25 Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg, because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan.
This seems like such a simple verse in the middle of a list of names. You might run right over it without noticing something important. The earth was divided during his time. The reason this sprung to my attention is connected to the discovery of a city discovered off the coast of Africa under the ocean. It turned out to be a glitch in the data, but it made headlines for a day. But we do know that Europe and Africa used to be connected to the Americas. I wonder if this is the division talked about in this verse. That could certainly qualify as the earth dividing, couldn’t it? Something happened that prompted Eber to name one of his kids Peleg which means division. What that was we don’t exactly know. What we do know is that something happened geologically that caused this son to get the strange name. Maybe it was just a big earthquake that left a chasm in the earth. But one of the many changes to the earth’s crust is recorded here. It is significant because it is noted in the middle of these names. A geological event in the lists of peoples and nations must be important. The readers of the lists would know that Peleg means division, just like they know what so many of the other names meant, but Peleg gets the extra explanation. I personally believe it was a catastrophic division of the earth as a result of the presence of a much greater quantity of water on the surface of the land. The displacement of weight would have taken centuries to reshape the surface of the earth. Mountain ranges would have been forced upward and deep oceans would have been pressed downward. Perhaps for a time they were able to stay connected with the peoples on the other side of the split. But at some point it became a division. What events are marked in your life with a name? I bet they are significant.
The Arnold Journey 