sion suggests that in A mankind is already spread far and
wide over the earth, though forming one great nation ((
Hebrew characters),
v.6), united by a common language. In B, on the other
hand, it is still a body of nomads, moving all together in
search of a habitation (v.2; cf. (Hebrew characters), v.5).—broke up from the East] v.i.—a plain] the Euphrates-Tigris valley; where
Babylon (Greek characters) (Her. i. 178).—the land of Shin'ar] see on 1010.—3a. With great naïveté, the (city-) legend
describes first the invention of bricks, and then (v.4)
as an afterthought the project of building with them. The
bilingual Babylonian account of creation (see p. 47 above)
speaks of a time when "no brick was laid, no brick-mould
(nalbantu) formed": see KIB, vi. 1, 38 f., 360.—3b shows
that the legend has taken shape amongst a people familiar
with stone-masonry. Comp. the construction of the walls
of Babylon as described by Her. (i. 179).[1] The accuracy
pronunciation and the latter to the vocabulary (Di.), or (Gu.) [H] to
language as a whole, and [H] to its individual elements.—(Hebrew characters)]
'a single set of vocables'; G (Greek characters) (+ (Greek characters) = (Hebrew characters), as v.6). Elsewhere
(2744 2920 [with (Hebrew characters)) (Hebrew characters) means 'single' in the sense of 'few';
in Ezk. 3717 the text is uncertain (see Co.).—On the juxtaposition of
subj. and pred. in the nom. sent., see Dav. § 29 (e).—2. (Hebrew characters)]
rendered as above by GVSTJ. Nearly all moderns prefer 'as they
wandered in the east' or 'eastward'; justifying the translation by
1311, which is the only place where (Hebrew characters) means 'eastward' with a vb. of
motion. That (Hebrew characters) never means 'from the east' is at least a hazardous
assertion in view of Is. 26 911. (Hebrew characters) (cf. Ass. nisû, 'remove,' 'depart,'
etc.) is a nomadic term, meaning 'pluck up [tent-pegs]' (Is. 3320);
hence 'break up the camp' or 'start on a journey' (Gn. 3312 355. 16. 21
3717 etc.); and, with the possible exception of Jer. 3123 (but not
Gn. 129), there is no case where this primary idea is lost sight of.
Being essentially a vb. of departure, it is more naturally followed by
a determination of the starting-point than of the direction or the goal
(but see 3317); and there is no difficulty whatever in the assumption
that the cradle of the race was further E than Babylonia (see 28; and
cf. Sta. Ak. Red. 246, and n. 43).—(Hebrew characters)] (Syr. (Syriac characters), Ar. baḳ'at)
in usage, a wide, open valley, or plain (Dt. 343, Zech. 1211, Is. 404,
etc.). The derivation from [root] (Hebrew characters), 'split,' is questioned by Barth
(ES, 2), but is probable nevertheless.—3. (Hebrew characters)] impve. of [root] (Hebrew characters), used
interjectionally (G-K. § 69 o), as in vv.4. 7. 3816, Ex. 110 (all J), is given
by Gu. as a stylistic mark of the recension A (Je?). Contr. the
- ↑ Cf. Jos. c. Ap. i. 139, 149; Diod. ii. 9; Pliny, HN, xxxv. 51.
