Joël Muller - The Tower of Babel and Other Stories From the Bible: The Old Testament

This book is published by ditions Caramel.

Texts: Jol Muller

Artworks: Roger De Klerk

Edited by: Jean-Michel dOultremont et Galia Lami Dozo Van der Kar

Copyediting: Lela Bernard

The world lived at peace since the alliance between God and living beings, after they had left the Ark. However, very soon afterwards, men and women forgot this alliance and found a vast, unoccupied land. They decided to build a city that will later be called Babel, which means confusion.

They had the idea of building a huge tower that would pierce the heavens to show that they were as powerful as God, and that they could fight Him and even be more powerful than Him!

They united to build the Tower of Babel. They were determined of being the most powerful on earth.

God saw what men and women were preparing and decided to make them speak different languages, so that they could never communicate again to build this endless tower. Human beings stopped building the tower and spread around the world, because they no longer understood one another.

Amongst Noahs descendants, one man was called Abraham.

Abraham was born in the small village of Ur in Iraq. He had settled in Haran with Sarah, his wife, his father Terah and his nephew Lot.

Abraham was a shepherd and enjoyed taking long pauses to prey silently. For him, God was unique, creator of heaven and earth.

The other people from his country believed in several gods. They worshipped statues, prayed the sun, the rain, the wind and all sorts of other gods. Abraham believed in one God, one sole spirit that gives life.

Whilst Abraham was walking, he heard Gods calling:

Leave your country, your kin and your fathers house, for the country that I will show you. I will make a great people from you. I shall bless you for ever.

Abraham trusted Gods word and left Haran, where he had settled with his family. He launched on a long journey with his wife Sarah, his servants, his flock, his nephew Lot and his family.

They left and travelled to Canaan in Palestine to the Fertile Crescent where milk and river flowed abundantly.

When he reached Canaan, Abraham built a shrine to thank God. Soon after he had arrived, a huge famine struck the country and Abraham went down to live in Egypt. Pharaoh was all-powerful in Egypt. When he saw a beautiful married woman, he did not hesitate to kill her husband and took her at his service. Abraham asked Sarah to say that he was her brother so that he would not be killed. Pharaoh chose Sarah, because she was beautiful. Soon after, several plagues hit Egypt and Pharaohs house.

When Pharaoh understood that he had been cheated, he let Sarah go from his palace. He gave her cattle, many gifts and let Sarahs servant, Agar, accompany her as an apology to Abraham and his people. Abraham left Egypt with his wife and Lot, his nephew, taking all he owned and everything he had received.

Abraham was rich. He had a big cattle and lots of gold and silver.

Lot also had cattle and small stock. The land where they arrived was not large enough for all their tents and cattle! Servants and shepherds fought amongst themselves for lack of space. Abraham did not want any dispute with Lot and decided to take a separate way from his nephew. He told him: If you choose the left, I will take a right, and if you take a right, I will go left. Lot chose the Plain of the Jordan and Abraham stayed in Canaan.

Abrahams lack of children made him very unhappy. One day, God promised him descendants and told him:

Abraham, look up to the sky and count the stars!
You will have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky.

Abraham thanked God, built a shrine and prayed for a long time.

Abraham knew that he would have a child, one day. Some time later, Sarah, disappointed that she had not given Abraham a son, offered him to lay with his servant Agar and to have her child. In those days, men could marry several wives. At the time, if a servant gave birth on the knees of her mistress, the child belonged to the mistress, not the servant. Abraham lay with Agar and she fell pregnant.

Unfortunately, from then on, Agar and Sarah fought continuously. There was no respect between the two women, and Agar had to run away.

God met Agar near a source in the desert and told her.

Agar, Sarahs servant, where do you come from and where are you going?

She answered: I am running away from Sarah, my mistress.

God replied:

Go back to your mistress and show her some respect! I will multiply your descendants! You are with child, you will give birth to a son and you will call him Ishmael.

Agar went back to Sarah and Abraham. A few months later, she gave birth to Ishmael. Thanks to her, Abraham was a father.

Ishmaels birth was a great moment of joy for Abraham, although he would have preferred to have a child with Sarah, his wife One day, God appeared before him and concluded an alliance with him, promising him that he would father many nations. He asked him to circumcise all boys aged of 8 days. He also told him:

You will have a child with Sarah and you will give him the name Isaac. He will be born this time next year.

Abraham thanked God. Himself, his 13-year old son Ishmael and all the men from his tribe were circumcised that day.

Soon after this alliance, God appeared before Abraham at the Oak of Manbre as he was sitting in front of his tent. Lifting his eyes to the sky, Abraham saw three men standing near him. Abraham welcomed them generously and asked Sarah to prepare a meal for them, and then he stood near them as they ate.

The three men asked him: Where is Sarah, your wife? Abraham replied that she was in the tent.

One of the three men said: I shall come back to you next year, and your wife Sarah will have a son.

Sarah was listening from the entrance of the tent.

She did not believe in this prediction, as she was so old that she thought she could no longer bear a child. She laughed inwardly. But God told Abraham:

Why did Sarah laugh?
Is nothing too marvellous for God?