I've Always Wondered if We Could Still See the Remains of the Tower of Babel
Ever since reading the original story in the Book of Genesis, I've always wondered if there were any remnant of the giant tower built in the days after the flood. I always imagined it to be extremely tall and extremely wide at the base, tiered like a ziggarat reaching up extraordinarily high heights. The artist depictions of if show the tower as round, but I suspected this was incorrect. I always saw it in my mind as a pyramid. Sort of like the pyramid on the SEAL of the United States.
What's interesting, is that there is a pyramid that some religions of the world believe will have an "All Seeing Eye" appear at it's pinnacle. The name of the mountain is Mount Kailash:
A Fascinating Documentary
This investigation into Mount Kailash began when I came across this video in my FB feed, suggesting that a "mountain" in Tibet may actually be the remains of the Tower of Babel!
But of course there is one very large question: isn't the tower of Babel in... you know, Babel? In the middle east?
The Tower of Babel Wasn't in Babel... It was East of Shinar
This was a shocking revelation - that the "Babel" in the middle east (referred many times in the Torah) was named after the events at the Tower of Babel... which happened east of Shinar.
It All Begins with Nimrod
And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter [in the face of] the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter [in the face of] the LORD. Genesis 10:7-9
A similar account is given in Jasher:
And Cush the son of Ham, the son of Noah, took a wife in those days in his old age and she bare a son and they called his name Nimrod saying "At that time the sons of men again began to rebel and transgress against God." And the child grew up and his father loved him exceedingly for he was the son of his old age... God gave him might and strength and he was a mighty hunter in the earth, yea, he was a mighty hunter in the field and he hunted the animals and he built altars and he offered upon them the animals before the LORD. And Nimrod strengthened himself and he rose up from among his brethren and he fought the battles of his brethren against all their enemies around about and the LORD delivered all the enemies of his brethren into his hand and God prospered him from time to time in his battles and he reigned upon the earth, therefore it became a custom in those days, when a man ushered forth those who he had trained up for battle, he would say to them "Like God did to Nimrod, who was a mighty hunter in the earth and who succeeded in the battles that prevailed against his brethren, that he delivered them from the hands of their enemies, so may God strengthen us and deliver us this day." Jasher Chapter 7
Nimrod builds his empire, begining with three cities:
And the beginning of his kingdom Babylon: and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, [were] in the land of Shinar. Genesis 10:10
So three cities were founded in Shinar, which is the beginning of the kingdom of Babylon... but not the location of the tower, nor the final location of "Babylon" as we shall see.
First is Erech, which means "to stretch" or "expand" named when Nimrod began expanding his boundries.
Next is "Accad" which is a primitive version of "Achad" meaning "unified" or "one" or "single" as the conqured cities became unified in the Babylonian empire.
Finally is "Calneh" meaning "all of them", as in there is no dissent within the conquered lands.
Putting the four city names together makes "Expanding and unifying all together"
The Whole Earth, or Babylon?
The story of the tower of Babel begins with a people settling in the plain of Shinar:
And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech and it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. Genesis 11:1-2
I've always read this "they" as "the whole earth" and thought "and the whole earth dwelt there", but that's not really what it's saying. It's talking specifically about Babylon, the sons of Ham including Nimrod.
The Forth City: The City of Shinar
We learn that the "land of Shinar" was named after a particular city, built as the capital for the Kingdom of Babylon.
And while [Nimrod] was reigning according to his heart's desire, after having conquered all his enemies around, he advised with his counselors to build a city for his palace and they did so. They found a large plain to the east [of Ararat] and they built him a large and extensive city. And Nimrod called the name of the city that he built "Shinar" for the LORD had vehemently shaken his enemies and destroyed them. Jasher 7:42-43
The city became the greatest city on earth and all the nations became subjected to Nimrod.
The Kingdom of Shinar became a One World Government.
And Nimrod dwelt in [the city of] Shinar and he reigned securely and he fought with his enemies and he subdued them and he prospered in all his battles and his kingdom became very great. And all nations and tongues heard of his fame and they gathered themselves to him and they bowed down to the earth and they brought him offerings and he became their lord and king and they dwelt with him in the city of Shinar and Nimrod reigned in the earth over all the sons of Noah and they were all under his power and counsel. Jasher 7:44-45
We know that the Most High doesn't have a problem with centralized power so long as the King walks in the ways of Yehovah and does not teach abominable practices - however Nimrod in his arrogance rebelled against Yehovah. When the centralized government rebels against the Most High, DECENTRALIZED power is needed, power must be scattered around the earth.
