2 Peter 3:16
As also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, to their own destruction.
Topicalbible.org

Colossians 2:8
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
Topicalbible.org

Matthew 4:1-25
Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
Topicalbible.org

1. (n.) The state of being mixed or blended so as to produce indistinctness or error; indistinct combination; disorder; tumult.

2. (n.) The state of being abashed or disconcerted; loss self-possession; perturbation; shame.

3. (n.) Overthrow; defeat; ruin.

4. (n.) One who confuses; a confounder.

CITY OF CONFUSION

kon-fu'-zhun (qiryath-tohu): A name applied to Jerusalem (Isaiah 24:10 the King James Version).

CONFUSION

kon-fu'-zhun (bosheth, "shame, paleness," kelimmah, "blushing," tohu; akatastasia, sugchusis): In the Old Testament bosheth (1 Samuel 20:30 Psalm 109:29 the King James Version) and kelimmah (Psalm 44:15 Isaiah 30:3) are the words most frequently translated "confusion"; tohu, "wastiness," "emptiness" is so translated (Isaiah 24:10; Isaiah 34:11; Isaiah 41:29), also qalon, "lightness," "contempt" (Job 10:15 = ignominy, the American Standard Revised Version) and tebhel, "profanation" (Leviticus 18:23; Leviticus 20:12); ra`ash, "shaking," "trembling," rendered "confused" in Isaiah 9:5 the King James Version; compare the Revised Version (British and American). Greek akatashatasia, "instability" is translated "confusion" (1 Corinthians 14:33 James 3:16); sugchusis, "a pouring out together" (Acts 19:29). In The Wisdom of Solomon 14:26, "changing of kind" (the King James Version) is rendered "confusion of sex." W. L. Walker

CONFUSION OF TONGUES

See BABEL, TOWER OF; TONGUES, CONFUSION OF

TONGUES, CONFUSION OF

tungz:

1. The Narrative:

According to Genesis 11:1-9, at some time not very long after the Flood, "the whole earth was of one language and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed east" (the "they" is left vague) that they settled in the land of Shinar (Babylonia). There they undertook to build "a city, and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven," using the Bah burned brick and "slime" as building materials. The motive was to "make us a name; lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." This seems to mean that the buildings would give them a reputation for impregnability that would secure them against devastating invasions. "And Yahweh came down to see." And He said, "Nothing will be withholden from them, which they purpose to do. Come, let us go down, and there confound their language." The persons spoken to are not named (compare Genesis 1:26; Genesis 3:22), nor is it explained how Yahweh, who in Genesis 11:5 was on earth, is now in heaven. "So Yahweh scattered them abroad from thence," and the name of the city was "called Babel (babhel); because Yahweh did there confound (balal) the language of all the earth: and from thence did Yahweh scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth."

The purpose of this narrative is the explanation of the diversity of human languages. They originated through an act of Yahweh, in order to destroy the presumptuous designs of the first builders of Babylon.

2. Context:

The section admittedly belongs to J and it has no connection with the matter (mostly P) in Genesis 10. For Genesis 10 explains the origin of the nations "every one after his tongue, after their families" (10:5, 20, 31) as due to the orderly migration and gradual spreading of the sons and descendants of Noah, and names Nimrod (10:10) as the sole founder of Babylon. Nor does 11:1-9 logically continue the J matter in Genesis 9, as too many persons are involved for the time immediately following the Flood. Still, it is quite possible that some J matter was dropped when the J and P sources were united at this point. Another possibility is to see in Genesis 11:1-9 the continuation of Genesis 4:16-24, which it carries on smoothly, with the same distrust of human culture. The murderer Cain went to the East of Eden (4:16), and his descendants brought in the knowledge of the various arts (4:20-22). These descendants journeyed still farther to the East (11:2), attempted to use their skill in building the tower and were punished by the balal catastrophe. No account of the Deluge could have followed, for all the diversities of languages would have been wiped away by that event.

This assumption of a special, early source within J probably best explains the facts. It is indicated by the very primitive, naive theology, which is much less developed than that of J as a whole. And the obscure relation of Genesis 11:1-9 to the Flood narrative is accounted for, for two narratives were combined here, one of which contained an account of the Deluge, while the other did not.

3. Homogeneity:

By using the repeated "going down" of verses 5, 7 as a clue, the section can be resolved fairly easily into two narratives, e.g.

(1) The men build a tower, "whose top may reach unto heaven," in order to make a name for themselves as marvelous builders. Yahweh, seeing the work beginning and "lest nothing be withholden from them," etc., goes down and confounds their language.

(2) The men build a city, as a defensive measure, "lest we be scattered abroad on the face of the whole earth." Yahweh goes down to see and scatters them abroad. For other analyses see the commentaries.

