Where was the sin in Babel?

In most childhood Bible classes, the sin involved with the tower of Babel is the people’s desire to build a tower whose top reaches into the heavens. However, the text never tells us the exact problem, therefore, we are left to figure out the sin of this people. This “childhood interpretation” may get us headed in the right direction but it does not give a sufficient answer to the following question: what was the sin of the people in Babel? After all, the Bible never condemns the building of towers.

One answer that has been given to this question is that the people failed to follow God’s commandment in Genesis 9:1. God told Noah and his sons to “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” In the story of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11), it seems as if all the people of the earth are staying in the general region of Mesopotamia – the “they” of verse 2 seems to refer back to “the whole earth” of verse 1. God was aware of the people’s failure to spread over the face of the earth, so God forces them to do so and “confuse[s] their language” to keep them from migrating back towards one another. But even this explanation is lacking.

Interesting studies have been done on the edifices of ancient Babylon. One of the main architectural designs in Babylon was the ziggurat (a pyramid-like structure with a filled inside). Archeologists have discovered nearly 30 within the general region of Mesopotamia. This part of the world contained small amounts of stone (unlike Judea), so they had to make bricks. This was done by compacting mud and allowing it to dry under the sun’s heat. The brick could be made stronger by baking the brick in an oven. The inside of a ziggurat was usually made with sun-dried bricks and the outside was protected with oven-baked bricks (this is the reference in Genesis 11:3). The outside of these structures were often designed with ramps or stairs which one could use to reach the top where there was a room which contained a bed. These edifices ranged from 60-200 feet per side and they were usually dedicated to some deity.

What makes these structures interesting is their undefined use. They were strictly off limits to common use. Only assumptions can be made based on their names and design. The following are the phrases that are associated with some of the ziggurats: temple of the foundation of heaven and earth, temple that links heaven and earth, temple of the stairway to pure heaven. The top of ziggurat (the room with a bed) was considered the "gate of the gods". It is generally assumed that the gods would come down this stairway (whose top was in the heavens) to the people where the gods could receive praise and pronounce blessings. Furthermore, verse 5 states that God did, in fact, come down – possibly filling out the ziggurat imagery. If Genesis 11 does describe the construction of a ziggurat, then they are trying to dictate the means by which they communicate with God.

As is the case with many Old Testament stories, the retelling of these stories (without reading them) often leads to the omission of details and one such detail is given in Genesis 11– “and let us make for ourselves a name.” These people are concerned with their image. They forget that only God can give someone a great name (i.e. Abraham). Their problem is one that is so common among humans – PRIDE! It was their pride that led them to try to build a tower which reached the heavens (the realm of God). It was their pride that kept them from spreading out and filling the earth (i.e. we can do more if we stay closer together). And it was their pride that made them try to dictate when and where God would meet with His people.

It was because of sin that God would not dwell in the midst of men. The pride of this people caused them to subvert God’s desires and God’s plan for reestablishing coexistence with man. We must always understand that God’s ways and thoughts are above ours (Isaiah 55:8f) and even if we feel discomforted or slighted we must realize that God knows best and we must continue to follow His every word and act only with His authority.

More detailed information on ziggurats can be found at this link: http://www.koinoniablog.net/2009/02/tower-of-babel.html