Tower of Babel
The literal Tower of Babel story is already about superiors confusing their subjects, to prevent them from achieving anything. Still, it is surprisingly hard to de-pun, because it focuses on the actions of the people rather than the spooks: The story seems to talk about how the people once wanted to build up clarity & understanding about their rulers — that is what the rulers needed to prevent through confusion.
How to read the interlinear puns
- Each word is a block; each verse is a paragraph of little blocks. Blocks & text are always read left-to-right, as in English.
- Possible pun meaning is on light red at the top, with hyperlinked pun vocabulary just below.
- Original text is in the center.
- Official meaning is on light green at the bottom, with hyperlinked official vocabulary just above.
- Pun vocabulary is in red, whenever the meaning differs.
- Pun decryption is not an exact science. Please read the introduction, the interchangeability rules, and judge yourself whether I got it right.
- An encrypted spook message does not automatically mean that the literal meaning is wrong, or that the encrypted meaning is the truth. Still, religious readers should proceed with care.
Unity and the will to build up
As usual, the Tower of Babel can be read in 2 ways: The face-value story is a religious one, and the pun-encrypted story teaches spookery. Here, it’s about the unity of the people, and how the rulers break it through confusion.
However, the puns are so ambiguous that the Tower of Babel can perhaps be read in 3 ways: Depending on who is meant by “them” in each sentence, the parable teaches spookery either from the perspective of the rulers or the subjects. The name Babel may even allude to this, because bll bˁl b-ˁlb actually means “confuse lords with subjects”!
Genesis 11:1
This may be a double-pun, depending on who is “them”: The rṣṣ “oppressed” initially had one špṭ “judgement” and one dbr “understanding”. The rṣṣ “oppressors” had a united špṭ “government” and a united dbr “leadership”. A united government (of moles) would also be the spooks’ solution to all their troubles with the common people.
And it was thatyhy be, become wyhy ויהיyhy be, become And it was thatallkl all kl כלkl all allthe oppressed [had]rṣṣ oppressed hˀrṣ הארץˀrṣ earth, country the earth [had]a judgmentšpṭ judge, judgment, decide, govern, rule šph שפהšph language špt language languageunitedˀḥt one, united ˀḥt אחתˀḥt one, united oneand a behaviordbr lead, guide, act, behave, conduct wdbrym ודבריםdbr word, speech and speechunited.ˀḥd one, united ˀḥdym אחדיםˀḥd one, united one.
Genesis 11:2
And it came to passyhy be, become wyhy ויהיyhy be, become And it came to passas they [the people?] were deceivedb as nšˀ deceive, beguile m them bnsˁm בנסעםb as nsˁ move, journey m them as they journeyedby the “hidden”m by ktm dark, hidden mqdm מקדםm from qdm east from the eastthat they [the “hidden”?] happenedmṣˀ find, encounter, happen wymṣˀw וימצאוmṣˀ find, encounter, happen that they [the people?] found[to be?] examinedbqˀ examine, search bqˁh בקעהbqˁh valley, plain a plainamong the oppressedb among rṣṣ oppressed bˀrṣ בארץb in ˀrṣ land in the landwho were stirring & waking up [?],š who nˁr servant, shake off, stirred up, wake, awake šnˁr שנערšnˁr Shinar of Shinarand was explained [?]yšb settled, explained wyšbw וישבוyšb dwell and dwelttheir existence & nature [?].šm existing, nature, character šm שםšm place, there there.
Genesis 11:3
This may be a double-pun, depending on who is “them”: The common people have lb “will” and gmr “determination” to srb “rebel”; The spooks employ lˁb “mockery” and ḫmr “veils” to srb “confound”.
