Kids Answers Magazine Subscribe

What Difference Does Babel Make?

on October 1, 2014

You might not think that the Tower of Babel had much impact on us today, but take another look. That one “towering” event set in motion a number of changes that we can trace back to Babel. From the language you speak to the color of your hair, the confusion at Babel has had a huge impact on us all.

Hey, Kids! Buddy Davis here.

The Tower of Babel really happened, and it explains much of what we see in the world today, such as different languages and skin tones.

Buddy

Civilizations

When archaeologists dig into dirt all over the world, they find the remains of cities and whole empires. Enough bits of pottery, jewelry, buildings, writings, and other clues remain to show how successful these early cities were. They show how people spread out after Babel. Some of these travelers eventually made it to the Americas, Australia, and even remote islands.

Tower of Babel

Genetic Similarities

We may look a bit different on the outside, but we humans aren’t so different inside. Our bodies have something called DNA. These are like tiny little “libraries” of information that tell our cells what to do. And all humans have very similar libraries. Our close family resemblance makes sense because Babel happened only a few thousand years ago.

Tower of Babel

Skin Tones

Even though people around us may have different skin—shades from very dark to very light brown—we all came from Noah’s family. How do we know? Well, God made the first two humans, Adam and Eve. From the beginning, they likely had the ability to have children who looked different from one another. That includes skin tone, eye shape, and more. After Babel, those differences became more obvious between groups that live a long way away from each other. But we’re all still one big family.

Tower of Babel

Languages

The people of the earth once spoke a single language (the same language Noah’s family spoke). When God mixed things up at Babel, lots of new languages suddenly came about. We don’t know how many languages God created, but we do know that they led to all the languages we speak today—from English to Swahili to Inuit. Some people study how languages have changed over time, but they can’t figure out what caused some people to start speaking differently from other people. The Bible answers that question. Look inside to see!

Tower of Babel
Next Article A Tower for Rebels

Kids Answers Magazine

A Tower for Rebels

A Tower for Rebels

This issue teaches the account of God’s judgment at the Tower of Babel and the consequences of this rebellion against God.

Browse Kids Issue