Genesis 11: The Tower of Babel: When Words Got Mixed Up!

Wednesday, August 27, 2025

by Chinwenmeri Ikechi

People building a tall tower reaching toward the sky, representing the Tower of Babel.

Genesis 11 tells the story of the Tower of Babel. This chapter teaches us about pride, disobedience, and how God can guide people when they choose wrong. It also explains why people began to speak different languages and spread across the earth.

After the flood, people began to live together in one place. They all spoke the same language and worked together. They decided to build a great city with a very tall tower. They wanted the tower to reach the sky so that everyone would be famous and so they would not have to spread out and fill the earth, as God had commanded Noah.

People scatter from an unfinished tower as God confuses their languages.

The people were proud and thought they could make a name for themselves without obeying God. They were not listening to God’s command to spread across the earth. God saw what they were doing and was concerned because their pride could lead to more sin.

God decided to confuse their language so that they could not understand each other. Suddenly, people could not communicate, and the work on the tower stopped. Because they could not understand each other, they scattered across the earth and settled in different lands.

People building a tall tower are suddenly unable to understand each other, illustrating the story of the Tower of Babel.

The city that was being built was called Babel, which means confusion. This event explains why there are many languages in the world today. Even though people disobeyed, God had a plan for the earth and ensured that His plan continued through different nations and families.

Genesis 11 teaches us that pride and disobedience are serious. It also shows that God is in control, that He guides people, and that His plans cannot be stopped by human arrogance.

Discussion Questions

1 What did the people decide to build in Genesis 11?

The people decided to build a great city with a very tall tower that would reach the sky.

2 Why did the people want to build the tower?

They wanted the tower to reach the sky so that everyone would be famous, and so they would not have to spread out and fill the earth, as God had commanded Noah.

3 What command of God were the people disobeying?

They were disobeying God’s command to spread across the earth and fill it.

4 How did God stop the building of the tower?

God confused their language so that they could not understand each other.

5 What happened after God confused their language?

Because they could not understand each other, they scattered across the earth and settled in different lands.

6 What was the city called?

The city was called Babel, which means confusion.

7 Why do we have many languages in the world today?

We have many languages in the world today because God confused the language of the people building the Tower of Babel, causing them to scatter across the earth and develop different languages.

8 What lesson does the Tower of Babel teach about pride?

The Tower of Babel teaches that pride and disobedience are serious and that we should not try to make a name for ourselves without obeying God.

9 Did God’s plan for the earth fail because of the tower?

No, God’s plan for the earth did not fail. Even though people disobeyed, God ensured that His plan continued through different nations and families.

10 What important lesson can we learn from Genesis 11?

We can learn that pride and disobedience are serious, but also that God is in control, that He guides people, and that His plans cannot be stopped by human arrogance.