The Quagmire Of Mankind’s Separation-2

The QUAGMIRE Of MANKIND’s SEPARATION-II—Genesis 10:1-32 & 11:1-9

Mankind became separated into various nations following the Flood.

Genesis details the origins of the nations following the Flood.

Genesis concisely details the separation of the nations following the Flood.

Genesis concisely details a separation of nations following the Flood.

*The separation of mankind is concisely documented/recorded.

*What defines the quagmire of mankind’s separation?

9 concerns in mankind’s separation.

The week before last we found in these verses that...

The quagmire in mankind’s separation is in his...

1. CLIQUISH DIVERSITY(10:2; 10:6ff; 10:21ff) Family

2. CONFLICT(10:13-14; 10:15-19) Contention

3. KINGDOM CONSTRUCTION(10:8-12) Built on flesh

4— The quagmire in mankind’s separation is in his...

CAMARADERIE(11:1-4)

Explanation:(11:1-4) Worldly Cooperation

11:1—“Now the whole earth had one language & one speech.”

The “whole earth” consisted of an unknown number of Shem, Ham & Japheth’s progeny; Probably the third generation because Nimrod was Ham’s grandson(10:6, 8).

There was only “one language” which was used by all mankind. Their manner of speaking was likewise the same. Thus all maintained an understanding of each other, having both an ability to express it fully as well as being fully understood(11:6-7).

“Whole”(See :4)—lk kol—1) All, the whole. Strong—properly--The whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense).

“Earth”(See :4, 25)—Ura eh’-rets—1) Land, earth. Strong—from an unused root probably meaning to be firm; The earth(at large, or partitively a land).

“One”(See :6)—dxa ekh-awd’—1) One (number). Strong—properly--United, i.e. One; or (as an ordinal) First.

“Language”—hps saw-faw’—1) Lip, language, speech, shore, bank, brink, brim, side, edge, border, binding. Strong—The lip(as a natural boundary); by implication--Language; by analogy--A margin(of a vessel, water, cloth, etc.).

“Speech”—rbd daw-bar’—1) Speech, word, speaking, thing. Strong—a word; by implication--A matter(as spoken of) or Thing; adverbially-A cause.

:2—“And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, & they dwelt there.”

They all “journeyed” “from the east”(KJV, NKJV) or simply “east” or “eastward.” Some settled in “the land of Shinar”(between the Tigris & Euphrates rivers; Current Iraq with Baghdad near upper convergence).

Zech. 5:5-11 “Then the angel who talked with me came out & said to me, “Lift your eyes now, & see what this is that goes forth.” So I asked, “What is it?” And he said, “It is a basket that is going forth.” He also said, “This is their resemblance throughout the earth: “Here is a lead disc lifted up, & this is a woman sitting inside the basket”; then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he thrust her down into the basket, & threw the lead cover over its mouth. Then I raised my eyes & looked, & there were two women, coming with the wind in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork, & they lifted up the basket between earth & heaven. So I said to the angel who talked with me, “Where are they carrying the basket?” And he said to me, “To build a house for it in the land of Shinar; when it is ready, the basket will be set there on its base.””

“Journeyed”—eon naw-sah’—Qal Infinitive—1) To pull out, pull up, set out, journey, remove, set forward, depart. Strong—a primitive root; properly--To pull up,(especially the tent-pins), i.e. Start on a journey.

“From the east”—Mdq keh’-dem—N. m.—1) East, antiquity, front, that which is before, aforetime. Adv.—2) Eastward, to or toward the East.

“Found”—aum maw-tsaw’—Qal Imperfect—1) To find, attain to. Qal—1a1) To find, 1a2) To find out, 1a3) To come upon, light upon. Strong—a primitive root; properly--To come forth to, i.e. Appear or exist; transitively-To attain, i.e. Find or acquire; figuratively--To occur, meet or be present.

“Plain”—heqb biq-ah’—1) Valley; 2) Plain, level valley. Strong—properly--A split, i.e. A wide level valley between mountains. Used 20X.

“Shinar”—renv shin-awr’—1)The ancient name for the territory later known as Babylonia or Chaldea. “The fertile valley watered by the Euphrates & Tigris was chosen as the center of their union & the seat of their power.”—JFB. Shinar = “Country of two rivers.”

:3—“Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks & bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, & they had asphalt for mortar.”

They decide to make very durable bricks. They used brick in place of stone. Tar was used to hold the bricks in place.

Brick is the product of man’s handiwork.

Asphalt/Bitumen/Pitch/Slime is used by many cultures to waterproof ships/boats/canoes, etc. as well as cement for various purposes. It is also flammable. It can be artificially heated to a liquid, applied, & hardens upon allowing it to cool.

“Bitumen is a black, oily, viscous material” from naturally-occurring deposits. “Also known as asphalt or tar, bitumen was mixed with other materials throughout prehistory & throughout the world for use as a sealant, adhesive, building mortar, incense, & decorative application on pots, buildings, or human skin.”— About.com—The Olmec[S. America] Civilization & Bitumen