The Dispersion of Humans for Their Building at Babel: The preceding Table of Nations describes the unity among all peoples on earth, while this narrative gives the reason for the diversity, discord, and distrust that exist among the various clans, tribes, and nations. In this narrative the people take counsel and begin to build a tower (vv. 1–4); God in response takes counsel and puts an end to their building (vv. 5–8); and the episode is memorialized by naming that place Babel, that is, Babylon (v. 9). This famous city symbolizes commerce, human achievement, and the pursuit of pleasure. It is also known for its ziggurat, named Etemenanki, a temple with a terraced tower of three to seven successively receding stories. Mesopotamians thought that the earth met heaven at the top of the tower.…