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Nimod, the great grandson of Noah, wanted to build a tower to reach the heavens. The people of Shimrad helped him accomplish this.

Although not mentioned in the Bible, Nebuchadnezzar was also involved in the building of the tower later. He actually ordered that it be finished building, according to archeological evidence.

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Nebuchadnezzar ii is one of the most infamous kings of the Bible. He is particularly known for the destruction of Jerusalem in the sixth century , and for his relationship with the Prophet Daniel. Proof of his exploits, as described in the Bible, has been evidenced heavily in archaeology: his role as king of Babylon, his defeat of the Egyptian army, his repeat sieges of Jerusalem, his installation of a puppet king (Zedekiah), and his final destruction of Jerusalem c. 586 b.c.e. There is even a possible reference to the Prophet Daniel's three friends on one of Nebuchadnezzar's clay tablets (see here for more information).

One thing Nebuchadnezzar isn't generally known for, though, is a link with the tower of Babel- the attempt by Nimrod to build a tower up to heaven, dashed by God's confounding of the languages (Genesis 11). A small handful of artifacts, however, help show an interesting link between Nebuchadnezzar and the biblical colossus.

Birs Cylinders

The Birs Cylinders are a series of clay cylinders dating to c. 600 b.c.e., discovered by Sir Henry Rawlinson during the mid-19th century at the Babylonian site of Borsippa. The cylinders, bearing parallel inscriptions, were found inserted into the walls of a massive, heavily damaged tower at the site. This tower-a type of the famous Mesopotamian religious ziggurats -had been heavily repaired during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar. Bricks were found around the site, having been stamped with the name of the king. And the wall cylinders had an interesting story to tell. Rawlinson (known as the father of Assyriology) translated the inscriptions as follows:

I am Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon ... my great lord has established me in strength, and has urged me to repair his buildings ... the Tower of Babylon, I have made and finished ... the Tower of Borsippa had been built by a former king. He had completed 42 [cubits?], but he did not finish its head; from the lapse of time it had become ruined ... the rain and wet had penetrated into the brickwork; the casing of burnt brick had bulged out ... Merodach, my great lord, inclined my heart to repair the building. I did not change its site, nor did I destroy its foundation platform; but, in a fortunate month, and upon an auspicious day, I undertook the rebuilding ... I set my hand to build it up, and to finish its summit. As it had been in ancient times, so I built up its structure ....

As translated above, Nebuchadnezzar literally calls this monument the Tower of Babylon. ("Babylon" is interchangeable with Babel.) He describes this tower as an important ancient Babylonian edifice built by a "former king" that, for some reason or other, the workers stopped short in finishing-they "did not finish its head." Why not? Some clue could be taken from the second name Nebuchadnezzar gives for this tower: the Tower of Borsippa. Borsippa literally means tongue tower, thus providing a link to language. Surely a significant linguistic event must have happened in order for Borsippa to receive its unique name? The Bible-as well as early secular histories-provide the explanation.

There is another translation of this text that is even more direct in language. This one comes from Rawlinson's contemporary Assyriologist, Julius Oppert. He translates a couple of lines slightly differently:

... the most ancient monument of Babylon; I built and finished it ... A former king built it-they reckon 42 ages [ago]-but he did not complete its head. Since a remote time, people had abandoned it without order expressing their words ....

This translation calls this massive, unfinished tower the most ancient monument of Babylon. This fits squarely with the tower of Babel (Genesis 10:10; 11:4). And, if indeed more accurate, it provides an even stronger link to the language "phenomenon" at the tower of Babel, stating that sometime during this original building project the people had "abandoned it without order expressing their words." Was this, then, the reason that the tower was named Borsippa-because a great "Babel" of "unordered words" led to the abandonment of the project? And what caused such a linguistic phenomenon, that such a rich and luxurious tower would be built and then abandoned, with only its upper "head" left to finish?

The fascinating account on the cylinders-either translation-matches beautifully with the biblical record, found in Genesis 11:4, 6-9 (King James Version):

And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven .... And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language .... Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth ....

Borsippa today lies in ruins; however, the imposing remains of the ziggurat still tower to a height of 52 meters above the plain. Borsippa is also commonly known as Birs Nimrud, due to the strong traditional connection with Nimrod.

Not only does Nebuchadnezzar describe, on these cylinders, a rebuilding of this tower, another of his inscriptions depicts what it may have looked like.

