Etymology
The phrase "Tower of Babel" does not appear in the Bible; it is always "the city and the tower" (אֶת הָעִיר וְאֶת הַמִּגְדָּל, ʾeṯ hā-ʿîr wəʾeṯ ha-mmiḡdāl) or just "the city" (הָעִיר, hāʿîr). The original derivation of the name Babel (also the Hebrew name for Babylon) is uncertain. The native, Akkadian name of the city was Bāb-ilim, meaning "gate of God". However, that form and interpretation itself are now usually thought to be the result of an Akkadian folk etymology applied to an earlier form of the name, Babilla, of unknown meaning and probably non-Semitic origin.[7][8] According to the Bible, the city received the name "Babel" from the Hebrew verb בָּלַל (bālal), meaning to jumble or to confuse.[9]