But they are hardly imperative. For (2) gives no motive for Yahweh's action, while "city" and "tower," "confusion of tongues" and "scattering," are complementary rather than parallel terms. The supposition that a few words describing Yahweh's return to heaven have disappeared somewhere from verse 6 relieves the awkwardness.

4. Historicity:

The "historicity" of the narrative will be upheld by very few persons of the present day. Human languages began to diverge (if, indeed there ever was such a thing as a primitive language) tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of years before the building of Babylon and long before human beings had attained enough skill to erect the most rudimentary structures, let alone such an elaborate affair as the brick-built city and tower of Babel. And what is true of languages as a whole is equally true of the languages spoken in the vicinity of Palestine. If Egyptian Hittite, and the Semitic group have any common point of origin, it lies vastly back of the time and cultural conditions presupposed in Genesis 11:1-9. It is needless to enlarge on this, but for the harm done by a persistent clinging to the letter of the narrative, White's History of the Warfare of Science with Theology may be consulted. It belonged to the genius of the Hebrews to seek religious explanations of the things around them. And such an explanation of the origin of languages is the content of Genesis 11:1-9.

5. Sources:

This explanation seems, as yet, to be without parallel, for the translation of the fragmentary British Museum Inscription K 3657 is entirely uncertain. Indeed, legends as to how the differences of human speech began seem to be extremely scanty everywhere, as if the question were not one that occupied the minds of primitive people. Comparative folklore still has much work to do as regards this special topic (for a few references see Encyclopedia Brit, 11th edition, article "Babel" and Gunkel Genesis3 in the place cited.). The other features of the narrative, however, are without great significance. Buildings that were unfinished because the builders offended the gods are fairly abundant, and it is quite possible that the writer of Genesis 11:1-9 had some particular Bah structure in mind (see BABEL, TOWER OF). Nor are attempts of men to climb into heaven difficult to conceive, when the sky is thought of (as it nearly always was until comparatively modern times) as a material dome. So Greek Baruch (3:6) specifies that they "built the tower to the height of 463 cubits. And they took a gimlet, and sought to pierce the heaven, saying, Let us see whether the heaven is made of clay, or of brass, or of iron." Closely parallel to the Babel story is the Greek legend of the giants, who piled Pelion on Ossa in their attempt to storm the dwelling of the gods, and, as a matter of fact, the two accounts seem to be combined in Sib Or 3:97-104.

Whether aided by a tradition about some particular Babylonian tower or not, the localization of the story in Babylonia was inevitable. The Babylonians, above all nations in the world, relied on their wisdom and their skill, and so nowhere but in Babylon would this supreme presumption have been possible. Babylon, the embodiment of pride, at the very beginning of her existence was guilty of an act of pride so overwhelming as to call out God's vengeance. The "folk-etymology" babhel-balal (in Aramaic babhel-balbel) may have been suggested by this story or (perhaps more probably) it may have originated separately, perhaps at first as a piece of deliberate irony. Certainly the many languages that could be heard in Babylon were not without significance for the story.

6. Religious Value:

The religious value of the story is dimmed for the modern reader because of the very primitive concepts that it contains. The men are able to build up into heaven. In order to see what they are doing Yahweh is obliged to "come down." He is obliged to take action lest His dwelling-place be invaded (compare Genesis 3:22). And the "let us go down" of Genesis 11:7, while certainly not polytheistic, is equally certainly a polytheistic "remnant." On the other hand, it is to be noted that God's power is never in question and that there is no desperate and uncertain battle as in the Greek legend. Important, also (and often overlooked), is the realization that God's power is just as active in Babylon as it is in Palestine. The primal meaning to the Israelite, however, was this: In Babylon was seen the greatest enemy of the people of God, possessing immeasurable resources. Humanly speaking, there were no limits to this power, and if it had been uncontrolled at the beginning, all the world would have been overwhelmed with the rule of evil. This God had prevented.

LITERATURE.

Driver in HDB; Cheyne (art. "Babel, Tower of") in EB; the commentaries. on Gen, especially those of Skinner, Driver, Procksch, and Gunkel.