And they [the people] saidˀmr say wyˀmrw ויאמרוˀmr say And they saidoneˀyš one ˀyš אישˀyš one onetoˀl to ˀl אלˀl to toanother:rˁ another rˁhw רעהוrˁ another another:Come,hbh come hbh הבהhbh come Come,let us buildn will l to bnh build nlbnh נלבנהn will l to bnh build let us buildan understanding of them [the “hidden”]lb heart, mind, will, thought, understanding m them lbnym לבניםlbnh brick bricksand rebeln will srb refuse, deny, against, rebel, decline office wnšrph ונשרפהn will šrp burn, burned and bake [them]to refuse [them].l to srb refuse, deny, against, rebel, decline office lšrph לשרפהl to šrp burn, burned into a baked state.And there washyh be wthy ותהיhyh be And there wasto themlhm to them lhm להםlhm to them to themthe willlb heart, mind, will, thought, understanding hlbnh הלבנהlbnh brick brickfor thought & understanding,l for lb heart, mind, will, thought, understanding lˀbn לאבןl to ˀbn stone for stone,and the stirred-up / determinationkmr heat, stirred gmr conclude, determine, decide whḥmr והחמרḥmr clay, asphalt, mortar and asphaltthere washyh be hyh היהhyh be there wasto themlhm to them lhm להםlhm to them to themto wreak destruction.l to kmr heat, stirred gmr conclude, finish, destroy lḥmr לחמרl to ḥmr clay, asphalt, mortar for mortar.
Genesis 11:4
This may be a double-pun, depending on who is “them”: The common people need ˀwr “understanding” of the gdl “nobility”; The spooks need rˀw “appearances” that are gdl “noble”.
And they [the people?] said:ˀmr say wyˀmrw ויאמרוˀmr say And they [the people] said:Come,hbh come hbh הבה hbh come Come,let us buildn will bnh build nbnh נבנהn will bnh build let us buildfor ourselveslnw to us lnw לנוlnw to us for ourselvesan understandingˀwr clear, enlighten, understanding ˁyr עירˁyr city a city[of] the twisted / nobilitym of gdl arrogant, twisted, majesty gdwl noble, leader wmgdl ומגדלmgdl tower and a tower[whose] leaders & rulers [are]rˀš leader, master, ruler wrˀšw וראשוrˀš head, top [whose] top [is]veiled.b in ṣmh veil ṣmṣm veil oneself bšmym בשמיםb in šmym heavens in the heavens.And let us maken will ˁšh make wnˁšh ונעשהn will ˁšh make And let us makefor ourselveslnw to us lnw לנוlnw to us for ourselvesa mighty force [of our own?]ˁṣm strong, mighty, force šm שםšm name a namelestpn lest, or else, otherwise pn פןpn lest, or else, otherwise lest[we] be shattered & brokennpṣ shatter, break npwṣ נפוץnpṣ scatter [we] be scatteredoverˁl on, over, to ˁl עלˁl on, over, to overthe facepny face pny פניpny face the faceof allkl all kl כלkl all of allthe earth.ˀrṣ earth hˀrṣ הארץˀrṣ earth the earth.
Intervention to prevent the building
Genesis 11:5
But came downyrd come down wyrd וירדyrd come down But came downthe “hidden”yḥbh hidden yhwh יהוהyhwh Yahweh Yahwehto seel to rˀt see lrˀt לראתl to rˀt see to see ˀt to ˀt אתˀt to the understandingˀwr clear, enlighten, understanding hˁyr העירˁyr city the city[of]ˀt to wˀt ואתˀt to andthe nobilitym of gdl majesty gdwl noble, leader hmgdl המגדלmgdl tower the towerwhichˀšr which ˀšr אשרˀšr which whichhad builtbnh build bnw בנוbnh build had builtthe sonsbny sons bny בניbny sons the sonsof [common] men.ˀdm man, men hˀdm האדםˀdm man, men of men.
Genesis 11:6
And saidˀmr say wyˀmr ויאמרˀmr say And saidthe “hidden”:yḥbh hidden yhwh יהוהyhwh Yahweh YahwehBehold,hn lo, behold hn הןhn lo, behold Behold,the people [are]ˁm people ˁm עםˁm people the people [are]unitedˀḥd one, united ˀḥd אחדˀḥd one, united oneand [have] a judgmentšpṭ judge, judgment, decide, govern, rule wšph ושפהšph language špt language and [have] languageunited,ˀḥt one, united ˀḥt אחתˀḥt one, united one,to everything.l to kl all m them lklm לכלםl to kl all m them to everything.And thiszh this wzh וזהzh this And thisthey have begunḥll begin hḥlm החלםḥll begin they have begunto do,l to ˁšh do lˁšwt לעשותl to ˁšh do to do,nowˁth now, already wˁth ועתהˁth now, already nownothinglˀ not, nothing lˀ לאlˀ not, nothing nothingwill be withheldbṣr withhold ybṣr יבצרbṣr withhold will be withheldfrom themm from hm them mhm מהםm from hm them from them[of] allkl all kl כלkl all [of] allthatˀšr which ˀšr אשרˀšr which thatWE schemezmm devise, plan, scheme yzmw יזמוzmm devise, plan, scheme they deviseto do.l to ˁšh do lˁšwt לעשותl to ˁšh do to do.
