URCall: Herodotus and Babel

From the ICR’s URCall series of videos, hosted by Markus Lloyd. (link)

Transcript:

Did you know that the Greek historian Herodotus, often called the “Father of History,” wrote about the Tower of Babel? He described the eight levels that included a spiral staircase attempting to reach heaven. Since this historical record appears to confirm what we find in the biblical account, what other cool evidence backs up the bible?

Being, after all, the so-called “Father of History,” Herodotus wasn’t necessarily all that great at it by modern standards. That is to say, while many of the things that he wrote about did happen, others are derived from the myths and legends of his time – the distinction was not as important to his readers as it is to us. Finding that Herodotus has repeated your particular myth is not therefore the stamp of approval Lloyd makes it out to be.

But in the specific instance that he is alluding to, the reference does seem to be to a real thing: what Herodotus calls the “sacred precinct of Jupiter Belus,” aka the ziggurat called Etemenanki. Here is the paragraph people like to quote, with the most important section bolded:

The outer wall is the main defence of the city. There is, however, a second inner wall, of less thickness than the first, but very little inferior to it in strength. The centre of each division of the town was occupied by a fortress. In the one stood the palace of the kings, surrounded by a wall of great strength and size: in the other was the sacred precinct of Jupiter Belus, a square enclosure two furlongs each way, with gates of solid brass; which was also remaining in my time. In the middle of the precinct there was a tower of solid masonry, a furlong in length and breadth, upon which was raised a second tower, and on that a third, and so on up to eight. The ascent to the top is on the outside, by a path which winds round all the towers. When one is about half-way up, one finds a resting-place and seats, where persons are wont to sit some time on their way to the summit. On the topmost tower there is a spacious temple, and inside the temple stands a couch of unusual size, richly adorned, with a golden table by its side. There is no statue of any kind set up in the place, nor is the chamber occupied of nights by any one but a single native woman, who, as the Chaldaeans, the priests of this god, affirm, is chosen for himself by the deity out of all the women of the land.

(You can read more at Wikisource – the above is paragraph 181.)

The connection is that Etemenanki is sometimes cited as the inspiration for the Babel story. But the key word here is “inspiration” – Etermenanki cannot be equated with the tower imagined by YECs like the ICR, bearing as it does little resemblance to the model shown in the video (which seems to be more closely related to the leaning tower of Pisa).

So you can claim that Herodotus talked about the Tower of Babel, or you can claim that the tower as imagined really existed, but to do both as the ICR does here is a classic bait-and-switch. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.