Award-winning author, Dr. Robert E. Jackson, Jr., teaches Biblical principles on marriage, family, parenting, current events, evangelism, discipleship and health issues. Over 40 years as a medical doctor, 38 years of marriage, and parenting 9 children give Dr. Jackson a unique, relevant perspective on Christian life issues.
One overlooked verse in Genesis names a son “Division” and quietly points to one of the biggest turning points in human history. We open Genesis 10:22–32 and follow Shem’s family line, not as a dry record of ancient names, but as a carefully preserved trail of promise that Scripture protects from Eve all the way to Jesus Christ. Along the way, we clarify why Noah’s blessing focuses on Shem, and why the Bible keeps returning to this lineage as the channel of true worship and covenant hope.
We also dig into the meaning of “Hebrew” through Eber, showing why the term is broader than “descendants of Abraham” and how it shapes the way we read Old Testament identity and people groups. Then we connect Shem’s sons to the real world of nations and language, including Aram and the rise of Aramaic, the common tongue across the region and a language seen in parts of Daniel and Ezra and spoken widely in the time of Jesus. These details matter because they make the Bible’s storyline feel grounded, coherent, and historically textured.
The heart of the devotional is Peleg: “in his days the earth was divided”. Rather than leaning on speculation, we let the text interpret the text and tie “division” to Babel and the confusion of languages, a linguistic and geographic scattering that still echoes through human life. We close with a direct principle that confronts all of us: one person’s sin never stays private, and one person’s righteousness never stays contained. Romans 5 brings the ultimate contrast Adam’s disobedience that spreads death and Jesus Christ’s obedience that brings justification and life. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review. What ripple effects are your choices creating right now?
Welcome to More Than Medicine, where Jesus is more than enough for the ills that plague our culture and our country. Hosted by author and physician, Dr. Robert Jackson.
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Papa, can you tell me a story? Do you really want me to tell you a story? Well, you go get your brother and your sisters, and I will tell you a story. Welcome to Devotions with Dr. Papa. Gather around, grab your Bibles, and let us look into the written word, which reveals to us the living word, who is our Lord Jesus Christ.
Today we're at Genesis chapter 10, verse 22 to 32, and I'm entitling this lesson The Days of Peleg. Alright, Genesis chapter ten, we're starting at verse twenty two. The sons of Shem were Elam and Asher, and Arpakshad and Lud and Aram. The sons of Aram were Uz and Hull and Githur and Mash. Arpokshad became the father of Shelah and Shela became the father of Eber, and we're going to stop there. Now after listing the main nations descended from his brother Japheth and Ham, Shem then proceeds to his own family, which he knew from Noah's prophecy would be the family line through which would be transmitted the true knowledge of God and his promised promises to later generations. Do you remember what Noah said? He said Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Shem, indicating that Shem worshiped the same God as his father Noah, with the same respect
for Jehovah as Noah, the preacher of righteousness had. So of the three sons, Shem was the chosen one through whom the blessing of the seed of the woman would pass. Shem lists his sons descendants to the fifth generation, while listing Ham's to the third generation and Japheths to the second generation only. This may have been because he lost touch with his relations after the confusion of languages at Babel. Now in verse twenty one, Shem identifies himself as the father of all the children of Eber, from whom the term Hebrew was derived. Abraham, if you remember, was called a Hebrew in Genesis chapter 14 and verse 13, indicating that he was descended from Eber. So the Hebrews are actually a much larger group of people, not just descendants of Abraham. They're actually descendants of Eber, who is a forebearer of Abraham. In fact, there are archaeological monuments that describe a people called the Habiru, H A B I R U, Habiru, that were descendants of Eber, that were not Israelites at all. So the Hebrews were a much larger group of people than just the descendants of Abraham. They were actually descendants of his forebearer whose name was Eber. Now, in verse 22, let me read that verse to you. I'm sorry. Verse 22 was the verse that listed all five sons of Shem.
Let's go through those sons very quickly. Elam, he was the founder of the Elamites. And we remember much later in Genesis, we will encounter a king named Cheddar Laomor. He was the Elamite leader of a confederacy that was involving five different kings that invaded Canaan during Abraham's time, Genesis chapter 14. Their capital was the ancient city of Susa, east of Mesopotamia. And this group of this confederacy of nations later merged with the Medes to form the Persian Empire. Then there's Asher. He formed the Assyrians. However, Nimrod, we've already talked about this in a previous lesson, invaded the land of Asher, and he founded the large city of Nineveh, which later became the capital of that region. And the Semitic descendants of Asher merged with the Hamitic descendants of Ham. Then is Arfhoxod, and little is known except that he is the direct line to Abraham. And then Lud, speculated to be the ancestor of the Lydians of Asia Minor, according to Josephus. And then Aram, he is the father of the Arameans, same as the Syrians for of today. And they became a great nation, and their language became the universal language of the Middle East, including Assyria and Babylon. You will recall that David, I'm sorry, Daniel and Ezra, both of those books are partly written in Aramaic. And Aramaic was the common language at the time of Jesus Christ, and it was commonly spoken among the Jews. Now move to verses twenty-three and twenty-four in chapter ten. The sons of Aram were Uz and Hul and Gether and Mash. Arpakshad became the father of Shelah, and Shelah became the father of Eber. The children of Aram, only the four sons of Aram are mentioned. Shem's other sons are not mentioned at all. Why?
