Subject: Why didn't Noah stop tower of Babel? |
Bible Note: Greetings my friend, I thought about that also, (Gen. 10:25; 1 Chr. 1:19) "the earth divided", that it could mean something other than the dispersement or scattering of the people.. But the more I thought about it, the more that I became convinced in my own mind that it had to mean the Tower of Babel.. Peleg was clearly not born during the time of the flood, but 109 years after the flood.. So that would take away support from saying that the "earth divided" is referring to the dividing of the continents. And if the writer of Genesis is going to take the time to write down that something called "the earth divided" took place (10:25), then surely he would have included that event within the text of his book. And the only 'event' around the time of Peleg that mentions the earth being divided is Genesis chapter 11, which starts out by saying, "Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words" and then ends the thought saying, "..and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth." (v.9) Also, here is some extra-biblical support.. :-) [1 Chronicles] "1:19 Peleg means "division" and refers to the scattering of Gen. 11:9, which occurred during his times." (1) [Genesis] "10:25 the earth was divided. This looks ahead to the dispersion of nations at Babel (11:1-9)." (2) As for continental drift, some would take Genesis 1:9-10 to refer to a 'gathering together' of seas in one place, which would imply that there was, at one time, one landmass. Scientific evidence indicates that the continents have moved apart in the past, but can today's supposed drift rates of 0.78 - 5.9 inches per year be extrapolated far back into the past? Interesting hypothetical question, but not many answers when it comes to the Bible, except for say, Psalm 104:6-8, which describes the abating of the waters which had stood above the mountains. Verse 8 most naturally translates as, "The mountains rose up; the valleys sank down," implying that vertical earth movements were the dominant tectonic forces operating at the close of the flood, in contrast to the horizontal forces dominant during the spreading phase. Plate collisions would have pushed up mountains. It is significant to know, that the Mountains of Ararat (Gen. 8:4) are in a tectonically active region at what is believed to be the junction of three crustal plates! (3) But beyond that, the Bible is silent on the science of plate tectonics. Blessings to you, Makarios (1) Ryrie Study Bible, Expanded Edition, 1995, Charles C. Ryrie, The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago (2) The MacArthur Study Bible, 1997, John MacArthur, Word Publishing (3) "The Revised and Expanded Answers Book", Ken Ham, Jonathan Sarfati, Carl Wieland, 1990, Creation Science Foundation, http://www.AnswersinGenesis.org, pg. 165 |