CHAPTER XXIV NIMROD AND THE TOWER OF BABEL [28B. i.] Noah brought his sons and his grandsons, and he blessed them with their (several) settlements, [ The first editions read: “gifts.”] and he gave them as an inheritance all the earth. [ The division of the earth among the sons of Noah is also mentioned by Jubilees viii. 10, and was known to the Church Father, Epiphanius (G.T. pp. 217 ff.).] He especially blessed [ The verb is repeated.] Shem and his sons, (making them) dark but comely, [ Cf. Cant. 1:5; but they were not “black”; the Oxford MS. (O.A. 167) reads: “white and comely.”] and he gave them the habitable earth. [ Not the sea which was the lot of the sons of Ham, nor the deserts which fell to the sons of Japheth. Shem has his tents and fixed abode in the habitable lands of the earth.] He blessed Ham and his sons, (making them) dark || like the raven, [ Luria reads, as an emendation, “black and uncomely”; cf. Gen. Rab. 36:7. If our MS. text be accepted, a parallel may be found in Cant. 5:11.] and he gave them as an inheritance the coast of the sea. [ e.g. the Egyptians on the seacoast, or the Sidonians on the Phoenician coast; cf. Jer. 47:7.] He blessed Japheth and his sons, (making) them entirely white, [ The first editions add: “and beautiful.” Japheth as a word signifies “beauty.” The sons of Japheth were the migratory tribes from the north, e.g. the Goths who settled in Europe. See Eth. Enoch lxxxviii. 9.] and he gave them for an inheritance the desert and its fields; [ The first editions read: “desert and fields.”] these (are the inheritances with) which he endowed them. [ i.e. the children of Noah. The words in brackets occur in the first editions. See Introduction, pp. xxiv. f., and li.]
RABBI ELIEZER [ The first editions read “Ilai.”] said: They begat their sons and increased and multiplied like a great reptile, six at each birth, [ We have had this expression supra, p. 161. It is an “Oriental” exaggeration, signifying the prolific nature of the people.] and they were all one people, and one heart, and one language, as it is said, "And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech" (Gen. 11:1). [ See Pal. Targum, in loc.] They despised the pleasant land, [ Palestine; cf. Ps. 106:24, and Ẓohar, Gen. 75b.] as it is said, "And it came to pass, as they journeyed [ “In the east” might also be rendered “in the commencement,” or “at first”; see Ẓohar, Gen. 74b.] in the east" (ibid. 2). They went to the land of Shinar, and found there a large stone, [ The first editions read: “a large and extensive land, entirely a plain.”] very extensive, and the whole plain, and they dwelt there, as it is said, "And they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there" (ibid.).
Rabbi 'Aḳiba said: They cast off the Kingdom of Heaven [ See T.B. ‘Erubin, 53a; cf. Pal. Targum to Gen. 10:8 on Nimrod; see also the Book of Jashar vii. 46 ff., and Jeraḥmeel lvii. 14. Augustine rendered Gen. 10:9, “Nimrod was a hunter against God” (de Civ. Dei, xvi. 4).] from themselves, and appointed Nimrod king over themselves; a slave son of a slave. Are not all the sons of Ham slaves? [ The Venice edition reads: “are slaves.”] And woe to the land when a slave rules, [ The phraseology is based on Eccles. 10:16.] as it is said, "For a servant, when he is king" [ The previous verse says, “The earth trembles.” Nimrod caused the people to tremble, as a result of discarding the Kingdom of Heaven.] (Prov. 30:22).
