The Tower of Babel

[d taylor]

If we trust The Book if Jasher, it’s written that the labourers who built the Tower of Babel mourned if a brick fell from the tower, yet cared not if a man fell.

This is because it took a full year to reach the top of the in-process tower from the base. How tall would such a structure need to be for such to be possible?

It is i believe the highest man has ever been, and it was high enough for God to stop the construction.

At 25 miles a day it would take 20 days to cover 500 miles But that is not traveling up.

 

[Nithavela]

Why do you consider The Tower of Babel to be “just a story”?

Because it is.

 

[Nithavela]

Stupendously large. Even GOD noticed the building and came down to see it.

What is the smallest object your god can notice?

 

[Zetetica]

Because it is.

Okay, I’m aware you believe it is a story. Now, that aside, can you explain WHY you believe it to be a story?

 

[A Realist]

This thread needs it's own forum.

"ANCIENT CONSPIRACY THEORIES"

 

[d taylor]

If we trust The Book if Jasher, it’s written that the labourers who built the Tower of Babel mourned if a brick fell from the tower, yet cared not if a man fell.

This is because it took a full year to reach the top of the in-process tower from the base. How tall would such a structure need to be for such to be possible?

I will add one point, i am not sure if the Book of Jasher mentioned in the Bible in Joshua 10. has not been lost. Came across this information below. So really all we have about the Tower of Babel (that can be trusted as truth, is from the Bible) but i still believe it is the highest man has ever been.

The testimony of the Bible about the Tower of Babel, shows the lies of man and going to the moon is just an attempt by man to place himself above God (and man can only do that with lies). Because for the moon trip to have actually happened (and be true) the Bible then would have to be incorrect about the tower.

There is a book called “The Book of Jasher” today, although it is not the same book as mentioned in the Old Testament. It is an eighteenth-century forgery that alleges to be a translation of the “lost” Book of Jasher by Alcuin, an eighth-century English scholar. There is also a more recent book titled “The Book of Jashar” by science fiction and fantasy writer Benjamin Rosenbaum. This book is a complete work of fiction.

Another book by this same name, called by many “Pseudo-Jasher,” while written in Hebrew, is also not the “Book of Jasher” mentioned in Scripture. It is a book of Jewish legends from the creation to the conquest of Canaan under Joshua, but scholars hold that it did not exist before A.D. 1625. In addition, there are several other theological works by Jewish rabbis and scholars called “Sefer ha Yashar,” but none of these claim to be the original Book of Jasher.

In the end, we must conclude that the Book of Jasher mentioned in the Bible was lost and has not survived to modern times. All we really know about it is found in the two Scripture quotations mentioned earlier. The other books by that title are mere fictions or Jewish moral treatises.

 

[Zetetica]

I will add one point, i am not sure if the Book of Jasher mentioned in the Bible in Joshua 10. has not been lost. Came across this information below. So really all we have about the Tower of Babel (that can be trusted as truth, is from the Bible) but i still believe it is the highest man has ever been.

The testimony of the Bible about the Tower of Babel, shows the lies of man and going to the moon is just an attempt by man to place himself above God (and man can only do that with lies). Because for the moon trip to have actually happened (and be true) the Bible then would have to be incorrect about the tower.

There is a book called “The Book of Jasher” today, although it is not the same book as mentioned in the Old Testament. It is an eighteenth-century forgery that alleges to be a translation of the “lost” Book of Jasher by Alcuin, an eighth-century English scholar. There is also a more recent book titled “The Book of Jashar” by science fiction and fantasy writer Benjamin Rosenbaum. This book is a complete work of fiction.

Another book by this same name, called by many “Pseudo-Jasher,” while written in Hebrew, is also not the “Book of Jasher” mentioned in Scripture. It is a book of Jewish legends from the creation to the conquest of Canaan under Joshua, but scholars hold that it did not exist before A.D. 1625. In addition, there are several other theological works by Jewish rabbis and scholars called “Sefer ha Yashar,” but none of these claim to be the original Book of Jasher.

In the end, we must conclude that the Book of Jasher mentioned in the Bible was lost and has not survived to modern times. All we really know about it is found in the two Scripture quotations mentioned earlier. The other books by that title are mere fictions or Jewish moral treatises.

I concur with you entirely and thank you for the well-written response.

 

[Par5]

In short, impossibly tall. Its just a story.

Yes, it is a tall story!

