Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. – Genesis 11:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 2, 2018): Genesis 11

One of the oldest languages of which we are aware is Sumerian. The language dates from the third millennium B.C.E. and became functionally extinct somewhere around 2000 B.C.E., although it was used as a classical language until just after the time of Christ. So the question that is sometimes asked is whether it is possible that the Sumerian language was the original language. For linguists, this is highly doubtful because Sumerian is still way too recent a language. The assumption is that something happened to us that allowed speech, and that speech developed and then mutated. We have witnessed language mutation even within our lifetimes within the English language. Consider the meaning of words like ‘thong’ and ‘gay’ which carried completely different meanings and connotations a hundred years ago than they do today. We also know of local dialects. I often think of a friend from Newfoundland that I spent time with some years ago. We both spoke English, but there were many times when I had to ask him to slow down so that I could understand the words. Some of his words I had no idea of their meaning, others were pronounced in different ways, and still, others were used with a different meaning in mind than I would have attributed to the word. We spoke English, but the English I spoke and the English he spoke was almost two different languages.

So linguists have examined the rate at which language changes within modern societies. And they have estimated that it would take somewhere around 100,000 years for a single language to mutate into the around 6,000 languages in use today (one of the reasons why a language that was in use 5,000 years ago is considered to be much too young to have been the original language.) Part of the problem is that our present knowledge of some early languages is only based on what was written down in that period. But it is likely that a “first language” would have been an entirely spoken language with no written counterpart. Such a language, once it vanished from the earth, would be gone forever. It is for this reason that many linguists strongly believe that any pursuit of a “first language” is essentially a fool’s errand.

So Genesis presents us with a story of the division of language. The story takes place at Babel, likely in modern-day Iraq. And it tells of a people who had gathered together to reach for the mysteries that were hidden in the sky. And at the beginning of the story, we find this simple comment. At this time all of the people of the earth shared a single language. The opening words of the story hint at the way that it will end, with all of the world beginning to diverge away from that single language into many others. After this point, communication would not be as easy as it was before. We would have to work at understanding each other. And we would have to puzzle out the intentions of the other.

And this is the reality in which we live today. Even people from different parts of the country, who speak the same language as we do, have to work at understanding because the words can mean different things. It is as if God is gently reminding us that the real task that is before us is not what can we do with our technological achievements and advances. Our primary task is understanding each other, and to do that we have to be willing to walk in their shoes, at least for a while.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Genesis 12