Babel, Tower of

The Book of Genesis speaks of the construction of a tower in the land of Shinar (Babylon) by the people, who say: “Let's build a great city with a tower that reaches to the skies, a monument to our greatness!” (Genesis, 11:4)
 
The tower here described is modeled on after a “ziggurat”, which was a mound of sun-dried bricks very common in Mesopotamia. “ziggurat” began being constructed probably before 4,000 BC.                      
 
The Bible sees in this tower a symbol of mankind’s defiance against God, similar to the defiance of Adam’s in the garden of Eden.
      
Genesis concludes the story by saynig that “the LORD scattered the people all over the earth; and that ended the building of the city. That is why the city was called Babel, because it was there that the LORD confused the people by giving them many languages, thus scattering them across the earth (Genesis, 11: 8-9).
      
Christians see in the tower of Babel a symbol of the restoration brought about by Jesus. The Acts of the apostles relate that “on the day of Pentecost, seven weeks after Jesus' resurrection, the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm in the skies above them, and it filled the house where they were meeting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. (Acts, 2: 1-4)
 
The “wind” here symbolizes the Holy Spirit. “The tongues of fire” symbolize the gift of speaking different tongues (languages) given by the Holy Spirit. Speaking different languages is no more a sign of confusion and division, but a sign of deep unity in the same Spirit.
 
Evangelization aims at restoring the unity of mankind in the diversity of cultures and languages.