This name 'Peleg' means 'earthquake; division' (Strong's no. 6389; & BDB def.). Many believe this is when the continents and plates shifted, and that this is the meaning of the verse. The earth's land mass division happened between Gen.1:1 and 1:2, not here after Noah's flood. This verse actually has more meaning as to the divisions of the various families upon the earth just after the flood, as verse 32 will point out.

Gen 10:26   And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazar-maveth, and Jerah,
27    And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,
28    And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba,
29    And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan.
30    And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east.
31    These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.
32    These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.

     Concerning these names, most all of these names previous scholars have linked to where Yemen is today. But don't hold literally to all these relationships to those families and the land, because they are not necessarily the same peoples who are there today. Abraham hadn't been born at this point, so Yemen; an Arab nation could not have been peopled with Arabs there at this point. It would only be speculation as to what race of peoples was in these lands at this point of Genesis 10. Keep that in mind.

     The next Chapter of Genesis 11 will cover the 'tower of Babel' event which really made our Heavenly Father angry, so He confused the 'tongue', and scattered these various peoples over all the earth. It will continue with the Family history of Noah's son Shem, and the beginning of Abraham's history.

 

Peace to you in Christ Jesus,
Dave Ramey.

 

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