Babel

Babel ( _he. בָּבֶל; "Bavel") ( _ar. بابل; "Babel") is the name used in the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an for the city of Babylon (Akkadian Babilu), notable in Genesis as the location of the Tower of Babel.

In Gen. 11:9, the name of Babel is etymologized by association with the Hebrew verb "balal", "to confuse or confound": "Balal" is regarded as a contraction of earlier "*balbal". The name "bab-ilu" in Akkadian means "gate of god" (from "bab" "gate" + "ilu" "god"). The word "bab-el" can also be seen to mean "gate of god" (from "bab" "gate" + "el" "god").

Babel is mentioned in Genesis 10:10 as the home city of Nimrod:

[10] And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel (Persia), and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. [11] Out of that land went forth Asshur, and built Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, [12] And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city. (KJV)

According to Genesis 11:1–9, humankind, after the deluge, traveled from the mountain where the ark had rested, and settled in "a plain in the land of Shinar." Here, they attempted to build a city and a tower whose top would be in the Heavens, the Tower of Babel.

The attempt to build the city of Babel with its tower, caused God to respond. He confused the language of the people, ultimately halting the project, and scattered them across the earth.

Babel features in the prophecies of Jeremiah, and Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Jerusalem is told in 2 Kings. The Book of Daniel is set at time of the Babylonian captivity. Such later references to Babel are normally translated into the more familiar Greek form "Babylon".

The Book of Mormon, a book of scripture used by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, features a story about a family who prayed that their language would not be confounded. Their prayers were answered and they were led to the Americas.

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