«Il racconto di Babele e la paternità di Dio», Gregorianum 96 (2015) 451-469 (original) (raw)

The article analyzes the text of Gen 11,1-9, taking as premises some observations drawn from a study of the Italian philosopher Silvano Petrosino and other philo- sophical contributions. The authors emphasize the importance of the «name» motif for the text of Genesis 11 and interpret the confusion of tongues as an act by which the Lord teaches and blesses humanity. These issues, then, are dealt with exegetically, highlighting an aspect not yet considered: the story of Babel gets a whole new light if re-read using the theme of the fatherhood of God. The «name» motif is crucial from this point of view, because the desire to «make for themselves a name» (v. 4) actually conceals a desire for self-generation. In the face of this act of separation from the father, God intervenes by changing the name of the city (Babel, v. 9) and multiplying languages. In this way, it promotes the spread of men throughout the earth and blesses them, handing them over to the ethical challenge of relating to others.