Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.

And they said… “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”

And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built.

And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.”

So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.

— Genesis 11:1-8

A parody of empire

The Tower of Babel story serves as a parody for the rise and fall of the Babylonian empire, which destroyed and carried Judah into exile in 587BC.

United in one common language, the people come together to build the great empire, depicted in this story as a Ziggurat.

The Babylonian Ziggurat was a tall pyramid-like structure, with steps that allowed worshippers to ascend to its apex and offer sacrifices.

A man-made mountain

Think of this structure as a man-made mountain, which provides a stairway from the flat plain of Shinar to the realm of the gods.

In ancient thought, the gods lived in the sky, so mountains were considered closer to the divine realm. For this reason, the Ancients built altars and temples upon mountains, which often acquired sacred status.

The people’s attempts to build their own staircase to the gods in Shinar highlights the profane nature of Babylon.

As much as the empire attempted to justify its deadly violence as holy and divinely sanctioned, the writer ridicules this attempt as ignorant folly.

God confuses their language

God descends from his heavenly lair to confuse their language, the lingua franca of the Babylonian empire, thereby frustrating their building efforts.

The comment “nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible” describes Babylon’s boundless potential for evil and destruction.

United, the Babylonian empire wields murderous violence to conquer and rule over most of the ancient Near East.

But their reign of terror comes to an end when the people are dispersed throughout the land, which signals the end of the Babylonian empire.

Hope for the oppressed

This historical event granted Israel the freedom to return home and rebuild their nation and identity, and offers hope for all who suffer under the yoke of injustice.

Like Babylon, many have claimed divine or even state authority to abuse and hurt their victims.

The Tower of Babel story questions such claims, and offers assurance that God will intervene to provide a way of escape for those who suffer abusive violence.

Ideology and self-deception will not save abusers from divine justice.

• Dr Simon Skidmore is a Brisbane-based biblical scholar and educator. He is the creator of The Mimetic Exegete podcast, which applies mimetic theory to biblical texts, offering unique insights and practical applications. His recent book, Capital Punishment in the Pentateuch, explores ritual killing through René Girard’s mimetic theory.