112 Andreas Hock Setting Babel and the New Jerusalem in parallel now, we recognize the utter difference between the short-lived and self-seeking cry “Let us build for ourselves” of the settlers of Shinar, and the tranquil grandeur of a City not crafted by human hands, but having God in its center. 3. From purgovn (Gen 11,4) to teivco" (Rev 21,12-17) Gen 11,4 combines the theme of a city and a tower. The context demonstrates that the builders did not intend this tower as a symbol of a mountain to meet God, a place that would express their quest for the Divine. Rather, the sacred author considers the whole project as inspired by morbid pride, a sign of human hubris (10). Tying into this is the actual meaning of the Hebrew noun lD;g“mi, migdal: it is not primarily a “tower”, but rather a “great” or “exceeding” object (stemming from gadol which in Hebrew means “great”) with its top in the heavens. Most likely, the inference is that of a giant idol, to set themselves a lasting monument. Moreover, Gen 4,17 portrays Cain as the designer of the first city, which, thereby, is in keeping with his curse: the question then arises, whether Babel continues this theme of condemnation of urban society. The answer to that question is given in the Apocalypse where the eventual state of divine-human communion is represented by a Heavenly City. Now, it is startling that Rev 21,12-17 depicts the wall surrounding the cube-shaped city with gigantic dimensions (11). Here again, therefore, is a point of compa- rison. The New Jerusalem is the divine answer to the misguided aspirations of the people of Babel. One could point to a long-standing biblical tradition of identifying the city with a tower: Mic 4,8, for instance, compares Jerusalem to a tower, and Cant 4,4 equates the neck of the bride to the tower of David. On the one hand the City is guarded by a huge wall, signifying the safety of its inhabitants, on the other hand its gateways are open at all times, probably hinting at the absence of all evil at that stage. The imagery’s core meaning appears to be God’s total accessibility in a New Jerusalem, that is at the same time fortified and open for a day without evening. Also here, collating the two towers, that of Babel and that of the Heavenly City, one perceives the antithesis between merely human craving for fleeting greatness, and the surpassing magnitude of God’s own work. The towering City really symbolizes His presence with His chosen people(12): “You are my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy”, Ps 61,3. 4. From hJ kefalhv e[stai e{w" tou' oujranou' (Gen 11,4) to katabaivnousan ejk tou' oujranou' ajpo; tou' qeou' (Rev 21,2) After having compared the gigantic dimensions of the former and the new “tower”, we now focus on the fact that Babel’s top was meant to reach the (10) Incidentally, pride will be the besetting sin of Babylon at a later date. (11) Cf. Isa 2,2; Mic 4,1; Ezek 11,24; 37,1. (12) Corresponding to His role in Rev 7,9-10; 14,4, the Lamb supplants the temple, insinuating that the cultic mediation between God and His people will have ceased. Likewise, the Temple of 11,19; 14,15.17; 15,5-6.8; 16,1.17 will have disappeared by the time the new reality appears.