Tower of Babel Stele

The Tower of Babel Stele is a black ceremonial stone, about 50 centimeters (20 inches) tall, discovered just over a century ago among the ruins of the city of Babylon. Since then, it has been kept as part of the private Norwegian Schøyen Collection. It has only recently been restudied, and the conclusions have led to great excitement in the scientific community, along with a corresponding video production by the Smithsonian Channel reexamining the authenticity of the Tower of Babel story.

The tablet, belonging to King Nebuchadnezzar, dates to around 600 b.c.e., and includes a depiction of the king in the upper right-hand corner. In the left-hand corner of the tablet there is a diagram of a large, seven-storied tower; above it, a separate floor plan of the massive edifice. The lower part of the tablet contains an inscription, describing Nebuchadnezzar's tower-building programs. The partial translation follows:

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon am I: In order to complete [the towers] Etemenanki and Eurmeiminanki, I mobilized all countries everywhere ... the base I filled in to make a high terrace. I built their structures with bitumen and baked brick throughout. I completed it raising its top to the heaven ....

This tablet describes two different religious towers, known as ziggurats: Etemenanki and Eurmeiminanki. Etemenanki was the central tower in later Babylon, and Eurmeiminanki was the Borsippa tower described earlier, located about 11 miles away. This stele is primarily dedicated to the tower at Etemenanki; however, the diagram and floor plan depicted on the stele may apply to both structures, given the textual description of both. On this stele, we may have a glimpse into what the tower of Babel looked like-or, at least, what Nebuchadnezzar's reconstruction of it looked like. This was an imposing tower: Archaeological excavations, as well as a third century b.c.e. Greek document, show that it was nearly 100 meters wide and probably the same height (in comparison, the Great Pyramid of Giza is about 140 meters tall). The stele's statement of raising the tower's top to the heaven is interesting-it parallels the intent in building the tower of Babel, "whose top is in the heavens" (Genesis 11:4).

The Etemenanki ziggurat (again, a likely parallel to the Borsippa tower) is also described by fifth-century b.c.e. historian Herodotus:

In the middle of [Babylon's] precinct there was a tower of solid masonry ... upon which was raised a second tower, and on that a third, and so on up to eight. The ascent to the top is on the outside, by a path which winds round all the towers. ... On the topmost tower there is a spacious temple ... There is no statue of any kind set up in the place, nor is the chamber occupied of nights by any one but a single native woman, who, as the Chaldeans, the priests of this god, affirm, is chosen for himself by the deity out of all the women of the land.

This woman appears to have been a representation of the ancient deified Inanna/Ishtar, herself associated in later traditions as the mother-wife of Nimrod.

And as an aside, Herodotus's description of a winding ascent-together with the stele's representation of the tower-show that some of the famous Renaissance paintings of a "stepped" tower of Babel are not too far off the mark.

Clearly, we cannot know from these discoveries precisely what the original tower of Babel looked like, or even if Nebuchadnezzar really did rebuild his tower over the "right spot"-there is still much debate as to the location of the tower of Babel's ruins. Putting aside the diagrams, location debates and Nebuchadnezzar's handsome portrait, the most significant part of Nebuchadnezzar's rediscovered memorials is the rich textual history, which does indeed closely parallel the biblical account of the earliest Babylonian memories at an original tower of Babel.

Unfortunately, certain scholars have used Nebuchadnezzar's Tower of Babel Stele to say that the tower Nebuchadnezzar built became the inspiration for the Israelite's tower of Babel story-that it was from this late, c. 600 b.c.e. tower that the legendary epic (dated to about 2300 b.c.e., according to biblical chronology) derived. But Nebuchadnezzar's own cylinder inscriptions affirm that his tower was built as an attempt to complete the most ancient [and unfinished] monument in Babylon. Archaeology has shown that Babylon's history goes back-surprise, surprise-to c. 2300 b.c.e.

But these 600 b.c.e. inscriptions are not even the earliest archaeological record we have of a tower of Babel-confusion of languages story. An Assyrian inscription, written up to 200 years earlier (eighth century b.c.e.), describes a tower built in Babylon and a deity who set out "to confound their speeches." Another text, dating approximately 1,400 years earlier (c. 2100 b.c.e.), describes the building of a tower, a deity confounding languages, and a prescribed incantation to cause the language of the people to become as one! More on those discoveries can be read here.

