Babel] as if from balal, 'to confound.' The true etymology, however, is Bab-ilu, 'gate of God.' See on Genesis 4:1.
10-32. The descendants of Shem to Abraham.
The formal list here is the continuation of that in Genesis 5, and both belong to the Priestly document. The early period of the world's history from the Creation to Abraham is thus represented in the form of a genealogical table. The figures given here cannot be regarded as literally historical. Only 300 years are reckoned to have elapsed between the Flood and the birth of Abraham (say 2200 b.c.), whereas the beginnings of BabyIonian civilisation can be traced back to 5000 b.c. As in Genesis 5, the number of generations is ten, a number which is common in the lists of other ancient nations. It may have been suggested by the ten fingers, as indicating completeness. We may therefore regard the present list as a conventional arrangement for bridging over the interval between the Flood and the beginnings of the Hebrew race, based on ancient tradition. It will be observed that the ages assigned to the Patriarchs enumerated in this chapter are much lower than those in Genesis 5. There is a continuous reduction from the 600 years of Shem to the 138 of Nahor. The names of the generations from Shem to Eber have already been given in Genesis 10:22-25, and the latter's Arabian descendants in the line of Joktan were there traced. Now (Genesis 11:18-26) his successors in another line are followed, until the point of supreme interest is reached in the Birth of Abraham.