Rabbi Chakhinai [ The first editions read “Chanina.”] said: Nimrod was a mighty hero, as it is said, "And Cush begat Nimrod, who began to be a mighty one in the earth" (Gen. 10:8). Rabbi Jehudah said: [ See Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, pp. 44 f. On the garments of Adam and Eve see the Book of Jashar, vii. 24 ff.; Gen. Rab. 20:12 and lxv. 16; Pal. Targ. Gen. 25:27, xxvii. 15.] The coats [ The first editions read “coat.” See Book of the Bee, p. 35.] which the Holy One, blessed be He, made for Adam and his wife, were with Noah [ The first editions read “them.” See Hippolytus, A.N.C.L. vi. p. 492.] in the ark, and when they went forth from the ark, || Ham, the son of Noah, brought them forth with him, and gave them as an inheritance to Nimrod. [ The Recognitions of Clement, iv. 27, speak of Ham as the first magician and refer to Nimrod as follows: “the magic art having been handed down to him as by a flash” (ibid. 29).] When he put them on, all beasts, animals, and birds, when they saw the coats, [ The MS. reads: “the writing” (הכתב).] came and prostrated themselves before him. [ See Rashi on T.B. Pesachim, 54b, and the Book of Jashar, loc. cit.] The sons of men [ The first editions read “they,” i.e. his fellow-countrymen; see Jalḳuṭ, Gen. § 62. See J.E. ix. 309.] thought that this (was due) to the power of his might; therefore they made him king over themselves, as it is said, "Wherefore it is said, Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord" (ibid. 9). [ The next verse says, “The beginning of his kingdom.” See Josephus, Ant. i. 4. 2; T.B. Pesachim, 94b; and cf. Pal. Targum, in loc., and the Book of the Bee, p. 37.]
Nimrod said to his people: [ See T.B. Chullin, 89a; Gen. Rab. 26:4; and cf. Leḳach Ṭob, Gen. p. 27a.] Come, let us build a great city for ourselves, and let us dwell therein, lest we be scattered upon the face of all the earth, as the first people [ At the Flood. According to Jubilees vii. 20, Noah enjoined upon his sons commandments “to cover the shame of their flesh, and to bless their Creator, and honour father and mother, and love their neighbour, and guard their souls from fornication and uncleanness and all iniquity. For owing to these three things came the flood upon the earth.”] (were). Let us build a great tower in its midst, ascending to heaven, [ See T.B. Synhedrin, 109a, and Othijoth de R. ‘Aḳiba, letter Resh. B.H.M. iii. pp. 46 f.] for the power of the Holy One, blessed be He, is only in the water, [ Luria thinks that the correct reading should be “in heaven,” and not “in the water.”] and let us make us a great name on the earth, as it is said, "And let us make us a name" (ibid. xi. 4).
Rabbi Phineas said: There were no stones there where-with to build the city and the tower. What did they do? They baked bricks and burnt them like a builder [ Or “stone mason.”] (would do), until they built it seven [ The first editions read “seventy.” See Book of the Bee, p. 41.] mils [ “Mil” (mille) =2000 cubits. According to the Jalḳuṭ, Gen. in loc., the height was seven miles; see also Jalḳuṭ Makhiri, Ps. 55 p. 145b. The MS. adds “of property.”] high, and it had ascents on its east and west. (The labourers) who took up the bricks went up on the eastern (ascent), and those who descended went down on the western (descent). If a man fell and died they paid no heed to him, but if a brick fell they || sat down and wept, and said: Woe is us ! when will another one come in its stead? [ This indifference to the value of human life reappears in the story of the Egyptian bondage; see infra, p. 386. See also Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, p. 46, and cf. 3 Baruch iii. 5.]
And Abraham, [ In the first editions the name is “Abram.” See Wisdom x. 5.] son of Terah, [ Terah was one of those who assisted in the building of the Tower of Babel, according to the Ẓohar, Lev. 111b.] passed by, and saw them building the city and the tower, and he cursed them in the name of his God, [ The expression is borrowed from 2 Kings 2:24. See Seder ‘Olam Rab. 1 p. 3a.] as it is said, "Swallow up, O Lord, divide their language" (Ps. 55:9). But they rejected his words, [ Abraham uttered his reproof in vain. See Jalḳuṭ, Pss. § 703.] like a stone cast upon the ground. Is it not a fact that every choice and good [ See 1 Sam. 9:2 for this phrase.] stone is only put at the corner of a building? and with reference to this, the text says, "The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner" (ibid. cxviii. 22).
