Peleg

Peleg (meaning: division) was a son of Eber and a great-great-grandson of Shem, listed in the Table of Nations (Genesis 10:25) and the genealogy from Shem to Abraham (Genesis 11:16–19). His name is given a specific explanation in the text: for in his days was the earth divided (niphlegah ha'aretz). This notice in Genesis 10:25 is one of the most discussed cryptic references in the Pentateuch.

The division associated with Peleg's time is most naturally understood as the dispersion of peoples following the confusion of languages at Babel (Genesis 11:1–9), an event placed in the same general period as Peleg's generation. Alternative interpretations have proposed a division of the land through irrigation canals or even continental separation, but the textual context most strongly supports the post-Babel dispersion of nations. Through Peleg's line runs the genealogy from Shem to Abraham (Genesis 11:16–26), making him an ancestor of the covenant people.