Rashi raises the
question: Whose sin was greater - the generation of the Flood, which did not rebel against
God, or the generation of the Dispersion (of the Tower of Babel),
which did rebel?
The
Flood generation were robbers and nasty to one another; they were all
destroyed. The Babel generation cooperated
with one another and worked together, and although rebellious
received the lesser of punishment of dispersion.
What is the "rebellion?"
Not merely arrogance, but the refusal to obey the commandment to "fill
the earth" in Gen 1:28 - the full verse is Be
fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it.Fill the earth means
spread out and be close to the earth.
Babel was a dense city and tower, and grew up rather than out.
The city and tower also reflect centralized control that is
disfavored by the Bible. Country living
with its shepherding and farming activities is valued more than developed
cities.
There is an interesting excerpt from Accepting the Yoke
of Heaven by Yeshayahu Liebowitz.
He says that a situation in which everyone speaks the same language and
are all focused on one purpose sounds appealing, but is really a form of
totalitarianism. Everyone had to
conform to the one cause, and no difference of opinion was tolerated.
God disfavored this, and forced the people to be dispersed
and speak different languages. So
people became diverse, and a world of complete unity can not be established -
until Messiah comes.
