I’ve been putting off this article for quite a while simply because I don’t really have enough audience participation in this blog to make digging into the “proofs” or “fact checking” I would normally like to do worth while. Suffice it to say therefore, these are things I simply find INTERESTING and would gladly dig into deeper to support or correct my errors if people I knew were interested and questioned me about it. For now however, a simple observation will have to do. The topic today is the “Biblical” story of the Tower of Babel.
I was surprised when reading the book “The Watchers: Lost Secrets of Ascension, Resurrection and Perfection” to see that the author made a connection between the Tower of Babel story and that of the Watchers. THAT part was something new to me. I’ve always had a bit of a fascination with the story of the tower of Babel but until this book I never made the “Watcher” connection. That connection will come near the end of this blog post but I want to first start with my initial thoughts on this “Biblical” story and why I’ve always been fascinated by it.
The Tower as a Stairway or Gate to the Gods
As the author points out, the phrase “Tower of Babel” is a term that actually doesn’t even appear anywhere in the Bible. Rather, it is always referred to as “the city and it’s tower” or just “the city”. The word from which we get “Babel”, the author says, is actually an Akkadian word “bab-ilu” which means something like “Gate of God”. This is a CRITICAL piece of information which makes this story particularly fascinating to me. First, I want to draw your attention to the Encyclopedia Britannica’s article on the Tower of Babel and the history of the “Gate of God” for further support of the author’s claim:
The myth [of the flood] may have been inspired by the Babylonian tower temple north of the Marduk temple, which in Babylonian was called Bab-ilu (“Gate of God”), Hebrew form Babel, or Bavel. The similarity in pronunciation of Babel and balal (“to confuse”) led to the play on words in Genesis 11:9: “Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth.”
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tower-of-Babel
In other words, the Akkadian word “bab-ilu” is equivalent to the Hebrew word “bavel” which means something like “gate of God”. In fact, this Hebrew word “bavel” is also the root of the word Babylon which is a city most Christians are quite familiar with. Let’s take a look at something very interesting stated from the website ancient-hebrew.org regarding the Hebrew word Bavel:
While we may only be familiar with this place name as Babel as found in Genesis, this name is used 262 times throughout the Biblical text. But, instead of translating this name the same way all the time, the translators have chosen to translate it as “Babylon” in all its other occurrences. Yes, Babel and Babylon are one and the same place
https://www.ancient-hebrew.org/names/Babel.htm
What is interesting to me is that the city of Babylon itself was also known in ancient times as the “Gate of the Gods” in part due to the fact that the city contained seven gates that were dedicated to one of seven different “gods”. One of those “gates” was the north temple gate of Marduk as mentioned above. Here again is some quick interesting support for where this is all going:
Babylon was called in Sumerian times Ka-dingirra, the Gate of the Gods. According to the Bible was founded by Nimrod, son of Cush, grandson of Ham and grandson of Noah. Each of the city gates held the name of a god: Shamash, Ishtar, Marduk, Adad, Enlil, Zababa and Uresh. In Nebuchadnezzar age, during the second Chaldean kingdom, was built the famous Ishtar Gate, leading to the temple of Marduk. This door was a fortified enclosure controlling access to the north of the city, then also housing one of the Seven Wonders of Ancient World: the Hanging Gardens, built to Amytis, monarch’s wife.
https://www.world-in-words.com/news/babylon-the-gate-of-the-gods/
So, the confusing thing to understand is that the Hebrews also have another word “balal” which means “to confuse”. This similarity between “bavel” and “balel” created for the ancient Hebrews a sort of word play in which “bavel” (gate of the gods) could be replaced by “balal” (to confuses) because it was at the tower of BAVEL (gate of God) that God confused “BALEL” man’s language.
Now, personally I’ve heard that part before about the Tower of Babel actually being some sort of “gate” or stairway to the “gods” (i.e. stairway to heaven) and have always found it interesting, particularly in relation to other esoteric writings regarding a great unfinished tower of mythology. We are going to get to that shortly. But first I want to cover the Biblical account a bit more.