Well, they are not a part of the scarlet thread that runs through scriptures, the genealogical record that traces the bloodline of Jesus all the way back to Eve, back to the promise that God made in the garden for the seed of the woman to be bruised on the heel by the serpent, but that he, the seed of the woman, would crush the serpent's head, a mortal wound. The Hebrews were meticulous about recording genealogical records for this very reason, and for that very reason their table of nations is important to you and me theologically, not just historically, because it maintains the integrity of the scarlet thread from Eve all the way to Jesus Christ, the virgin born son of Mary, the seed of the woman promised by God at the ultimate deliverer, even as Adam, Eve, the serpent, and the earth were being cursed way back in the beginning because of the sin of man. So pay close attention to who is mentioned and who is left out. Uz gave his name to the region in Arabia, and as we know, Job was from the land of Uz. The very first verse in the book of Job tells us that, and we know that Abraham left the land of Uz. The most important son of Shem was Arfoxod, even though we know nothing about him, because what is known about him is that he is in the land, the line of the scarlet thread that leads eventually to Abraham. Only Salah is listed as a son of Arphoxod, even though he may have had other sons. Only Eber, the father of the Hebrews, is listed as Salah's son, once again, because he's a part of that scarlet thread. Now verse 25.
Two sons were born to Eber. The name of one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided, and his brother's name was Jochtan. Eber had two sons, Peleg and Joktan, of whom Peleg would be in the chosen line. The verse tells us that in Peleg's day was the earth divided. Now, what was God's what on God's green earth does that mean? The name Peleg means division. So something memorable must have happened that caused Eber to name his son Division or Peleg. Some scientists and theologians believe that there was once upon a time a giant continent, a single landmass, and that once upon a time the continent split apart and the continents drifted apart. If that was so and some dramatic earthquake occurred in the time of Eber to cause the division of the continents, then we can understand the naming of his son Peleg. But all of that is mere speculation, and no there's no evidence for continental drift. Like evolution, like viruses, like extraterrestrial beings. There's no evidence for any of those things, and there's no evidence for a giant earthquake in the time of Paleg. So what could Paleg's name refer to? You guessed it, the division of the people at the time of Babel in Genesis chapter eleven. Look at Genesis 10 and verse 5. Genesis 10, verse 5. From these the coastlands of the nations were divided into their lands, everyone according to his language, according to their families, into their nations. Also Genesis chapter 10 and verse 32. These are the families of the sons of Noah according to their genealogies, by their nations, and out of these the nations were separated or divided on the earth after the flood. There was a division in the time of Peleg, and it was a huge division, but it wasn't caused by a giant earthquake. It was caused by the confusion of languages. These verses refer to a linguistic and geographic
division, not a splitting of the earth. It is interesting that both Nimrod and Eber were great grandsons of Noah. Nimrod fomented the rebellion at Babel. Eber recorded the consequences in the name of his son, Peleg. Nimrod no doubt assisted in the building of the city and the tower that would reach unto heaven. Ebra and his progeny suffered the consequences when languages were confused and families were dispersed.
Now here is a biblical principle that we must all understand. One man's sin never just affects himself alone. It always spills over into the life of those around him, his family, his friends, everybody around him. By the same token, one man's righteousness never affects just himself. It always spills over into the life of those around him, his family, his friends, his circle of influence. How many times have we seen the wife and children suffer because of the drunken behavior of the father or the wife? And children have been blessed because of the faithful service and kindness of the father. Do you recall that when Joseph faithfully served the pagan Egyptian Potiphar, who was captain of Pharaoh's bodyguard, that the Bible tells us that even his garden, Potiphar's garden prospered under Joseph's faithful stewardship. You see, even man's one man's righteousness spilled over into the life of those around them. Proverbs tells us that when the wicked rule the people groan. But when the righteous reign, the people rejoice. You understand that one man's wickedness causes all the people to groan, but one man's righteousness causes all the people to rejoice. Now watch this.
In Romans chapter five and verse twelve, the scripture tells us that just as through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin. You see, Adam's sin, that one man, Adam, every single one of us that have come into the world since Adam have been affected by that one man's rebellion. That one man's sin has spilled over into the life of every single person that has ever lived on this planet. Now listen to verse 18 and 19 in Romans 5. It says, so then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness, there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one, the many will be made righteous. Now aren't you glad that that principle is true? The one man's disobedience made all of us to be sinners, but Jesus Christ's righteousness has resulted in justification for all men. Adam's sin infected us all, but Jesus Christ's righteousness rescued us all. One man's sin never just affects himself. It spills over into the life of those around him. That includes your sin. One man's righteousness never just affects himself alone. It spills over. That includes Jesus' righteousness. Aren't you glad? Eternally glad? But listen, your righteousness, even though it is imputed righteousness, delegated righteousness, given to you by God through Jesus Christ, also spills over into the life of those around you. Think about it and choose
wisely. You're listening to Devotions with Dr. Papa. If you like what you hear, I pray that you would follow, like, share, download it, tell your friends about it. We'll be back again next week. Until then, remember that Jesus loves you and your doctor loves you, and I pray that the Lord will bless you real good.
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Thank you for listening to this edition of More than Medicine. For more information about the Jackson Family Ministry or the Specialist Engagement, go to their Facebook page, Instagram, or web page at Jackson Family Ministry dot com.
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