The Puzzling Uniqueness of the Tower of Babel Story

Feb. 24 2016

Several elements of the biblical story of the Tower of Babel—most obviously the name babel, which is simply the Hebrew term for Babylonia—suggest that it either reflects some historical event in ancient Mesopotamia or is based on Mesopotamian legend. According to Christoph Uehlinger, however, there is little concrete reason for believing this:

Since the time of the rabbis in late antiquity, people have searched for the city ruins and the tower of Babel. . . . The view that the mythical tower of Babel was a memory of this historical building has become so compelling that modern scholars hardly question it. However, . . . the equation is far from obvious. . . .

[Although] there are indeed close parallels elsewhere to the narratives [in the opening chapters of Genesis] about the creation of the world and of humanity, early cultural heroes, and the flood, no parallel earlier than the Hellenistic period is known for the Babel story. . . .

Because of the conspicuously sociopolitical message of this very short story, which expresses a fear of losing social cohesion, some scholars [more convincingly] understand [it] as a critique of empire-building and metropolitanism, which was purposefully inscribed into the earliest history of postdiluvian humanity.

Read more at Bible Odyssey

More about: Genesis, Hebrew Bible, Mesopotamia, Religion & Holidays, Tower of Babel

 

Expand Gaza into Sinai

Feb. 11 2025

Calling the proposal to depopulate Gaza completely (if temporarily) “unworkable,” Peter Berkowitz makes the case for a similar, but more feasible, plan:

The United States along with Saudi Arabia and the UAE should persuade Egypt by means of generous financial inducements to open the sparsely populated ten-to-fifteen miles of Sinai adjacent to Gaza to Palestinians seeking a fresh start and better life. Egypt would not absorb Gazans and make them citizens but rather move Gaza’s border . . . westward into Sinai. Fences would be erected along the new border. The Israel Defense Force would maintain border security on the Gaza-extension side, Egyptian forces on the other. Egypt might lease the land to the Palestinians for 75 years.

The Sinai option does not involve forced transfer of civilian populations, which the international laws of war bar. As the United States, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and other partners build temporary dwellings and then apartment buildings and towns, they would provide bus service to the Gaza-extension. Palestinian families that choose to make the short trip would receive a key to a new residence and, say, $10,000.

The Sinai option is flawed. . . . Then again, all conventional options for rehabilitating and governing Gaza are terrible.

Read more at RealClear Politics

More about: Donald Trump, Egypt, Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula