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Babel and Babylon Refer to the Same Place
By Bible Researcher Eli Kittim 🔎
Definition & Location
Babel is a transliteration of the Hebrew word בָּבֶל (Ba-bel), while Babylon is derived from the Greek Βαβυλῶνος (Babylonos). In the Old Testament, the word “Babel” is most often translated as “Babylon” in Greek! But besides the linguistic connection, there’s further evidence that both Babel & Babylon are located in the exact same place. For example, Genesis 10.10 & 11.2 locate Babel in the land of Shinar (שִׁנְעָֽר׃). Astoundingly, Daniel 1.2 tells us that Babylon is also located in the land of Shinar (שִׁנְעָ֖ר)! This means that Babel and Babylon are synonymous or interchangeable terms!
The Septuagint & Most English Bibles Translate Babel As Babylon
The Hebrew term “Babel” is most often translated as “Babylon” (Βαβυλὼν) in the Septuagint (aka LXX; L.C.L. Brenton translation), an early Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. Below are the English Bible versions that *also* translate Babel as Babylon:
Gen. 10.10 (LXX, NIV); Gen. 11.9 (CSB,
HCSB, ISV); Ps. 87.4 (LXX & Most Versions);
Ps. 137.1 (LXX & Most Versions); Ps. 137.8
(LXX & Most Versions); Ezek. 12.13 (LXX &
Most Versions); Ezek. 19.9 (LXX & Most
Versions).
Even the JPS Tanakh 1917—-the Jewish Publication Society of America——often translates Babel as Babylon!
In the Greek, Babel is called Βαβυλῶνος, a term that is derived from the word Βαβυλών (Babylon). The Greek New Testament follows the Septuagint translation of rendering Babel as Babylon (see e.g. Mt 1.11-12, 17; cf. 2 Kings 24.8-10 LXX)!
Conclusion
So, if Babel & Babylon are one and the same, and if Babylon the Great——with its high towers & powerful economy——is said to be destroyed in the end-times (Rev. 18), then Babel’s apparent destruction (in Genesis 11) must also be prophetic rather than historical!
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