Section two (chapters 11-50) begins the story of the nation of Israel, YHVH's special nation. From here on the book of Genesis is no longer universalistic, but rather particularistic, focusing on YHVH's establishment of a special nation.

In Gen 11:10, the Torah records the geneology (children) of Shem, which introduce the story of Abraham, whom YHVH chose to become the forefather of His special nation. (Gen 12) The remainder of the book of Genesis deals with the issue of who specifically among Abraham's children were chosen - Isaac and Jacob, and which were rejected - Ishmael and Esau.

The book of Genesis concludes with the completion of this election process, when all twelve sons of Jacob are chosen and from which point no one is ever again rejected. (This explain the significance of Jacob's name change to Israel)

Why the sudden change of focus from mankind in its entirety to one special nation?  Why did YHVH single out Abraham specifically after the events of the Flood and the Tower of Babel?

THE NAME OF YHVH

The story of Adam closes (Gen 4:26) with a very peculiar and enigmatic verse:

"And also Seth gave birth to a son and called him Enosh, then he 'began' to call out in the Name of YHVH."

It is clear that YHVH intended for man to 'call out (pray) in His Name.'  Significantly, this verse concludes the section which began in Gen 2:4 and the story of the Garden of Eden. Even though man was banished from the 'Garden' and Cain was punished for murder, YHVH still has expectations of mankind - that they 'call out in His Name.'

Despite this high expectation, the story of the Flood shows that man's behavior fell far short of YHVH's hope. Ultimately, YHVH decided to destroy His creation and start all over again with Noah (Gen 5:1), establishing new commandments for Noah's children (Gen 9:1-7), and a covenant (rainbow in the cloud) with them (Gen 9:8-17). The story of Noah's intoxication (Gen 9:18-29) led to the cursing of Canaan, (for his disrespect towards his father) and Noah's divine blessing of his son Shem, from whose seed Abraham would emerge.

"Blessed be YHVH, the ELOHIM of Shem..." (Gen 9:26-27)

It is not by chance that Noah named his son "Shem." This name is based on his hope that his son would fulfill YHVH's desire that man would call out (pray) 'In His Name' - 'Shem' in Hebrew means 'Name'.

Noah blessed Shem in the hope that he and his descendants will indeed fulfill this goal. Once again, however, the next generation failed. (Gen 10)

THE TOWER OF BABEL

"Everyone on earth had the same language and the same words.  And as they traveled from the east, they came upon a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there.  They said to one another: Come, let us make bricks and burn them hard... And they said, Come let us build us a city and a tower with its top in the sky, and we will make a name for ourselves - lest we shall be scattered all over the world.  Then YHVH came down to see...."  (Gen 11:1-7)

At first reading it is not clear what was so terrible about this generation. After all, achieving unity is not a bad thing. Furthermore, the investment of human ingenuity into an industrial revolution, the development of man-made building materials and the manufacturing of bricks from clay seem to reflect the positive advancement of society and culture. What's wrong with building a city and a tower?  Why was YHVH so angry, to the point that He decided to immediately stop this construction project and disperse all mankind?

One key phrase in the Torah's depiction of the tower's purpose reflects the selfish nature of this generation:

" we shall make a name for ourselves."  (Gen 11:4)

Rather than devoting themselves to the Name of YHVH, this generation removed Him from the picture altogether. The builders of the tower united for the unholy purpose of glorifying man's dominion and power.

Although this generation's behavior was far better than that of the generation othe Flood, YHVH was still disappointed, as what emerged was a 'man centered' society rather than 'YHVH/ ELOHIM centered'. Their primary aim was to 'make a name' for themselves, not for YHVH ELOHIM. Once again, YHVH's hope that man would "call on His Name" never materialized.  He therefore found it necessary to 'scatter' mankind, in the hope that the next time the nations gather it would be for the right purpose.

From "CREATION" to "ELECTION"