Peleg ( he, פֶּלֶג, Péleḡ, in
pausa
In linguistics, pausa (Latin for 'break', from Greek παῦσις, ''pausis'' 'stopping, ceasing') is the hiatus between prosodic declination units. The concept is somewhat broad, as it is primarily used to refer to allophones that occur in cer ...
he, פָּלֶג, Pā́leḡ, "division"; grc-x-biblical, Φάλεκ, Phálek) is mentioned in the
Hebrew Bible as one of the two sons of
Eber, an ancestor of the
Ishmaelites and the
Israelites, according to the "
Table of Nations" in and .
In Scriptures
Peleg's son was
Reu, born when Peleg was thirty, and he had other sons and daughters. According to the Hebrew Bible, Peleg lived to the age of 239 years, () (upto when
Terah was 118).
In the
Septuagint and some Christian Bibles derived from it, Peleg is called and his father is called . His son is called , born when Phaleg was 130 years old, and he had other sons and daughters. According to the Septuagint, Phaleg lived to an age of 339 years.
Septuagint Genesis 11:16-19 Modern translations generally use the names and dating as in the
Masoretic Hebrew text. (compare )
"The earth was divided"
According to and , it was during the time of Peleg that the earth was divided – traditionally, this is often assumed to be just before, during, or after the failure of the
Tower of Babel, whose construction was traditionally attributed to
Nimrod. The meaning of the Earth being divided is usually taken to refer to a patriarchal division of the world, or possibly just the
Eastern Hemisphere
The Eastern Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth which is east of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and west of the antimeridian (which crosses the Pacific Ocean and relatively little land from pole to pol ...
, into allotted portions among the three
sons of Noah
The Generations of Noah, also called the Table of Nations or Origines Gentium, is a genealogy of the sons of Noah, according to the Hebrew Bible (Genesis ), and their dispersion into many lands after the Flood, focusing on the major known soci ...
for future occupation, as specifically described in the ''
Book of Jubilees'', Pseudo-Philo, ''Biblical Antiquities of Philo'', Clementine literature, ''Kitab al-Magall'', Flavius Josephus, and numerous other antiquarian and mediaeval sources, even as late as James Ussher, Archbishop Ussher, in his ''Annals of the World''. One account, the ''Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan'', states that "In the days of Phalek (Peleg), the earth was divided ''a second time'' among the three sons of Noah; Shem, Ham and Japheth" – it had been divided once previously among the three sons by Noah himself.
Some Young Earth Creationists interpret this verse to refer to the continent of Pangaea being split into the modern continents.
[''Unlocking the Secrets of Creation'' by Dennis R. Peterson; ''The Genesis Flood'' by Whitcomb and Morris]
Popularity of the name
Peleg is a common first name and surname in Israel, also being the root lettering for sailing ( ) and a military half-bivouac tent ( ). The meaning of Peleg in English is "brook", a little river.
In popular culture
Peleg is the name of one of the principal owners of the fictional whaling ship Pequod (Moby-Dick), Pequod in Herman Melville's ''Moby-Dick'' (1851). The following actors have portrayed this character in film adaptations:
* Mervyn Johns in Moby Dick (1956 film), Moby Dick (1956)
* Gordon Stanley (actor), Gordon Stanley in the off-Broadway ''Moby Dick'' (1986)
Peleg Peterson (played by Fred Paul) is a character in the Silent film, silent film Infelice (film), Infelice (1915). This film is an adaptation of the 1875 novel of the same name by Augusta J. Evans.
Dan Peleg (played by Noah Emmerich) is a Mossad trainer in the miniseries The Spy (TV miniseries), The Spy (2019).
References
External links
''Jewish Encyclopedia'':Peleg is briefly mentioned in the article "Eber"
{{Authority control
Book of Genesis people