According to Jon D. Levenson, an American Hebrew Bible scholar, who have come to terms that the biblical history in The Book of Genesis has no connection to World History, denounced the parables having any significance to human civilization. However, the Smithsonian Channel, America’s national educational provision with 19 museums and nine research centers, recently garnered compelling evidence in 2017 that proves that the story in The Book of Genesis, The Tower of Babel, actually existed.
The significance of the legend of The Tower of Babel is that in Genesis 11:1-9 illustrates and elaborates on the origin story of various language barriers done by the self-righteous people of Babylonia, which is present-day Iraq according to Joshua J. Mark, a freelance writer, and scholar, of The Ancient History Encyclopedia.
Jeff Allen of World Monuments Fund stands in the right location of where the Tower of Babel structurally stood. The remains of the city of which the tower stood revealed many answers to the questions that archaeologists and biblical scholars had before the evidence surfaced.
“I thought as a kid that this was folklore or legend. Many people still think in biblical terms as a legend, but they don’t know that it existed,” said Jeff Allen.
The ancient text has allowed scholars to imagine what the Tower of Babel architectural design looked like. As stated by Dr. Andrew Georgeof SOAS University of London, which is an expert in the ancient text, gives credence in the Smithsonian Tower of Babeldocumentary that the evidence is transcribed on a historic stone tablet that dates back to the 6th century B.C. The tablet uncovers the image of what the Tower of Babel appeared to be alongside the ruler it’s connected to, which is King Nebuchadnezzar. In the Smithsonian documentary, it does not only reveal the transcribed tablet, but it uncovers that the Tower of Babel was structurally made of mudbrick and in the form of a ziggurat.
According to Molly Seay, a psychology enthusiast tied the significance to the legend of The Tower of Babel with a social, psychological perspective that affects the modern-day reality.
“Even in modern-day times, people have a hard time dealing with the fact that other peoples’ views are just as valid as our own. God has allowed us the to learn true communication by coming together despite the language barriers that are implemented for the greater good,” said Molly Seay.
To follow more on the Tower of Babel, watch the Secrets: Tower of Babel in full on the Smithsonian Channel.