What if the Tower of Babel isn’t about a skyscraper at all, or trying to ‘reach God,’ but about language, thought and power? We begin our series with the strange little story - consisting of only nine verses- situated between the Noah episode and the great patriarch Abraham — and why it might be one of the few (if any) political passages in the Bible.

In the series, we’ll be taking a deep dive into Genesis 11 (1-9) the Babel story to open up its valuable teaching. We’ll discover the Bible’s take on free speech, freedom, and human flourishing. We’ll encounter God in sarcastic mode, and we’ll consider whether or not the people in the story were actually punished or not. We will consider how the story speaks so clearly to us today – with some surprising conclusions about the way we live and the choices we make. And the danger we are in.

In this episode we are going to consider a line from the story where God comes down to see what’s going on. It is an interesting and surprising moment. I’ve always seen a little bit of sarcastic humour coming in here – on the part of God that is.

There is also irony here. The tower meant to reach heaven doesn’t seem tall enough to even notice. In order to see the significance of God coming down, we will need to consider the chiastic structure of the story.

The Babel story is arranged rather like a mirror. It begins with humanity moving together towards a single purpose, and then, after reaching the centre of the story, everything happens in reverse.

Images are AI adaptations of the author’s own sketches and drawings, in addition to adaptations from Breugel’s renowned paintings of the Tower of Babel.

Music is Stars and Laurels by Shane Ivers for Silverman Sounds.

https://www.silvermansound.com

Dr Caroline Kaye (The Sideways Thinker) presents this series aimed at non believers and believers alike exploring the West’s foundational texts - in order to see them anew. Dr Kaye holds graduate and post graduate qualifications in Religions and Theology from the University of Wales Trinity St. David and the University of Manchester She also holds an interdisciplinary PhD in Art History with Biblical themes from the Manchester Metropolitan University.

Books consulted or referred to in this episode:

James Austin, The Tower of Babel in Genesis: How the Tower of Babel Narrative Influences the Theology of Genesis and the Bible, Bloomington, Westbow Press, 2012.

J.P. Fokkelman, Narrative Art in Genesis: Specimens of Stylistic and Structural Analysis, 2nd Ed., Oregon, Wifpf & Stock, 1991.

Yoram Hazony, The Philosophy of Hebrew Scripture, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2012

Leon R. Kass, The Beginning of Wisdom:Reading Genesis, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2006.

Judy Klitsner, Subversive Sequels in the Bible: How Biblical Stories Mine and Undermine Each Other, Philadelphia, JPS, 2009.

Jordan B.Peterson, We who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine, London, Allen Lane, 2024.

Dennis Prager, (Ed. Joseph Telushkin), Genesis: God, Creation and Destruction, The Rational Bible Series, Alperson Edition, Washington, Regenery Faith, 2019.

Nahum M. Sarna, Understanding Genesis: The World of the Bble in the light of History, New York, Schocken Books, 1966, reprinted 1970.

What if the Tower of Babel isn’t about a skyscraper at all, or trying to ‘reach God,’ but about language, thought and power? We begin our series with the strange little story - consisting of only nine verses- situated between the Noah episode and the great patriarch Abraham — and why it might be one of the few (if any) political passages in the Bible.

In the series, we’ll be taking a deep dive into Genesis 11 (1-9) the Babel story to open up its valuable teaching. We’ll discover the Bible’s take on free speech, freedom, and human flourishing. We’ll encounter God in sarcastic mode, and we’ll consider whether or not the people in the story were actually punished or not. We will consider how the story speaks so clearly to us today – with some surprising conclusions about the way we live and the choices we make. And the danger we are in.

In this episode, we consider the Babel Builders’ desire to make a name for themselves.

It could be said that the whole Babel story is about names, naming and places. What is the original idea of fame? What does fame mean in the ancient world? To have a great name was to have achieved significance that would survive beyond one’s immediate life.

Babel is not the story of people wanting to be famous as such. It is the story of people wanting to achieve greatness on their own terms, establish their own name, and secure their own remembrance. This aspect of the story is better understood when considered alongside what comes next with the patriarch and matriarch, Abraham and Sarah whose names are changed by God and whose names will be blessing to others.

Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Images are AI adaptations of the author’s own sketches and drawings, in addition to adaptations from Breugel’s renowned paintings of the Tower of Babel.

Music is Stars and Laurels by Shane Ivers for Silverman Sounds.

https://www.silvermansound.com

Dr Caroline Kaye (The Sideways Thinker) presents this series aimed at non believers and believers alike exploring the West’s foundational texts - in order to see them anew. Dr Kaye holds graduate and post graduate qualifications in Religions and Theology from the University of Wales Trinity St. David and the University of Manchester She also holds an interdisciplinary PhD in Art History with Biblical themes from the Manchester Metropolitan University.

Books consulted or referred to in this episode:

James Austin, The Tower of Babel in Genesis: How the Tower of Babel Narrative Influences the Theology of Genesis and the Bible, Bloomington, Westbow Press, 2012.

Yoram Hazony, The Philosophy of Hebrew Scripture, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2012

Leon R. Kass, The Beginning of Wisdom:Reading Genesis, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2006.

Judy Klitsner, Subversive Sequels in the Bible: How Biblical Stories Mine and Undermine Each Other, Philadelphia, JPS, 2009.

Jordan B.Peterson, We who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine, London, Allen Lane, 2024.

Dennis Prager, (Ed. Joseph Telushkin), Genesis: God, Creation and Destruction, The Rational Bible Series, Alperson Edition, Washington, Regenery Faith, 2019.

Nahum M. Sarna, Understanding Genesis: The World of the Bble in the light of History, New York, Schocken Books, 1966, reprinted 1970.

Thank you for listening. Please feel free to comment and share. If you find my work interesting and worthwhile, I would be glad to receive one-off donations through the Buy me a Coffee scheme. Do subscribe if you haven’t already, subscribing alone supports my work.

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/SidewaysThm

What if the Tower of Babel isn’t about a skyscraper at all, or trying to ‘reach God,’ but about language, thought and power? We begin our series with the strange little story - consisting of only nine verses- situated between the Noah episode and the great patriarch Abraham — and why it might be one of the few (if any) political passages in the Bible.

In the series, we’ll be taking a deep dive into Genesis 11 (1-9) the Babel story to open up its valuable teaching. We’ll discover the Bible’s take on free speech, freedom, and human flourishing. We’ll encounter God in sarcastic mode, and we’ll consider whether or not the people in the story were actually punished or not. We will consider how the story speaks so clearly to us today – with some surprising conclusions about the way we live and the choices we make. And the danger we are in.

In this episode, we take a deeper dive into the concept of the city. From Cain to Babylon, cities often symbolise something uneasy in the Bible: the sense of anonymity that’s found in the city, the concentration of power, and the forgetting of God. The feeling is that in the city that we don’t need God. It is easy to assume that the Bible is distrustful of cities and what they represent or stand for.

Genesis is surprisingly ambivalent about cities. Cities are not simply condemned. In fairness, they become places of culture, trade, worship and justice—but the early chapters of Genesis repeatedly associate the first cities with attempts to create security, identity and permanence in a kind of moving away from any dependence upon God.

So biblically speaking, Cities – are not bad in themselves. It is what can happen in the wake of their existence, the kind of behaviour that so often ensues. It is something to be aware of.

Images are AI adaptations of the author’s own sketches and drawings, in addition to adaptations from Breugel’s renowned paintings of the Tower of Babel.

Music is Stars and Laurels by Shane Ivers for Silverman Sounds.

https://www.silvermansound.com

Dr Caroline Kaye (The Sideways Thinker) presents this series aimed at non believers and believers alike exploring the West’s foundational texts - in order to see them anew. Dr Kaye holds graduate and post graduate qualifications in Religions and Theology from the University of Wales Trinity St. David and the University of Manchester She also holds an interdisciplinary PhD in Art History with Biblical themes from the Manchester Metropolitan University.

Books referred to in this episode:

James Austin, The Tower of Babel in Genesis: How the Tower of Babel Narrative Influences the Theology of Genesis and the Bible, Bloomington, Westbow Press, 2012.

Yoram Hazony, The Philosophy of Hebrew Scripture, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2012

Leon R. Kass, The Beginning of Wisdom:Reading Genesis, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2006.

