The Tower of Babel is believed to be a ziggurat, frequent in the major cities of Mesopotamia and used for worship. “It was widely believed that deities dwelt above, in high places. Therefore worship was more appropriate on hills or mountains…. The ziggurats of mud brick were constructed as substitutes for hills, where the worshiper or priest could get closer to the gods. Like the pyramids of Egypt, these temple towers were square. Instead of having sloping sides, there was a succession of terraces, each smaller than the one below. Access to each level was by stairways or ramps. The shrine or altar was on top, where the priests would officiate at sacrifices, incantations, and prayers. The great seven-story ziggurat at Babylon measured nearly 300 square feet at the base and rose to about the same height.”1
4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”