ETHNOLOGY
336
ETHNOLOGY
kind, and think that the event which singularly mark- ed Pcleg's lift! was an occurrence in physical geogra- ph_y, an earthquake whicli produced a vast chasm, separating two considerable parts of the earth in or near the district inhabited by men. That earthquakes and dislocations of land have taken place in and around that region at various times before the historical pe- riod, the present very different levels, and other re- sults of volcanic agencj', afford ample proofs. The possiljilily, therefore, of some geological convulsion cannot be denied ; or tliat it might have been upon a great scale, and followed by imperfect effects upon the condition of mankind. The transpiration of some comparatively local interest, however, would seem a more appropriate occasion for the name of an individu- al tlian so world-wide an occurrence as the general distribution of manliind. But if the race was as yet confined to a narrow circle and a single community, the breaking up of that society would be a very signal event to celebrate in his name. See Peleg.
But neither the affirming nor the rejecting of this interpretation of "the earth's being divided" can af- fect the question upon the primuval separation and migratory distributions of men. The reasons which we have mentioned render it certain that some such event, and successive events, have taken place ; and, without urging the passage of disputed interpi'etation, it is evident that Gen. x and xi assume the fact, and ma}' be considered as rather a summary recognition of it than as a detailed account. Thus (ix, 19), "These are the three sons of Noah, and from these all tlie earth was scattered over'' (nt'S3). Again (x, 32), "These are the families of the sons of Noah, [according] to their generations, in their nations ; and from these the na- tions were dispersed (^1"ia:) in the earth after the Flood." Here another verb is used, often occurring in the Old Testament, and the meaning of which ad- mits of no doubt. We find it also at ver. 5, " From these the isles of the nations were d'sjjersed Qll^pi) in their lands, each [according] to its language, [accord- ing] to their families in their nations." The Biblical date thus assigned to the dispersion is not inconsistent Witli the most careful estimate of tlie antiquity of na- tions, such as Egypt and Assyria. See Chronology.
In the latest composition of Moses is another pas- sage, which, in this inquiry, must not be neglected (Deut. xxxii, 8, 9): "In the Most High's assigning abodes to the nations, in his dispersing the sons of Adam, he fixed boundaries to the peoples according to the number ("i2&^, numeration') of the sons of Israel: for the assigned portion of Jehovah is his people; Jacob, the lot of his inheritance." Of this 8th verse the Soptuagint translation is remarkable, and it thus became the source of extraordinary^ interpretations : " Wlien the Most High apportioned nations, when he scattered abroad the sons of Adam he fixed boundaries of nations according to the number of the nnf/els of God." There might be a reading (El or Elo'him in- stead of Israel) wliich would yield that meaning from comparison with Job i, 6 ; ii, 1 ; xxxviii, 7. Also the Alexandrine translators miglit welcome a colorable reasoning for the rendering, that it might haply serve as a protection from the danger of the Macedonico- Egyptian government, taking up the idea that the Jews claimed a divine right of supremacy over all oth- er nations. This reading, however, gave occasion to the Greek fathers (Justin Martyr, Origen, Eusebius, etc.) to maintain the doctrine of a later Jewish origin, that the grandsons of Noah 1)cing seventy, each was the ancestor of a nation, each nation having its own language derived from the confusion of Babel, and each also its guardian angel set over it hy the Creator, excepting the nation of Israel, of which Jehovah him- self was the tutelary deity. -The only real difficulty of this passage lies in its seeming to' assert that the nascent population was distributed into groups with