THE TOWER OF BABEL AND THE WATERSHED OF MORAL CIVILIZATION

Abstract

What is the significance of the Tower of Babel narrative in the Bible, seemingly abruptly inserted between Noah and Abraham- The two crucial figures of monotheism? Who led the building of the Tower of Babel, and what impact did it have on later human society? The Bible has no direct interpretation, thus making it available for the reader to interpret. Based on the biblical commentaries and other rabbinical texts related to the Tower of Babel incident, this article puts forward the argument that the Tower of Babel is a watershed of human moral civilization and discusses it from the three aspects: the event of Tower of Babel brings two types of religion bases (Human-based and God-based), brings two philosophical categories (theocentrism and anthropocentrism), and brings the two cultural societies (Babel style and Abraham styles), which conducts some analysis around the theme from three sources that influence the definition of morality: religious belief, philosophy, and culture.