John Calvin Commentary Genesis 11:4

"And they said, Come, let us build us a city, and a tower, whose top [may reach] unto heaven, and let us make us a name; lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." — Genesis 11:4 (ASV)

Whose top may reach unto heaven. This is a hyperbolic form of speech, in which they boastingly extol the loftiness of the structure they are attempting to raise. And to the same point belongs what they immediately add, Let us make us a name; for they imply that the work would be such as should not only be looked upon by onlookers as a kind of miracle, but should be celebrated everywhere to the utmost limits of the world.

This is the perpetual infatuation of the world: to neglect heaven and to seek immortality on earth, where everything is fading and transient. Therefore, their cares and pursuits aim only at acquiring for themselves a name on earth. David, in Psalm 49, deservedly holds up to ridicule this blind cupidity; and the more so because experience (which is the teacher of the foolish) does not restore future generations to a sound mind, though instructed by the example of their ancestors; but the infatuation creeps on through all subsequent ages.

The saying of Juvenal is known: ‘Death alone acknowledges how insignificant are the bodies of men.’ Yet even death does not correct our pride, nor compel us seriously to confess our miserable condition, for often more pride is displayed in funerals than in wedding pomp. By such an example, however, we are reminded how fitting it is that we should live and die humbly.

And it is a very important part of true prudence to have death before our eyes in the midst of life, for the purpose of accustoming ourselves to moderation. For he who strongly desires to be great in the world is first insolent towards men, and eventually, his profane presumption breaks forth against God Himself, so that after the example of the giants, he fights against heaven.

Lest we be scattered abroad. Some interpreters translate the passage this way: ‘Before we are scattered.’ However, the specific nature of the language does not support this explanation. For the men are planning ways to meet a danger they believe to be imminent. It is as if they were saying, ‘It cannot be that, as our numbers increase, this region will always hold all people. Therefore, a building must be erected by which their name will be preserved forever, even if they themselves are dispersed into different regions.’

It is, however, asked, from where did they get the idea of their future dispersion?

Some speculate that they were warned of it by Noah, who, perceiving that the world had relapsed into its former crimes and corruptions, foresaw at the same time, by the prophetic spirit, some terrible dispersion. They think that the Babylonians, seeing they could not directly resist God, endeavored by indirect methods to avert the threatened judgment.

Others suppose that these men, by a secret inspiration of the Spirit, uttered prophecies concerning their own punishment, which they themselves did not understand. But these interpretations are forced, nor is there any reason requiring us to connect what they say here to the curse that was inflicted upon them.

They knew that the earth was formed to be inhabited and would everywhere supply its abundance for the sustenance of humankind. The rapid multiplication of humankind proved to them that it was not possible for them to remain confined within their present narrow limits for long. Therefore, to whatever other places they might need to migrate, they intended this tower to remain as a witness to their origin.