And all the earth was of one tongue and unified words, but Nimrod did not go in the ways of the LORD and he was more wicked than all the men that were before him from the days of the flood until those days. And he made gods of wood and stone and he bowed down to them and he rebelled against the LORD and taught all his subjects and all the people of the earth his wicked ways. Jasher7:46-47
The tower of Babel story is the story of how God DECENTRALIZED the kingdom of Shinar's power and authority by scattering them around the entire earth.
A Unified Building Project: The Unnamed City
Here is were the story of the Tower of Babel begins:
And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top [may reach] unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. Genesis 11:3-4
They rejected the NAME of the Yehovah, and attempted to create a name for themselves, lest they be scattered over the whole earth by their enemies:
And king Nimrod reigned securely and all the earth was under his control and all the earth was of one tongue and a unified words. And all the princes of Nimrod and his great men took counsel together... and they said to him "Come, let us build ourselves a city and in it a strong tower and it's top reaching Heaven. And we will make ourselves famous, so that we may reign upon the whole world, so that the evil of our enemies will cease from us, that we may reign mightily over them and that we may not become scattered over the earth on account of their wars." Jasher 9:21
Searched the Whole Earth For the Perfect Location of the Tower: East of Shinar
When the idea came about to build another city, unlike the city of Shinar which was in a plain, they wanted this city to be high up, close to Heaven.
And all the families assembled consisting of about six hundred thousand men and they went to seek a wide piece of ground to build the city and the tower. Jasher 9:23
600,000 men searched for the perfect place for this Utopian city reaching towards the Heavens!
And they searched in the whole earth and they found nothing like one flat-place, east of the land of Shinar, about two days' walk, and they journeyed there and they dwelt there and they began to make bricks and burn fires to build the city and the tower that they had imagined to complete. Jasher 9:23b-24
Ararat is the little circle. Could it be that the kingdom of Shinar is the large circle to the east of Mount Ararat and Mount Kailash (the unnamed city and tower) is east of Shinar. Because most of the bible takes place in the middle east, we don't associate northern India with anything in the bible - but after the flood the sons of Noah initially migrated East and began to build a world empire as far as they could from Eden.
Nothing like this place.
The Very High and Strong Tower
If Mount Kailash are the remains of the great city and tower, we are only seeing 1/3rd of it's original unfinished design. The original magnitude of this tower and it's enormous size and height are preserved in Sefer Yashar:
And when they were building, they built themselves a great city and a very high and strong tower. And on account of it's height, the mortar and bricks did not reach the builders in their ascent to it, until those who went up had completed a full year, and after than they reached to the builders and gave them the mortar and the bricks, thus it was done daily and behold, these ascended and others descended the whole day. Jasher 9:27
According to this account, the tower was so large that it took a YEAR for a brick to go from manufacturing to assembly at the height of the tower. Wow! Some people have read this account in Jasher and figured that the ancient author was exaggerating, but is it possible that it was in fact that large? Quite possibly sized at a BIBLICAL level!
Punishments Upon the Builders
When the Most High saw what they were doing, He took action:
And the LORD said, Behold, the people [is] one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. Genesis 11:6-7
Another account:
And God said to the seventy angels who stood before Him, to those who were near to Him, said "come, let us descend and confuse their tongues, that one man shall not understand the language of his neighbor. And they did so unto them. And from that day following, they forgot each man his neighbor's tongue. And they could not understand to speak in one tongue and when the builder took from the hands of his neighbor lime or stone which he did not order, the builder would cast it away and throw it upon his neighbor that he would die. And they did so many days and they killed many of them in this manner. Jasher 9:33-34
The text continues saying that Yehovah exhibited three punishments on the builders of the tower:
Those who wanted to ascend into Heaven and smite God with bows and spears, he killed by the hands of his neighbor, probably with bows and spears!
Those who wanted to place their idols in Heaven and worship them - he turned them into apes and elephants.
Interesting the images (idols) of the "gods" of the east
- Those who wanted to ascend into Heaven and and fight against the Most High, these were the ones whom God scattered abroad from there upon the face of the earth
So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Genesis 11:8
Scattering abroad could mean that God placed 1/3rd of the builders onto all the continents of the world - which could explain why we see step-pyramid towers in ancient civilizations around the world.
Aztec temple that resembles a mountain.
Is Mount Kailash The Remains of the Tower?