Burton Scott Easton

4799. sugchusis -- confusion
... confusion. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: sugchusis Phonetic Spelling:
(soong'-khoo-sis) Short Definition: confusion, disturbance Definition ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4799.htm - 6k

4797. sugcheo -- to pour together, ie to confuse, throw into ...
... to pour together, ie to confuse, throw into confusion. Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: sugcheo or sugchunno Phonetic Spelling: (soong-kheh'-o) Short ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4797.htm - 7k

181. akatastasia -- instability
... 181 ("commotion") generates confusion (things being ""), ie when "up for grabs."
This inevitably generates more . ... commotion, confusion, tumult. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/181.htm - 7k

5182. turbazo -- to disturb, to trouble.
... 5182 (from , "a noisy, tumultuous crowd"; cf. Latin, , "confusion") -- properly,
to be in (a ). (5182 is related to 2351 , "uproar."). ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5182.htm - 6k

1613. ektarasso -- to throw into great trouble
... Word Origin from ek and tarasso Definition to throw into great trouble NASB Word
Usage throwing...into confusion (1). to agitate, throw into confusion. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1613.htm - 6k

2617. kataischuno -- to curse vehemently
... of Speech: Verb Transliteration: kataischuno Phonetic Spelling: (kat-ahee-skhoo'-
no) Short Definition: I shame, disgrace, put to utter confusion Definition: I ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2617.htm - 6k

1788. entrepo -- to turn about, to reverence, to put to shame
... to reverence, to put to shame. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: entrepo Phonetic
Spelling: (en-trep'-o) Short Definition: I turn to confusion, put to shame ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1788.htm - 7k

387. anastatoo -- to stir up, unsettle
... going "; see the root, 450 ) -- properly, turn something over (up to down), ie to
(-set), raising part up which results in dislocation (confusion); to , make ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/387.htm - 7k

1791. entrope -- respect, shame
... Word Origin from entrepo Definition respect, shame NASB Word Usage shame (2).
shame. From entrepo; confusion -- shame. see GREEK entrepo. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1791.htm - 6k

2360. throeo -- to be troubled
... 2360 (from, "clamor, tumult") -- properly, (thrown into confusion, , 953);
(figuratively) troubled (disturbed), wanting to "cry aloud, to scream (passive ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2360.htm - 6k

4103. mehumah -- tumult, confusion, disquietude, discomfiture
... mehumah. 4104 . tumult, confusion, disquietude, discomfiture. Transliteration:
mehumah Phonetic Spelling: (meh-hoo-maw') Short Definition: confusion. ...
/hebrew/4103.htm - 6k

8414. tohu -- formlessness, confusion, unreality, emptiness
... 8413, 8414. tohu. 8415 . formlessness, confusion, unreality, emptiness.
Transliteration: tohu Phonetic Spelling: (to'-hoo) Short Definition: waste. ...
/hebrew/8414.htm - 6k

3998. mebukah -- confusion, confounding
... 3997, 3998. mebukah. 3999 . confusion, confounding. Transliteration: mebukah
Phonetic Spelling: (meb-oo-kaw') Short Definition: confusion. ...
/hebrew/3998.htm - 6k

8397. tebel -- confusion
... confusion. Transliteration: tebel Phonetic Spelling: (teh'-bel) Short Definition:
incest. ... Apparently from balal; mixture, ie Unnatural bestiality -- confusion. ...
/hebrew/8397.htm - 6k

8400. teballul -- confusion, obscurity
... 8399, 8400. teballul. 8401 . confusion, obscurity. Transliteration: teballul
Phonetic Spelling: (teb-al-lool') Short Definition: defect. ...
/hebrew/8400.htm - 6k

3639. kelimmah -- insult, reproach, ignominy
... confusion, dishonor, reproach, shame. From kalam; disgrace -- confusion, dishonour,
reproach, shame. see HEBREW kalam. 3638, 3639. kelimmah. 3640 . ...
/hebrew/3639.htm - 6k

3637. kalam -- to be humiliated
... be make ashamed, blush, be confounded, be put to confusion, hurt, reproach.
A primitive root; properly, to wound; but only figuratively ...
/hebrew/3637.htm - 6k

2000. hamam -- to make a noise, move noisily, confuse, discomfit
... Definition to make a noise, move noisily, confuse, discomfit NASB Word Usage brought
(1), confounded (1), confuse (1), confused (1), confusion (1), crushed (1 ...
/hebrew/2000.htm - 6k

1322. bosheth -- shame, shameful thing
... thing (3). ashamed, confusion, greatly, put to shameful thing. From buwsh;
shame (the feeling and the condition, as well as its cause ...
/hebrew/1322.htm - 6k

7036. qalon -- ignominy, dishonor
... confusion, dishonor, ignominy, reproach, shame. From qalah; disgrace; (by implication)
the pudenda -- confusion, dishonour, ignominy, reproach, shame. ...
/hebrew/7036.htm - 6k

Confusion.
... SERMON VII. CONFUSION. PSALM CXIX.31. ... What is this which the Psalmist and prophets
call being confounded; being put to shame and confusion of face? What is it? ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/westminster sermons/sermon vii confusion.htm

Proofs that the Union was Without Confusion.
... Book V. Proofs that the Union was without Confusion. 1. Those who believe
that after the union there was one nature both of Godhead ...
/.../theodoret/the ecclesiastical history of theodoret/proofs that the union was.htm

