Why are there so Many Different Languages in the World?
Hint: Humans Messed Up (Again)
Different Languages
Today there are over 7,000 different languages in the world. Just imagine if we could all speak to each other without a language barrier!
The idea of one universal language might sound like an idea from a science fiction movie. However, the Bible reveals that at one time in human history everyone on the planet spoke same language.
A One Language World
The Flood almost wiped out of all of humanity. However, the Lord spared Noah and his family. So, only eight people survived the divine deluge (read about that here).
When the waters finally receded, humanity got busy repopulating the earth — as had been mandated by the Lord.
Noah’s sons and their descendants were successful in replenishing human numbers. Those descendants settled in an area that is modern-day Iraq.
And they all spoke one language.
Communication= Pride and Rebellion
One common, unifying language allowed the people to be on the same wavelength.
So, they decided to build a city complete with a sky-scraping tower. Bible scholars think the structure was a ziggurat — a stepped, pyramid-shaped tower.
Was the purpose of the tower to glorify the God who preserved their ancestor Noah? Nope.
Did they plan on using it as a temple to worship God? Or were they going to commemorate God’s promise that he’d never again destroy the earth with water?
No to both of those.
In their rebellion and pride, the people decided that they were good without God.
So, in the end, they built a monument to glorify themselves:
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 New International Version
Hold On a Minute
The dispersion of the human population was always a part of God’s plan. He gave that command to Adam and Eve when they were still in the Garden:
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. -Genesis 1:28 New International Version
He restated the mandate when Noah’s clan emerged from the ark:
Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. -Genesis 9:1 New International Version
Humans were supposed to spread out and populate the earth. For His own reasons, the Lord did not want all of humanity congregating in one spot.
But, of course, that’s exactly what the people wanted. They wanted to build a city and stay Right There.
And so that’s what they attempted to do.
So You Want to Play it That Way…
A one-language, unified humanity desired a world void of any God — except the ones of their own making.
They weren’t interested in obeying The One True God.
His commands took a back seat to what they wanted. (In fact, according to one biblical source,* the people of the region once worshipped a demonic pagan goddess who actually sanctioned their desire to stay in one location).
So, the group of rebels found out the hard way — when it’s man vs God, God always wins.
The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” — Genesis 11:6–7 New International Version
Instantly, the people couldn’t understand each other anymore.
They were just babbling amongst themselves. Hence, the city where the languages were confused was called Babel. However, most people know it by its more recognizable name — Babylon. Throughout history, the pyramid-like structure they failed to complete has been called the Tower of Babel.
When the people could no longer communicate with each other they stopped building the city. They separated and travelled to different parts of the world — exactly what God wanted them to do in the first place.
There’s more where that came from. Check out ‘Is Bubonic Plague in the Bible?’ here or ‘The Bible’s Real-Life Superman’ here. There’s always ‘Bad Angel Smackdown’ right here. Thanks for your time. Thanks for reading.
SOURCES
- *English Standard Version (ESV) Study Bible, Crossway, Wheaton, Illinois, 2016, study notes Genesis 11:1–9, p. 73–74.
- Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2011.