The Tower of Babel Account in Genesis
Though the Bible suggests a different meaning for the word “Babel”, the original meaning of “Gate of God” is still somewhat implied by the Biblical story (and extra-biblical sources) which indicate that man was trying to build a tower or a staircase to “reach up to the heavens” (Gen 11:4).
Remember, the Hebrew people spent time in captivity to the Babylonians before writing their scriptures so it is logically plausible that they were familiar with the story of Marduk and the tower of Bab-ilu before they wrote their own tale of the tower. If the tower of Marduk was called Bab-ilu (Gate of God) and the Hebrews refer to it as the tower of Babal (or Bavel in Hebrew) then it seems logical a connection was MEANT to be implied and understood by the readers who would clearly be familiar with the Babylonian story. If not, surely the Hebrew people should have clarified they were NOT talking about the same temple and tower they were all familiar with from the Babylonians. I have to conclude therefore logically that the real purpose of the tower was, I believe, man’s attempt to get into heaven to the realm of the gods.
As many Christians are well aware from the “Biblical” account, for whatever reason, God became angry at men for building the tower at bab-ilu and confused their language in order to stop them from completing the project. Let’s review what the Book of Genesis has to say about the tower here:
And they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let’s make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of all the earth.” Now the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the men had built. And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they have started to do, and now nothing which they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth; and they stopped building the city. Therefore it was named Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
Genesis 11:4-8 NAS
This small snippet from the Book of Genesis, much like the flood story before it and the story of the Garden of Eden, provides very little information on it’s own as to what the real issue is going on at the tower of Babel. If one looks also at extra Biblical sources, the original meaning perhaps becomes more clear. Because our English versions obfuscate the original meaning of the Akkadian word “bab-ilu” or “Gate of God” by the word play of Balal (to confused) we are left only with the statement that man was “trying to make a name for themselves” and to avoid being scattered abroad. According to the Hebrew account this action so angered God that he confused their language so they would be forced to scatter abroad. The modern church understanding therefore of the tower of Babel story is simply that the great “sin” here is that man was not obeying his duty to “be fruitful and multiply” (by which to the modern church means the same thing as go populate the earth). The logic therefore is that because man wanted to settle in one place and not continue to populate the earth, God forced it on them to scatter by confusing their language. Our modern word “babble” (meaning to speak in incoherent words) comes from this understanding of the word Babel in the Bible. However, there is a LOT missing in this simplified view of the story.
A careful reading of the Genesis account will reveal that “God” here is not a solo being deciding by himself on a course of action. Rather, God here is depicted in the plural form again speaking to other “gods”. In other words, it as if a group of “gods” (plural) got together and agreed that “the gods” (plural) would go down and confuse man’s language. This was a decision “they” made together after talking to each other about it (i.e. “look at what they are doing, let’s do something about it!”
Now I know the modern understanding will explain this plurality of the word “god” and it’s plural pronouns as simply an expression of the”godhead” (father, son and holy spirit). I’d love to address that monster topic fully but that is just too big of a topic for this focused blog post today. The point is, even in the English (without the modern understanding of the godhead) it appears to be a group of beings deciding together on a course of action to stop man from completing a great tower.
What is God Trying to Prevent?
And what about that whole part about having to stop man because “if he can do this, he can do anything?” As the verses read in Genesis: “if this is what they have started to do then NOTHING will be impossible for them”. Why would God say that? Can’t God ALWAYS stop man from doing something if he chooses?