Out of Sectarian Confusion
... Chapter XII Out of Sectarian Confusion. I was still a Methodist. The Methodist
did not license women to preach; but when the preachers ...
/.../cole/trials and triumphs of faith/chapter xii out of sectarian.htm

Concerning the Tower of Babylon, and the Confusion of Tongues.
... Years. From The Creation To The Death Of Isaac. CHAPTER 4. Concerning The
Tower Of Babylon, And The Confusion Of Tongues. 1. Now ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 4 concerning the tower.htm

But the Inroad and the Display of the Evil Spirits is Fraught with ...
... Life of Antony. Section 36. But the inroad and the display of the evil
spirits is fraught with confusion? 36. But the inroad and ...
/.../athanasius/select works and letters or athanasius/life of antony section 36.htm

Because the Partial-Rapture Theory Introduces a Situation that is ...
... Chapter Seven The Beneficiaries of the Redeemer's Return 8. Because the
partial-rapture theory introduces a situation that is full of Confusion. ...
/.../pink/the redeemers return/8 because the partial-rapture theory.htm

How Brother Juniper Went one Day to Assisi for his Own Confusion
... PART TWO. HERE BEGINNETH THE LIFE OF BROTHER JUNIPER CHAPTER XI HOW BROTHER
JUNIPER WENT ONE DAY TO ASSISI FOR HIS OWN CONFUSION. ...
/.../the little flowers of st francis of assisi/chapter xi how brother juniper.htm

Letter ccxliii. To the Bishops of Italy and Gaul Concerning the ...
... TOU AGIOU BAChILEIOU PERI TOU PNEUMATOCh BIBLION. Letter CCXLIII. To the bishops
of Italy and Gaul concerning the condition and confusion of the Churches. ...
/.../basil/basil letters and select works/letter ccxliii to the bishops.htm

As we Allege, However, that He Has Fallen into Confusion in ...
... Chapter VIII. As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in
consequence of FALSE notions? As we allege, however, that ...
/.../origen/origen against celsus/chapter viii as we allege.htm

The Distinction of the Father and the Son, Thus Established, He ...
... The Distinction of the Father and the Son, Thus Established, He Now Proves the
Distinction of the Two Natures, Which Were, Without Confusion, United in the ...
/.../tertullian/against praxeas/chapter xxvii the distinction of the.htm

Confusion (71 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. CITY OF CONFUSION. kon-fu'-zhun (qiryath-tohu):
A name applied to Jerusalem (Isaiah 24:10 the King James Version). CONFUSION. ...
/c/confusion.htm - 39k

Uproar (33 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.) Great tumult; violent disturbance and noise; noisy
confusion; bustle and clamor. 2. (vt) To throw into uproar or confusion. ...
/u/uproar.htm - 16k

Tumult (56 Occurrences)
... 1. (n.) The commotion or agitation of a multitude, usually accompanied with great
noise, uproar, and confusion of voices; hurly-burly; noisy confusion. ...
/t/tumult.htm - 23k

Adversity (54 Occurrences)
... Psalms 35:26 Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that rejoice
at mine adversity; let them be clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify ...
/a/adversity.htm - 22k

Semites
... sem'-its, sem-it'-ik, 1. Biblical References 2. The Five Sons of Shem 3. Original
Home of the Semites 4. Confusion with Other Races 5. Reliability of Genesis ...
/s/semites.htm - 27k

Semitic
... sem'-its, sem-it'-ik, 1. Biblical References 2. The Five Sons of Shem 3. Original
Home of the Semites 4. Confusion with Other Races 5. Reliability of Genesis ...
/s/semitic.htm - 28k

Tongues (67 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary Tongues, Confusion of. ... Tongues were to be "a sign to them
that believe not.". Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. CONFUSION OF TONGUES. ...
/t/tongues.htm - 61k

Genealogy (29 Occurrences)
... an allegorical enigma in which historical personages and events, personified peoples
or countries, and imaginary ancestors are mingled in inextricable confusion...
/g/genealogy.htm - 70k

Vulgate
... ORIGIN 1. Corruption and Confusion of Old Versions 2. Heresy 3. Inevitable
Separation of East and West 4. Request of Pope Damasus III. ...
/v/vulgate.htm - 38k

Zabdi (17 Occurrences)
... Some Septuagint manuscripts and 1 Chronicles 2:6 have "Zimri" (zimri); "the confusion
of the Hebrew letter beth (b) and the Hebrew letter mem (m) is phonetic ...
/z/zabdi.htm - 13k

Why is there so much confusion regarding the teachings of the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

What does it mean that God is not the author of confusion? | GotQuestions.org

Can a person be born with the wrong gender? | GotQuestions.org

Confusion: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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