Genesis 11: 1-9 tells us a tale of the Tower of Babel. This is the Hebrew folklore explanation for the origins of multiple languages. Despite the many different languages during and long before the time which the story is placed this tale starts off claiming, "And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech." In the story all of man worked together and built a tall tower so they could literally reach unto Heaven on their own. This upset God so he destroyed the tower then separated man around the globe and caused them to speak different languages to they could not understand each other. The goal of this was to make sure man could not work together again preventing them from building another tower to Heaven.

Hidden Message

Although the main focus of this tale is to act as an explanation for the world's various languages but there is another message that most people overlook. Why was it again that God divided the people and confused them with different languages? Man can accomplish anything that they can imagine if they work together, and according to the Bible this is a bad thing in the eyes of God. Not only is this a tale about different languages it's also a tale of tyranny. A tale of God doing what it takes to keep man below him. Tower of Babel

Evidence of the Tower?

Now there is no reason to think the Tower of Babel actually existed since all knowledge of it derived from folklore but there is one structure that may have inspired the story. Inspiration could have come from the fall of the famous temple-tower of Etemenanki ("House of the Platform of Heaven & Earth"). Some trying to find outside evidence for the Biblical story even try to claim that the tower of Etemenaki was that of Babel since it is the only known structure that has even a slight resemblance. However, we know this tower was not destroyed by the wrath of God. According to an inscription dated 605 BCE by King Nebuchadnezzar the tower was originally brought down on accounts of nature. It was earthquakes and bad weather that delivered the ultimate toll, not godly vengeance.

Phoenician Alphabet 1050 BCE

One Common Language? Genesis 11:1 "And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech." The story of the Tower of Babel took place around 1000 BCE. According to the story, before this time all of man spoke the same language for there was only one. Not until God's punishment on us for the construction of the tower were different languages created. To ancient man with limited knowledge of our past or surroundings, this seemed like a good explanation of why people spoke different languages. Unfortunately, this story if far from being true. A Few Languages Pre-Dating 1000 BCE One of the oldest known written languages is Sumerian. It's wittings date back as far as 3200 BCE and the Sumerian's spoken language its self-dates back a lot further. Speakers of several Semitic languages developed the abjad or consonantal alphabet some time before 1500 BCE.   The hieroglyphs of Egypt date back to about 3100 BCE. The Proto-Sinaitic script dates back to 1500 BCE and the Wadi el-Hol script is dated to 1800 BCE.   The oldest known text in the Sanskrit language, the Rigveda, is a collection of over a thousand Hindu hymns dedicated to the gods. It is counted as the holiest among the series of four Hindu canonical texts known as the Vedas and dates to 1700-1100 BCE.   Chinese was developed prior to 1200 BCE.