Despite the claims of critics (particularly those who try to pass off the Bible as a late forgery of overly imaginative writers), archaeological finds such as Nebuchadnezzar's cylinders and Tower of Babel Stele continue to provide sound evidence that backs up the biblical account. Nothing has been disproved-only the numerous theories of the critics. It is the critics who are almost monthly forced to "move their goalposts"- not the Hebrew Bible, which has remained unchanged for well over 2,000 years.

For more information on what archaeology says about Nimrod, the original builder of the tower of Babel, read our article " NIMROD: Found? "

And if the Bible is accurate about the tower of Babel, then could it also be accurate about what followed-the forced spread of humanity around the world, according to languages, from this single post-Flood group? Such an event would result in some form of a tower of Babel-confusion of languages story being carried by separate cultures all over the world. And that we do find! These stories are found among the world's most far-reaching, diverse cultures. You can read about them in our article " The Tower of Babel: Just a Bible Story? "

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The Babylonian king's account of the biblical colossus

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Nimod wanted to build a tower to reach the heavens and the people of Shimrad helped him. They began to build the tower. Then God saw this and created many languages so that they could not communicate with one another. The people then disbursed.

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The Tower of Babel is a biblical story found in the Book of Genesis, specifically in Genesis 11. According to the biblical narrative, after the Great Flood, people spoke a single language and migrated to the land of Shinar (Babylonia). There, they decided to build a tower that would reach the heavens, intending to make a name for themselves and prevent being scattered across the earth.

God, displeased with their pride and ambition, decided to confuse their language so that they could no longer understand each other. This linguistic confusion led to the scattering of the people across the earth, and the tower construction was halted. As a result, the place was called Babel, which means "confusion."

The story is often interpreted as a cautionary tale about the consequences of human pride and disobedience, as well as a theological explanation for the diversity of languages among humanity.

In this article, we'll endeavor to discuss what was the Tower of Babel physically and spiritually, and why it matters to us today.

What Did the Tower of Babel Look Like?

Most likely, the Tower of Babel was something known as a ziggurat structure built by the people of Shinar (historians have not come to a conclusion as to the exact location of Shinar).

A ziggurat, a pyramid-like structure made of mudbrick ( Genesis 11:3), often had ties with pagan religions such as those of the Babylonians and Marduk. Although Marduk didn't really get his claim to fame until the 1800s BC (and Answers In Genesis places the construction of the Tower of Babel in 2200s BC), ziggurat structures started around 3,000 BC, well before the Tower of Babel construction.

Ziggurat structures undoubtedly had pagan roots, as they were built for the patron deity of that land. Nimrod ( Genesis 10:8), Noah 's great-grandson and a mighty man or giant, who ordered the construction of the tower, likely didn't have the best of intentions.

Because the people of Shinar wanted to reach the heavens, we can imagine this was a very tall ziggurat structure. Scripture doesn't tell us how far along God let them build the tower before he disrupted their progress.

The Tower of Babel by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1563) Tower of Babel, by Lucas van Valckenborch, 1594
Where Was the Tower of Babel Located?

Although we likely don't have the exact coordinates, we can hazard a guess that the Tower of Babel was located in what would later be the Babylon we come to know in 586 BC. Most likely, in modern terms, Iraq. This makes sense, given the Ziggurat-shaped building, instead of similar projects being built in that area at the time.

Babylon was slightly different during the time of this construction as opposed to the Babylon we'll get to know centuries later. But even then, it was a city of depravity and ruin. No wonder the Bible talks so badly about Babylon when we get to Revelation.

Babylon consistently appears in the Bible narrative. First, when mankind rebels against God right after the Flood. God told humanity to spread throughout the earth, but they stayed put and, in defiance, built a tower to reach the heavens (more on this in a moment). Furthermore, Babylon later sacks Jerusalem in the 6th century BC and makes an appearance in Revelation as the whore of Babylon.

Map of Babylon Empire, Source: Flickr/Paolo Porsia
What Does the Bible Say about the Tower of Babel?

Let's take a look at the verses found in Genesis 11:1-9, and we'll discuss:

"Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth."

But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. The Lord said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other." So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel-because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth."