Rabbi Simeon said: The Holy One, blessed be He, called to the seventy [ The seventy nations with Israel form the human family. Israel has no guardian angel; God is the Guardian of Israel. See LXX, Deut. 32:8, for the earliest form of this Midrash. Augustine, de Civ. Dei, xvi. 5, offers a parallel to this Haggadah. See also Hippolytus (ed. Achelis), ii. p. 243; Clement of Alexandria, Strom, vi. 17; and Recognitions of Clement, ii. 42.] angels, who surround the throne of His glory, and He said to them: Come, let us descend and let us confuse the seventy nations and the seventy languages. [ The first editions read: “Come, let us confuse their speech.”]
Whence (do we know) that the Holy One, blessed be He, spake [ Luria reads, “He called.” The first editions read: “descended unto them.”] to them? Because it is said, "Go to, let us go down" (Gen. 11:7). "I will go down" is not written, but "Go to, let us go down." [ See Jalḳuṭ Makhiri, Pss., loc. cit., and cf. Gen. Rab. 38:10.] And they cast lots among them. Because it is said, "When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance" (Deut. 32:8). The lot of the Holy One, blessed be He, fell upon Abraham and upon his seed, [ Some editions read: “and upon his house.”] as it is said, "For the Lord's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance" (ibid. 9).
The Holy One, blessed be He, said: The portion and lot which have fallen to Me, [ See Jalḳuṭ, Psalms, § 667.] My soul liveth thereby, [ The first editions read: “My soul delighteth in him.”] as it is said, "The lots have fallen unto me in pleasures; yea, I have a goodly heritage" (Ps. 16:6). The Holy One, blessed be He, descended with the seventy angels, who surround || the throne of His glory, and they confused their speech into seventy [ Some editions read, “seventy languages.” The first editions add: “Each nation had its own writing and its own language, and He appointed an angel over each people. And Israel fell unto His lot and portion, and concerning this it is said, ‘For the Lord’s portion is his people’” (Deut. 32:9). Each nation had not only its own language but also its peculiar style of writing.] nations and seventy languages. Whence do we know that the Holy One, blessed be He, descended? Because it is said, "And the Lord God came down to see the city and the tower" (Gen. 11:5). This was the second descent. [ See supra, p. 97.]
And they wished to speak one to another in the language [ The first editions read, “in the holy language.” See supra, p. 161. The original language was Hebrew. See for a parallel legend, Recognitions of Clement, i. 30, and the Book of the Bee, p. 42.] of his fellow-countryman, but one did not understand the language of his fellow. What did they do? Every one took his sword, and they fought one another to destroy (each other), and half the world fell there by the sword, and thence the Lord scattered them upon the face of all the earth, as it is said, "So the Lord scattered them abroad on that account, upon the face of all the earth" (ibid. 8).
Rabbi Meir said: Esau, the brother of Jacob, saw the coats [ The first editions add: “which the Holy One, blessed be He, made for Adam and Eve.”] of Nimrod, and in his heart he coveted them, [ The Venice edition reads, as in our text, “them”; but the Prague edition reads “it” (i.e. one garment).] and he slew him, [ See the Book of Jashar vii. 24, and Pal. Targum, Gen. 25:27 f. The wonderful garments of Adam and Eve have a parallel in the seamless tunic of the Founder of Christianity, see A.N.C.L. xvi. pp. 235 f.] and took them from him. [ See Midrash Agadah, Gen. 27:13; Leḳach Ṭob, Gen. p. 66b and 67a; Jalḳuṭ, Gen. § 115; cf. Rashi on T.B. Pesachim, 54b, and Tanchuma. Toledoth, § xii.] Whence (do we know) that they were desirable in his sight? Because it is said, "And Rebecca took the precious raiment of Esau, her elder son" (ibid. xxvii. 15). When he put them on he also became, by means of them, a mighty [ The sentence is wanting in the Oxford MS. (O.A. 167).] hero, as it is said, "And Esau was a cunning hunter" (ibid. xxv. 27). And when Jacob went forth [ After receiving the blessing from Isaac.] from the presence of Isaac, his father, he said: Esau, the wicked one, is not worthy to wear these coats. What did he do? He dug in the earth and hid them there, as it is said, "A noose [ The rest of the verse says, “and a trap for him in the way.” The garments enabled the wearer to catch the animals. Sec Pal. Targum, Gen. 27:15; and Jalḳuṭ, Gen. § 115.] is hid for him in the earth" (Job 18:10).