Judy Klitsner, Subversive Sequels in the Bible: How Biblical Stories Mine and Undermine Each Other, Philadelphia, JPS, 2009.

Jordan B.Peterson, We who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine, London, Allen Lane, 2024.

Nahum M. Sarna, Understanding Genesis: The World of the Bble in the light of History, New York, Schocken Books, 1966, reprinted 1970.

Thank you for listening. Please feel free to comment and share. If you find my work interesting and worthwhile, I would be glad to receive one-off donations through the Buy me a Coffee scheme. Do subscribe if you haven’t already, subscribing alone supports my work.

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/SidewaysThm

What if the Tower of Babel isn’t about a skyscraper at all, or trying to ‘reach God,’ but about language, thought and power? We begin our series with the strange little story - consisting of only nine verses- situated between the Noah episode and the great patriarch Abraham — and why it might be one of the few (if any) political passages in the Bible.

In the series, we’ll be taking a deep dive into Genesis 11 (1-9) the Babel story to open up its valuable teaching. We’ll discover the Bible’s take on free speech, freedom, and human flourishing. We’ll encounter God in sarcastic mode, and we’ll consider whether or not the people in the story were actually punished or not. We will consider how the story speaks so clearly to us today – with some surprising conclusions about the way we live and the choices we make. And the danger we are in.

In this episode, we consider (amongst other things), who actually builds Babel? No names. No faces. Just a mass of anonymised labour. Is this new technological invention of harder burnt bricks a sign of progress? Is it what we would even call progressive? The Bible quietly asks whether progress can hide a new kind of oppression or even slavery. We can see Links with the Exodus story, in terms of both the language used and the identifiable themes. Consider these words which begin the Ten Commandments: “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”

God is not simply rescuing Israel from one wicked ruler.

He is rescuing them from a type of society. One that often begins in the city. The development of new building materials leads to the building of cities. The Ten commandments then become instructions for how not to rebuild Babel.

Dr Caroline Kaye (The Sideways Thinker) presents this series aimed at non believers and believers alike exploring the West’s foundational texts - in order to see them anew. Dr Kaye holds graduate and post graduate qualifications in Religions and Theology from the University of Wales Trinity St. David and the University of Manchester She also holds an interdisciplinary PhD in Art History with Biblical themes from the Manchester Metropolitan University.

Images are AI adaptations of the author’s own sketches and drawings, in addition to adaptations from Breugel’s renowned paintings of the Tower of Babel.

Music is Stars and Laurels by Shane Ivers for Silverman Sounds.

https://www.silvermansound.com

Books mentioned in this episode:

Judy Klitsner, Subversive Sequels in the Bible: How Biblical Stories Mine and Undermine Each Other, Philadelphia, JPS, 2009.

Thank you for listening. Please feel free to comment and share. If you find my work interesting and worthwhile, I would be glad to receive one-off donations through the Buy me a Coffee scheme. Do subscribe if you haven’t already, subscribing alone supports my work.

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/SidewaysThm

What if the Tower of Babel isn’t about a skyscraper at all, or trying to ‘reach God,’ but about language, thought and power? We begin our series with the strange little story - consisting of only nine verses- situated between the Noah episode and the great patriarch Abraham — and why it might be one of the few (if any) political passages in the Bible.

In the series, we’ll be taking a deep dive into Genesis 11 (1-9) the Babel story to open up its valuable teaching. We’ll discover the Bible’s take on free speech, freedom, and human flourishing. We’ll encounter God in sarcastic mode, and we’ll consider whether or not the people in the story were actually punished or not. We will consider how the story speaks so clearly to us today – with some surprising conclusions about the way we live and the choices we make. And the danger we are in.

In this episode: Before there’s a tower, there are bricks. Before there’s a plan, there’s technology. Babel suggests something unsettling: sometimes we build things simply because we can. The use of technology, in Babel and in our world, suggests a carefully ordered world, one with the necessary organisation, efficiency and desire for Man to control everything he grasps.

Dr Caroline Kaye (The Sideways Thinker) presents this series aimed at non believers and believers alike exploring the West’s foundational texts - in order to see them anew. Dr Kaye holds graduate and post graduate qualifications in Religions and Theology from the University of Wales Trinity St. David and the University of Manchester She also holds an interdisciplinary PhD in Art History with Biblical themes from the Manchester Metropolitan University.

