Genesis 8:9

8:9 The dove could not find a resting place for its feet because water still covered ¹  the surface of the entire earth, and so it returned to Noah ²  in the ark. He stretched out his hand, took the dove, ³  and brought it back into the ark. ⁴ 

Genesis 11:4

11:4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens ⁵  so that ⁶  we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise ⁷  we will be scattered ⁸  across the face of the entire earth.”

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¹ tn The words “still covered” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

² tn Heb “him”; the referent (Noah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the dove) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn Heb “and he brought it to himself to the ark.”

⁵ tn A translation of “heavens” for שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) fits this context because the Babylonian ziggurats had temples at the top, suggesting they reached to the heavens, the dwelling place of the gods.

⁶ tn The form וְנַעֲשֶׂה (vÿna’aseh, from the verb עשׂה, “do, make”) could be either the imperfect or the cohortative with a vav (ו) conjunction (“and let us make…”). Coming after the previous cohortative, this form expresses purpose.

⁷ tn The Hebrew particle פֶּן (pen) expresses a negative purpose; it means “that we be not scattered.”

⁸ sn The Hebrew verb פָּוָץ (pavats, translated “scatter”) is a key term in this passage. The focal point of the account is the dispersion (“scattering”) of the nations rather than the Tower of Babel. But the passage also forms a polemic against Babylon, the pride of the east and a cosmopolitan center with a huge ziggurat. To the Hebrews it was a monument to the judgment of God on pride.