After that, the son of Chus, first-born of the brothers, ruled the paternal[21] heritage, a widely known 1630 man.  So the Scriptures tell us, that he had the greatest might and strength of all mankind, in those days:  he was a prince of the Babylonian Empire, and first of the nobles raised, spread, and exalted its fame.  At that 1635 time one tongue was still common to all dwellers on earth.

XX.

Likewise from Cam’s stock sprang many descendants, and to these numerous people great families were born.—­

Furthermore many sons and daughters were born into 1640 the world to Sem, noble folk, before the ruler of men took to his death-bed, in the course of years.  In this family were good men, of whom one was called Eber, a 1645 son of Sem:  from this chief sprang a multitude of people, whom all nations and earth-dwellers now call Hebrews.

They set out then to take their posssesions from the eastward, live-stock and treasure; the people were un- 1650 animous:  the vigorous heroes sought a less crowded land, until the migrating folk in great multitudes came where their noble leaders firmly took possession.  The rulers 1655 of the people settled with their dear followers in Sennar, ample and broad; in the years of their life the fields were ever verdant and the earth fair for the people at that time, with increasing abundance of each [kind of] 1661 treasure.

Then many a man argued with his dear friend, one resolute hero with another, that for their greater glory, before the masses of the people should scatter again over 1665 the earth, numbers of the nation in search of land, they should build a city and raise up a tower to the stars of heaven as a sign that they had sought Sennar fields because the mighty fore-fathers of the race, the patriarchs, long 1670 lived there with pleasure:  with craft the people wrought, in labor and industry, until in arrogance and rashness they showed their skill, built a fortress and raised aloft scaling- 1675 ladders towards heaven, mightily erected a solid stone wall beyond man’s measure, eager for glory:—­[all this did] the heroes with their hands.  Then Holy God came to inspect the work of the race of men, the fortress of the warriors, 1680 and that beacon-tower likewise which the sons of Adam began to rear up to the skies; and the steadfast King achieved the prevention of this evil design, when in wrath he distributed different languages among the 1685 inhabitants of earth, so that they no longer had control of their speech.  They found then multitudes at the tower with victorious strength, leaders of work in vast battalions:  but not one of the tribes understood what 1690 another was saying.  It could not be, that they should build up the stone wall further; but they wretchedly parted in bands separated by their speech:  one had become to another a strange race, after the Lord by the 1695 fullness of his might had confused the speech of men.  The disunited sons of the patriarchs then parted in four directions to seek land:  behind them, both the 1700 mighty tower of stone and the lofty city stood on Sennar [plain] together, half-finished.