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 Hebrew word is a block; each Hebrew verse is a paragraph of little blocks.
- Blocks & text are read left-to-right, as in English.
- Possible pun meaning is on light red at the top, with pun vocabulary just below.
- Original Hebrew text is in the center.
- Official meaning is on light green at the bottom, with official vocabulary just above.
- Pun vocabulary is in red, whenever the meaning differs.
- Pun decryption is not an exact science, so please judge yourself whether I got it right.
Genesis 11
Genesis 11:1
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.
2 pun-meanings are possible here: “united government” and “united understanding”. I’ll go with “understanding”, because a united government (of moles) would be the spooks’ solution, and not the initial problem.
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 bnsˁm בנסעםb as nsˁ move, journey as they journeyedby the “hidden”m by ktm dark, hidden mqdm מקדםm from qdm east from the eastthat they [the “hidden”?] foundmṣˀ find, encounter, happen wymṣˀw וימצאוmṣˀ find, encounter, happen that they [the people?] found[themselves to be] examinedbqˀ examine, search bqˁh בקעהbqˁh valley, plain a plain[from] among 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
And they 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 lbnym לבניםlbnh brick bricksand rebel against [them]n 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,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.
This may be a double-pun, depending on who is “them”: The common people have lb “will” and gmr “determination”; The spooks employ lˁb “mockery” and ḫmr “veils”.
Genesis 11:4
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 cityof 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.rṣṣ oppressed hˀrṣ הארץˀrṣ earth the earth.
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”.
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 cityandˀt to wˀt ואתˀt to andthe greatnessm of gdl great mgdl enlarged, magnified 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.
Genesis 11:7
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.
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 “led” by misdirecting moles is certainly what the spooks did in later epochs.
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
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 bbl בבלbbl Babel “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 earthand 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.
The actual Babylon was certainly not named for this pun, though probably already ruled by spooks or proto-spooks.