It has always been very interesting to me that this verse makes it seem as if God is concerned about the enlightenment and education of man. In fact, this sounds very much like the garden of Eden story where God forbid man from gaining knowledge from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and then when man “sins” and DOES gain knowledge we are told that his eyes were opened and he knew “good and evil”. Then we are told that God responds by saying “let us not let man ALSO eat from the tree of life and have eternal life” as if to suggest once man eats of it God has no choice in the matter, they WILL have eternal life. It seems as if God didn’t want man to have knowledge of Good and Evil but we managed to gain it anyway, despite his wishes. It also seems to suggest we could have had eternal life if we’d eaten from the Tree of Life against his wishes. This all seems to me a bit counter to the notion that God is all powerful and in complete control. How can we ever circumnavigate the plan of God? The real question for me then becomes, what IF man had eaten from the Tree of Life as well? What IF man had completed the tower of Babel? Would God have had no choice in the new status of man had he been allowed to complete the tower? Why did God have to take steps to keep man from the Tree of Life or completing the tower? What exactly is going on here?
To clarify, once again we see the “gods” being concerned about the actions of man and taking steps to make sure that man cannot become like they are. The gods decided to drive man out of the garden so as not to allow him to receive immortality and now again take action to stop them from reaching the heavens because if they did so, they would be able to do anything.
Occult or Esoteric Understanding of the Unfinished Tower
Those who are students of the “occult” (meaning “hidden” and NOT “evil” as the church has labeled it) or students of western esotericism, understand that there is so much more to the story of the tower of Babel than meets the eye. The REAL “sin” behind the creation of the tower of Babel, according to students of esoteric thought, was the notion that man was trying to reach the heavens and become like gods. It was THIS sin that cause the gods (yes plural) to declare:
“Behold they are one people and they all have the same language. And this is what they have started to do, and now NOTHING which they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come let US go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech”.
Emphasis is my own
This story of man trying to build a tower to become “like the gods” and then having the gods step in and stop them from completing it, is the basis I believe of many similar stories in other cultures. Take for example the Egyptians and the great pyramids (which could be seen as a tower reaching into the heavens). Few realize that the very top of the pyramids contains what is called a “capstone” which I believe is throwback to the story of the great unfinished tower. It represents, I believe, the concept of man completing the tower that the gods once stopped them from completing. In fact, the capstone of the pyramid is made out of different material from the rest of the pyramid in order to draw attention to it for some reason. Could it be because they were making a point of finishing the great unfinished tower? It’s even possible that one group built the the lower base of the pyramid without the “top” then some culture came along after and finished the top. If so, the original look would more closely resemble Lain American pyramids.
I also tend to believe, though I have not taking the time yet to prove it or look for the evidence, that the “unfinished” tower is also depicted in ancient Aztec and Mayan temples as well.\
The Occult (Hidden meaning) of the Dollar Bill
Before moving on to the Watchers connection I want to point out that the founders of the United States have long been associated with ancient secret societies like the Freemasons who have kept some of the ancient secrets from long ago. Most of us have been taught to laugh at this notion (that the founders of the United States were students of the occult or hidden mysteries) and therefore most will never look into the matter seriously for themselves. For me however, there is ZERO doubt to me that the founders were into ancient esoteric teachings and I can prove this to any reasonable person interested in seeing the proof. All you need to do is ask and I’d be happy to share that here or privately.
Anyway, the government of the United States also captured this well known esoteric story in the depiction on the back of our one dollar bill. Take note how they used an ancient “Egyptian” symbol (what does that have to do with the United States?) and made sure to emphasize the spiritual and hidden meaning of the unfinished tower with the proverbial “all seeing eye of God” in place of the capstone. The meaning I believe is clear. The creators of this symbol intended to show that they have either completed the unfinished tower and have become like gods (or reached the gods) or that they intend to make it their goal to finish the tower and become like the gods.
And now, as they say…the rest of the story.
