Genesis 11:3 kjv
And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar.
Genesis 11:3 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.
Genesis 11:3 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.
Genesis 11:3 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.
Genesis 11:3 nlt
They began saying to each other, "Let's make bricks and harden them with fire." (In this region bricks were used instead of stone, and tar was used for mortar.)
Genesis 11 3 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 4:17 | ...and he built a city... | Human cities and structures pre-flood |
| Gen 9:1 | And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” | Command to disperse, which Babel rebels against |
| Deut 4:28 | And there you will serve gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands, that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. | Idolatry involving man-made materials and objects |
| 1 Ki 6:7 | When the house was being built, only blocks finished at the quarry were used, so that no hammer or ax or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built. | Temple built with God-provided, prepared stone, distinct from Babel |
| Isa 14:13 | You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; | Parallel to aspiring pride of the king of Babylon |
| Isa 28:16 | ...Behold, I am the one who lays as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation... | God provides the true, dependable cornerstone |
| Isa 30:1 | "Ah, stubborn children," declares the Lord, "who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that add sin to sin..." | Rejection of divine plan in favor of human plan |
| Jer 23:29 | "Is not my word like fire," declares the Lord, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?" | God's power contrasted with human materials |
| Lam 4:1 | How the gold has grown dim, how the pure gold is changed! The holy stones lie scattered at the head of every street. | The desecration and scattering of holy stones |
| Ez 28:2 | "Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord God: 'Because your heart is proud, and you have said, "I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas," yet you are but a man, and no god, though you make your heart like the heart of a god—' " | Pride and self-deification, leading to judgment |
| Dan 4:30 | The king declared, "Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?" | King Nebuchadnezzar's pride in human architectural achievement |
| Psa 118:22 | The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. | Foreshadows rejection of God's chosen foundation (Christ) |
| Lk 6:49 | But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the flood came, the stream burst against that house, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great. | Contrast of secure vs. insecure human foundations |
| Acts 2:6 | And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. | Pentecost reverses Babel's curse, uniting through the Spirit |
| Acts 7:48 | Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands... | God is not confined to human constructions |
| Heb 11:10 | For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. | Abraham sought a divinely built, eternal city, contrasted with Babel |
| 1 Cor 1:19-20 | For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart." Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? | God's power overcomes human wisdom/ingenuity |
| 1 Cor 3:11-13 | For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each one's work will become manifest... | True foundation is Christ; different materials signify the quality of work |
| Eph 2:20 | ...built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone... | Spiritual building founded on Christ, not human design |
| 1 Pet 2:4-5 | As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house... | Believers as "living stones" in God's spiritual temple |
| Rev 17:4 | The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. | Imagery of Babylon's excessive wealth and human adornment |
| Rev 18:2 | And he called out with a mighty voice, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit..." | Final judgment on human systems epitomized by Babylon |
Genesis 11 verses
Genesis 11 3 Meaning
Genesis 11:3 describes humanity's deliberate and united effort to build a city and a tower, specifying their choice of artificial construction materials: "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." This verse reveals the self-sufficient ambition of post-flood humanity to establish a central, enduring monument by their own means, using technology to supplant God-given natural resources and potentially challenge His supremacy.
Genesis 11 3 Context
Genesis 11:3 is set shortly after the Great Flood, a period when humanity, descended from Noah, began to multiply and spread across the earth. Despite God's prior command to "fill the earth" (Gen 9:1), the people of Shinar choose to gather in one place and build a monumental city and a tower "with its top in the heavens." This decision to centralize and seek security and fame through human effort directly contravenes the divine imperative for dispersal and reliance on God. Verse 3 specifically details their collaborative, technological means—rejecting natural stone in favor of man-made brick and bitumen, indicative of their self-sufficiency and ambition. The subsequent confusion of languages and scattering of peoples (Gen 11:7-9) serve as divine judgment on their collective pride and defiance. This narrative functions as an explanation for the diversity of languages and peoples, while also foreshadowing the continuous human struggle between rebellion against God's will and reliance on His provision.
