The Tower of Babel, described in the Old Testament (Genesis 11: 1-9), was started by descendants of Noah on the plain of Shinar in Babylonia. The builders intended the tower to reach into heaven and make a name for them. God, however, was not pleased with the people, because they were disobeying the command given to Noah to fill the earth. The people's pride was leading them into rebellion against God, just as those people whom God had just destroyed by the Flood in Noah's time. To keep them from bringing greater punishment on themselves in the near future, God stopped the building by confusing the language of the people, causing them to be scattered throughout the earth. The place where people built the tower is called Babel, so the tower is referred as the Tower of Babel. Today, the word "babel" in English means a scene of confusion, disorder, or noise from many different voices.

巴別塔(Tower of Babel)，也稱通天塔。據《圣經·舊約·創世紀》第十一章中記載：諾亞方舟之后的幸存者繁衍了眾多的后代，他們來到了巴比倫尼亞的示拿(Shinar)平原，準備在這個地方為自己建造一座通天塔。上帝覺得他們狂妄自大，十分不滿，于是施法弄亂了人類的語言，讓他們說不同的語言。這樣一來，由于語言不通，人與人之間感情無法交流，思想難以統一，猜疑與爭吵就此出現，通天塔也就未能建成。人們離開了巴比倫尼亞，到世界不同的地方生活。因此此處的城市名叫巴別(Babel)，因而塔名取作巴別塔?，F在babel一詞用來指喧鬧、混亂的場面。