1 Now the whole earth had one language and few words.
There was unity in the interchange of intelligence and purpose but not much individual expression of their inner Spirit.
2 And as men migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
As their consciousness expanded from within, they reached a point where they believed in duality of Spirit.
3 And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.
The people attempted to understand God by purely material thinking. This is symbolized by the building of the tower with bricks.
4 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth."
The city symbolizes the state of trying to comprehend God in terms of materialism. Their desiring to make a name for themselves symbolizes the pulling together of ideas formed from a materialistic consciousness.
5 And YHVH came down to see the city and the tower, which the sons of men had built.
The people began to perceive the spiritual forces behind the physical world.
6 And YHVH said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; and nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.
They perceived that if they were united, they could do anything.
7 Come, let us go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech."
However, their consciousness was not evolved enough to be able to understand what they had perceived completely.
8 So YHVH scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.
Their perception, and trying to understand it, actually caused them to become divided. They all perceived the same forces, but did not know how to explain what they saw to one another, or comprehend the explanations of others.
9 Therefore its name was called Ba'bel, because there YHVH confused the language of all the Earth; and from there YHVH scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
The people named the city after what they had experienced. Babel means “confusion.” It represents intellectual consciousness trying to comprehend YHVH in terms of purely physical thinking.
10 These are the descendants of Shem. When Shem was a hundred years old, he became the father of Arpach'shad two years after the flood;
These are the things created from respecting the spiritual forces of Creation. When the reverence for the spiritual forces of Creation, that are internal, is left behind, the people often start believing that their personal good fortune is dependent on something external: their Lucky Star, Fate, etc. This is a direct result of their forgetting their Source, which the spiritual forces that are within them are a part of. The number Two symbolizes the sense of duality starting to surface again after the initial corruption of Spirit was removed.
11 and Shem lived after the birth of Arpachshad five hundred years, and had other sons and daughters.
Reverence for the spiritual forces remains in the consciousness, even after the individual starts believing that their good fortune is dependent on external influences, and produces other similar beliefs of man.
12 When Arpachshad had lived thirty-five years, he became the father of Shelah;
From this dependency on external influences comes a peaceful mental state and personal security. This peace of mind and personal security are symbolized by Shelah.
13 and Arpachshad lived after the birth of Shelah four hundred and three years, and had other sons and daughters.
There are other things that are produced by this way of thinking (Arpachshad). These are symbolized by the other sons and daughters of Arpachshad.
14 When Shelah had lived thirty years, he became the father of Eber;
The peaceful, secure mind brings the Spiritual Consciousness to the surface of the mind of the individual. Eber symbolizes this Spiritual Consciousness.
15 and Shelah lived after the birth of Eber four hundred and three years, and had other sons and daughters.
There are other things produced in the consciousness by this peaceful, secure state of mind as well. These are symbolized by Shelah’s other sons and daughters.
16 When Eber had lived thirty-four years, he became the father of Peleg;
Spiritual Consciousness (Eber) becoming the father of Peleg symbolizes the individual realizing that there seems to be a separation of his inner spiritual ideals and his physical body.
17 and Eber lived after the birth of Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and had other sons and daughters.
There are other things produced by the spiritual consciousness and Eber's other sons and daughters symbolize those.
18 When Peleg had lived thirty years, he became the father of Reu;
The seeming separation of the two types of consciousness (spiritual and physical) creates Reu, a feeling of cooperation in the consciousness that becomes a sense of loving, active responsibility for the welfare of others. Reu means “shepherd”.
19 and Peleg lived after the birth of Reu two hundred and nine years, and had other sons and daughters.
There are other things that the seeming separation of the outward consciousness from the inner Spirit produces as well. These are symbolized by the other sons and daughters of Reu.
20 When Reu had lived thirty-two years, he became the father of Serug;
From the sense of active responsibility for the welfare of others, the development of true spiritual teachings begins to occur in the subconscious. The name Serug means "interwoven," "tendril," "strength." Serug represents this development.
21 and Reu lived after the birth of Serug two hundred and seven years, and had other sons and daughters.
There are other patterns of thought developed in the subconscious from these teachings as well. These are symbolized by the sons and daughters of Reu.
22 When Serug had lived thirty years, he became the father of Nahor;
From Compassion, which Serug symbolizes, comes the penetrating of the Ego by spiritual truth. This opening up is symbolized by Nahor, which means "angry," "passionate," "piercing," "slaying."
23 and Serug lived after the birth of Nahor two hundred years, and had other sons and daughters.
There are other things that are created from showing compassion. These are symbolized by Serug’s other sons and daughters.
24 When Nahor had lived twenty-nine years, he became the father of Terah;
From Compassion comes the impulse to teach others about the spiritual practices that are at the core of all true religions. Terah means "loitering." And symbolizes the feeling that causes you to want to go out and do more to help others understand and live better lives in accord with what you’ve learned to be true. This occurs when the individual begins to comprehend spiritual truths and the power that comes with them. This is symbolized by Nahor’s age.
25 and Nahor lived after the birth of Terah a hundred and nineteen years, and had other sons and daughters.
There are other things produced from Compassion as well. These are symbolized by the other sons and daughters of Nahor.
26 When Terah had lived seventy years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
From this desire to go out and teach others comes faith in the spiritual\intuitive guidance. This is symbolized by Abram, which means “exalted father”. Also, Compassion increases the breakup of the old Egocentric Thinking pattern by the understanding of spiritual truths (this breakup is symbolized by Nahor), and produces an exalted state of mind in which Truth is raised within the consciousness and the individual is strengthened in his\her determination to more complete spiritual enlightenment and exaltation of Truth. This exalted state is symbolized by Haran, which means "strong," "mountaineer," "exalted."
27 Now these are the descendants of Terah. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot.
From the exaltation of spiritual truth and the inner drive to seek enlightenment, the part of the subconscious mind which is not yet enlightened, is also present. This is symbolized by Lot, which means “hidden,” or “concealed”.
28 Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans.
The inner drive to learn more and keep the truths on the surface of the mind (Haran) dies. This happens with the individual’s growing faith in their intuitive guidance and when they start teaching others (Terah) at the time that they learn to fully understand spiritual truth. In other words, the truth becomes intuitive. This full understanding of spiritual truth is symbolized by Ur, meaning "light," "Orient," "brightness or brilliance," "fire or blaze."
29 And Abram and Nahor took wives; the name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah.
Abram represents faith in intuitive guidance. Sarai symbolizes the Soul that still holds the animal instincts and lusts after the physical world. Their marriage symbolizes the state of the corrupted person, who has his soul corrupted by lusts and other sins and continues to follow that guidance. Nahor symbolizes the breaking up of the Ego’s corrupted thought patterns. Milcah symbolizes the soul in the act of expressing dominion, wisdom, good judgment. The marriage of Nahor and Milcah symbolizes the process of enlightenment. The name Iscah means "who looks upon," "scans abroad," "discerns." Iscah represents the Soul in the act of being attentive to the things of Spirit. This new state of the soul is produced by the continued devotion to spiritual ideals (Haran).
30 Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.
Sarai’s infertility symbolizes the lack of life force within the soul while it is corrupted by the animal instincts focused on purely physical expression.
31 Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Haran, they settled there.
At this stage, an individual may choose to either teach others in ignorance (Canaan) or enlighten him\herself. Terah choosing to stop with all of them in Haran symbolizes the individual choosing to enlighten him\herself before attempting to teach others.
32 The days of Terah were two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran.
Learning this lesson ends the path of ignorance.