Babel: A Tower of Evidence

While the similarities pose a challenge to evolutionary historians who believe that each culture devised the same style of building independently, they can be easily explained by the Babel account.^[7] It is more plausible to believe that the people who participated in the construction of the Tower carried the knowledge and skills required to build such structures as they dispersed worldwide, and that the existence of similar structures in regions where ziggurats were not previously constructed can be explained by a shared inspiration, such as the Tower.

Similar deities around the world

In addition to the pyramid-style structures found all over the world, many myths and legends also share striking similarities across different cultures. These commonalities are far too specific and abundant to be mere coincidences, including stories about creation, a global flood, giants who once roamed the earth, dragon-like creatures resembling dinosaurs, and more.^[9]

It is noteworthy that some of these stories were in circulation before the Bible was written and can even be found in cultures that had no prior exposure to Christianity or the Bible.^[10] Regardless, the differences between these stories are substantial enough to show that they were not simply copied from the biblical text or other historical sources.^[9]

The incredible complexity and diversity of over 7,000 human languages, which appear to have arisen relatively quickly in human history, are another testament to the Babel account and the creation timeline. The intricate grammar, morphology, phonetics, and syntax in ancient texts, such as Sumerian cuneiform and Egyptian hieroglyphs, indicate that human language emerged fully formed and complex.^[11] This is reinforced by linguistic observations, including^[12]:

1. Languages have a relatively short lifespan and can disappear or transform beyond recognition within just a few generations.
2. Many of the world’s languages can be traced back to a relatively small number of ancestral languages, suggesting rapid language diversification. This is further supported by DNA analysis, which shows patterns of genetic diversity consistent with rapid language diversification.^[13]
3. Linguistic reconstructions indicate that many of the world’s language families may have diverged from a common ancestor within the past 10,000 years.^[14]
4. The earliest known written records of human language date back only 4,000 to 5,000 years ago. (Unsurprisingly, these records were found in the same region where the Babel account takes place.)^[15]

While evolutionary linguistics posits that languages gradually evolve over vast periods of time through natural selection, starting with simple vocalizations and developing into complex grammatical systems, these observations contradict that notion.^[11] Instead, they are perfectly consistent with the biblical account of God confounding people’s languages at Babel around 4,200 years ago, leading to the creation of many distinct languages with shared roots and structures, all stemming from a complex language that already existed. 

The fact that no other species has demonstrated the ability to use language in the same way as humans is further evidence that language is a unique, God-given trait.^[16]

“The first inhabitants of the earth, glorying in their own strength and size, and despising the gods, undertook to raise a tower whose top should reach the sky in the place where Babylon [Babel] now stands; but when it approached the heavens, the winds assisted the gods, and overthrew the work of the contrivers…and the gods introduced a diversity of tongues among men, who till that time had all spoken the same language…”

Likewise, Polyhistor recorded the account of Eupolemus, a Jewish historian from the 2nd century B.C.^[20]:

“Eupolemus in his book Concerning the Jews of Assyria says that the city Babylon was first founded by those who escaped from the Deluge [Flood]; and that they were giants, and built the tower renowned in history. But when this had been overthrown by the act of God, the giants were dispersed over the whole earth…”

In addition to these accounts, other secular historians, including Josephus, Herodotus, Plato, Siculus, and the prophetesses Sybils, as well as dozens of ancient Jewish and Christian writings, also reference various aspects of the Babel account.^[21][22]