The Tower of Babel Trivia Quiz

Answer: Confused

Babylonians called the city of Babel "Bab-ilu," meaning "Gate of God." In Hebrew, however, "Babel" comes from a verb meaning "to confuse." Some scholars see the story as a criticism of the building of a pagan temple, and of the practice of astrology.

Answer: Nimrod

Genesis 10:9-10 calls Nimrod "a mighty hunter before the Lord" and says that "the beginning of his kingdom was Babel." The Tower of Babel is traditionally thought to have been one of his projects; fitting, since his name means "let us revolt." Some rabbinic sources, however, have Nimrod distancing himself from the building of the tower.

Answer: False

The story states that the "whole earth was of one language, and of one speech" (Genesis 11:1). This concept is actually quite consistent with modern theories held by many linguists, who suggest a "proto-language" out of which the various Indo-European languages evolved. According to a research study published in Nature magazine, the Indo-European languages appeared 8,000-9,500 years ago, when some would place the story of the Tower of Babel. For more information, see http://english.pravda.ru/science/19/94/377/11568_tower.html.

Answer: Sumerian

The quoted portion comes from "The Babel of Tongues: A Sumerian Version" by Kramer, S.N., as published in the "Journal of the American Oriental Society." The documents date to over 3,000 years ago.

Answer: Babylonian

The "Enuma Elish" was discovered in the ruins of Nineveh in 1845 by English archaeologist A.H. Layard. In it, the god Marduk commands the building of the tower of Babel (really a ziggurat, or temple). Some have identified the Tower of Babel with Etemenanki, which was part of the temple of Marduk in Babylon, and which Nebuchadnezzar II later said he was commanded by Marduk to rebuild, so that "its top might rival heaven."

Answer: Mayan

This comes from "Popol Vuh," the Mayan creation story. It was preserved in translation and rediscovered in the 16th century.

Answer: All of these

Genesis 11:4: (1) To reach heaven-- "And they said, Go to, let us build a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven." (2) To seek a reputation--"and let us make us a name." (3) To avoid dispersing--"lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." Ironically, it was because they built the tower that they ended up scattered.

Some see this desire to stick together as a refusal to fulfill God's command to spread out and fill the earth.

Answer: 4th BC

Abydenus's work on this subject has not survived, but a quote on the subject comes down to us through Eusebius.

Answer: A sword

The sword was to be symbolic of their intention to war with God.

Answer: Squared

The ziggurats of Mesopotamia were squared in shape, and many scholars think the Tower of Babel was most likely a ziggurat of this sort. In art, the tower is usually depicted as rounded, however.