,
• Isaiah 11:11It shall come to pass in that day That the Lord shall set His hand again the second time To recover the remnant of His people who are left, From Assyria and Egypt, From Pathros and Cush, From Elam and Shinar, From Hamath and the islands of the sea.
• Daniel 1:2And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the articles of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god.
• Zechariah 5:11And he said to me, “To build a house for it in the land of Shinar; when it is ready, the basket will be set there on its base.”

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