Images are AI adaptations of the author’s own sketches and drawings, in addition to adaptations from Breugel’s renowned paintings of the Tower of Babel.

Music is Stars and Laurels by Shane Ivers for Silverman Sounds.

https://www.silvermansound.com

Books mentioned and recommended in this episode:

Judy Klitsner, Subversive Sequels in the Bible: How Biblical Stories Mine and Undermine Each Other, Philadelphia, JPS, 2009.

Nahum M. Sarna, Understanding Genesis: The World of the Bble in the light of History, New York, Schocken Books, 1966, reprinted 1970.

Roger Scruton, The Face of God (The Gifford Lectures, 2010), London, Bloomsbury, 2012.

Carl R. Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism and the Road to Sexual Revolution. Illinois, Crossway, 2020.

Thank you for listening. Please feel free to comment and share. If you find my workinteresting and worthwhile, I would be glad to receive one-off donations through the Buy me a Coffee scheme. Do subscribe if you haven’t already, subscribing alone supports my work.

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/SidewaysThm

What if the Tower of Babel isn’t about a skyscraper at all, or trying to ‘reach God,’ but about language, thought and power? We begin our series with the strange little story - consisting of only nine verses- situated between the Noah episode and the great patriarch Abraham — and why it might be one of the few (if any) political passages in the Bible.

In the series, we’ll be taking a deep dive into Genesis 11 (1-9) the Babel story to open up its valuable teaching. We’ll discover the Bible’s take on free speech, freedom, and human flourishing. We’ll encounter God in sarcastic mode, and we’ll consider whether or not the people in the story were actually punished or not. We will consider how the story speaks so clearly to us today – with some surprising conclusions about the way we live and the choices we make. And the danger we are in.

In this episode, we segue from looking at language as something in itself towards a consideration of how it might be used to push uniformity onto others and to impose from a position of power. From Nimrod to modern empires, language is one of the oldest tools of control. Remember, everyone had one language and spoke the same words. And so, in this episode we will turn our attention to the CITY. In the city, you can be surrounded by others but be completely alone, anonymous.

If everyone is the same then everyone is nameless, anonymous and disappears. This is what happens in the collective mentality. Modern technocratic systems also push humans into anonymity and disappearance. Digital architecture being built all around us is a feature of this mindset. The ultimate goal is total control of everything and everyone. We begin to see the lessons the story of Babel has for us in the modern era.

Images are AI adaptations of the author’s own sketches and drawings, in addition to adaptations from Breugel’s renowned paintings of the Tower of Babel.

Music is Stars and Laurels by Shane Ivers for Silverman Sounds.

https://www.silvermansound.com

Dr Caroline Kaye (The Sideways Thinker) presents this series aimed at non believers and believers alike exploring the West’s foundational texts - in order to see them anew. Dr Kaye holds graduate and post graduate qualifications in Religions and Theology from the University of Wales Trinity St. David and the University of Manchester She also holds an interdisciplinary PhD in Art History with Biblical themes from the Manchester Metropolitan University.

Books referred to in this episode:

Jordan B.Peterson, We who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine, London, Allen Lane, 2024.

Yoram Hazony, The Philosophy of Hebrew Scripture, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2012

Thank you for listening. Please feel free to comment and share. If you find my work interesting and worthwhile, I would be glad to receive one-off donations through the Buy me a Coffee scheme. Do subscribe if you haven’t already, subscribing alone supports my work.

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/SidewaysThm

What if the Tower of Babel isn’t about a skyscraper at all, or trying to ‘reach God,’ but about language, thought and power? We begin our series with the strange little story - consisting of only nine verses- situated between the Noah episode and the great patriarch Abraham — and why it might be one of the few (if any) political passages in the Bible.

In the series, we’ll be taking a deep dive into Genesis 11 (1-9) the Babel story to open up its valuable teaching. We’ll discover the Bible’s take on free speech, freedom, and human flourishing. We’ll encounter God in sarcastic mode, and we’ll consider whether or not the people in the story were actually punished or not. We will consider how the story speaks so clearly to us today – with some surprising conclusions about the way we live and the choices we make. And the danger we are in.

