Peleg
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Peleg (Hebrew: פֶּלֶג / פָּלֶג, Standard Péleg / Páleg Tiberian Péleḡ / Pāleḡ ; "Division") is one of the two sons of Eber, the ancestor of the Hebrews according to the so-called "Table of Nations" in Genesis x, xi and 1 Chronicles i. According to Genesis 10:25, 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 Nimrod's Tower of Babel. Peleg's son was Reu, born when he was thirty. He is said to have lived to the age of 239.
The meaning of the earth being divided has been speculated to be a patriarchal division of the world (or possibly just the eastern hemisphere) among the three sons of Noah for future occupation, as specifically described in the Book of Jubilees. Flavius Josephus (among others) also affirms this interpretation in his Antiquities of the Jews, Book I, Chapter VI, Paragraph 4.
The novel The Days Of Peleg by Jon Saboe gives a fictional account of Peleg's life, along with the speculative meaning for his name.
Peleg is also the name of one of the owners of the Pequod in Herman Melville's fictional story, Moby-Dick.
[edit] External links
- Jewish Encyclopedia: Peleg is briefly mentioned in the article "Eber"
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