Notice how they acknowledge that God told them to scatter throughout the earth. He didn't want them to stay in one spot. Nevertheless, they defied him. They built this tower to shake a fist at the sky. In doing so, they wrote the demise of one language. Hence, the reasons why we have so many languages today. It all started with the Tower of Babel. Even when they attempted to defy God, they didn't stand a chance to go against his will.

Spiritual Meaning of the Tower of Babel

The Tower of Babel, plain and simple, was an act of rebellion against God.

Josephus, a historian, points to one of the main reasons that Nimrod ordered the construction of the Tower of Babel was to create a structure tall enough to withstand another worldwide flood like the one seen in Genesis 6 and the story of Noah's Ark. Nimrod appeared to have forgotten the purpose of the flood in the first place. God sent a worldwide flood because of the earth's vast wickedness and depravity.

In a way, Nimrod shakes his fist at God, saying, "I'll create a structure so high that even you can't destroy me." He tries to equate himself with God. Not to mention, the ziggurat structure had deep pagan roots before Nimrod ordered its construction. Therefore, like the people pre-Flood, the people of Shinar engage in the things of this world rather than the things of God.

Furthermore, the people of Babel didn't follow God's command to spread throughout the whole earth. They settled in Shinar in direct disobedience and began to build this structure they hoped would last. As we see in the Bible, it didn't.

Main Themes of the Tower of Babel

The story of the Tower of Babel is rich with symbolic and spiritual meanings that have been interpreted in various ways by different religious traditions and scholars. Here are some common interpretations:

Pride and Arrogance: One of the central themes is the cautionary tale against human pride and arrogance. The people in the story sought to build a tower to make a name for themselves and reach the heavens, displaying a desire for self-exaltation. The consequence of their pride was the confusion of language and the scattering of the people.

Disobedience: The story can be seen as a narrative about disobedience to God's will. The people did not follow God's command to "be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth" ( Genesis 9:1), but instead, they gathered in one place to build a tower to reach the heavens.

Unity and Diversity: The linguistic confusion resulting in the scattering of people is often interpreted as a way to promote diversity among humanity. While the people initially sought unity through the tower, God's intervention introduced linguistic diversity, emphasizing the importance of embracing differences.

God's Sovereignty: The story underscores God's sovereignty and control over human affairs. God, as the Creator, can intervene in human activities and disrupt plans that go against His divine purposes.

The symbolism of the Tower: The tower itself can symbolize human attempts to reach God through human efforts, as opposed to relying on divine guidance and humility. It serves as a reminder that true spiritual elevation comes from a humble and obedient relationship with God.

Lessons in Humility: The Tower of Babel story teaches humility and the acknowledgment of God's authority. It suggests that human accomplishments should be aligned with God's will and not driven by a desire for self-glorification.

Significance of the Tower of Babel

This story matters because we see what happens when mankind tries to prevent the acts of God. They tried, by their own hands, to create their own ark of salvation, their own fortress.

But salvation only comes through God. We can't continue to live in sin and create a "Tower of Babel" for ourselves, hoping we'll craft a structure high enough to avoid the wrath of God.

Maybe we don't build physical mud-brick ziggurat structures today, but we do often try to create our own versions of the Tower of Babel. We think, maybe through our good works, maybe through our attending church weekly, maybe through our community services can we build a structure high enough to avoid God's judgment.

Yet we learn that God doesn't work that way. A tower can't save us. We need to find salvation through him.

We also learn that if we try to directly disobey a command from God, that he will intervene. Just like Jonah tried to sail the opposite way from where God called him, God sent a huge fish to swallow him and transport him back to Nineveh ( Jonah 1:17).

And just like the people of Shinar refused to populate the whole earth and settle, God confused their languages, forcing them to move and fill the earth.

©iStock/Getty Images Plus/JerryGrugin

Hope Bolinger is an acquisitions editor at End Game Press, book editor for hire, and the author of almost 30 books. More than 1500 of her works have been featured in various publications. Check out her books at hopebolinger.com for clean books in most genres, great for adults and kids. Check out her editing profile at Reedsy.com to find out about hiring her for your next book project.
This article is part of our Christian Terms catalog, exploring words and phrases of Christian theology and history. Here are some of our most popular articles covering Christian terms to help your journey of knowledge and faith: The Full Armor of God
The Meaning of "Selah"
What Is Grace? Bible Definition and Christian Quotes
What is Discernment? Bible Meaning and Importance
What Is Prophecy? Bible Meaning and Examples

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What Was the Tower of Babel? Bible Story and Meaning

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The Tower of Babel, plain and simple, was an act of rebellion against God. This story matters because we see what happens when mankind tries to prevent the acts of God. They tried, by their own hands, to create their own ark of salvation, their own fortress.

