Genesis 11:8 kjv

So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.

Genesis 11:8 nkjv

So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city.

Genesis 11:8 niv

So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.

Genesis 11:8 esv

So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.

Genesis 11:8 nlt

In that way, the LORD scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city.

Genesis 11 verses

Genesis 11 8 Meaning

This verse describes the direct, divinely enacted consequence of humanity's unified rebellion at Babel. The LORD scattered the people from that concentrated location across the entirety of the earth's surface, resulting in the immediate and decisive cessation of their collective project to build a city and a tower. It signifies God's sovereign control over human ambition and His determination to ensure His original command to fill the earth is fulfilled.

Genesis 11 8 Context

Genesis chapter 11 begins by describing a time when "the whole earth had one language and few words." Humanity, after the flood, chose to migrate eastward to the land of Shinar, where they decided to build a city and a tower "with its top in the heavens" to "make a name for ourselves lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth." This ambition directly defied God's command to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth (Gen 1:28; 9:1). Their desire for self-exaltation and centralized unity in opposition to God's dispersion mandate was a direct act of rebellion. The historical and cultural context reflects the ambition of Mesopotamian civilizations to build ziggurats, monumental temple towers believed to connect heaven and earth, often dedicated to human glory and pagan deities. This narrative functions as a polemic against such human-centered and anti-God endeavors, asserting Yahweh's supreme authority and active intervention in human affairs. God, seeing their unified sinful potential, confused their language, leading to their inability to communicate and the inevitable scattering, which verse 8 then fully brings to fruition.

Genesis 11 8 Word analysis

• So: Indicating a direct and immediate consequence of the previous divine action (the confusion of languages, mentioned in Gen 11:7). It links God's decree to its swift execution.
• the LORD: Hebrew: Yahweh (יהוה). This is the covenantal and personal name of God, highlighting His active and sovereign involvement in human history and His character as the one who fulfills His word. His actions here are deliberate and personal.
• scattered: Hebrew: pûts (פּוּץ). This verb implies a forceful breaking up, dispersal, or scattering into fragments. It is not a gentle spreading but an act of divine power that compels the people to separate. It highlights the divine reversal of their deliberate decision to cohere.
• them: Referring to the entire unified population at Babel, the same people who sought to avoid dispersal and elevate themselves.
• from there: Hebrew: mishsham (מִשָּׁם). Literally "from that place," specifically Babel (Shinar), the central hub of their rebellion. This emphasizes that their very point of attempted unity became the source of their undoing.
• over the face of all the earth: Hebrew: ʻal-pnē kol-hāʼārets (עַל־פְּנֵי כָל־הָאָרֶץ). This phrase is significant as it directly contrasts with their declared intention in Gen 11:4 ("lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth"). God's action ensures the very outcome they tried to prevent, thereby enforcing His original mandate given at creation and after the flood (Gen 1:28, 9:1) for humanity to fill the entire globe.
• and they ceased: Hebrew: wayyakkelū (וַיַּכְּלוּ), from the verb kālāh (כָּלָה), meaning to bring to completion, or to stop/finish. In this context, it signifies an abrupt, decisive, and complete cessation of their work, directly illustrating the immediate effect of God's intervention. Their human effort and ambition were utterly thwarted.
• building the city: Their unified, proud, and defiant project, a symbol of human self-sufficiency and rebellion against God's command. This phrase highlights the objective of their collective action that was abruptly ended.

Words-group analysis:

• So the LORD scattered them: This emphasizes God's direct, sovereign, and forceful intervention against human hubris. It underscores that it was not merely an accident or natural process, but an intentional divine act to break their unified rebellion.
• from there over the face of all the earth: This phrase underlines the ironic outcome: the very place they sought to establish as a center for unified self-glory became the launching point for their global dispersal. It illustrates God's unyielding purpose for humanity to spread across the world.
• and they ceased building the city: This signifies the immediate and undeniable failure of their grand, human-centered project. It powerfully demonstrates that no human endeavor, however unified or ambitious, can stand against the will and decree of the Almighty God. The pride of man is humbled.

Genesis 11 8 Bonus section

The scattering at Babel fundamentally shapes human history, leading to the formation of distinct nations, cultures, and languages. This linguistic and cultural diversity, while born from judgment, also limits humanity's ability to unite again in a collective, God-defying endeavor on such a global scale. This event serves as a crucial backdrop for understanding God's subsequent covenant with Abram in Genesis 12, where God begins to work not through a unified, rebellious humanity, but through a chosen lineage. It also stands in direct contrast to the reversal experienced at Pentecost (Acts 2), where God again interacts with diverse languages, not to divide, but to unite believers under the Spirit, offering a foretaste of the future ingathering of people from "every nation, tribe, people and language" (Rev 7:9). The unfinished tower symbolizes all human efforts to reach God on our own terms, efforts which ultimately lead to fragmentation rather than true unity or heavenly ascent.

Genesis 11 8 Commentary

Genesis 11:8 succinctly brings the narrative of the Tower of Babel to its climax and immediate resolution. It describes God's direct and forceful judgment, reversing humanity's rebellious consolidation. The people who, in their pride, sought to make a name for themselves and avoid scattering across the earth, are precisely scattered by God's hand. This not only fulfills His original command for humanity to fill the earth but also dismantles the immediate threat of a globally unified, self-exalting rebellion. The abrupt cessation of their building project is a stark reminder that human ambition, when set against divine purpose, is utterly futile. This divine act of scattering and confusing languages is a turning point, marking the beginning of distinct nations and tongues, and setting the stage for God's subsequent covenantal work through a chosen individual, Abram, to eventually bless these dispersed nations. The failure of collective humanity at Babel paves the way for a new, God-initiated plan of salvation and reconciliation through faith.