Genesis 11 · Verse 2

Genesis 11:2

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 11:2, King James Version

Genesis 11:2 in other translations

BSBAnd as people journeyed eastward, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
WEBAs they traveled east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they lived there.
ASVAnd it came to pass, as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
YLTand it cometh to pass, in their journeying from the east, that they find a valley in the land of Shinar, and dwell there;
DARBYAnd it came to pass as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and dwelt there.
BBEAnd it came about that in their wandering from the east, they came to a stretch of flat country in the land of Shinar, and there they made their living-place.
WebsterAnd it came to pass as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there.

What does Genesis 11:2 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
2. land of Shinar--The fertile valley watered by the Euphrates and Tigris was chosen as the center of their union and the seat of their power.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 2 As they journeyed from the east - Assyria, Mesopotamia, and the country on the borders and beyond the Euphrates, are called the east in the sacred writings. Balaam said that the king of Moab had brought him from the mountains of the east, Num 23:7. Now it appears, from Num 22:5, that Balaam dwelt at Pethor, on the river Euphrates. And it is very probable that it was from this country that the wise men came to adore Christ; for it is said they came from the east to Jerusalem, Mat 2:1. Abraham is said to have come from the east to Canaan, Isa 41:2; but it is well known that he came from Mesopotamia and Chaldea. Isa 46:11, represents Cyrus as coming from the east against Babylon. And the same prophet represents the Syrians as dwelling eastward of Jerusalem, Isa 9:12 : The Syrians before, מקדם mikkedem, from the east, the same word which Moses uses here. Dan 11:44, represents Antiochus as troubled at news received from the east; i.e. of a revolt in the eastern provinces, beyond the Euphrates. Noah and his family, landing after the flood on one of the mountains of Armenia, would doubtless descend and cultivate the valleys: as they increased, they appear to have passed along the banks of the Euphrates, till, at the time specified here, they came to the plains of Shinar, allowed to be the most fertile country in the east. See Calmet. That Babel was built in the land of Shinar we have the authority of the sacred text to prove; and that Babylon was built in the same country we have the testimony of Eusebius, Praep. Evang., lib. ix., c. 15; and Josephus, Antiq., lib. i., c. 5.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 11:1-4

How soon men forget the most tremendous judgments, and go back to their former crimes! Though the desolations of the deluge were before their eyes, though they sprang from the stock of righteous Noah, yet even during his life-time, wickedness increases exceedingly. Nothing but the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit can remove the sinful lusts of the human will, and the depravity of the human heart. God's purpose…

Read the full comment on Genesis 11:1-4 →

Genesis 11:2 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַֽיְהִ֖יvay.Hiand it wasH1961
בְּנָסְעָ֣םbe.na.se.'Amwhen set out theyH5265
מִקֶּ֑דֶםmi.Ke.demfrom [the] eastH6924
וַֽיִּמְצְא֥וּvai.yim.tze.'Uand they foundH4672
בִקְעָ֛הvik.'Aha plainH1237
בְּאֶ֥רֶץbe.'E.retzin [the] land ofH776
שִׁנְעָ֖רshin.'ArShinarH8152
וַיֵּ֥שְׁבוּvai.Ye.she.vuand they dweltH3427
שָֽׁם\׃ShamthereH8033

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Genesis 11:2

  • Daniel 1:2

    And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.

  • Genesis 10:10

    And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

  • Genesis 14:1

    And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations;

  • Isaiah 11:11

    And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

  • Zechariah 5:11

    And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.

  • Genesis 13:11

    Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.

  • Genesis 11:9

    Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
from the east. or, eastward.
13:11
Shinar.
9; 10:10; 14:1; Isa 11:11; Da 1:2; Zec 5:11

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Genesis 11:1

    And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

  • Genesis 11:2

    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 11:3

    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 morter.

Read all of Genesis 11

Genesis 11:2 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y aconteció que, como se partieron de oriente, hallaron una vega en la tierra de Shinar, y asentaron allí.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et il arriva que lorsqu’ils partirent de l’orient, ils trouvèrent une plaine dans le pays de Shinhar; et ils y habitèrent.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und es geschah, als sie nach Osten zogen, da fanden sie eine Ebene im Lande Sinear und wohnten daselbst.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Cumque proficiscerentur de oriente, invenerunt campum in terra Sennaar, et habitaverunt in eo.