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There is not an exact date for when the Tower of Babel was created, but it was likely created around 2233 BC.

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The Babylonian king's account of the biblical colossus

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In the Bible it happened in the land of Shirad. Later it was known as Babylon. Now it is in present day Iraq.

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Fig. 1. Aerial view of one of Nebuchadnezzar II's palaces in ancient Babylon. (Source: Jukka Palm/Shutterstock)

Fig. 2. A mural of Saddam Hussein, opposite Nebuchadnezzar, overlooking Babylon as it appeared in ancient times. (Source: Tom Stoddart/Getty Images)

Fig. 3. Saddam Hussein's initials inscriped in a traditional Arabic style at his palace. (Source: Pesha Magid/Atlas Obscura)

"In the reign of the victorious Saddam Hussein, the president of the Republic, may God keep him the guardian of the great Iraq and the renovator of its renaissance and the builder of its great civilization, the rebuilding of the great city of Babylon was done in 1987."

Fig. 4. One of many stamped bricks at Babylon describing Saddam Hussein's power and rule. (Source: Dr. Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin)

Fig. 5. A relief of Saddam Hussein's profile alongside traditional king imagery, all in imitation of ancient carving styles. (Source: Ali Al-Saadi/Getty Images)

Additionally, the physical space itself and its historical integrity is harmed in this process. Since Saddam's fall from power in 2003, the entire site has been abandoned and uncared for. The Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Antiquities has enacted an Iraqi Antiquities and Heritage Law that seeks to protect, conserve, and manage archaeological sites within Iraq. Part of this law includes the documentation of these sites, as well as their presentation to the public, and Babylon falls under its jurisdiction. Babylon's careful conservation is critical and urgent, and a comprehensive plan was developed in 2011 and officially adopted by 2018. Both the federal and provincial governments have pledged their funding for the conservation project.

Fig. 6. An interior hall at Saddam Hussein's palace that has since been vandalized since its abandonment. (Source: Ameer Al Mohammedaw/Getty Images)

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Fig. 1. Aerial view of one of Nebuchadnezzar II's palaces in ancient Babylon. (Source: Jukka Palm/Shutterstock)

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Genesis 11: 1-9
¹ Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. ² As people moved eastward,[1] they found a plain in Shinar[2] and settled there. ³ They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. ⁴ Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth."

⁵ But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. ⁶ The Lord said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. ⁷ Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other." ⁸ So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. ⁹ That is why it was called Babel[3] -because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

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Is there archaeological evidence of this?

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Is there archaeological evidence of this?

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Yes, there is some evidence suggesting that the Tower of Babel existed. Birs Cylinders, a collection of cylinders with ancient writIng on them, mention The Tower of Babylon, also known as Babel. King Nebuchadnezzar orders for them to be finished, because the top of the Tower was unfinished. He also mentions that it is the most ancient building, and that it was great in height. He says it has become ruined over the course of time, and he wants to repair it. It all makes sense and goes along with what is told in the BIble. The height of the tower, the fact that it's ancient, because it was the first time the Bible mentions a building of such great height and importance. In the cylinder it's also called the tower, The Tower of Borsippa. Borsippa meaning tower of language. This ties the mention of language in the bible to it.

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Nebuchadnezzar ii is one of the most infamous kings of the Bible. He is particularly known for the destruction of Jerusalem in the sixth century , and for his relationship with the Prophet Daniel. Proof of his exploits, as described in the Bible, has been evidenced heavily in archaeology: his role as king of Babylon, his defeat of the Egyptian army, his repeat sieges of Jerusalem, his installation of a puppet king (Zedekiah), and his final destruction of Jerusalem c. 586 b.c.e. There is even a possible reference to the Prophet Daniel's three friends on one of Nebuchadnezzar's clay tablets (see here for more information).

One thing Nebuchadnezzar isn't generally known for, though, is a link with the tower of Babel- the attempt by Nimrod to build a tower up to heaven, dashed by God's confounding of the languages (Genesis 11). A small handful of artifacts, however, help show an interesting link between Nebuchadnezzar and the biblical colossus.

