The Tower of Babel’s height is left undetermined in the Bible. A tower “with its top in the heavens” (Genesis 11:4, ESV) was the stated goal of the ancient people at the time. This hazy depiction has sparked a dispute over the tower’s true height among academics and theologians. While the Tower of Babel’s height is unknown, there are some educational guesses in hand.
The Tower’s Alleged Location
The biblical account of the construction of the Tower of Babel may be found in Genesis 11:1–9. In the territory of Shinar (a biblical region of Mesopotamia), a unified human race speaking a common language resolved to construct a metropolis and a tower whose summit would reach the heavens. As a result of God’s observation of their city and tower, however, their language was muddled to the point that they no longer understood one another, and they were dispersed around the globe.
The Real Tower of Babel: Etemenanki Ziggurat
The tale of the Tower of Babel is seen as a biblical explanation for the diversity of human languages. The story emphasizes the need to recognize and appreciate human differences. There is no mention of the Tower of Babel’s height in the Bible. Some contemporary academics have seen parallels between the Tower of Babel and Etemenanki, a ziggurat in Babylon built in honor of the Mesopotamian deity Marduk. The name means “temple of the foundation of heaven and earth.” Many historians assume that Etemenanki was the inspiration for the biblical account.
200 to 300 Feet: The Possible Height of the Tower of Babel
Varying accounts place varying heights on the Etemenanki ziggurat. This ziggurat had seven levels and they might have reached a height of 300 feet (91 m), according to some accounts, while others put the figure closer to 200 feet (61 m). If we take the Etemenanki ziggurat as the origin of the Tower of Babel myth, then it can be assumed that the Tower of Babel’s height was between 200 and 300 feet (61 and 91 m).
Why Was Etemenanki Ziggurat the Tower of Babel?
Several factors cause scholars to compare the Etemenanki ziggurat to the Tower of Babel which is a pyramid-shaped tower that decreases in size as its stories progress upward with a temple at the pinnacle:
- Location: The biblical account of the Tower of Babel taking place in the country of Shinar, which is often connected with Babylon, is congruent with the location of the Etemenanki ziggurat in ancient Babylon.
- Architecture: There are parallels between the construction of a ziggurat like Etemenanki and the description of the Tower of Babel as “a city and a tower.” Ziggurats were monumental cities and towers constructed in ancient Mesopotamia.
- Culture: Ziggurat construction was a widespread practice among Mesopotamian cultures such as the Akkadians, Babylonians, and Assyrians. The biblical narrative makes more sense set against this cultural background.
- Date: Etemenanki was built between the 14th and 9th centuries BC, a period of time often connected with the Tower of Babel story.
Though many academics attribute the biblical tale’s inspiration to Etemenanki, the archeological data does not yet support this theory. However, scholars continue to argue that Etemenanki was really connected to the Tower of Babel.
5,433 cubits and 2 Palms, According to Religious Texts
Some of the earliest Jewish publications that provide a measurement of the Tower of Babel’s height are the Book of Jubilees and the works of Josephus.
An ancient Jewish religious text, the Book of Jubilees is among the pseudepigrapha according to the Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Churches. It is also known as the Lesser Genesis. It covers the whole timeline of the Bible, from the beginning until the time of Moses. The Tower of Babel’s alleged height is given as 5,433 cubits and 2 palms in this book, which converts to nearly 2.5 miles (4 km) in modern measurement systems.
Josephus, a Romano-Jewish historian from the first century AD, is revered for his authoritative accounts of Jewish history at the time. The Tower of Babel is supposed to have been around this height in his writings. However, these books are not accepted as canon by the scholarly community. According to that, they are stories rather than actual records.
The Symbolic Meaning of Its Height
Scholars and theologians often see the story of the Tower of Babel as a symbolic allegory rather than a factual account. The tower’s height is symbolic of human pride and the aspiration for divinity. The act of constructing a tower with the express purpose of reaching the skies might be seen as a human desire to achieve divinity. This displays the arrogance and sense of superiority that humans have, so the thinking goes.
Language chaos, which contributed to the global dispersal of people, serves as a metaphor for the split and dispersion of mankind. This might be seen as God interfering to keep humanity in check and the balance of nature intact. People’s inability to communicate verbally led to widespread migration, which in turn spawned a wide variety of languages and civilizations.
This reading of the Tower of Babel’s height emphasizes the religious lessons of humility and the perils of arrogance.
The Tall Depictions of the Tower
Artists from every era and culture have depicted the Tower of Babel in their own unique ways, frequently revealing insights into the prevailing worldviews and social mores of the period. The Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s “The Tower of Babel” (1563) is one of the most well-known renderings of this event. This artwork depicts the tower in stunning detail, allowing visitors to fully appreciate its massive stature.
The Tower of Babel has been the subject of several paintings, etchings, engravings, and other types of visual art. A feeling of awe and astonishment is conveyed in these works by focusing on the tower’s height and the ambition of its creators. It should be stressed, however, that these portrayals are based entirely on the author’s imagination and not on any actual historical data. Therefore, the Tower of Babel possibly being 200 to 300 feet in height is still the most likely answer.
Did the Tower of Babel Really Exist?
The existence of the Tower of Babel is disputed since it cannot be proven to have existed in history. The biblical account sometimes reads it as an origin myth rather than an actual structure. According to archaeological evidence, the city of Babylon, where the Tower of Babel is said to have been built, was founded in 2300 BC and is actually not that ancient. The author Doug Petrovich, a Bible scholar, has deduced his findings concerning the Tower of Babel by backtracing the events described in Genesis 11 but despite these assertions, there is no tangible proof that this building ever existed.
Conclusion
There are several theories about how high the Tower of Babel really was since the Bible doesn’t say. Some concluded heights are as follows:
- Etemenanki Ziggurat: Some contemporary academics have seen parallels between the Tower of Babel and other buildings, most notably the Etemenanki Ziggurat in Babylon, which was built in honor of the Mesopotamian deity Marduk. The ziggurat’s seven levels may have reached a height of 300 feet (91 m), according to some accounts, while others put the figure closer to 200 feet (61 m).
- Book of Jubilees and Josephus: The height of the Tower of Babel is mentioned in a number of ancient Jewish sources, including the Book of Jubilees and the works of Josephus. It is said to have stood at a height of 5,433 cubits and 2 palms, or around 2.5 miles or about 4 kilometers.
