Spivey's Unauthorized Biblical Timeline
a Scripture-centered journey through God's redemptive story from a historic perspective. 

Genesis - Chapter 11a: The Tower of Babel Event (2338 BC - see notes under Chapter 11b)

The Tower of Babel account in Genesis 11:1–9 is one of the most significant events in post-Flood history. It explains the origin of distinct languages, the scattering of people groups, and the emergence of nations. Far from being mythological, the text describes a real historical event with linguistic, cultural, and genetic implications. Increasing evidence from archaeology, anthropology, and linguistic studies aligns with the biblical record, showing that humanity’s dispersion after Babel shaped the course of civilization.

 

• Genesis 11:1-2 "1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

  • "one language and a common speech" - the only race in the bible is the human race; God does not use appearance as "race" nor is there a specific Hebrew word for "race" as it is used in today's culture.

  • "as people"

    • Dr. Nathaniel Jeanson estimates the population at the time of the Tower of Babel to be 1,000 people based on genetic mutation research. (see Video - Here’s How The Population Grew After the Flood)

  • "eastward"

  • "Shinar" - (Hebrew) = “Shumer” (Akkadian) = “Sumer” (Southern Mesopotamia)

  • "settled there" - Hebrew "vaiyeshevu" means "to sit, remain, dwell" implying that the entire group would no longer scatter, but found one place to make their dwelling in disobedience to God's command to Noah and his family.

    • Genesis 9:1, 7 "Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth... 7 As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.”

 

• Genesis 11:3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar.

  • "brick" - evident of burnt brinks was found in ruins of ancient Babylon

    • Article - The Project Gutenberg, The excavations at Babylon by Robert Koldewey dated 1914; updated August 13, 2023

    • Excerpt - Wikisource, The History of Herodotus (Rawlinson) - Book 1, No. 179

      • "And here I may not omit to tell the use to which the mould dug out of the great moat was turned, nor the manner wherein the wall was wrought. As fast as they dug the moat the soil which they got from the cutting was made into bricks, and when a sufficient number were completed they baked the bricks in kilns."

  • "tar" - much of the bitumen in Bronze age Syrian sites has been found to have originated from the Hit seepage on the Euphrates River in southern Iraq.

    • Article - Thoughco, The Archaeology and History of Bitumen by K. Kris Hirst dated June 10, 2025

    • Excerpt - Wikisource, The History of Herodotus (Rawlinson) - Book 1, No. 179

      • "Then they set to building, and began with bricking the borders of the moat, after which they proceeded to construct the wall itself, using throughout for their cement hot bitumen, and interposing a layer of wattled reeds at every thirtieth course of the bricks. On the top, along the edges of the wall, they constructed buildings of a single chamber facing one another, leaving between them room for a four-horse chariot to turn. In the circuit of the wall are a hundred gates, all of brass, with brazen lintels and side-posts. The bitumen used in the work was brought to Babylon from the Is, a small stream which flows into the Euphrates at the point where the city of the same name stands, eight days' journey from Babylon. Lumps of bitumen are found in great abundance in this river."

 

• Genesis 11:4 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.”

  • "make a name for ourselves" - a commitment to resistance and create an identity separate from God.

  • "scattered over the face of the whole earth" - declaration of rebellion since as a people in their 4th generation after the Flood Event they refused to scatter as instructed by the Lord.

  • "tower" - in Hebrew "migdol" = “ziggurat” (Sumerian) to connect to the gods they worshiped.  Babylon became began the practice of false religion.

    • Ziggurat functioned as a gateway for the gods to travel from heaven to earth, not a temple for worship; connection via stairways;

      • City of Babylon ziggurat was called “Etemenanki” meaning “House of the Foundations of Heaven and Earth”.

      • City of Larsa ziggurat was called “Edurana / Eduranki” meaning “Temple that links Heaven and Earth”.

      • City of Sippur ziggurat was called “Temple of the Stairway to pure Heaven”.

    • Video - Associates for Biblical Research, Is there Archaeological Evidence for the Tower of Babel? 

 

• Genesis 11:5-6 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 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.

  • "nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them" - their sin, rebellion, wickedness would only grow larger

    • The unity of speech and purpose will ultimately lead to a global unity under the Anti-Christ, culminating with "Babylon the Great", a city of ultimate wickedness: it was the same path as the pre-Noah people.

      • Revelation 18:21 "Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again."

 

• Genesis 11:7-9 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” 8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

  • "they will not understand each other" - Since it was their same language or vocabulary that bound them to one another, God's judgment was to divide their language and intervene to scatter the people all over the globe; this was God's grace to not destroy them.

    • Act 2:4-8 "4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?"

  • "From there the Lord scattered them" - evidential statement that all languages and people groups were dispersed from this one event and location

    • Article - Answers In Genesis, Did the Whole Earth Settle at Shinar (Babel)? by Simon Turpin dated June 10, 2025

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​Linguistics and the Tower of Babel:

• Article - Creation Ministries International, The Tower of Babel account affirmed by linguistics by K. J. Duursma dated June 12 June, 2008

• Article - Answers In Genesis, More Than PIE: Babel Explains Distinct Language Families by John W. Oller, Jr. on February 13, 2008

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Nimrod:

Genesis 10:8-12 "8 Cush was the father of Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; that is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.”

• “Cush” (Hebrew) = “Kish” (Sumerian)

• "father" - Hebrew "yalad" can mean "from the lineage or descendant of" since Nimrod is listed as one the direct sons of Cush in verse 6. This means that Nimrod "descended from the line of Cush".