Genesis 11 3 Word analysis
- And they said: Implies collective decision-making and unity in their purpose, reflecting a shared, rebellious intent. It's a concerted human effort, not spontaneous.
- to one another: Emphasizes the internal, human-centric nature of their planning. God is explicitly excluded from their counsel, contrasting with earlier narratives where God communicates with humanity.
- Come: An immediate, urgent call to action, signaling determination and initiative without seeking divine counsel or approval.
- let us make bricks: The Hebrew word for brick is l'venah (לְבֵנָה), related to lavan (לָבָן), meaning "white," likely referring to sun-dried or lighter-colored bricks before firing. This marks a significant shift from God-provided natural stone, which typically required less human manipulation. Bricks symbolize human innovation, control over raw materials, and self-reliance in building.
- and burn them thoroughly: The Hebrew is nisrepha sarephah (נִשְׂרְפָה שְׂרֵפָה), a verbal cognate construction emphasizing thoroughness. This means they are kiln-firing the bricks, a technological advancement ensuring durability and hardness. It implies a desire to build something truly lasting and strong through human ingenuity, potentially mimicking divine permanence or power, without divine assistance.
- And they had brick for stone: The Hebrew reads wattehi lahem levēnah la'aven (וַתְהִי לָהֶם לְבֵנָה לָאֶבֶן), literally "and brick became for them as stone." This is a crucial polemic. In a region where natural stone was scarce, fired bricks were a logical building material. However, the text highlights a preference or substitution rather than mere practicality. Stone (ʾeven, אֶבֶן) often signifies natural, divinely provided, or spiritually foundational materials in the Bible (e.g., altars, foundations of the Temple). Their use of brick over stone implicitly conveys a rejection of natural, divinely supplied elements, favoring entirely man-made solutions.
- and bitumen for mortar: Bitumen (חֵמָר, chemar), a tar-like substance, was common in Mesopotamia for waterproofing and as mortar. The Hebrew for mortar here is ḥōmer (חֹמֶר), a cognate of chemar. While bitumen provided a strong, waterproof bond (it was used to seal Noah's Ark, Gen 6:14), its application here is symbolic. In contrast to God's natural materials (like earth/mud often used in mortar, or natural cements), bitumen represented advanced human technology to create artificial cohesion and permanence. It speaks to human self-sufficiency and the use of technology to secure themselves, ironically without divine approval or true, lasting unity.
Genesis 11 3 Bonus section
The account of brick and bitumen also contrasts with later divinely instructed building practices. When God commands the construction of altars or the Tabernacle/Temple, specific, often natural, materials (like unhewn stones for altars, Exod 20:25; specified woods, metals, and fabrics for the Tabernacle/Temple, Exod 25-27) are prescribed. The selection of man-made brick and bitumen at Babel prefigures a long-standing tension between human attempts to reach God or secure themselves through their own efforts (false religions, humanistic systems) versus seeking God on His terms. This early act of technological hubris finds its counterpoint in Pentecost (Acts 2), where God grants a unified communication (many languages but unified message in the Spirit) through divine action, effectively reversing Babel's curse by different means.
Genesis 11 3 Commentary
Genesis 11:3 lays the groundwork for understanding the full scope of human ambition and the resulting divine judgment in the Tower of Babel narrative. The people's explicit choice of "bricks" over "stone" and "bitumen" for "mortar" is not merely an architectural detail but a profound theological statement. In Mesopotamian culture, monumental structures, especially ziggurats, often incorporated fired brick and bitumen. By noting this, the biblical text indirectly contrasts the self-made, impermanent grandeur of human empire (Babylon) with God's divinely provided foundations and eternal structures.
Their united resolve ("Come, let us make...") underscores a communal defiance, a human fraternity organized not for obedience to God's command to fill the earth but for collective pride and self-preservation. This verse highlights humanity's persistent desire to achieve security, fame, and a connection to the divine on its own terms, through technological ingenuity and collective strength, rather than humble dependence on the Creator. It sets the stage for God's intervention, demonstrating that true unity and lasting purpose come only through His design, not through human artifice built on independent will.