Plain Truth 1959 (Vol XXIV No 03) Mar - Herbert W. Armstrong

ite Bible StOfg
by Basil Wolverton
CHAPTER FOUR
THE TOWER OF BABEL
NOAM and his family journeyed dnwn from the mountains where the ark rested
to start a new life in the nearby plains.
From then on, all the people who came into the world were started by Noah's
three sons and their wives. (Genesis 9: 19.) After some years had gone by, there were
many people in the plains area south of where the ark had landed. Some of them kept
on moving farther down into the valleys of the Tigris and the Euphrates, the two main
rivers of the ancient land of Assyria. As the years passed and people increased in
numbers, many of them moved southeast and over the lower plains toward what is now
known as the Persian Gulf. There the soil was rich, and wonderful crops sprang out
of it. The ground was at its best in the region where the Tigris and the Euphrates
rivers flowed closest together in a land called Shinar. (Genesis 11:2.) More and more
families chose that area to live in. There were very few rocks or trees there. Probably
no great city would have been built there if it hadn't been discovered that much of the
soil was just right for making excellent bricks. These were made by pressing the moist
clay into block shapes and baking them around hot fires or even in the sun.
Furthermore, there were places where a thick, pitchy liquid oozed from the
ground. This liquid, now called bitumen, was the very thing needed to hold the bricks
together. (Genesis 11: 3.)
Human Beings Huddle Together
Men began putting up homes, barns, warehouses and all kinds of buildings. Before
long a good-sized town was sprawling out over the plain of Shinar. People were