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Genesis 11:7

EOB (Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible):

Come, let’s go down and mix up their language so they can’t understand each other.

EOB Footnote:

The MT includes “from there” (misham) in the phrase “so that they will not understand one another’s speech,” which is absent from the LXX. This addition specifies the location from which the confusion of language spreads but does not materially alter the meaning. The phrase “Come, let us go down” uses a cohortative form in both Hebrew and Greek, rendered here as an exhortation rather than a simple future.

Other Translations:

KJV (King James Version):

Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.

WEB (World English Bible):

“Come, let’s go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”

Benton LXX (Vaticanus):

“Come, and having gone down let us there confound their tongue, that they may not understand each the voice of his neighbour.”

Douai-Rheims (Vulgate):

“Come ye, therefore, let us go down, and there confound their tongue, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”

Apostoliki Diakonia (LXX):

Come, let us go down and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.

YLT (Young Literal Translation )(MT):

“Come, let us go down and confuse their language, so that they will not understand each other’s speech.”

BBE (Bible in Basic English):

“Let us go down and take away the sense of their language, so that they will not be able to make themselves understood to one another.”

EOB COMMENTARY:

EOB Commentary:

Commentary on Genesis 11:7

The Divine Council and the Holy Trinity

This verse presents one of the most significant theological moments in the Old Testament, as God speaks in the plural: “Come, let Us go down and confuse their language.” The Fathers of the Church consistently understood this plural address as a revelation of the Holy Trinity operating in unity. Saint John Chrysostom emphasizes that this is not God consulting with angels, for angels do not share in divine creative and judicial acts. Rather, the Father speaks to the Son and the Holy Spirit, the three Persons acting in perfect harmony.

Patristic Interpretation

Saint Basil the Great and other Cappadocian Fathers saw in this verse a clear pre-figuration of Trinitarian theology. The singular verb forms combined with plural pronouns throughout Genesis (as in “Let Us make man” in Genesis 1:26) demonstrate the unity of essence and distinction of Persons. Saint Irenaeus of Lyon argued against Gnostic interpretations by insisting that the “Us” refers to the Son and Spirit, who are the “two hands” of the Father in all divine operations.

Pentecost as Reversal

The Orthodox liturgical tradition draws a profound connection between Babel and Pentecost. The Kontakion of Pentecost explicitly states: “When the Most High came down and confused the tongues, He divided the nations. When He distributed the tongues of fire, He called all to unity.” At Babel, linguistic confusion scattered humanity in pride; at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit united humanity through the gift of tongues in humility. The descent of God at Babel brought judgment, while the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost brought redemption and the birth of the Church.

Christological Dimensions

The divine “coming down” (katabasis) at Babel anticipates the ultimate descent of the Son of God in the Incarnation. However, while at Babel God descends to scatter, in Christ God descends to gather. Christ Himself declares that He will draw all people to Himself (John 12:32). The Church Fathers understood this typologically: what was broken at Babel is restored in Christ and His Body, the Church, where “there is neither Greek nor Jew” (Colossians 3:11).

Liturgical Significance

During the Vespers of Pentecost, the Church reads this passage from Genesis, making explicit the theological connection between the two events. The kneeling prayers of Pentecost celebrate the restoration of human unity through the Spirit, directly contrasting with the division at Babel. Orthodox hymnography celebrates that the confusion of tongues has been healed by the “theology of the fishermen,” the apostolic preaching that transcends all linguistic barriers through divine grace.

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