Sometimes it is difficult for us to connect with the purpose behind why a particular portion of scripture was included in the sacred text. Lists of names are probably high on that list, and so too is the story of the Tower of Babel given how often it is misunderstood.
These two episodes in chapters 10-11 of Genesis are there to set the stage for God's work in calling Abram in chapter 12. The 70 nations show the diversity that God had to choose from, emphasizing as always that salvation is God's grace not human effort, and the Tower of Babel illustrates this principle in action. The builders of the tower, a ziggurat, had hoped to invite God (or a god) to come down from heaven to dwell with them, a stairway from heaven (not a prideful stairway to heaven). This is a noble thought, but a misguided one. Humanity cannot solve its own sin problem. We need a savior, and it needs to be on God's terms and according to God's timetable.
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