25 And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan.

Genesis Chapter 10 is another genealogical chapter, giving the descendants of each of Noah’s children. And I find it very interesting this verse tucked away in the middle of it all, making a casual reference to the time when the earth was divided, which some have interpreted as meaning the supercontinent Pangaea splitting into the seven continents we know today.

Alternatively, it could also mean this was when humanity dispersed itself into different nations, after the confounding of the languages at the Tower of Babel, which we will soon read of. But in either case, what struck me about this verse was that many generations of humanity and hundreds of years are history are being flown by, with virtually no information of what transpired. The scriptures that we have, and also the history we books we have, only ever provide the smallest window into what was really going on in those ancient days.

Later books, such as those of the New Testament, take place in societies where we have a pretty good idea of what they were like. But the stories in Genesis we have little or no context behind. No wonder these tales take on such mythic proportions then, because we don’t even know how to properly conceptualize them.