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Babel
Babel Hebrew for Babylon. According to local tradition the city was founded by the god Marduk; in the OT it is the archetypal place of confused languages (Gen. 11: 1 ff.). Linguistic diversity was imposed by God, according to the aetiological myth, as a punishment for human arrogance in building a lofty tower—possibly a ziggurat, as developed by the Babylonians and the assyrians. Such a building had several platforms at various heights and the whole was crowned by a temple as much as 70 feet (approx. 20 m.) above ground level.
When the crowd on the day of Pentecost understood the apostles because they suddenly began to use a variety of foreign languages (Acts 2: 5–13), the story is probably intended by the author to be the reversal of the chaos at Babel: diversity and confusion are replaced through the Spirit by unity and understanding in a common humanity. ‘In our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power’ (Acts 2: 11). |
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Cite this article
W. R. F. BROWNING. "Babel." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. W. R. F. BROWNING. "Babel." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-Babel.html W. R. F. BROWNING. "Babel." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-Babel.html |
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Babel, Tower of
Babel, Tower of in the Bible, a tower built in an attempt to reach heaven, which God frustrated by confusing the languages of its builders so that they could not understand one another (Genesis 11:1–9). The story was probably inspired by the Babylonian ziggurat, and may be an attempt to explain the existence of different languages.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Babel, Tower of." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Babel, Tower of." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-BabelTowerof.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Babel, Tower of." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-BabelTowerof.html |
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Babel
Babela confused mixture of sounds, voices, or languages; a confused assembly. See also charivari, hubbub, pandemonium. Examples: babel of follies, 1529; of past idle objurgations, 1884; of sectaries, 1731; babel towers of chimney, 1848. |
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"Babel." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Babel." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505300080.html "Babel." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505300080.html |
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babel
ba·bel / ˈbabəl; ˈbā-/ • n. [in sing.] a confused noise, typically that made by a number of voices: the babel of voices on the road. |
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"babel." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "babel." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-babel010.html "babel." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-babel010.html |
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babel
babel XIV (see Gen. 11:9). — Heb. bābhel Babylon.
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T. F. HOAD. "babel." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "babel." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-babel.html T. F. HOAD. "babel." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-babel.html |
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Babel
Babel
•babble, bedabble, dabble, drabble, gabble, grabble, rabble, scrabble
•amble, bramble, Campbell, gamble, gambol, ramble, scramble, shamble
•psychobabble • technobabble
•barbel, garble, marble
•pebble, rebel, treble
•assemble, dissemble, Kemble, resemble, tremble
•Abel, able, Babel, cable, enable, fable, gable, label, Mabel, sable, stable, table
•enfeeble, feeble, Keble
•dibble, dribble, fribble, Gribble, kibble, nibble, quibble, scribble
•Abu Simbel, cymbal, gimbal, nimble, symbol, thimble, timbal
•mandible
•credible, edible
•descendible, extendible, vendible
•audible
•frangible, tangible
•illegible, legible
•eligible, intelligible
•negligible • dirigible • corrigible
•submergible • fallible • indelible
•gullible
•cannibal, Hannibal
•discernible • terrible • horrible
•thurible
•irascible, passible
•expansible • collapsible • impassible
•accessible, compressible, impressible, inexpressible, irrepressible, repressible
•flexible
•apprehensible, comprehensible, defensible, distensible, extensible, ostensible, reprehensible, sensible
•indexible
•admissible, dismissible, immiscible, impermissible, irremissible, miscible, omissible, permissible, remissible, transmissible
•convincible, vincible
•compossible, impossible, possible
•irresponsible, responsible
•forcible
•adducible, crucible, deducible, inducible, irreducible, producible, reducible, seducible
•coercible, irreversible, reversible, submersible
•biocompatible, compatible
•contractible • partible
•indefectible, perfectible
•contemptible
•imperceptible, perceptible, susceptible
•comestible, digestible, suggestible
•irresistible, resistible
•exhaustible
•conductible, deductible, destructible, tax-deductible
•corruptible, interruptible
•combustible
•controvertible, convertible, invertible
•discerptible • persuasible • feasible
•divisible, risible, visible
•implausible, plausible
•fusible
•Bible, intertribal, libel, scribal, tribal
•bobble, Chernobyl, cobble, gobble, hobble, knobble, nobble, squabble, wobble
•ensemble
•bauble, corbel, warble
•coble, ennoble, Froebel, global, Grenoble, ignoble, noble
•foible • rouble • Hasdrubal • chasuble
•soluble, voluble
•bubble, double, Hubble, nubble, rubble, stubble, trouble
•bumble, crumble, fumble, grumble, humble, jumble, mumble, rough-and-tumble, rumble, scumble, stumble, tumble, umbel
•payable, sayable
•seeable, skiable
•amiable
•dyeable, flyable, friable, liable, pliable, triable, viable
•towable
•doable, suable, wooable
•affable • effable • exigible • cascabel
•takable • likable • salable • tenable
•tunable • capable • dupable
•arable, parable
•curable, durable
•taxable
•fixable, mixable
•actable • collectible
•datable, hatable
•eatable
•notable, potable
•mutable • savable • livable • movable
•lovable • equable • sizable • usable
•burble, herbal, verbal
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Cite this article
"Babel." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Babel." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Babel.html "Babel." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Babel.html |
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