Go
Articles on

Genesis 11

Gen. 11:1 KJV (With Strong’s)

+
1
And the whole earth
'erets (Hebrew #776)
the earth (at large, or partitively a land)
KJV usage: X common, country, earth, field, ground, land, X natins, way, + wilderness, world.
Pronounce: eh'-rets
Origin: from an unused root probably meaning to be firm
was of one
'echad (Hebrew #259)
properly, united, i.e. one; or (as an ordinal) first
KJV usage: a, alike, alone, altogether, and, any(-thing), apiece, a certain, (dai-)ly, each (one), + eleven, every, few, first, + highway, a man, once, one, only, other, some, together,
Pronounce: ekh-awd'
Origin: a numeral from 258
σlanguage
saphah (Hebrew #8193)
probably from 5595 or 8192 through the idea of termination (compare 5490); the lip (as a natural boundary); by implication, language; by analogy, a margin (of a vessel, water, cloth, etc.)
KJV usage: band, bank, binding, border, brim, brink, edge, language, lip, prating, ((sea-))shore, side, speech, talk, (vain) words.
Pronounce: saw-faw'
Origin: or (in dual and plural) sepheth {sef-eth'}
, and of one
'echad (Hebrew #259)
properly, united, i.e. one; or (as an ordinal) first
KJV usage: a, alike, alone, altogether, and, any(-thing), apiece, a certain, (dai-)ly, each (one), + eleven, every, few, first, + highway, a man, once, one, only, other, some, together,
Pronounce: ekh-awd'
Origin: a numeral from 258
φspeech
dabar (Hebrew #1697)
a word; by implication, a matter (as spoken of) or thing; adverbially, a cause
KJV usage: act, advice, affair, answer, X any such (thing), because of, book, business, care, case, cause, certain rate, + chronicles, commandment, X commune(-ication), + concern(-ing), + confer, counsel, + dearth, decree, deed, X disease, due, duty, effect, + eloquent, errand, (evil favoured-)ness, + glory, + harm, hurt, + iniquity, + judgment, language, + lying, manner, matter, message, (no) thing, oracle, X ought, X parts, + pertaining, + please, portion, + power, promise, provision, purpose, question, rate, reason, report, request, X (as hast) said, sake, saying, sentence, + sign, + so, some (uncleanness), somewhat to say, + song, speech, X spoken, talk, task, + that, X there done, thing (concerning), thought, + thus, tidings, what(-soever), + wherewith, which, word, work.
Pronounce: daw-baw'
Origin: from 1696
.
σ
lip.
φ
words.

More on:

+
Earth,
Language

Cross References

+

Ministry on This Verse

+
1:  One language in the world.
2-4:  The building of Babel.
5-9:  It is interrupted by the confusion of tongues, and the builders dispersed.
10-26:  The generations of Shem.
27-30:  The generations of Terah, the father of Abram.
31-32:  Terah, with Abram and Lot, remove from Ur to Haran.
A.M. 1757.
B.C. 2247.
was.
Isa. 19:18• 18In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the Lord of hosts; one shall be called, The city of destruction. (Isa. 19:18)
;
Zeph. 3:9• 9For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent. (Zeph. 3:9)
;
Acts 2:6• 6Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. (Acts 2:6)
language.
Heb. lip.
speech.
Heb. words.
• here, on the shortest reckoning for nearly as many centuries since our first parents were created, we have the fact calmly and clearly revealed, which was nowhere else made known and wholly inconsistent with human experience as well as all scientific theory of languages, that there was but one “lip” or (as we and others say) one tongue, the “words” also one and the same. (“Genesis 11:2-4” by W. Kelly)
• Gen. 10 casts invaluable light, found nowhere else, on the rise of those families distributed on the earth, every one after his tongue. It is only in chap. 11 that we find the originating cause and occasion. The previous chapter comes in, not flowing according to historic time, but as a descriptive parenthesis between chaps. 9 and 11. (“Genesis 11:1” by W. Kelly)
• The original unity of language prevailed for some time after the deluge, as uninterruptedly before it. This is an immense difficulty to such as reason from the existing multiplicity of tongues; for there are confessedly at least 900 in possession of the earth. Of late the researches of the learned have reduced them to families or groups, and have named these Aryan, Shemitic, and Turanian. But a deeper affinity has disclosed itself to patient, comprehensive, and minute study. For these family groups, whatever their strongly marked distinctions from each other, have been proved to yield decided proofs of common relationship, which cannot be thought accidental but indicative of one source. (“Genesis 11:1” by W. Kelly)

J. N. Darby Translation

+
1
And the whole earth hadd one languagee, and the same words.

JND Translation Notes

+
d
Lit. "was."
e
Lit. "lip."

W. Kelly Translation

+
1
And the whole earth was of one languagea and the words oneb .

WK Translation Notes

+
a
(lip)
b
Or, the same.