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That's an interesting point. Personally, I see that story as more metaphoric, but from a literal standpoint I'd say it isn't really cheating so much as it is using a loophole. Kinda like "You're free to do what you want, but if you don't do what I want you to do I'll hurt you." In that way the person chooses to do whatever it is the bully wants him/her to do. Whether or not it is still free will is debatable, some would say it isn't because if he doesn't do what the bully wants he'll get hurt. Others say it is free will because he could choose to attempt to run away, fight the bully, get help, etc. That may be straying from the topic though, sorry.

From what I understand it's an old Mesopotamian story that got carried over into Genesis. It's ties into the theme of there being consequences for ones actions especially when trying to usurp authority that isn't yours. The people tried to build a tower that would lead them up to the Gods and it's implied that they are declaring themselves equal to the Gods by doing so. YHVH looks down and seeing them doing this. He looks at this and goes, "Oh really now? Hey guys, look at this s**t they are trying to do. Let's see them try to do this now." *snap* And the people now speak different tongues.

Next it illustrates something about the human condition. When we organize to try to do things greater than our station, and adversity strikes and differences pop up we fall apart. Instead of keeping with goal in mind, we are often inclined to bicker with each other and forget the goal we had in place.

I often don't take stories like this too literally since I don't think it was intended to be "God Math" or "God Science" but rather narratives explaining why we do the things we do and why we act the way we do. When ancient people made observations about the natural world, in most cases it reflected the microcosm that was within themselves and how they saw the world through their experiences and cultural filters.

Edit: It should be noted that the authors of this story didn't see YHVH as an omnipotent and omniscient being. Gods in these cultures were seen as like really powerful people, kinda like superheroes. They saw him as the God of the Hebrew people who they regarded as greater than the other gods and just (as justice was considered at the time obviously). In the surrounding Caananite cultures, he was a god of war and peace, complete with a wife/mom (depending on whose source you go off of), Asherah and a dad, El.

I figured you did know. I was more adding that on for the benefit of other guild members. It seems obvious but its often overlooked that the early authors of Genesis didn't have the same view of God like we do. That little bit of clues helps piece some of the puzzle together.

What the Assyrian view point if you don't mind me asking?

OK...

So I found a much more complete translation online of the Sumerian parallel to the Tower of Babel... There is much different in the myth, but if you can soldier through it, you won't be able to miss the parallels.

Enmerkar and the lord of Aratta

For anyone who has a bit of knowledge of Sumerian archeology or mythos, the tower of Babel was a temple to Marduk... also keep in mind that Utu is more commonly recognized as Marduk by most people...

The ziggurat that most likely parrallels to the Tower in Christian mythos almost certainly a ziggurat that is known as Etemenanki, which was reportedly never finished until the time of Nebuchadnezzar II... and because of it's unfinished state, may have inspired the merging with the confusion of tongues referred to in the story of Enmerkar that we have in the story of Babel.

In the story of Enmerkar, it is interesting to note that Inana and Marduk were siblings, and her favor fell to the king of Uruk, Enmerkar, her nephew, son of Marduk.... not really important though...

The story goes on to relate the struggle between 2 kings, Enmerkar of Uruk, and an unnamed king of Arrata, to gain Inanna's ultimate favor... Which ultimately stays with Enmerkar, because he built a temple to her...

A reference is made in the story to the beginning of the writing on clay tablets.

The tablets are not understood, and there is a reference to a prayer made by Arrata appealing that the Gods give man one language again... although some scholars have claimed the prayer is asking that mens languages be confused... or some such...

You can also read on to see a reference to a great flood...

But that's the thing though... I think that if the Tower incident went down like it was written in the Bible, then God wouldn't have had anything to lose by allowing it to be completed...

It seems that the main sin in the OT that was punished was pride, but what kind of pride would men have been able to claim if they had built a tower so high, and yet it wasn't high enough to "reach" God?

...And even though in OT times, we like to think that humanity didn't understand spirituality, I have to wonder sometimes... I mean, seriously, if we believe the Bible as literal, then God had allot more visible interaction with humanity than He does now. They had the Arc, the Holy of Holys, Enoch, Elijah, the Ephod, a Pillar of Fire, Mana... Even when they were dumb-asses... LOL... Even when they were disobedient, they had no doubt that God was there.

... And yes, I know that Jesus and the Holy-Spirit quietly took the place of the visually spectacular so that we may have an inner-spectacular peace, instead of the awe-inspired fear from God-awful signs, but I always will wonder what it was like to have a superstitious fear of those signs yet KNOW they were from God...

Men have always been fools, and humanity has always tried to prove to itself that it can become or even exceed God, yet God decided to scatter those at Babel? I don't see it as protection really, at least not in the way it was taught in Sunday-school...

The "high" references are probably a combination of cultural and philosophical beliefs. Culturally, people did believe that the ruling gods did reside in the sky. Philosophically, gods were "higher" as in better quality or ranking than humans so if we reside where we do then these gods "must" reside somewhere "higher" than us. Plato alludes to this concept with his world of forms. Plato had a big impact on the development of Judaism and Christianity, than most realize.

Why do you says gods... are you just generalizing?

Anyway, yeah, I guess Greeks could have been one major influence in modern views of how we seen the Heavens, Hell, etc. Not just Plato though, but Greek Mythology with the Olympians, and all that. Though kind of sad that the most sophisticated and god had to sit in the underworld, and then later be seen as a Satanic being...

Anyway, I guess Monarch titles all came from some one word that was used when their was one language.