(א) וַֽיְהִ֥י כָל־הָאָ֖רֶץ שָׂפָ֣ה אֶחָ֑ת וּדְבָרִ֖ים אֲחָדִֽים׃ (ב) וַֽיְהִ֖י בְּנָסְעָ֣ם מִקֶּ֑דֶם וַֽיִּמְצְא֥וּ בִקְעָ֛ה בְּאֶ֥רֶץ שִׁנְעָ֖ר וַיֵּ֥שְׁבוּ שָֽׁם׃ (ג) וַיֹּאמְר֞וּ אִ֣ישׁ אֶל־רֵעֵ֗הוּ הָ֚בָה נִלְבְּנָ֣ה לְבֵנִ֔ים וְנִשְׂרְפָ֖ה לִשְׂרֵפָ֑ה וַתְּהִ֨י לָהֶ֤ם הַלְּבֵנָה֙ לְאָ֔בֶן וְהַ֣חֵמָ֔ר הָיָ֥ה לָהֶ֖ם לַחֹֽמֶר׃ (ד) וַיֹּאמְר֞וּ הָ֣בָה ׀ נִבְנֶה־לָּ֣נוּ עִ֗יר וּמִגְדָּל֙ וְרֹאשׁ֣וֹ בַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וְנַֽעֲשֶׂה־לָּ֖נוּ שֵׁ֑ם פֶּן־נָפ֖וּץ עַל־פְּנֵ֥י כָל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃ (ה) וַיֵּ֣רֶד יְהוָ֔ה לִרְאֹ֥ת אֶת־הָעִ֖יר וְאֶת־הַמִּגְדָּ֑ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר בָּנ֖וּ בְּנֵ֥י הָאָדָֽם׃ (ו) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהוָ֗ה הֵ֣ן עַ֤ם אֶחָד֙ וְשָׂפָ֤ה אַחַת֙ לְכֻלָּ֔ם וְזֶ֖ה הַחִלָּ֣ם לַעֲשׂ֑וֹת וְעַתָּה֙ לֹֽא־יִבָּצֵ֣ר מֵהֶ֔ם כֹּ֛ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָזְמ֖וּ לַֽעֲשֽׂוֹת׃ (ז) הָ֚בָה נֵֽרְדָ֔ה וְנָבְלָ֥ה שָׁ֖ם שְׂפָתָ֑ם אֲשֶׁר֙ לֹ֣א יִשְׁמְע֔וּ אִ֖ישׁ שְׂפַ֥ת רֵעֵֽהוּ׃ (ח) וַיָּ֨פֶץ יְהוָ֥ה אֹתָ֛ם מִשָּׁ֖ם עַל־פְּנֵ֣י כָל־הָאָ֑רֶץ וַֽיַּחְדְּל֖וּ לִבְנֹ֥ת הָעִֽיר׃ (ט) עַל־כֵּ֞ן קָרָ֤א שְׁמָהּ֙ בָּבֶ֔ל כִּי־שָׁ֛ם בָּלַ֥ל יְהוָ֖ה שְׂפַ֣ת כָּל־הָאָ֑רֶץ וּמִשָּׁם֙ הֱפִיצָ֣ם יְהוָ֔ה עַל־פְּנֵ֖י כָּל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃ (פ)
(1) Everyone on earth had the same language and the same words. (2) And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there. (3) They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them hard.”—Brick served them as stone, and bitumen served them as mortar.— (4) And they said, “Come, let us build us a city, and a tower with its top in the sky, to make a name for ourselves; else we shall be scattered all over the world.” (5) The LORD came down to look at the city and tower that man had built, (6) and the LORD said, “If, as one people with one language for all, this is how they have begun to act, then nothing that they may propose to do will be out of their reach. (7) Let us, then, go down and confound their speech there, so that they shall not understand one another’s speech.” (8) Thus the LORD scattered them from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. (9) That is why it was called Babel, because there the LORD confounded the speech of the whole earth; and from there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
(ז) וְנֶחְלְקוּ לְשָׁלֹש כִּתּוֹת, אַחַת אוֹמֶרֶת נַעֲלֶה וְנֵשֵׁב שָׁם, וְאַחַת אוֹמֶרֶת נַעֲשֶׂה עִמּוֹ מִלְחָמָה, וְאַחַת אוֹמֶרֶת נַעֲלֶה וְנַעֲבֹד שָׁם עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה. זוֹ שֶׁאָמְרוּ נַעֲלֶה וְנֵשֵׁב שָׁם, מִשָּׁם הֱפִיצָם ה'. וְזוֹ שֶׁאָמְרוּ נַעֲלֶה וְנַעֲשֶׂה עִמּוֹ מִלְחָמָה, נַעֲשׂוּ קוֹפִין רוּחִין וְשֵׁדִין. וְזוֹ שֶׁאוֹמֶרֶת נַעֲבֹד שָׁם עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה, בִּלַּע ה' פִּלֵּג לְשׁוֹנָם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיָּפֶץ ה' אֹתָם מִשָּׁם.
