Genesis 11:4 kjv

And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

Genesis 11:4 nkjv

And 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 11:4 niv

Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth."

Genesis 11:4 esv

Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth."

Genesis 11:4 nlt

Then they said, "Come, let's build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world."

Genesis 11 verses

Genesis 11 4 Meaning

Genesis 11:4 records humanity's unified decision following the Great Flood to build a city and a monumental tower. Their primary motives were twofold: to establish a collective identity and renown for themselves, preventing their dispersion across the earth, and to erect a structure symbolically challenging or reaching toward the divine realm. This action represents a concentrated act of human pride, defiance against God's post-Flood command to "fill the earth," and an attempt to secure self-preservation and self-glory independent of God's will.

Genesis 11 4 Context

Genesis chapter 11 opens after the Flood, when all humanity spoke a single language and had migrated to the plain of Shinar. God's command to Noah and his descendants was to "be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth" (Gen 9:1, 7). However, the people of Shinar, through their collective decision recorded in verse 4, explicitly defy this divine mandate. Instead of dispersing to populate the globe, they seek to centralize their power, presence, and fame in one location. This rebellion marks a new low in humanity's post-Fall trajectory, an organized, collective act of pride and self-sufficiency distinct from previous individual failings or the general wickedness leading to the Flood. The construction of the city and tower is a self-willed monument to human prowess, autonomy, and an attempt to prevent God's design from coming to pass, ultimately prefiguring the defiant "Babylon" later found in Scripture as a symbol of human rebellion against God. The narrative's polemic indirectly opposes the polytheistic and humanistic cultures of the Ancient Near East that often centered on grand human-built structures as symbols of power and worship to their various deities, implicitly challenging God's sole sovereignty.

Genesis 11 4 Word analysis

• And they said: Reflects collective deliberation and unity of purpose. This was a joint venture, a communal agreement against divine will.
• Go to: Hebrew הָבָה (hāḇâ), an emphatic exhortation, meaning "come now" or "let's go," showing a resolute, determined resolve to initiate a significant project.
• let us build us a city: The intention to create a permanent, unified human center. A "city" implies social order, power, and permanence, intended to concentrate rather than disperse.
• and a tower: Hebrew מִגְדָּל (miḡdōl). This was likely a ziggurat, a multi-storied, stepped temple tower common in Mesopotamia, designed as a link between the human and divine realms, typically topped with a shrine for the city's patron deity.
• whose top may reach unto heaven: Hebrew רֹאשׁוֹ בַשָּׁמַיִם (roʼshō bāššāmāyim), literally "its head in the heavens." This phrase does not necessarily mean literal physical height to touch the sky but rather symbolic ambition—an aspiration to elevate humanity to a divine status, to make contact with God on their own terms, to challenge His domain, or to establish a spiritual connection not sanctioned by God. It signifies human hubris, an attempt to bypass or usurp God's authority.
• and let us make us a name: Hebrew וְנַעֲשֶׂה־לָּנוּ שֵׁם (wəna‘ăśeh-lānū šēm). "To make a name" means to gain renown, fame, and reputation. This was a drive for self-glorification, desiring enduring human legacy and honor, prioritizing human identity over their identity as God's creatures. It directly contrasts God's promise to make Abraham's name great (Gen 12:2).
• lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth: This clause explicitly reveals their fear and the direct contradiction to God's command in Genesis 9:1. Their building project was a proactive, self-willed measure to defy God's plan for humanity's dispersal and population of the entire planet. It implies a desire for unity apart from divine blessing or direction, an insular collective.

Words-group analysis:

• "Go to, let us build us a city and a tower...": This phrase initiates a statement of human initiative and collaborative action. It demonstrates mankind's decision-making ability and collective power, wielded here against divine intention.
• "...whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name...": This combines their twin objectives: vertical aspiration (symbolic access to the divine or challenge thereof) and horizontal aspiration (global renown and fame). These are pursuits of glory and power derived from human effort rather than from God.
• "...lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.": This highlights the motivation rooted in fear and defiance. They aim to avoid a natural consequence or divine judgment, revealing their self-preservation instinct over obedience to God's decree.

Genesis 11 4 Bonus section

The specific choice of a "tower whose top may reach unto heaven" likely alludes to the ziggurats common in ancient Mesopotamia, which were cultic centers dedicated to the gods. While outwardly a religious structure, in this context, it represents a distorted form of worship—one not directed to the true God but either to false deities or, more fundamentally, to human achievement and self-sufficiency. The judgment that follows in Genesis 11, the confusion of languages, directly addresses their unified defiance. God responds by fulfilling their unstated fear (scattering them) precisely because their unity was built upon defiance, not obedience. The Babel narrative contrasts sharply with God's subsequent action with Abraham in Gen 12, where God unilaterally promises to make Abraham's "name great," demonstrating that true greatness and blessed unity come from God alone, not from human self-exaltation.

Genesis 11 4 Commentary

Genesis 11:4 provides a profound theological commentary on the enduring nature of human sin after the Flood. It portrays humanity, in a renewed corporate capacity, consolidating its rebellion against God's sovereign design. Their construction project, culminating in a city and a tower, symbolizes more than mere building; it represents an attempt to create an autonomous, self-sufficient human kingdom independent of, and ultimately in defiance of, God. The desire to "reach unto heaven" speaks to their spiritual ambition—a quest for divine power or self-deification—while the aim to "make us a name" underscores their thirst for self-glory rather than giving glory to God. Crucially, their motive to prevent scattering directly contradicts God's repeated command to populate the earth, illustrating their collective preference for their own security and unity over divine obedience. This passage foreshadows later biblical themes of pride and rebellion, demonstrating that the sin of humanity extends beyond individual acts to organized, societal movements that challenge God's rightful authority and disrupt His plan for creation.