Genesis 11:1

Summary

Genesis 11:1 opens a new narrative unit stating that the entire earth shared a single language and a shared set of words. The verse establishes the initial condition of universal linguistic unity before the events that follow in the chapter.

Key words

• va-yeHi ("and it was", H9001+H1961) — the narrative vav attached to the qal verb "to be" marks the classic Hebrew storytelling opening ("and it came to pass"), signaling the start of a new episode.
• khol ("all", H3605) — construct form meaning "all of," binding to the following noun to produce "all of the earth."
• ha-'Aretz ("the earth", H9009+H0776G) — definite noun, the subject of the sentence, referring to the whole land/earth as a totality.
• saFah 'eChat ("one language", H8193K+H0259) — a feminine singular noun paired with the feminine singular numeral "one," forming the phrase "one lip/language" (saFah literally denotes "lip," used here for "language").
• devaRim 'achaDim ("one words" / "the same words", H1697G+H0259) — a masculine plural noun paired with the plural form of "one," yielding "unified words" or "identical words," parallel to the preceding phrase.

What the text says

The verse begins with the narrative formula va-yeHi ("and it was"), a construction that in Biblical Hebrew typically opens a new scene or temporal setting, often translated "now it came to pass" or simply "now." The subject follows: khol-ha-'Aretz ("all the earth"), using the construct chain khol + ha-'Aretz to express totality — not merely "the earth" but "the whole of the earth."

The predicate consists of two parallel noun phrases: saFah 'eChat ("one language") and devaRim 'achaDim ("one words"). Both phrases pair a noun with the numeral "one" (H0259), but the grammatical number shifts: saFah is feminine singular matched with the feminine singular 'eChat, while devaRim is masculine plural matched with the masculine plural 'achaDim. This grammatical agreement in gender and number produces a literal sense of "a language, one" and "words, ones (i.e., the same)" — a poetic doubling that reinforces the idea of complete linguistic uniformity through two distinct expressions: the medium of speech (saFah, literally "lip") and its content (devaRim, "words").

The construct chain and numeral pairing do the grammatical work; no verb "to be" appears between "earth" and "one language" beyond the initial va-yeHi, since Hebrew nominal clauses often omit the copula.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders saFah ("lip/language") as cheilos ("lip") in the first phrase but shifts to phōnē ("voice/sound") for the second element, where the Hebrew uses devaRim ("words"). The Vulgate uses labii ("of the lip") for saFah, preserving the literal "lip" imagery, and sermonum eorumdem ("of the same words/discourses") for devaRim 'achaDim. Modern translations (RV1909, BSB, SBLIBRE) render both phrases with general terms like "language" and "words/speech," which obscures the Hebrew's literal "lip" imagery for language and the grammatical number contrast (singular vs. plural "one") visible in the original.