Page 295 - Foundations

If you locate Turkey on the map above, at the upper right corner of that nation is where Bible
historians believe Noah’s ark came to rest after the flood. If you travel south and east from there to
the nations of Iraq and Iran, you will come to the plains of Shinar in ancient Mesopotamia. This is
where Noah’s descendants traveled to, and where they founded the city of Babel. A question that must
be answered is, “How did the animals taken aboard the ark to repopulate the earth travel to distant
continents such as Australia, South America, and North America?”

Some have suggested that an ancient land bridge existed between Eastern Russia and Alaska,
providing a path for animals and men to travel to North and South America. This is a possibility, but
it fails to explain how animals that could not swim or fly arrived at Australia, New Zealand, New
Guinea, Japan, Malaysia, Madagascar, Iceland, or many of the other terrestrial areas that are separated
from the EurAsian continent. We need not guess, however, for the Bible tells us that the earth was
not divided into continents until after the flood in the days of Peleg. In the book Astrology: The
Ancient Conspiracy, the author writes the following concerning Peleg and the division of the earth.

The word Peleg, which is not itself a proper name, means “a division”; but, as we shall see, a
division of a particular kind. This verse is usually explained as meaning that, at some time during
Peleg’s lifetime, God divided the land among the people; that is, He apportioned the various tracts
of country to the various companies of people - nations, as they afterwards became - which were to
inhabit them. That is quite right as far as it goes, but it does not go far enough.

There are thirteen verbs translated “divide,” each with a slightly different shade of meaning. We
need here to consider only two - “chalak” and “palag.”

Chalak means “to divide” in the sense of “to share” or “to apportion.” It is the verb generally used
when we read of a victorious nation dividing the spoil: -

“... divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren” (Joshua xxii. 8).

“As men rejoice when they divide the spoil” (Isa. Ix. 3).

It is worthy to note that when land has to be divided, in the sense of being shared or apportioned, this
verb is used.

“Joshua divided the land unto the children of Israel...” (Joshua xviii. 10)

“... Thou and Ziba divide the land” (2 Sam. Xix. 29).

Palag means “to divide” by bringing pressure or force to bear on an object to be divided.

“Who hath divided a watercourse [a channel] for the overflowing of waters...” (Job xxxviii. 25).

That is, who has parted or cleaved the ground asunder, so as to make a channel, such as a river-bed,
or the channel of a stream to carry of the overflowing water.