What if the Tower of Babel isn’t about a skyscraper at all, or trying to ‘reach God,’ but about language, thought and power? We begin our series with the strange little story - consisting of only nine verses- situated between the Noah episode and the great patriarch Abraham — and why it might be one of the few (if any) political passages in the Bible. In the series, we’ll be taking a deep dive into Genesis 11 (1-9) the Babel story to open up its valuable teaching. We’ll discover the Bible’s take on free speech, freedom, and human flourishing. We’ll encounter God in sarcastic mode, and we’ll consider whether or not the people in the story were actually punished or not. We will consider how the story speaks so clearly to us today – with some surprising conclusions about the way we live and the choices we make. And the danger we are in. In this episode, we will make some links across different Biblical stories to see how they connect and build upon their various themes. In particular, the Exodus and Pentecost in the New Testament. Very often when people study the Bible, they tend to look at discrete stories, as self-contained pericopes. And there’s nothing wrong with that because each story has something very important to offer. However, it can be really fruitful if we decide to join up the ideas and themes within and across the stories and see the important links that are made between the different parts of the Bible. This way, we see a bigger picture unfolding, a bigger story unfolding, a longer deeper more radical point to the whole narrative. Images are AI adaptations of the author’s own sketches and drawings, in addition to adaptations from Breugel’s renowned paintings of the Tower of Babel. Music is Stars and Laurels by Shane Ivers for Silverman Sounds. https://www.silvermansound.com Dr Caroline Kaye (The Sideways Thinker) presents this series aimed at non believers and believers alike exploring the West’s foundational texts - in order to see them anew. Dr Kaye holds graduate and post graduate qualifications in Religions and Theology from the University of Wales Trinity St. David and the University of Manchester She also holds an interdisciplinary PhD in Art History with Biblical themes from the Manchester Metropolitan University. Books and references consulted for this episode: James Austin, The Tower of Babel in Genesis: How the Tower of Babel Narrative Influences the Theology of Genesis and the Bible, Bloomington, Westbow Press, 2012. Daniel Gordis, “The Tower of Babel and the Birth of Nationhood,” Azure 40 (Spring 2010) pp 19-36. J.P. Fokkelman, Narrative Art in Genesis: Specimens of Stylistic and Structural Analysis, 2nd Ed., Oregon, Wifpf & Stock, 1991. Yoram Hazony, The Philosophy of Hebrew Scripture, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2012 Leon R. Kass, The Beginning of Wisdom:Reading Genesis, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2006. Judy Klitsner, Subversive Sequels in the Bible: How Biblical Stories Mine and Undermine Each Other, Philadelphia, JPS, 2009. Jordan B.Peterson, We who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine, London, Allen Lane, 2024. Dennis Prager, (Ed. Joseph Telushkin), Genesis: God, Creation and Destruction, The Rational Bible Series, Alperson Edition, Washington, Regenery Faith, 2019. Nahum M. Sarna, Understanding Genesis: The World of the Bble in the light of History, New York, Schocken Books, 1966, reprinted 1970. Thank you for listening. Please feel free to comment and share. If you find my work interesting and worthwhile, I would be glad to receive one-off donations through the Buy me a Coffee scheme. Do subscribe if you haven’t already, subscribing alone supports my work. https://www.buymeacoffee.com/SidewaysThm This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thesidewaysthinker.substack.com