Dr Caroline Kaye (The Sideways Thinker) presents this series aimed at non-believers and believers alike exploring the West’s foundational texts - in order to see them anew. Dr Kaye holds graduate and post graduate qualifications in Religions and Theology from the University of Wales Trinity St. David and the University of Manchester She also holds an interdisciplinary PhD in Art History with Biblical themes from the Manchester Metropolitan University.

Episode 3 will refer to the readings in Hebrew and English from the previous episode, and will continue the verse by verse analysis. The focus will be on language and how it shapes our reality. We will also come back to Hugh Willbourn’s book, The Bug in our Thinking: and the Way to Fix it. This episode forms the conclusion to episode 2.

Further information on our book recommendation: The Bug in Our Thinking: And the Way to Fix It,

Author: Hugh Willbourn

Published: May 2023 (approx. 197 pages).

This book explores how deep biases and errors in human thought — what the author calls “bugs in our thinking” — underlie much in the way of misunderstandings, mistakes, and conflicts in modern life. Willbourn blends philosophy, psychology, language analysis, storytelling, and practical insight to explain:

* how technology and modern frameworks have shaped the way we think,

* why many arguments go wrong,

* how language and conceptual frameworks can hide or distort reality,

* and what approaches might help us fix or improve our thinking.

* The book is unusual yet accessible, using stories, dialogues, and philosophical reflection rather than a strict academic structure. It resists easy summarization because it invites the reader to think along with the author rather than present rigid lessons.

* use of speech and language isn’t just a way to express what we already think — it’s part of how thought itself gets structured and developed.

Highly relevant in our discussion about the Babel story!

Music is Stars and Laurels by Shane Ivers for Silverman Sounds.

Hebrew courtesy of Ted Hildebrandt, Biblicalelearning, Genesis 11 -- Hebrew Bible Speaker with English Captions on YouTube (Free online biblical resources for the global community).

The audio was read by Abraham Shmuelof provided by the Academy of Ancient Languages. The Hebrew text is from Mechon-Mamre.org. The English translation is from the DASV [Digital American Standard Version].

Tanak Hebrew Bible reading video was prepared by Ted Hildebrandt for

http://biblicalelearning.org and Gordon College.

What if the Tower of Babel isn’t about a skyscraper at all, or trying to ‘reach God,’ but about language, thought and power? We begin our series with the strange little story - consisting of only nine verses- situated between the Noah episode and the great patriarch Abraham — and why it might be one of the few (if any) political passages in the Bible.

In the series, we’ll be taking a deep dive into Genesis 11 (1-9) the Babel story to open up its valuable teaching. We’ll discover the Bible’s take on free speech, freedom, and human flourishing. We’ll encounter God in sarcastic mode, and we’ll consider whether or not the people in the story were actually punished or not. We will consider how the story speaks so clearly to us today – with some surprising conclusions about the way we live and the choices we make. And the danger we are in.

Dr Caroline Kaye (The Sideways Thinker) presents this series aimed at non-believers and believers alike exploring the West’s foundational texts - in order to see them anew. Dr Kaye holds graduate and post graduate qualifications in Religions and Theology from the University of Wales Trinity St. David and the University of Manchester She also holds an interdisciplinary PhD in Art History with Biblical themes from the Manchester Metropolitan University.

Episode 2 will include readings in Hebrew and English and part one of a verse by verse analysis. The focus will be on language and how it shapes our reality. We will also introduce Hugh Willbourn's book, The Bug in our Thinking: and the Way to Fix it. Episode 3 will continue with the themes of this episode.

Music is Stars and Laurels by Shane Ivers for Silverman Sounds.

https://www.silvermansound.com

Hebrew courtesy of Ted Hildebrandt, Biblicalelearning, Genesis 11 -- Hebrew Bible Speaker with English Captions on YouTube (Free online biblical resources for the global community).

The audio was read by Abraham Shmuelof provided by the Academy of Ancient Languages. The Hebrew text is from Mechon-Mamre.org. The English translation is from the DASV [Digital American Standard Version].

Tanak Hebrew Bible reading video was prepared by Ted Hildebrandt for

http://biblicalelearning.org and Gordon College.