What does tower of babel mean?
Definitions for tower of babel
ˈtaʊ ərtow·er of ba·bel
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word tower of babel.
Princeton's WordNet
Tower of Babel, Babelnoun
(Genesis 11:1-11) a tower built by Noah's descendants (probably in Babylon) who intended it to reach up to heaven; God foiled them by confusing their language so they could no longer understand one another
Wiktionary
Tower of Babelnoun
A visionary and impractical plan.
Tower of Babelnoun
A tower erected at Babel by the descendants of Noah's son Ham to reach the sky, and whose completion God thwarted by making the workers speak different languages so that they were unable to understand one another.
tower of Babelnoun
A situation where the use of many different languages is a source of confusion.
Etymology: From the Biblical story of the Tower of Babel
Wikipedia
Tower of Babel
The Tower of Babel (Hebrew: מִגְדַּל בָּבֶל, Mīgdal Bāḇel) narrative in Genesis 11:1–9 is an origin myth meant to explain why the world's peoples speak different languages.According to the story, a united human race speaking a single language and migrating eastward, comes to the land of Shinar (שִׁנְעָר). There they agree to build a city and a tower with its top in the sky. Yahweh, observing their city and tower, confounds their speech so that they can no longer understand each other, and scatters them around the world. Some modern scholars have associated the Tower of Babel with known structures, notably the Etemenanki, a ziggurat dedicated to the Mesopotamian god Marduk in Babylon. A Sumerian story with some similar elements is told in Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta.
ChatGPT
tower of babel
The Tower of Babel is a narrative found in Genesis 11:1–9 of the Bible. It is the story of people who, after the Great Flood, migrated to the land of Shinar (present-day Iraq). There they decide to build a city with a tower tall enough to reach heaven. As a punishment for their pride and ambition, God confused the builders' languages, causing them to speak different tongues and no longer understand each other, eventually dispersing them across the Earth. This story attempts to explain the origin of different languages and diverse cultures. In a broader context, the "Tower of Babel" could refer to any large-scale project that ends in failure due to confusion or miscommunication.
Wikidata
Tower of Babel
The Tower of Babel forms the focus of a story told in the Book of Genesis of the Bible. According to the story, a united humanity of the generations following the Great Flood, speaking a single language and migrating from the east, came to the land of Shinar, where they resolved to build a city with 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." God came down to see what they did and said: "They are one people and have one language, and nothing will be withheld from them which they purpose to do." "Come, let us go down and confound their speech." And so God scattered them upon the face of the Earth, and confused their languages, so that they would not be able to return to each other, and they left off building the city, which was called Babel "because God there confounded the language of all the Earth". The Tower of Babel has often been associated with known structures, notably the Etemenanki, a ziggurat dedicated to the Mesopotamian god Marduk by Nabopolassar, king of Babylonia. The Great Ziggurat of Babylon base was square, 91 metres in height, and demolished by Alexander the Great. A Sumerian story with some similar elements is told in Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta.
Suggested Resources
tower of babel
Read the full text of the Tower Of Babel poem by Cicely Fox Smith on the Poetry.com website.
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of tower of babel in Chaldean Numerology is: 7
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of tower of babel in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7
Translation
Find a translation for the tower of babel definition in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Word of the Day
Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?
Citation
Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"tower of babel." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 17 Mar. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/tower+of+babel>.
Discuss these tower of babel definitions with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In