Overview

At Genesis and Genetics, we take secular science findings and use them to defend the Bible. In the case of the fertile crescent archaeology, we have found much information concerning human migration, Nimrod, and the confusion of tongues. We found the following:
* The oldest vineyards in the world are in ancient Armenia, as documented in our former blog Noah’s wine country.

* As Noah’s offspring spread out, they settled in the fertile crescent. This was before the migration into the “Land of Shinar.” The reason for this is that the Land of Shinar (Lower Mesopotamia) was underwater. Presently, much of Lower Mesopotamia is less than 60 feet above sea level. For instance, presently the elevation of Babylon is 7 feet, Ur is 59 feet, Uruk is 52 feet, and Eridu is 23 feet.

* A portion of the fertile crescent is to the East of the Land of Shinar in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains. According to the Bible, those who settled in the Land of Shinar “came from the East.” This means that only a portion of Noah’s offspring settled in the Land of Shinar. The Bible says that those who settled in the Land of Shinar wanted to “make a name for themselves.” If they were the only civilization on the earth, they wouldn’t have to make a name for themselves.

* Shortly after the arrival in the Land of Shinar (Sumer), a sophisticated society began, and an Empire arose from the city of Uruk (Biblical Erech). This empire spread out into the fertile crescent.  The secular archaeologists refer to it as the Uruk Expansion. The Emperor/ruler/king was a man called Enmerkar. He is a prime candidate, and our pick, for the Biblical Nimrod.

* Enmerkar enjoyed great success until the language was confused. There are many historical references to the confusion of language, and in the “legend of Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta,” Enmerkar is blamed for the confusion of tongues.

* Enmerkar (Nimrod) lost his empire due to the confusion of tongues. He lost his ability to communicate with his outposts, trade partners, and clans in the empire.

* Enmerkar was credited for being the first to use written language. Written language arose quickly after the Uruk Empire collapsed. Possibly, Enmerkar attempted to restore his empire by introducing writing and using it and scribes to renew the empire. But it didn’t work. Shortly after the collapse of the Uruk empire, the dynastic period began. Each language group had a king. The confusion of tongues accomplished God’s purpose in that the people were divided.

* Enmerkar (Nimrod) was shamed and fell into obscurity.

Details

Noah and his family disembarked in ancient Armenia. Modern archeology tells us that the most ancient vineyards are in ancient Armenia. This is also the point of origin of most domestic grapes. So, all humanity and domestic grapes migrated from ancient Armenia (Noah’s Wine Country), consistent with the Bible.

As Noah’s children multiplied, they sought new lands and adventure. Some migrated North and East to Asia, and some migrated South to the fertile crescent, including Egypt. At this time, the waters were still receding from the flood, and lower Mesopotamia (the Land of Shinar) was still underwater. As the waters receded, those in the fertile crescent East of the Land of Shinar moved into the rich alluvial plain, which became Sumer and Akkad. Here is some Biblical proof that only a portion of Noah’s offspring migrated to the Land of Shinar:

Genesis 11:4  And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

They wanted to do two things, first, make a name for themselves, and two, they wanted to disobey the command of God to scatter, i.e., migrate. If they continued with their goals, God would lose the hope of having a people unto Himself; a one-world government would be risky in that there would be a loss of freedom of choice. God decided to stop the Enmerkar empire and did the following:

Genesis 11:6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 

Genesis 11:7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.

Genesis 11:8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.

The entire population of the world spoke one language and were of one mind. In the land of Sumer, there arose a mighty person who built the city of Uruk (Biblical Erech) and formed an empire. Because the people were of one mind, he had little trouble forming this empire without bloodshed. It was a sophisticated society with farming, the wheel, chariots, government, toilets, septic tanks, geometry, the “Roman” arch, irrigation, think tanks, and beer. The Empire planted outposts near trading partners, and everything was booming. Here are the scriptures about Nimrod:

Genesis 10:8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.

Genesis 10:9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.

Genesis 10:10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

Genesis 10:11 Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,

Genesis 10:12 And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.

These scriptures vividly point to the making of an empire with Nimrod as the emperor. Everything fits with the Bible except the carbon 14 dates. However, the secular carbon dates assume there was no flood. If the dates are corrected for flood effects, it all comes together. Here is our date assessment using the Flood Effects on Radio-Carbon Dating corrected dates.

Event                                               Corrected dates                                    Secular dates

The flood                                          2348 BC (Bible)                                   Didn’t happen

Oldest vineyard                              2150 BC                                                  6100 BC

Death of Noah                                 1998 BC                                                  He didn’t exist

Uruk Expansion Start                    1996 BC                                                  3700 BC

Confusion of Tongues                   1908 BC                                                  3000 BC

Jemdat Nassr period                      1930 BC -1892 BC                              3150 BC – 2900 BC
(transition period
Between the Uruk empire
and the dynastic era)

First writing                                          1908 BC                                                  3000 BC

Beginning of                                         1892 BC                                                  2900 BC
Dynastic Period
(End of Uruk Empire)

The obvious question is, “where was Noah when all this happened?” Notice in the above dates that the Uruk expansion did not start until Noah died. This makes sense in that Noah must have been considered an important influence on society, and maybe the Uruk expansion, which included the building of the Tower of Babel, could not have happened if Noah were alive.

Conclusion:

When merging the Biblical narrative with secular archaeology, it appears that Noah did, indeed, disembark from his famous Ark in the land of Ararat, i.e., Armenia. He planted a vineyard, which was the beginning of post-flood farming. His offspring migrated from the vineyard in all directions, but many settled in the Fertile Crescent. As the waters abated, those from the Eastern portion of the fertile crescent settled in the Biblical “Land of Shinar” (Mesopotamia). From the Land of Shinar, there arose a powerful man, Nimrod/Enmerkar, who built the city of Uruk (Erech) and from that city arose the Uruk/Erech empire. The empire spread to much of the ancient world, but the expansion was stopped by the confusion of languages. The emperor attempted to keep the empire intact by using an invention, writing; however, it didn’t work, and the empire collapsed, ushering in the dynastic period. The dynastic period stopped globalization, and the earth was divided by nations and languages as it has remained to this day.

References:

1. The Bible

2. Noah’s Wine Country

3. Radio Carbon Date Calculator

4. The Uruk World System The Dynamics of Expansion of Early Mesopotamian Civilization, by Algaze Guillermo