Birs Cylinders

The Birs Cylinders are a series of clay cylinders dating to c. 600 b.c.e., discovered by Sir Henry Rawlinson during the mid-19th century at the Babylonian site of Borsippa. The cylinders, bearing parallel inscriptions, were found inserted into the walls of a massive, heavily damaged tower at the site. This tower-a type of the famous Mesopotamian religious ziggurats -had been heavily repaired during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar. Bricks were found around the site, having been stamped with the name of the king. And the wall cylinders had an interesting story to tell. Rawlinson (known as the father of Assyriology) translated the inscriptions as follows:

I am Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon ... my great lord has established me in strength, and has urged me to repair his buildings ... the Tower of Babylon, I have made and finished ... the Tower of Borsippa had been built by a former king. He had completed 42 [cubits?], but he did not finish its head; from the lapse of time it had become ruined ... the rain and wet had penetrated into the brickwork; the casing of burnt brick had bulged out ... Merodach, my great lord, inclined my heart to repair the building. I did not change its site, nor did I destroy its foundation platform; but, in a fortunate month, and upon an auspicious day, I undertook the rebuilding ... I set my hand to build it up, and to finish its summit. As it had been in ancient times, so I built up its structure ....

As translated above, Nebuchadnezzar literally calls this monument the Tower of Babylon. ("Babylon" is interchangeable with Babel.) He describes this tower as an important ancient Babylonian edifice built by a "former king" that, for some reason or other, the workers stopped short in finishing-they "did not finish its head." Why not? Some clue could be taken from the second name Nebuchadnezzar gives for this tower: the Tower of Borsippa. Borsippa literally means tongue tower, thus providing a link to language. Surely a significant linguistic event must have happened in order for Borsippa to receive its unique name? The Bible-as well as early secular histories-provide the explanation.

There is another translation of this text that is even more direct in language. This one comes from Rawlinson's contemporary Assyriologist, Julius Oppert. He translates a couple of lines slightly differently:

... the most ancient monument of Babylon; I built and finished it ... A former king built it-they reckon 42 ages [ago]-but he did not complete its head. Since a remote time, people had abandoned it without order expressing their words ....

This translation calls this massive, unfinished tower the most ancient monument of Babylon. This fits squarely with the tower of Babel (Genesis 10:10; 11:4). And, if indeed more accurate, it provides an even stronger link to the language "phenomenon" at the tower of Babel, stating that sometime during this original building project the people had "abandoned it without order expressing their words." Was this, then, the reason that the tower was named Borsippa-because a great "Babel" of "unordered words" led to the abandonment of the project? And what caused such a linguistic phenomenon, that such a rich and luxurious tower would be built and then abandoned, with only its upper "head" left to finish?

The fascinating account on the cylinders-either translation-matches beautifully with the biblical record, found in Genesis 11:4, 6-9 (King James Version):

And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven .... And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language .... Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth ....

Borsippa today lies in ruins; however, the imposing remains of the ziggurat still tower to a height of 52 meters above the plain. Borsippa is also commonly known as Birs Nimrud, due to the strong traditional connection with Nimrod.

Not only does Nebuchadnezzar describe, on these cylinders, a rebuilding of this tower, another of his inscriptions depicts what it may have looked like.

Tower of Babel Stele

The Tower of Babel Stele is a black ceremonial stone, about 50 centimeters (20 inches) tall, discovered just over a century ago among the ruins of the city of Babylon. Since then, it has been kept as part of the private Norwegian Schøyen Collection. It has only recently been restudied, and the conclusions have led to great excitement in the scientific community, along with a corresponding video production by the Smithsonian Channel reexamining the authenticity of the Tower of Babel story.

The tablet, belonging to King Nebuchadnezzar, dates to around 600 b.c.e., and includes a depiction of the king in the upper right-hand corner. In the left-hand corner of the tablet there is a diagram of a large, seven-storied tower; above it, a separate floor plan of the massive edifice. The lower part of the tablet contains an inscription, describing Nebuchadnezzar's tower-building programs. The partial translation follows:

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon am I: In order to complete [the towers] Etemenanki and Eurmeiminanki, I mobilized all countries everywhere ... the base I filled in to make a high terrace. I built their structures with bitumen and baked brick throughout. I completed it raising its top to the heaven ....

