Noach 11:4 · unit 1

TT #78 · Parashas Noach · Seventh Aliyah · Passuk 11:4

The Complete Passuk

וַיֹּאמְר֞וּ הָ֣בָה ׀ נִבְנֶה־לָּ֣נוּ עִ֗יר וּמִגְדָּל֙ וְרֹאשׁ֣וֹ בַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וְנַֽעֲשֶׂה־לָּ֖נוּ שֵׁ֑ם פֶּן־נָפ֖וּץ עַל־פְּנֵ֥י כׇל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃

And they said: “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

Chabad.org — 11:4

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to the three factions among the builders (Sanhedrin 109a).

Sefaria — Sanhedrin 109a

E-Daf image — Sanhedrin 109a (size=3)

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
הָבָה נִבְנֶה — דּוֹר הַפַּלָּגָה נֶחְלְקוּ לְשָׁלֹשׁ כִּתּוֹת: אַחַת אוֹמֶרֶת נַעֲלֶה וְנֵשֵׁב שָׁם, וְאַחַת אוֹמֶרֶת נַעֲלֶה וְנַעֲבֹד עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה, וְאַחַת אוֹמֶרֶת נַעֲלֶה וְנַעֲשֶׂה מִלְחָמָה.

English: “Come, let us build” — The generation of the Dispersion divided into three groups: one said “Let us ascend and dwell there,” one said “Let us ascend and worship idols,” and one said “Let us ascend and wage war.”

Type of Learning

Custom (three motives within the Tower generation).

What Is Learned

The builders were not uniform; three distinct intentions drove the project, each punished accordingly.