• “Nimrod” in Hebrew "marad" means "to rebel" and he was a type of Satan in his rebellion against God.  Adding "n" in from of "m" would make the meaning of his name "The Rebel". 

  • Some suggest the Nimrod is Sargon I or Sargon the Great or Sargon the Akkadian

    • He ruled as king of the Akkadian Empire from 2334-2279 BC.

    • both began their rule in Babylonia

    • both conquered land in Assyria

    • He used Akkad as the center of power, but relied on a network of strategically placed officials and administrative centers in other cities.

    • ​both lived around 100 years after the flood event in 2458 BC

    • Pelag, the great-great-great-great grandson of Noah, whose name means "division" is thought to have lived during the Tower of Babel event, lived between 2357-2118 BC.

      • Genesis 10:25 "Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg, because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan."

• "mighty warrior" Hebrew root word "gabar" also means "act irreverently or conduct with arrogance"

• "might hunter" Hebrew root word "tsud" also means "to lie in waiting, hunt down the afflicted or slaughter"

• "before the Lord" - Hebrew "lifnei" root word "panah" can mean "against or confronting"

 

Verses 8 and 9 may be a mistranslated: It may be more likely: "Nimrod, descended from the line of Cush and began to act irreverently on the earth.  He slaughterer against the LORD; that is why it is said, "Like Nimrod, a slaughterer against the LORD."

 

Genesis 10:10 "The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Uruk, Akkad and Kalneh, in Shinar."

• "Babylon" was his first city and "flagship" of his territory Babylonia (a.k.a. the plains of Shinar)

  • Babylonia in Greek means "land between rivers", as in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

  • Shinar is thought to be a non-Hebrew word, but could be drawn from the Hebrew "nahar" meaning "river"

    • Genesis 24:10 "Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master’s camels loaded with all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim [Aram of the two rivers] and made his way to the town of Nahor."

    • Psalm 137:1 "By the rivers ["naharovt"] of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion."

• “Uruk” (Akkadian) = “Erech” (Hebrew) 

  •  Ezra 4:9 "Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary, together with the rest of their associates—the judges, officials and administrators over the people from Persia, Erech and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa,"

• "Akkad" (Akkadian) - former capital of Akkadian Empire has not be found yet. Said to contain the remains of Sargon I.

• "Kalneh" or "Calneh" or "Kalno"

  • Amos 6:2 "Go to Kalneh and look at it; go from there to great Hamath, and then go down to Gath in Philistia. Are they better off than your two kingdoms? Is their land larger than yours?"

  • Isaiah 10:9 "‘Has not Kalno fared like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad, and Samaria like Damascus?"

 

Genesis 10:11-12 "From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah 12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah—which is the great city."

• "From that land he went to Assyria" - Nimrod conquered lands in the neighboring territory of Assyria.

• "great city" is referencing Nineveh.  Nineveh was the precursor to Babylon

  • Jonah 1:1-3 "1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me. 3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.”

  • Jonah 3:2-3 " 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” 3 Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it."

  • God gave the people of Nineveh the opportunity to repent. They did repent with the message of Jonah [est. 730 BC] but fell into decline and their sins, like Sodom and Gomorrah, were a stench to God. It fell in 612 BC.

    • Nahum 1:6-11 " The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him, 8 but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh; he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness. 9 Whatever they plot against the Lord he will bring to an end; trouble will not come a second time. 10 They will be entangled among thorns and drunk from their wine; they will be consumed like dry stubble. 11 From you, Nineveh, has one come forth who plots evil against the Lord and devises wicked plans.

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WORLD HISTORY

2334 BC – 2154 BC: Akkadian Empire

The Tower of Babel narrative sits within the broader framework of early post-Flood civilizations:

• Founded by Sargon (identified by some as Nimrod), this was the first known empire uniting Sumerian and Akkadian city-states under one rule in Mesopotamia, as mentioned in Genesis 10:10.

  • Cities such as Uruk, Ur, Lagash, and Kish were consolidated politically.

  • Akkadian inscriptions, including the Sargon Legend and Victory Stele of Naram-Sin, attest to the centralization of power in this era.

  • While secular history frames this as a natural political development, biblical chronology identifies it with the reorganization of peoples following Babel’s scattering.

• Monumental Architecture – Ziggurats such as those at Eridu, Ur, and later Babylon demonstrate that the technology for massive, multi-story structures existed in Mesopotamia during this period. The Etemenanki (“House of the Foundation of Heaven and Earth”) is often cited as a possible cultural memory of the Tower of Babel.

• Contemporary Civilizations

  • Egypt’s Old Kingdom (c. 2686–2181 BC) was constructing the pyramids, showing the capacity for large-scale, complex building projects worldwide.

  • The Indus Valley Civilization and early Chinese dynasties were flourishing, suggesting that some post-Flood dispersal had begun even before the Babel event.

  • Archaeogenetic studies indicate a rapid population expansion and divergence of human lineages between 2500–2000 BC, consistent with the sudden scattering described in Genesis 11.

• Linguistic Evidence – The abrupt emergence of distinct language families (Afro-Asiatic, Indo-European, Sino-Tibetan, etc.) in the historical record—with no clear evolutionary path between them—aligns with the concept of an instantaneous, God-initiated division of human speech.

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Chinese Characters for Tower of Babel: