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בנסעם מקדם AS THEY JOURNEYED FROM THE EAST where they were then dwelling, as it is written above, (Genesis 10:30) “And their dwelling place was … the mountain of the East”. From there they journeyed to search out for themselves a place that would accommodate them all, but they found none except Shinar (Genesis Rabbah 38:7).

AS THEY JOURNEYED FROM THE EAST. Rashi comments: “They journeyed from where they were then dwelling, as it is written above, And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest toward Sephar, unto the mountain of the east.³³³Above, 10:30. From there they journeyed to search out for themselves a place that would accomodate them all, but they found none except Shinar.” But this is not correct for this is the account of the children of Shem only, concerning whom it was so said [that they dwelled at “the mountain of the east”], and why should Scripture attribute the dispersion to the descendants of Shem when the children of Japheth and of Ham were more numerous than they? Besides, their habitation in their countries was from Mesha to the mountain of the east,³³³Above, 10:30. and the dispersion of the nations took place before they settled there, for the children of Japheth surely did not come from the isles of the sea³³⁴Ibid., Verse 5. to the land of Shinar; rather, it was during the dispersion that G-d scattered them abroad upon the face of all the earth,³³⁵Verse 9 here. and at that time they were settled in their lands, after their nations.³³⁶Above, 10:31.
And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained that the mountains of Ararat are in the east. [Thus the verse before us which states, as they journeyed from the east, means as they journeyed from the mountains of Ararat.] That which he said is correct for the mountains of Ararat are in the east near Assyria, as it is said, And they escaped into the land of Ararat.³³⁷II Kings 19:37. The reference there is to the sons of Sennacherib of Assyria, who slew their father and fled to the nearby land of Ararat. And when Noah came down from the mountain [upon which the ark had rested],³³⁸Above 8:4. he and his sons settled in those lands, and when they increased they journeyed from there to this valley called Shinar.
According to our Rabbis,³³⁹Sanhedrin 109a. the men of the dispersion rebelled against their Creator. But those who pursue the plain meaning of Scripture say³⁴⁰This opinion is found in R’dak. that their idea was only to be closely united, for Scripture declares their intention, lest we be scattered,³⁴¹Verse 4 here. and does not relate any other matter [motive] concerning them. But if it be as those commentators say, then the men of the dispersion were fools for how could one city and one tower suffice for all people of the world? Or perhaps they thought that they would not be fruitful and multiply, as it is written, and the seed of the wicked will be cut off.³⁴²Psalms 37:28.
However, he who knows the meaning of the word “name” — as they said, and we will make for us a name³⁴¹Verse 4 here. — will understand their intent and will know the extent of their evil intention in constructing the tower. And then he will understand the whole subject, namely, that theirs was an evil thought, and the punishment that came over them — to be dispersed in their languages and countries — was meted out measure for measure for “they mutilated the shoots” [of faith by seeking to undermine the principle of the Unity]. Thus their sin was comparable to that of their father Adam.³⁴³See Ramban above, 3:22. Perhaps on account of this the Sages expounded:³⁴⁴Bereshith Rabbah 38:12. “And the Eternal came down to see… which the children of men had built.³⁴⁵Verse 5 here. Said Rabbi Berachyah, ‘[Whose children could they have been but the children of men?] Perhaps the children of donkeys or camels? Rather it means the children of the first man, etc.’” Contemplate further that in the entire subject of the flood, Scripture mentions Elokim (G-d), while in the entire matter of the dispersion it mentions the Tetragrammaton; the flood came on account of the corruption of the land, and the dispersion came because “they mutilated the shoots” of faith and therefore their punishment was meted out by His Great Name. This explains the “coming down”³⁴⁵Verse 5 here. and also the Divine measure meted out in Sodom.³⁴⁶See Ramban further, 19:24. The student learned [in the mystic lore of the Cabala] will understand.

בנסעם מקדם, they were leading the lives of nomads, much like shepherds who move to wherever there was good grazing land for their flocks.

ויהי בנסעם מקדם, from the east, for this is where they had lived previously, and this was where G’d had created man before He placed him in Gan Eden. When Noach had come out of the ark he proceeded to the place where he had lived before the onset of the deluge. Also the mountain range of Arrarat is in an easterly direction (eastern Turkey and Georgia in southern Caucasus) Traveling eastward, the people had came to the valley of the Euphrates and Tigris which they found very much to their liking, a land which was called the land of Shinor. This land had already been mentioned in 10,10 as Nimrod’s first power base. We already explained that what is reported in that chapter actually referred to events after the Tower and the dispersal of mankind. Although the Torah did not elaborate on the meaning of the name Shinor, our sages in Shabbat 113 explain that the dead bodies (skeletons) of the people who had perished during the deluge had been swept down there by the rivers. It was the lowest place on earth far and wide.

בנסעם מקדם, “when they journeyed from Kedem.” According to Rashi this is a reference to verse 30 in the previous chapter in which mankind had been described as being in הר הקדם. Due to their increasing numbers, they began to look for a location that could comfortably accommodate all of them. Nachmanides, on the other hand, considers Rashi’s interpretation as flawed, claiming that only the descendants of Shem had resided in the region described as הר הקדם in verse 30. To the question that if so why would the dispersal of mankind be attributed only to the descendants of Shem, this raises the point why the dispersal of mankind is described as caused and applied only to the descendants of Shem and not to those of Yephet and Cham, seeing that the latter even represented the majority of mankind? Furthermore, according to this concept the descendants of Yephet remained in their habitats, and how did they come to populate the islands in the Ionic and Aegean sea? We would have to assume that G’d scattered them all across these islands. Subsequently, they would have formed nation states like the descendants of the other sons of Noach. Ibn Ezra writes that the mountain Arrarat was located in the east, and he is correct when he states that Mount Arrarat is situated east of there, and that it makes sense that the people who had lived around there had attempted to flee to the mountains in the Arrarat range to escape the deluge. When Noach descended from the ark it is no more than natural that he should have settled in that region. When his descendants became more numerous, they looked for wider spaces and moved down to the valley. It was the people who had settled in the valley who rebelled against G’d. According to the רודפי הפשט, people who are incapable of looking beyond the literal meaning of the text, these people did not intend to rebel against G’d but wanted to insure that they would not become scattered all over the world, unable to find their way back to their homes. These people claim that the fact that the Torah describes their expressed purpose in building the tower, not mentioning anything detrimental about them, is proof that they were quite innocent. If that interpretation were correct, the people of that time must have been complete idiots that they could imagine that a single city and a single tower could be sufficient for all of mankind! Did they imagine that the proliferation of the human race had concluded in their generation?? Anyone familiar with how to interpret what the Torah reveals, understands that the intention of the people building the tower is already revealed by their declared purpose of נעשה לנו שם, “let us make a name for ourselves!” One does not need to read much between the lines to appreciate that the project was a sinful one. If one needed further proof, the very penalty which fitted their crime, i.e. that they were dispersed, proves that they had intended to use their concentration in one location to assert their power vis-à-vis their Creator. Quite possibly, our sages who seize on the expression אשר בנו בני האדם, “which the descendants of Adam had built,” (verse 5) saw in these words a hint that the sin of these people paralleled the sin of disobedience perpetrated by the first human being, Adam. Why else would the Torah have to write the line in verse 5? Who would have thought that the people building the tower were not descendants of Adam? It is worth noting that in the whole episode of the deluge G’d is referred to by His attribute אלוקים, i.e. as someone sitting in judgment, whereas here throughout G’d is referred to as the Attribute of Mercy. The deluge had been decreed because the people at that time had corrupted earth, whereas here, just as in the case of Adam’s sin, the creature-Creator relationship, described by our sages as קצצו בנטיעות, undermining basic religious tenets, was the issue.

Where they resided. Rashi is answering the question: There is no city or place called קדם. [So why does it say they journeyed from there?] Earlier (10:30), it mentions קדם only to mark the place of Meisha, which was by Sephor, towards the east (קדם). Thus Rashi explains that they resided there, i.e., in the city of Meisha. But not in קדם, which merely marks the location. Then Rashi answers the question: Why does it not say ויסעו מקדם? For בנסעם implies they found the valley at the very start of their journey, which cannot be. Thus Rashi explains, “They journeyed from there to seek for themselves...” [I.e., they were seeking from the very start.] (the author)

נסע, verwandt mit נשא .נסח ,נסה ,נשא: etwas von dem Standpunkte wegheben, auf welchem es sich befindet. נסה: jemanden auf einen höheren Standpunkt stellen, als der ist, auf dem er sich befindet, um ihn zu versuchen, ob er auf ihm stehen könne; denn dies ist eine jede Prüfung; jede Prüfung hebt auf einen höheren Standpunkt. נסע: freiwilliges Fortziehen von dem innegehabten Orte. Es ist wohl nie ein unfreiwilliges Fortgehen, sondern immer nach einem besser zusagenden Orte. נסח ist ein gewaltsames Fortreißen (יסחך Psalm 55, 7). — קרם: das, was räumlich oder zeitlich vorangeht, der Osten oder die Vorzeit. Es ist eigentümlich, dass dort, wo die irdische Sonne aufgeht, auch der geistige Ursprung des Menschengeschlechtes liegt, und die geistige Bewegung noch jetzt von Osten nach Westen fortdauert. — Das ältere Geschlecht blieb dort, dem jüngeren Geschlechte behagte es da nicht mehr, sie fühlten sich flügge, zogen, wie die Weisen sich ausdrücken, מקדמונו של עולם. Die alten Träger der Menschenerziehung, wie שם, vielleicht auch noch נה, waren im Osten geblieben, dort, wo die Uranfänge und die Grundlage der Menschentwicklung gewesen. Es steht nun nicht ויסעו וימצאו, dann wäre ויסעו nur Einleitung zu וימצאו, sondern בנסעם: sie waren in der Entfernung von dieser ihrer Urheimat begriffen, diese Entfernung war ihr Streben, ihr Ziel. Sie suchten etwas Besseres, Zusagenderes. Da fanden sie eine Ebene (,בקעה פקח ,פקע ,בקע, eigentlich eine Kluft) im Lande Schinear, dies war das Terrain, wo der erste ׳גבור ציד לפני ד seine Herrschaft begonnen (Kap.10. 10). In diesem Lande fanden sie eine Ebene, ohne Gebirge, ohne Waldung; dort war׳s frei, da ließen sie sich nieder.

They journeyed from there... Rashi knew they journeyed for this purpose because it is written afterwards, “They found a valley,” implying that from the start they were looking for it.