Now the earth was of one language and of the same speech
And when they were advancing from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt in it
And each one said to his neighbor, “Come, let us make bricks, and bake them with fire.” And they had bricks instead of stones, and pitch instead of mortar
And they said: “Come, let us make a city and a tower, so that its height may reach to heaven. And let us make our name famous before we are divided into all the lands.
Then the Lord descended to see the city and the tower, which the sons of Adam were building
And he said: “Behold, the people are united, and all have one tongue. And since they have begun to do this, they will not desist from their plans, until they have completed their work
Therefore, come, let us descend, and in that place confound their tongue, so that they may not listen, each one to the voice of his neighbor.
And so the Lord divided them from that place into all the lands, and they ceased to build the city
And for this reason, its name was called ‘Babel,’ because in that place the language of the whole earth became confused. And from then on, the Lord scattered them across the face of every region
These are the generations of Shem. Shem was one hundred years old when he conceived Arphaxad, two years after the great flood
And after he conceived Arphaxad, Shem lived for five hundred years, and he conceived sons and daughters
Next, Arphaxad lived for thirty-five years, and then he conceived Shelah
And after he conceived Shelah, Arphaxad lived for three hundred and three years, and he conceived sons and daughters
Likewise, Shelah lived for thirty years, and then he conceived Eber
And after he conceived Eber, Shelah lived for four hundred and three years, and he conceived sons and daughters
Then Eber lived for thirty-four years, and he conceived Peleg
And after he conceived Peleg, Eber lived for four hundred and thirty years, and he conceived sons and daughters
Likewise, Peleg lived for thirty years, and then he conceived Reu
And after he conceived Reu, Peleg lived for two hundred and nine years, and he conceived sons and daughters
Then Reu lived for thirty-two years, and then he conceived Serug
Likewise, after he conceived Serug, Reu lived for two hundred and seven years, and he conceived sons and daughters
In truth, Serug lived for thirty years, and then he conceived Nahor
And after he conceived Nahor, Serug lived for two hundred years, and he conceived sons and daughters
And so Nahor lived for twenty-nine years, and then he conceived Terah
And after he conceived Terah, Nahor lived for one hundred and nineteen years, and he conceived sons and daughters
And Terah lived for seventy years, and then he conceived Abram, and Nahor, and Haran
And these are the generations of Terah. Terah conceived Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Next Haran conceived Lot
And Haran died before his father Terah, in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldeans
Then Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai. And the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah
But Sarai was barren and had no children
And so Terah took his son Abram, and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and he led them away from Ur of the Chaldeans, to go into the land of Canaan. And they approached as far as Haran, and they dwelt there
And the days of Terah that passed were two hundred and five years, and then he died in Haran