human beings would speak different languages, not only making the gathering of knowledge a slower process,
but allowing wisdom—which takes longer to acquire—to accompany knowledge.
The story of the Tower of Babel can be seen therefore as a parallel to the story of the forbidden fruit. Both involve the
inherent human need to increase knowledge. In both instances humans push the envelope beyond the boundaries acceptable to
God. The consequences in each case can be viewed as self-fulfilling prophecy: Now that Adam and Eve have eaten from the Tree
of Knowledge, humans have the intelligence necessary to improve or destroy the world.
So too with the tower builders and their descendants: If they use their collective intelligence without foresight, wisdom,
and moral constraint, they may well succeed in producing apocalypse, thus merging our earthly world with God’s heavenly domain.
For whatever reasons God decided not to punish Adam and Eve with the instant death He had expressly threatened, He conveyed
a confusing message to future sinners. One of the insights Adam and Eve gained from eating of the tree is that God does not
always carry out His threats—that sin (and crime) is not always followed by the threatened punishment. Such knowledge can
be quite dangerous. 27 The serpent told them God was bluffing, they called God’s bluff, and God backed down—at least to the degree that He did not
kill them immediately. No wonder God did not want them to gain this knowledge. He would henceforth have a hard time enforcing
His commandments. In fact, God’s mixed message about the wages of sin may well have contributed to the Bible’s first murder.
1. This and all quotations from Genesis are taken from
The Five Books of Moses
, trans. Everett Fox (New York: Schocken Books, 1995).
Genesis 2:16-17. The Bible begins with creation, and man appears only on the sixth day. Many midrashim have been written about the first five days, but there is a tradition prohibiting speculation on what came before “the beginning.” “You may speculate from the day that days were created, but you may not speculate on what was before that” (
Midrash Rabbah
, vol. 1, p. 9). In support of this view, it is observed that the first letter of the Bible is a
beth
—the Hebrew equivalent of “b” or “beta”—whose shape is open in the front and closed at the back, thereby signifying open inquiry about what happens after creation but a closing of all inquiry as to what took place before. Notwithstanding this tradition, there has always been speculation as to the universe
b’terem kol
—before everything.
2. A midrash interprets the repetition of “die” to mean that not only would Adam die, but his descendants would also die (
Midrash Rabbah
, vol. 1, p. 131).
3.
“surely eat …doomed to die
. The form of the Hebrew in both instances is what grammarians call the infinitive absolute: the infinitive immediately followed by a conjugated form of the same verb. The general effect of this repetition is to add emphasis to the verb, but because in the case of the verb ‘to die’ it is the pattern regularly used in the Bible, for the issuing of death sentences, ‘doomed to die’ is an appropriate equivalent” (Robert Alter,
Genesis
, p. 8, notes 16-17).
4. In I Kings 2:42 Solomon says to Shimei that “on the day thou goest out [of Jerusalem] thou shalt surely die.”
5.
Midrash Rabbah
, vol. 1, p. 154.
6. See Kugel, James,
The Bible As It Was
(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1997), pp. 67-71; and Ramban,
Commentary on the Torah, Genesis
(New York: Shilo, 1971), p. 74. Rashi avoids the issue.
7. See Rashi and also
Midrash Rabbah
, vol. 1, p. 150. Ginzberg, p. 72, A Midrash asks where Adam was during this conversation. It answers: “He had engaged in intercourse and fallen asleep.”
8.
The New Catholic Encyclopedia
, p. 779;
The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge
, p. 443.
9. This
but allowing wisdom—which takes longer to acquire—to accompany knowledge.
The story of the Tower of Babel can be seen therefore as a parallel to the story of the forbidden fruit. Both involve the
inherent human need to increase knowledge. In both instances humans push the envelope beyond the boundaries acceptable to
God. The consequences in each case can be viewed as self-fulfilling prophecy: Now that Adam and Eve have eaten from the Tree
of Knowledge, humans have the intelligence necessary to improve or destroy the world.
So too with the tower builders and their descendants: If they use their collective intelligence without foresight, wisdom,
and moral constraint, they may well succeed in producing apocalypse, thus merging our earthly world with God’s heavenly domain.
For whatever reasons God decided not to punish Adam and Eve with the instant death He had expressly threatened, He conveyed
a confusing message to future sinners. One of the insights Adam and Eve gained from eating of the tree is that God does not
always carry out His threats—that sin (and crime) is not always followed by the threatened punishment. Such knowledge can
be quite dangerous. 27 The serpent told them God was bluffing, they called God’s bluff, and God backed down—at least to the degree that He did not
kill them immediately. No wonder God did not want them to gain this knowledge. He would henceforth have a hard time enforcing
His commandments. In fact, God’s mixed message about the wages of sin may well have contributed to the Bible’s first murder.
1. This and all quotations from Genesis are taken from
The Five Books of Moses
, trans. Everett Fox (New York: Schocken Books, 1995).
Genesis 2:16-17. The Bible begins with creation, and man appears only on the sixth day. Many midrashim have been written about the first five days, but there is a tradition prohibiting speculation on what came before “the beginning.” “You may speculate from the day that days were created, but you may not speculate on what was before that” (
Midrash Rabbah
, vol. 1, p. 9). In support of this view, it is observed that the first letter of the Bible is a
beth
—the Hebrew equivalent of “b” or “beta”—whose shape is open in the front and closed at the back, thereby signifying open inquiry about what happens after creation but a closing of all inquiry as to what took place before. Notwithstanding this tradition, there has always been speculation as to the universe
b’terem kol
—before everything.
2. A midrash interprets the repetition of “die” to mean that not only would Adam die, but his descendants would also die (
Midrash Rabbah
, vol. 1, p. 131).
3.
“surely eat …doomed to die
. The form of the Hebrew in both instances is what grammarians call the infinitive absolute: the infinitive immediately followed by a conjugated form of the same verb. The general effect of this repetition is to add emphasis to the verb, but because in the case of the verb ‘to die’ it is the pattern regularly used in the Bible, for the issuing of death sentences, ‘doomed to die’ is an appropriate equivalent” (Robert Alter,
Genesis
, p. 8, notes 16-17).
4. In I Kings 2:42 Solomon says to Shimei that “on the day thou goest out [of Jerusalem] thou shalt surely die.”
5.
Midrash Rabbah
, vol. 1, p. 154.
6. See Kugel, James,
The Bible As It Was
(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1997), pp. 67-71; and Ramban,
Commentary on the Torah, Genesis
(New York: Shilo, 1971), p. 74. Rashi avoids the issue.
7. See Rashi and also
Midrash Rabbah
, vol. 1, p. 150. Ginzberg, p. 72, A Midrash asks where Adam was during this conversation. It answers: “He had engaged in intercourse and fallen asleep.”
8.
The New Catholic Encyclopedia
, p. 779;
The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge
, p. 443.
9. This
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