by Eric Lyons, M.Min.As if we had not “heard it all,” some now are teaching that there was a great gap of time between Genesis 10 and 11. Supposedly, since Moses recorded that the descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth spoke different languages in Genesis 10 (vss. 5,20,31), and since Genesis 11:1 states that “the whole earth had one language and one speech,” there must have been a gap between Genesis 10:32 and 11:1! It is alleged that enough time must have passed in order for the descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth to begin speaking one language.
If you have ever read Genesis 6-11, you likely have questioned why the order of events seemed to indicate that the Earth’s population went from speaking one language (by the eight persons on the ark), to speaking a variety of languages and dialects (10:5,20,31), to then using one language again (11:1). It may be that you have asked the same question that I heard asked recently: “How can there not be a gap between Genesis 10 and 11?”
The reason that no gap of time exists between Genesis 10 and 11 is because the events recorded in these two chapters were not written chronologically. As Victor Hamilton remarked in his commentary on Genesis, “We have here the unusual order of effect (ch. 10) before cause (ch. 11), or result preceding explanation” (1990, p. 347).
The simple fact is, Bible writers did not always record information in a strictly chronological sequence. Genesis 2:5-25 does not pick up where chapter one left off; rather, it provides more detailed information about some of the events mentioned in chapter one. Several of the events in Genesis 38 involving Judah and Tamar occurred while the things recorded in chapter 39 and following were taking place. Making the (erroneous) assumption that the entire Bible was written chronologically, hinders the trustworthiness of the text. How will one explain the differences in the arrangement of the temptations of Jesus recorded by Matthew (4:1-11) and Luke (4:1-13) if we always must conclude that things are written in sequential order? If Jesus only cleansed the temple once, how does a person explain why John mentioned this event as having occurred early in Jesus’ ministry, while the other gospel writers placed it later in His ministry (John 2:12-17; cf. Matthew 21:12-17)? Obviously, the gospel accounts were not arranged to represent a strict chronology of Jesus’ life. Similarly, Moses jumped ahead of himself at times, inserting parenthetical material like that found in Genesis 10.
Aside from the languages mentioned in Genesis 10, there is another “clue” in the text that reveals the events recorded in chapter 11 occurred before the descendants of Noah began speaking different languages and spreading throughout the Earth. In 10:25, it mentions a man named Peleg (meaning “division”) who received such a name because “in his days the earth was divided.” This is an apparent reference to the confusion of languages at the tower of Babel described in chapter 11. The “earth” (viz., the people; cf. 11:1) was divided when God confused the languages (11:7-8). Thus, the division in Peleg’s day is linked contextually to the linguistic segregation at Babel (Genesis 11: 1-9;).
When Genesis 10 and 11 are read with the understanding that not all events are recorded chronologically, one can see clearly how the events revealed in these two chapters are entwined tightly with one another—so tightly in fact that those who seek to place a great gap of time between them are doomed to fail. Linguistically speaking, there was no “pre-Babel confusion.”
Hamilton, Victor P. (1990), The Book of Genesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).
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