Genesis 11
The people of the earth, united in one language, built a city and tower in the land of Shinar, intending to reach heaven and make a name for themselves. God, seeing their unity and determination, decided to confound their language and scatter them across the earth, thus halting the construction of the city, which was then called Babel. The chapter then shifts to the genealogy of Shem, listing his descendants, including Abram, Nahor, and Haran, and their wives and children. The chapter concludes with Terah, Abram's father, leading his family from Ur of the Chaldeans to Haran, where he eventually dies.
1Now the earth was of one language and of the same speech2And when they were advancing from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt in it3And each one said to his neighbor, "Come, let us make bricks, and bake them with fire." And they had bricks instead of stones, and pitch instead of mortar4And they said: "Come, let us make a city and a tower, so that its height may reach to heaven. And let us make our name famous before we are divided into all the lands.5Then the Lord descended to see the city and the tower, which the sons of Adam were building6And he said: "Behold, the people are united, and all have one tongue. And since they have begun to do this, they will not desist from their plans, until they have completed their work7Therefore, come, let us descend, and in that place confound their tongue, so that they may not listen, each one to the voice of his neighbor.8And so the Lord divided them from that place into all the lands, and they ceased to build the city9And for this reason, its name was called ‘Babel,’ because in that place the language of the whole earth became confused. And from then on, the Lord scattered them across the face of every region10These are the generations of Shem. Shem was one hundred years old when he conceived Arphaxad, two years after the great flood11And after he conceived Arphaxad, Shem lived for five hundred years, and he conceived sons and daughters12Next, Arphaxad lived for thirty-five years, and then he conceived Shelah13And after he conceived Shelah, Arphaxad lived for three hundred and three years, and he conceived sons and daughters14Likewise, Shelah lived for thirty years, and then he conceived Eber15And after he conceived Eber, Shelah lived for four hundred and three years, and he conceived sons and daughters16Then Eber lived for thirty-four years, and he conceived Peleg17And after he conceived Peleg, Eber lived for four hundred and thirty years, and he conceived sons and daughters18Likewise, Peleg lived for thirty years, and then he conceived Reu19And after he conceived Reu, Peleg lived for two hundred and nine years, and he conceived sons and daughters20Then Reu lived for thirty-two years, and then he conceived Serug21Likewise, after he conceived Serug, Reu lived for two hundred and seven years, and he conceived sons and daughters22In truth, Serug lived for thirty years, and then he conceived Nahor23And after he conceived Nahor, Serug lived for two hundred years, and he conceived sons and daughters24And so Nahor lived for twenty-nine years, and then he conceived Terah25And after he conceived Terah, Nahor lived for one hundred and nineteen years, and he conceived sons and daughters26And Terah lived for seventy years, and then he conceived Abram, and Nahor, and Haran27And these are the generations of Terah. Terah conceived Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Next Haran conceived Lot28And Haran died before his father Terah, in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldeans29Then Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai. And the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah30But Sarai was barren and had no children31And so Terah took his son Abram, and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and he led them away from Ur of the Chaldeans, to go into the land of Canaan. And they approached as far as Haran, and they dwelt there32And the days of Terah that passed were two hundred and five years, and then he died in Haran
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