Nimrod as a Watcher
According to the author, the extra Biblical “Book of Jashar” records more fully the connection between the story of the Tower of Babel and the Watchers. Now, if you are Christian I’d like you to stop for a moment and REALLY consider what I’m about to share with you. While the book of Jasher no longer appears in our modern “Bibles,” the book was not only widely read by the original believers but it is even referenced and QUOTED FROM in multiple times in our modern Bibles. For example:
So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,
Until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies.Is it not written in the Book of Jashar? And the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hurry to go down for about a whole day.
Joshua 10:13
And also
Then David sang this song of mourning over Saul and his son Jonathan, and he told them to teach the sons of Judah the mourning song of the bow; behold, it is written in the Book of Jashar.
2 Samuel 1:17-18
What follows after 2 Samuel 1:18 is nine full verse of direct quotes from the Book of Jasher. That’s a lot of direct quotes. Also the Book of Kings contains yet a third passage scholars believe comes directly from the Book of Jasher.
In other words, it seems extreme folly or just plain stubbornness to me if Christians choose to ignore the entire book of Jasher even when their own Bibles quote from it directly and reference it numerous times. This book is NOT entirely lost to history. We still have copies of the Book of Jasper in the form of Midrash (Jewish commentary that quotes from Jasher) for example. The writers of Joshua and 2 Samuel and Kings also quoted from this book in their books. The writers obviously expected their readers to be familiar with this book. Shouldn’t we also then consider what it says?
So ok, what does it say? As you may recall, the Bible itself credits the creation of Babylon to Nimrod, a “mighty hunter”. Here is what, according to the author, the Book of Jasher has to say about Nimrod from a quote in his book:
The life of Nimrod has been amplified significantly by the writings of Jasher,* which inform us that the strength and valor of the mighty warrior was attributed to the possession of one of the sacred relics of the House of Noah, the “garments of skins which God had made for Adam and his wife, when they went out of the garden.” Nimrod’s acquisition of this transmittable garment made him a Mighty One, a giant or a ‘nephilim’. This phrase derives from the Hebrew word ‘gilor’ which means “tyrant”. Gilor is the phonetic root of gilory or glory (remember, ‘name’ means glory).
The Watchers: Lost Secrets of Ascension, Resurrection and Perfection, location 1786
To be clear, the Book of Jasher apparently indicates that Nimrod had possession of the “garments of skin” that God made for Adam and Eve and that it was due to his possession of these garments that he became a “mighty one”, giant, or nephilim. If, as the modern understanding has it, Nimrod merely had some animal skins originally worn by Adam and Eve, how could that possible make him a “mighty one”? It seems obvious to me therefore that the “garments of skin” are no ordinary animal skins.
If you have not read the authors explanation of what the “garments of skin” are you should go back and look at older posts in my blog for a more complete explanation. The gist of it is that Adam and Eve may have been spiritual beings that were given “suits” or “garments” of skin to encapsulate their spiritual bodies, thus allowing them to interact with a physical world. It is also suggested by the author that the Watchers are actually Saraphim angels (spiritual beings) who also decided to put on “garments of skin”and become like us in some way to interact with the material world. But, as spiritual beings encased in a “garment of skin” they were different in some way than others and were “mighty ones” and “giants” of old.
I find all of this quite fascinating as I have never really considered the possibility that Adam and Eve’s “garments of skin” were a way to explain how spiritual beings took on physical form. If that’s the case, it changes the way we should be looking at at LOT of things.
What do YOU think?
Is is possible there is more to the story of the Tower of Babel than we currently understand?
Do you find it compelling that the Tower of Babel was originally intended to be a “gate to the gods” and that man was trying to become “like gods”?
Do you feel that God was actively trying to keep man from becoming “like him” in the stories of Eden, the Flood and the Tower of Babel?
Do YOU think the pyramids of Egypt and Latin American with their missing tops are related to the unfinished story of the Tower of Babel?
Do you feel Nimrod was a normal human or was he some sort of “Watcher” or Nephilim?
Do you feel finding copies of extra Biblical books once considered to be “scripture” but now rejected by the church may be worth looking at more closely?