Confusion prevents the people from building up
Genesis 11:7
How do the the “hidden” confuse the people? The verse may be a double-pun, as bll-špt-m means “confuse their decisions”, but also “mingle with their decisionmakers”, even “anoint their decisionmakers”! Having rebellous people be “misled” by overlord moles is certainly what the spooks did in later epochs.
Come,hbh come hbh הבהhbh come Come,let us go downn will yrd go down, bring down nrdh נרדהn will yrd go down, bring down let us go downand confuse / minglen will bll mix, mingle, anoint wnblh ונבלהn will bll confuse, confound and confusetherešm there šm שםšm there theretheir judgment & rules / with their judges & rulers,špṭ judge, judgment, govern, governor, rule, ruler m their šptm שפתםšpt language m their their language,thatˀšr that ˀšr אשרˀšr that thatnotlˀ not lˀ לאlˀ not notmay understandšmˁ listen, obey, understand yšmˁw ישמעוšmˁ listen, obey, understand may understandone manˀyš man ˀyš אישˀyš man one manthe judgments & decisionsšpṭ judge, judgment, decide, govern, rule špt שפתšpt speech the speechof another.rˁ another rˁhw רעהוrˁ another of another.
Genesis 11:8
So destroyedpṣṣ break, destroy wypṣ ויפץpwṣ scatter So scatteredthe “hidden”yḥbh hidden yhwh יהוהyhwh Yahweh Yahwehthem [the people]ˀt to m them ˀtm אתםˀt to m them them [the people]from therem from šm there mšm משםm from šm there from thereoverˁl over ˁl עלˁl over overthe facepny face pny פניpny face the faceof allkl all kl כלkl all of allthe earth,ˀrṣ earth hˀrṣ הארץˀrṣ earth the earth,and they ceasedḥdl cease, desist, stop wyḥdlw ויחדלוḥdl cease, desist, stop and they ceasedto build upl to bnt build lbnt לבנתl to bnt build to buildclarity & understanding.ˀwr clear, enlighten, understanding hˁyr העירˁyr city the city.
Genesis 11:9
Here’s the official Babylon pun. The actual Babylon was certainly not named for this pun, though it was probably already ruled by spooks or proto-spooks.
Uponˁl upon ˁl עלˁl upon Uponthuskn thus kn כןkn thus thusis calledqrˀ call qrˀ קראqrˀ call is calledthe namešm name šmh שמהšm name the name“Babel”,bbl Babel, Babylon bbl בבלbbl Babel, Babylon “Babel”,forky for ky כיky for fortherešm there šm שםšm there thereconfusedbll mix, confuse, confound bll בללbll mix, confuse, confound confusedthe “hidden”yḥbh hidden yhwh יהוהyhwh Yahweh Yahwehthe judgment & decisionsšpṭ judge, judgment, decide, govern, rule špt שפתšpt language the languageof allkl all kl כלkl all of allthe oppressed,ˀrṣ earth hˀrṣ הארץˀrṣ earth the earth,and from therem from šm there wmšm ומשםm from šm there and from theredestroyed thempṣṣ break, destroy hpyṣm הפיצםpwṣ scatter scattered themthe “hidden”yḥbh hidden yhwh יהוהyhwh Yahweh Yahwehoverˁl over ˁl עלˁl over overthe facepny face pny פניpny face the faceof allkl all kl כלkl all of allthe earth.ˀrṣ earth hˀrṣ הארץˀrṣ earth the earth.