There is a memory of what ultimately happened to the tower, as preserved in an ancient text:
As to the tower which the sons of men built, the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up 1/3rd part of it, and fire also descended from Heaven and burned another third, and the other third is left to this day and it is of that part which was aloft. Jasher 9:38
This may be the remnant that is the part which was "aloft".
Could this be the opening of "the mouth of the earth", sinking 1/3rd of the tower into the ground? Is this perhaps also the ashen brick cascading down the sides as 1/3rd of the tower was incinerated with fire?
Could these be the extremely large red bricks, still seen today?
It's almost as if there are stairs in the center of the structure.
What we see today as a mountain, may be the inner brickwork of the tower, sunken down to a similar height as the surrounding mountains - preserved today for the glory of the Most High and a memory of His might and power.
Disputed Land
The land where Mount Kailash is located is Tibet, the disputed "autonomous region" between India and China, an area that has been fought over for many years.
What is it about Tibet that is considered so sacred? Why is this land in particular fought over by the Chinese and Indians? Could there be a coveted location in the area that has been remembered for generations?
Answering these questions may lend some clarity as to why this area is considered so unique.
A "Holy Mountain"
If Mount Kailash is the remains of the tower of Babel, it is neither holy, nor is it a mountain. But it's religious significance is remembered, even in FOUR EASTERN RELIGIONS!
Mount Kailash is considered to be sacred in four religions: Hinduism, Bon, Buddhism, and Jainism. Wikipedia
This photo depicts tales of "gods" residing inside the mountain, as if it were a building with chambers inside.
It is possible a memory of this great building project is still venerated today? Mount Kailash is thought to be the resting place of their "gods", and is considered "the Gateway to Heaven".
Walking Around the Mountain
One of the practices of pilgrims to this site is traveling around the mountain. The remains itself are too steep to climb.
A limited number of Indian pilgrims have been allowed to visit the place, under the supervision of the Chinese and Indian governments either by a lengthy and hazardous trek over the Himalayan terrain, travel by land from Kathmandu or from Lhasa where flights from Kathmandu are available to Lhasa and thereafter travel over the great Tibetan plateau by car. The journey takes four night stops, finally arriving at Darchen at an elevation of 4,600 m (15,100 ft), a small outpost that swells with pilgrims at certain times of the year. Despite its minimal infrastructure, modest guest houses are available for foreign pilgrims, whereas Tibetan pilgrims generally sleep in their own tents. A small regional medical center serving far-western Tibet and funded by the Swiss Ngari Korsum Foundation was built here in 1997. Walking around the mountain—a part of its official park—has to be done on foot, pony or domestic yak, and takes some three days of trekking. Wikipedia
Three days of trekking around the mountain is similar to what is remembered concerning the tower in the ancient text of Jasher:
And it's circumference is three days' walk Many people of the sons of men died in that tower a people without number. Jasher 9:38-39
Is it possible that the ritual of circling the mountain may have originated with memorializing the rebellious souls of those who perished with the destruction of the tower? Memorializing those whose full cycle of life and death was devoted to the "divine" building project? Do they believe these souls can wipe away "negative karma"? Perhaps that's the meaning of the supposed pilgrimage!
Doing a walk around the mountain can wipe away a lifetime's worth of sins, or negative karma as is the term in Eastern religions. "He who performs the Parikrama, the ritual circumambulation of the holy mountain, with a perfectly devoted and concentrated mind goes through a full cycle of life and death" Lama Anagarika Govinda, 'The Way of the White Clouds.' source
The eastern religions that practice this are themselves rebellious to the commands of Yehovah even to this day and it would make sense they would mourn the remains of the builders and their tower with prostrations and idols.
Conclusion
By studying the ancient text of Sefer Torah and Sefer Yasher, we can place information together and get an idea of the details surrounding the location of the tower.
While it's natural to look to the historical "Babylon" for the location of the tower, we have to remember that the great unnamed city and tower were destroyed and the builders were either killed or scattered around the world.
Considering the word "babel" means "confusion", it's easy to see why there's confusion surrounding the location of the tower, especially as the kingdom of Babylon was rebuilt outside of the land of Israel, we would expect to find the remains of the tower there.
But could the remains be in Northern India, at the highest plateau known on earth? The land elevation closest to Heaven known to man? That is a more likely location, before the confusion of languages and the destruction of the city and tower.
I hope this speculation has been a blessing to you while we all BLESS THE MOST HIGH!
Bless the Most High!
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