 

[Freodin]

The testimony of the Bible about the Tower of Babel, shows the lies of man and going to the moon is just an attempt by man to place himself above God (and man can only do that with lies). Because for the moon trip to have actually happened (and be true) the Bible then would have to be incorrect about the tower.

And you as well I can only advise to read the original Genesis story about the tower again, and try to see what it there, without adding your own preconceived ideas.

 

[d taylor]

And you as well I can only advise to read the original Genesis story about the tower again, and try to see what it there, without adding your own preconceived ideas.

That is funny an atheist advising me to read the Bible

 

[Freodin]

That is funny an atheist advising me to read the Bible

Yeah, it's not as if we cannot check your source material.

 

[d taylor]

Yeah, it's not as if we cannot check your source material.

To you its just words on a page, from your view point i should revisit the resurrection, the flood, the raising of Lazarus, etc. until i come to your evil conclusion that God does not exist, because the Bible does not match up with science, history, and any other human source.

So that will not happen and you can just go ply your ideas some where else. I only seek out people looking for eternal life and to direct them to The Messiah so they can trust in The Messiah for His gift of eternal life.

 

[SinoBen]

This is because it took a full year to reach the top of the in-process tower from the base. How tall would such a structure need to be for such to be possible?

Their sewerage system was called a looong drop, that much we can assume.

 

[Nithavela]

I always found that the story of the tower of babel is such a poor fit with the rest of the Bible. It's obviously just an ancient creation myth that sought to explain the origin of language, just like Genesis 1 and 2 sought to explain the origin of the world and mankind, the story of cain and abel depicts the first murder and the first punishment for murder, the end of human sacrifice and so on.

But in the tower of babel, god is so out of character. He feels _threatened_ by man and has to personally sow confusion to ensure that they don't finish their work.

I think the real lesson is that if mankind would ever unite and understand each other, nothing really would be impossible for it. Of course, every time steps are taken in that direction many religious people cry about NWO, the mark of the beast and the antichrist. Propably because of the same ancient terror that is portrayed in this story.

 

[Par5]

To paraphrase Douglas Adams “You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-boggingly big it would have to be”.
I’ll leave the math to someone smarter than me. But I’ve climbed and come down 4000 ft mountains in a day, so if we were to assume one person (brick laden) were to do 4000 ft a day for 313 days (assuming one days off a week), to allow for some rest and food, that would come to ~1250000 feet...but of course, it likely would have been numerous workers in shifts, not likely going straight up but around a built up path, so who knows?

The tallest man-made construction in the world today is the 2,717 ft Burj Khalifa in Dubai and it was built using the latest advances in construction engineering to ensure it was stable and not prone to toppling over. Do you really believe that ancient man could, as you said, build something that was 1,250,000 feet tall? Did you really mean to say 1,250,000 feet? That's just over 236 miles. What do you imagine they used for oxygen way before they got anywhere near that height, and how would they survive the extreme cold?
Of course, if you believe it is just a story, then you take whatever meaning you want from it, but to believe that it was true is risible.

 

[“Paisios”]

The tallest man-made construction in the world today is the 2,717 ft Burj Khalifa in Dubai and it was built using the latest advances in construction engineering to ensure it was stable and not prone to toppling over. Do you really believe that ancient man could, as you said, build something that was 1,250,000 feet tall? Did you really mean to say 1,250,000 feet? That's just over 236 miles. What do you imagine they used for oxygen way before they got anywhere near that height, and how would they survive the extreme cold?
Of course, if you believe it is just a story, then you take whatever meaning you want from it, but to believe that it was true is risible.

No, I don’t think it could have been 236 Miles. That’s why I said i’d Leave the math to someone else. The whole construction of a wide base to support the whole structure, path up the construction in progress, etc. would make much of the effort go horizontal rather than vertical. I don’t have the engineering knowledge to begin to try to calculate or speculate on the actual dimensions.

 

[Tinker Grey]

He feels _threatened_ by man and has to personally sow confusion to ensure that they don't finish their work.

He also kicks man out of the garden, sets a guard with a flaming sword so A&E couldn't live forever by eating from the tree of life. (Gen 3). Sounds like it was threatened there, too. YMMV

 

[Nithavela]

He also kicks man out of the garden, sets a guard with a flaming sword so A&E couldn't live forever by eating from the tree of life. (Gen 3). Sounds like it was threatened there, too. YMMV

Yeah, but compare that to the tone of god in job. Totally different.

 

[Lost4words]

Obviously a year is exaggerated some what!

 

[Tanj]

Obviously a year is exaggerated some what!

Indeed. They actually meant a few hours with some mandatory rest breaks included.