| Scripture |
Expanded Comments |
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| 1 And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech. |
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| 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the East, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. |
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| 3 And they said one to another, Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. |
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| 4 And they said, Come, let us build 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. |
And a tower – As a protection against further disasters similar to the flood. R2846:2
Losing confidence in God, the people began the construction of the tower of Babel. PD22/33
A name – Such as Catholic, Methodist, Episcopal, etc. R718:2
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| 5 And Jehovah came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man builded. |
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| 6 And Jehovah said, Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is what they begin to do: and now nothing will be withholden from them, which they purpose to do.
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| 7 Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. |
Confound their language – The diversity of language is an effectual barrier to prevent mankind from combining for the accomplishment of his own selfish or sinful purposes. PD22/33
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| 8 So Jehovah scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off building the city. |
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| 9 Therefore was the name of it called Babel; because Jehovah did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did Jehovah scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. |
Called Babel – Confusion, type of Babylon, Christendom. D26
Called by the natives Babil, the gate of God. D24
Picture of a religious "tower of Babel," primarily Papacy. SM405:1
Confound the language – This corresponds well with the Protestant Reformation movement. SM405:2
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| 10 These are the generations of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old, and begat Arpachshad two years after the flood: |
Two years after the flood – Link No.11 in the true Bible chronology. B44
Therefore Shem was not the oldest son of Noah. HG104:2
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| 11 and Shem lived after he begat Arpachshad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. |
500 years – Longevity immediately shortened after the flood. R534:5
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| 12 And Arpachshad lived thirty-five years, and begat Shelah: |
Lived 35 years – Link No.12 in the true Bible chronology. B44
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| 13 and Arpachshad lived after he begat Shelah four hundred three years, and begat sons and daughters. |
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| 14 And Shelah lived thirty years, and begat Eber: |
Lived 30 years – Link No.13 in the true Bible chronology. B44
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| 15 and Shelah lived after he begat Eber four hundred three years, and begat sons and daughters. |
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| 16 And Eber lived thirty-four years, and begat Peleg: |
Lived 34 years – Link No.14 in the true Bible chronology. B44
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| 17 and Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred thirty years, and begat sons and daughters. |
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| 18 And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu: |
Lived 30 years – Link No.15 in the true Bible chronology. B44
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| 19 and Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred nine years, and begat sons and daughters. |
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| 20 And Reu lived thirty two years, and begat Serug: |
Lived 32 years – Link No.16 in the true Bible chronology. B44
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| 21 And Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred seven years, and begat sons and daughters. |
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| 22 And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor: |
Lived 30 years – Link No.17 in the true Bible chronology. B44
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| 23 and Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. |
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| 24 And Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and begat Terah: |
Lived 29 years – Link No.18 in the true Bible chronology. B44
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| 25 and Nahor lived after he begat Terah one hundred nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters. |
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| 26 And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran. |
And begat Abram – Haran, the eldest, was born when Terah was 70; while Abram, the youngest, was not born until Terah was 130. Abram is mentioned first because of his greater prominence. R2855:1, R5177:3, R1595:2
Lot and Abraham were probably nearly the same age. R5177:5
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| 27 Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. |
Abram – Terah's youngest son. Q709:5
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| 28 And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees. |
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| 29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah. |
Took them wives – Nahor's wife, Milcah, was the daughter of his brother Haran; and Milcah's granddaughter, Rebekah, was the wife of Isaac, Abraham's son; showing that Haran and Nahor were both much older than Abraham. R2855:4, R5177:6
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| 30 And Sarai was barren; she had no child. |
Sarai was barren – Corresponding to the long deferred coming of Christ. PD23/34
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| 31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. |
And Lot – About Abram's own age. Lot had "sons-in-law which married his daughters" (Gen. 19:14) before Isaac was born. R2855:4, R5177:5
And Sarai – Probably the daughter of Haran, sister of Lot. R2846:5
And they went forth – Probably influenced by the gross idolatry about them. R3936:1
He did not stop to argue that he could do more good by remaining among his idolatrous and wicked neighbors. R3936:4
Ur of the Chaldees – Now called Mugheir, at which place the name "Abu Ramu " (Abram) has been found on tablets recently unearthed. R3935:3
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| 32 And the days of Terah were two hundred five years: and Terah died in Haran. |
Were 205 years – Link No.19 in the true Bible chronology. B44
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