The story of the Tower of Babel is a defining moment in the early chapters of the Bible. Genesis 11:1–9 explains that people began building a city and a “tower that reaches to the heavens” on “a plain in Shinar.” At the time, all the people of the world had “one language and a common speech.” The story recounts that God then confused the speech of the people engaged in this sinful effort. Thus, they did not finish it. Many believe the location of this city, the plain of Shinar, lies in ancient Babylon, in what is now Iraq.