Israelite Babel

Between Genesis 10-11 and 2 Kings, “Babel” (or “Babylon”) is never mentioned.  It comes up again in the description of the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 2 Kings 17: The King of Assyria brings men from Babel and sows them into the Northern kingdom.

The word “Babel” appears and immediately there is another scattering, another confusion of tongues.  This one, though, occurs in the land of Israel.  As Deuteronomy 28 and Isaiah threatened, people speaking unknown tongues surround the Israelites.

And this is also what happens in Acts.  The church, the true but inverted “Babel,” gets injected into the heart of Israel.

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