In Peleg’s Days the Earth Was Divided

1770 AM (1990 BCE) – HEBER AND PELEG

The tremors returned once again. They weren’t terrible, but they were enough to knock over some clay jars and spook some of the younger livestock. Peleg was already used to them, though when he was young, he remembered them being worse. He remembered tents collapsing and babies crying. Even those extreme tremors of his distant memory would only last a few moments. The tremors today, in contrast, were not so bad. They would come and go and tend to last for days. As you went about your daily activity, it was easy to simply not notice them. After a while, they just seemed to always be there—except when they were not.

Peleg grew up with these mild tremors, but Peleg’s father, Heber, would speak of tremors that were far more intense than anything Peleg had witnessed. Heber recalled how, as a child, he distinctly remembered watching the top of the distant mountain that once held the family’s vineyard seem to fold in on itself.

There was smoke and dust for weeks, and many trees caught fire from what looked like hot, glowing fingers that came from the top of the mountain where the Ark once landed. Once all the fire and smoke and dust finally cleared, the mountain was only half its original height. Nobody could explain the sudden violence of the land, but after a generation or so, it just seemed like the new normal.

What was certainly not normal were the many strange rumors of the land being divided. Many travelers spoke of new openings in the earth—sinkholes and artesian springs. Over the years, these holes were said to have become canyons, and the springs to have become streams, which then turned into deep and wide rivers. Eventually, even the canyons would fill with water and become great lakes. Sometimes the lakes were sweet; other times they were brine. In just a few decades, many of these brine lakes grew to become seas.

The source of these rumors came from tradesmen who traveled for commerce. They were the ones who noticed it the most and would bring word back of some new landmark that was forming. At first, many people did not believe the rumors. Some thought the traders had merely forgotten their way and taken a wrong turn. But because the traders stuck to the truth of their story, Peleg and Heber decided that they would make a point to travel each year to these places.

They decided to take animal skins and sketch the so-called new rivers and lakes. Every year Heber and Peleg would update their sketches and look for changes. At first, there was hardly anything noticeable—this was when the tremors were infrequent and more severe. But soon, the lakes and rivers were growing so vast that one could not see the other side.

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After a dozen decades, it was clear that the land was being divided. Many accepted this as the explanation for the tremors. Waters soon encroached near where Peleg and his clan, the Hebrews, dwelt. These new waterways brought animals and prosperity, and they provided more navigable trade routes. As a consequence, a larger settlement formed over the next several hundred years along the coast of the sea.

As the lands continued to divide, the distance between the shores became so vast that ships could no longer venture to the other side safely. Many tried to reach the far coast, but they never came back. Others that managed to return had their ships badly damaged and barely sailable. Some even shared stories of a great leviathan, a terrible sea monster that lived in the waters. Others recounted storms that would come and try to bury you at sea.

When Peleg was 239 years—still spry and full of strength and wisdom—he left to travel to the other side of the great divide. He promised to return with news of what was there. But he was never seen again and was presumed dead. It was often said that in the time of Peleg, the land was divided.

Used with permission by the author. Find the author’s complete works online: Complete Works of Mack Samuels