This tablet describes two different religious towers, known as ziggurats: Etemenanki and Eurmeiminanki. Etemenanki was the central tower in later Babylon, and Eurmeiminanki was the Borsippa tower described earlier, located about 11 miles away. This stele is primarily dedicated to the tower at Etemenanki; however, the diagram and floor plan depicted on the stele may apply to both structures, given the textual description of both. On this stele, we may have a glimpse into what the tower of Babel looked like-or, at least, what Nebuchadnezzar's reconstruction of it looked like. This was an imposing tower: Archaeological excavations, as well as a third century b.c.e. Greek document, show that it was nearly 100 meters wide and probably the same height (in comparison, the Great Pyramid of Giza is about 140 meters tall). The stele's statement of raising the tower's top to the heaven is interesting-it parallels the intent in building the tower of Babel, "whose top is in the heavens" (Genesis 11:4).

The Etemenanki ziggurat (again, a likely parallel to the Borsippa tower) is also described by fifth-century b.c.e. historian Herodotus:

In the middle of [Babylon's] precinct there was a tower of solid masonry ... upon which was raised a second tower, and on that a third, and so on up to eight. The ascent to the top is on the outside, by a path which winds round all the towers. ... On the topmost tower there is a spacious temple ... There is no statue of any kind set up in the place, nor is the chamber occupied of nights by any one but a single native woman, who, as the Chaldeans, the priests of this god, affirm, is chosen for himself by the deity out of all the women of the land.

This woman appears to have been a representation of the ancient deified Inanna/Ishtar, herself associated in later traditions as the mother-wife of Nimrod.

And as an aside, Herodotus's description of a winding ascent-together with the stele's representation of the tower-show that some of the famous Renaissance paintings of a "stepped" tower of Babel are not too far off the mark.

Clearly, we cannot know from these discoveries precisely what the original tower of Babel looked like, or even if Nebuchadnezzar really did rebuild his tower over the "right spot"-there is still much debate as to the location of the tower of Babel's ruins. Putting aside the diagrams, location debates and Nebuchadnezzar's handsome portrait, the most significant part of Nebuchadnezzar's rediscovered memorials is the rich textual history, which does indeed closely parallel the biblical account of the earliest Babylonian memories at an original tower of Babel.

Unfortunately, certain scholars have used Nebuchadnezzar's Tower of Babel Stele to say that the tower Nebuchadnezzar built became the inspiration for the Israelite's tower of Babel story-that it was from this late, c. 600 b.c.e. tower that the legendary epic (dated to about 2300 b.c.e., according to biblical chronology) derived. But Nebuchadnezzar's own cylinder inscriptions affirm that his tower was built as an attempt to complete the most ancient [and unfinished] monument in Babylon. Archaeology has shown that Babylon's history goes back-surprise, surprise-to c. 2300 b.c.e.

But these 600 b.c.e. inscriptions are not even the earliest archaeological record we have of a tower of Babel-confusion of languages story. An Assyrian inscription, written up to 200 years earlier (eighth century b.c.e.), describes a tower built in Babylon and a deity who set out "to confound their speeches." Another text, dating approximately 1,400 years earlier (c. 2100 b.c.e.), describes the building of a tower, a deity confounding languages, and a prescribed incantation to cause the language of the people to become as one! More on those discoveries can be read here.

Despite the claims of critics (particularly those who try to pass off the Bible as a late forgery of overly imaginative writers), archaeological finds such as Nebuchadnezzar's cylinders and Tower of Babel Stele continue to provide sound evidence that backs up the biblical account. Nothing has been disproved-only the numerous theories of the critics. It is the critics who are almost monthly forced to "move their goalposts"- not the Hebrew Bible, which has remained unchanged for well over 2,000 years.

For more information on what archaeology says about Nimrod, the original builder of the tower of Babel, read our article " NIMROD: Found? "

And if the Bible is accurate about the tower of Babel, then could it also be accurate about what followed-the forced spread of humanity around the world, according to languages, from this single post-Flood group? Such an event would result in some form of a tower of Babel-confusion of languages story being carried by separate cultures all over the world. And that we do find! These stories are found among the world's most far-reaching, diverse cultures. You can read about them in our article " The Tower of Babel: Just a Bible Story? "

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The Babylonian king's account of the biblical colossus

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What was happening in the world outside of Israel during the time of your event?

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What was happening in the world outside of Israel during the time of your event?

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Some of the first ziggurats were being built and the earliest forms of writing began , cuneiform.