Genesis 10:10

10:10 The primary regions ¹  of his kingdom were Babel, ²  Erech, ³  Akkad, ⁴  and Calneh ⁵  in the land of Shinar. ⁶ 

Genesis 11:9

11:9 That is why its name was called ⁷  Babel ⁸  – because there the Lord confused the language of the entire world, and from there the Lord scattered them across the face of the entire earth.

Isaiah 13:1

The Lord Will Judge Babylon

13:1 ⁹ This is a message about Babylon that God revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz: ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 13:19

13:19 Babylon, the most admired ¹¹  of kingdoms,

the Chaldeans’ source of honor and pride, ¹² 

will be destroyed by God

just as Sodom and Gomorrah were. ¹³ 

Isaiah 14:4

14:4 you will taunt the king of Babylon with these words: ¹⁴ 

“Look how the oppressor has met his end!

Hostility ¹⁵  has ceased!

[10:10]  ¹ tn Heb “beginning.” E. A. Speiser, Genesis (AB), 67, suggests “mainstays,” citing Jer 49:35 as another text where the Hebrew noun is so used.

[10:10]  ² tn Or “Babylon.”

[10:10]  ³ sn Erech (ancient Uruk, modern Warka), one of the most ancient civilizations, was located southeast of Babylon.

[10:10]  ⁴ sn Akkad, or ancient Agade, was associated with Sargon and located north of Babylon.

[10:10]  ⁵ tn No such place is known in Shinar (i.e., Babylonia). Therefore some have translated the Hebrew term כַלְנֵה (khalneh) as “all of them,” referring to the three previous names (cf. NRSV).

[10:10]  ⁶ sn Shinar is another name for Babylonia.

[11:9]  ⁷ tn The verb has no expressed subject and so can be rendered as a passive in the translation.

[11:9]  ⁸ sn Babel. Here is the climax of the account, a parody on the pride of Babylon. In the Babylonian literature the name bab-ili meant “the gate of God,” but in Hebrew it sounds like the word for “confusion,” and so retained that connotation. The name “Babel” (בָּבֶל, bavel) and the verb translated “confused” (בָּלַל, balal) form a paronomasia (sound play). For the many wordplays and other rhetorical devices in Genesis, see J. P. Fokkelman, Narrative Art in Genesis (SSN).

[13:1]  ⁹ sn Isa 13-23 contains a series of judgment oracles against various nations. It is likely that Israel, not the nations mentioned, actually heard these oracles. The oracles probably had a twofold purpose. For those leaders who insisted on getting embroiled in international politics, these oracles were a reminder that Judah need not fear foreign nations or seek international alliances for security reasons. For the righteous remnant within the nation, these oracles were a reminder that Israel’s God was indeed the sovereign ruler of the earth, worthy of his people’s trust.

[13:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “The message [traditionally, “burden”] [about] Babylon which Isaiah son of Amoz saw.”

[13:19]  ¹¹ tn Or “most beautiful” (NCV, TEV).

[13:19]  ¹² tn Heb “the beauty of the pride of the Chaldeans.”

[13:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “and Babylon…will be like the overthrow by God of Sodom and Gomorrah.” On מַהְפֵּכַת (mahpekhat, “overthrow”) see the note on the word “destruction” in 1:7.

[14:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “you will lift up this taunt over the king of Babylon, saying.”

[14:4]  ¹⁵ tc The word in the Hebrew text (מַדְהֵבָה, madhevah) is unattested elsewhere and of uncertain meaning. Many (following the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a) assume a dalet-resh (ד-ר) confusion and emend the form to מַרְהֵבָה (marhevah, “onslaught”). See HALOT 548 s.v. II *מִדָּה and HALOT 633 s.v. *מַרְהֵבָה.