Genesis 4:17

The Beginning of Civilization

4:17 Cain had marital relations ¹  with his wife, and she became pregnant ²  and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was building a city, and he named the city after ³  his son Enoch.

Genesis 10:11

10:11 From that land he went ⁴  to Assyria, ⁵  where he built Nineveh, ⁶  Rehoboth-Ir, ⁷  Calah, ⁸ 

Genesis 11:4

11:4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens ⁹  so that ¹⁰  we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise ¹¹  we will be scattered ¹²  across the face of the entire earth.”

Genesis 33:18

33:18 After he left Paddan Aram, Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped near ¹³  the city.

[4:17]  ¹ tn Heb “knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.

[4:17]  ² tn Or “she conceived.”

[4:17]  ³ tn Heb “according to the name of.”

[10:11]  ⁴ tn The subject of the verb translated “went” is probably still Nimrod. However, it has also been interpreted that “Ashur went,” referring to a derivative power.

[10:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “Asshur.”

[10:11]  ⁶ sn Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city situated on the Tigris River.

[10:11]  ⁷ sn The name Rehoboth-Ir means “and broad streets of a city,” perhaps referring to a suburb of Nineveh.

[10:11]  ⁸ sn Calah (modern Nimrud) was located twenty miles north of Nineveh.

[11:4]  ⁷ tn A translation of “heavens” for שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) fits this context because the Babylonian ziggurats had temples at the top, suggesting they reached to the heavens, the dwelling place of the gods.

[11:4]  ⁸ tn The form וְנַעֲשֶׂה (vÿna’aseh, from the verb עשׂה, “do, make”) could be either the imperfect or the cohortative with a vav (ו) conjunction (“and let us make…”). Coming after the previous cohortative, this form expresses purpose.

[11:4]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew particle פֶּן (pen) expresses a negative purpose; it means “that we be not scattered.”

[11:4]  ¹⁰ sn The Hebrew verb פָּוָץ (pavats, translated “scatter”) is a key term in this passage. The focal point of the account is the dispersion (“scattering”) of the nations rather than the Tower of Babel. But the passage also forms a polemic against Babylon, the pride of the east and a cosmopolitan center with a huge ziggurat. To the Hebrews it was a monument to the judgment of God on pride.

[33:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in front of.”