(7) They separated into three groups. One said: “Let us go and dwell there”; the second insisted: “Let us go up and wage war against Him”; and the third shouted: “Let us go and serve idols there.” Those who said “Let us go and dwell there” were scattered abroad by the Holy One, blessed be He; those who insisted “Let us go and wage war against Him” were transformed into apes, spirits, and demons; and those who said “Let us go and serve idols there” were punished, as specified in the verse Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongue (Ps. 55:10). Thus it is said: And the Lord dispersed them from there (Gen. 11:8).
Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (1816 in Mir, Russia – August 10, 1893 in Warsaw, Poland), also known as Reb Hirsch Leib Berlin, and commonly known by the acronym Netziv, was an Orthodox rabbi, dean of the Volozhin Yeshiva and author of several works of rabbinic literature in Lithuania, including Haamek Davar.
(א) שפה אחת. זה גרם לחטא א׳. היינו שיסכימו לשבת כולן בקבוץ אחד. וזהו נגד רצון ה׳ שאמר שרצו בארץ ורבו בה היינו להתהלך לארכה ולרחבה כי לשבת יצרה:
(1) ...One language - that is what caused the first sin. This is that they agreed to stop in one single place. And this is against the will of God that said to "fill the land and replenish it" - that is, to walk to all its places, since the land was created to be settled.
(ב) ודברים אחדים. לא ביאר הכתוב הדברים אלא ברמז כמבואר במדרשים אבל לא פירשן הכתוב כי אם שהיו דברים אחדים וללמדנו דלא משום הדברים התעורר הקב״ה. כי אם בשביל שהיו אחדים. יהיו מה שיהיו. ודבר זה אם כי לפי הנראה אין בזה שום עון ואדרבה חבור עצבים ג״כ ראוי להניח. אבל כאן גרם לחשוב דבר שיצא לתקלת הישוב כאשר יבואר:
(2) ...And the same words - The text did not explain what those words were, rather, it leaves as a hint, as explained in midrashim. But the words themselves are not explained by the text, it just tells us that they were the same words, to teach us that it wasn't because of the content of the words themselves that the Holy One of Blessing was distressed. They were what they were, and in its simplicity there is not sin, and on the contrary all appears well. But here what happened is that all thought the same thing, and this came to be the problem of the settlement.
(א) וראשו בשמים. זה ודאי לא יעלה עה״ד שיהיה עיר אחת לכל העולם אלא כסבורים שיהיו כל הערים סמוכות וטפלות לאותו העיר שבה המגדל ויהיה המגדל לצפות ממנו למרחוק אחר כל הישוב שלהם שלא יהיו נפרדים בארץ אחרת. ע״כ נצרך שיהיה ראשו בשמים.
(1) And its top in the sky - It is obvious that you should not think that this would be one city to the whole world, rather they thought that the other nearby cities would be subjects to that city that had the tower, that they would be able to see from it to the distance, over all their settlement, so that no one would be able to separate themselves and go to another land. That's why they needed its top reaching the sky.