“The Tower of Babel” by Pieter Brueghel
More hijinks by the Hebrew tribal god.
In the Old Testament story that follows, here mankind is, trying to improve itself, blessed with eternal peace and understanding, building a unified world, and here comes You-Know-Who to mess up the whole thing and guarantee endless wars. After I saw George Burns play the part of Jehovah in the movie “Oh , God!” I thought, “It’s true, Jehovah IS a Jewish comedian.”
(Genesis 11, King James version)
1. And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
2. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
3. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
4. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
5. And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
6. And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
7. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
8. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
9. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
typical divide and conquer rhetoric.
ReplyDeletethe jesus i grew up identifying with in the anglican church was one of love.
he got tacked to a tree for his trouble by um, jews and romans.......
bureaucrats.
Yes, Alistair. Isn't it ridiculous that the New Testament clearly says who wanted Jesus dead, and yet we're supposed to switch the story around now and believe it was the Roman colonial administration?
ReplyDeleteNow I understand. Enlightenment has come upon me. More proof positive that the big guy is just enjoying playing with his gameboard, watching all us little gamepieces moving madly about and completely unable (and unwilling) to talk with one another. No one will ever win the game, but he knew that all along...
ReplyDeleteOnce we understood that the world was full of different people of different languages and different origins we as a species needed to understand the why of it.
ReplyDeleteThere were other civilizations that beat the Hebrews to that myth - the Sumerians thought of it at least prior to them if not first in general.
There's hardly a story in the Christian Mythology that was not in another culture first, notably Babylonians, Sumerians, or Assyrians. If they were going for the award of "Perjury of the Ages," then they win.
My MInd's Eye, very good! I lke the way you express it.
ReplyDeleteWait till you see my next blasphemy, "Impeachment of Jehovah"! (Of should it be "Yaweh"?)
Shlaaaaaaah, I know who you are! I knew you before them damn terrists blew your name up.
ReplyDeleteI've been doing a lot of reading about the earliest mythologies -- especially Sumerian -- and I did assume that there were Babel myths which preceded the Jewish version, but I thought Jehovah should get credit in my post because, after all, he dictated the Bible and gave himself credit.
I'm very glad you brought up the matter of pre-Old Testament myths. I've also been interested in the number of pre-New Testament cults and myths which show that Jesus was modeled on earlier figures, such as Mithra.