Anton Bruckner
Puritan Board Professor
So Where Does Pangea Fit Into The Bible?
We believe that at one time, the seven continents of earth were once fitted together in one major continent called "Pangea" or "Pangaea". The massive super-continent was later divided into the continents that we have today but one cannot be dogmatic regarding when the splitting of Pangaea occurred. It is NOT a doctrinal issue that needs careful attention.
Scientists will throw all their theories out there but the truth is that they really don’t know when the breakup of Pangaea occurred. Nothing they say regarding the past can be proven as truth. They will never disprove the bible because the bible gives us an accurate historical record, which science proves to be true again and again, even when man attempts to disprove it. The Bible recorded the earth to be round (Isaiah 40:22) thousands of years before scientists discovered it to be so.
Some Creationists will tell you that Pangaea broke into pieces during the time
of the Flood, when the "fountains of the deep" broke forth. However, since
Noah's Ark is the STARTING point for man and animals, how did marsupials find their home in Australia? How did the native creatures of the Americas find their home after emerging from the ark? Dr. Henry M. Morris (See his book, "The Genesis Record" for more information) theorizes that people could have walked across the post-Flood great continental ice sheets to their destinations. This could be so but it does not explain how the herbivore animals crossed sheets of ice, without food supplied along their journey, across the ice- covered ocean.
We believe, though not dogmatically, that Pangaea was split during the days of the life of Peleg, taken from Genesis 10:25. The belief is that during the Flood, fault lines were created. After the dispersion at Babel, as mankind journeyed from Shinar, they each went to various locations across Pangaea. When all
tribes were in their destined place, God then slowly divided the massive landmass into the continents we have today. The earthquake (which began the continental breakup) was such a significant event that a man named his own
son after it.
We read in Genesis 10:25 And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of
one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan.
Now, reading the verse in English is interesting but reading it in Hebrew gives
us a more concise answer. The name, Peleg, actually means "earthquake".
The Hebrew word for “earth” means “ground,” or “land,” and “divided” means, “to split” or “to divide”.
*Bernard Northrup, a Hebrew scholar, states:
[Peleg, palag, or PLG] often contains within it a reference to water. It is used to refer to a stream
of water in Hebrew, Coptic, Ethiopic and in Greek. The root is used to refer to irrigation canals
which carried the water throughout the farming land of Mesopotamia. However, an examination of
the Greek usage (of the family of Japeth) of the root letters PL and PLG clearly shows that in the majority of the instances this root was used of the ocean...It is used to mean: “to form a sea or lake,” “of places that are flooded and under water,” “of crossing the sea,” of “the broad sea” itself,
of “being out at sea,” “on the open sea.” It is used of seamen and ships. The noun with the result suffix is used of “an inundation.” I continue: it is used of “a being at sea,” of “a creature of or on the sea,” of “one who walks on the sea,” of “running or sailing on the open sea,” of “a harbor that is formed in the open sea by means of sandbags,” and in many ways of “the open sea itself,” of “going to, into or toward the sea,” of “roving through the sea,” of “being sea-nourished,” of “turning something into the sea or into the sea or of flooding.” It is quite apparent that every Greek usage here involves the sea in someway.
So if we are interpreting the text correctly, a great earthquake must have occurred near or at the time of Peleg's birth-- the result of the tectonic plates on the crust of the earth beginning to move, separating the continents. That is why the Scripture says, "for in his days was the earth divided" The earthquake occurred at his birth but it took many years in his lifetime as these continents were pulled apart. Remember that when the languages were confounded at Babel, each group went in their own direction. No doubt they were fearful of one another and for good reason. If one cannot understand the other, it causes fear to develop. Remember there was no police back then. Each patriarch was responsible for his own family's safety. Each one would want distance
between themselves and foreign language speaking tribes. Therefore they
would cross the streams that filled the fault lines of the earthquake, giving them ample room from the other tribes. As time progressed, these streams became rivers as the continents continued to separate, the rivers grew wider until they became the oceans we have today.
Acts 17:24-27 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should
seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
If Genesis 10:25 does refer to the dividing of Pangaea, then it could explain
how various tribes and animals occupied all "discovered" lands. They did not
sail across but walked across Pangea. (Again, since all flesh in the earth died,
save those saved in the ark, the starting point of all peoples and animals we know today emerged from Noah's Ark.) It would make perfect sense that they walked across the large continent and crossed various little streams and rivers
to where God wanted them to be and then the land broke up into the continents
we have today. As the continents pushed away from one another, mountain ridges formed, separating one tribe from the other and one species of animal from the other.
Again, no one knows for sure if Gen.10:25 is referring to the dividing of
Pangaea but the possiblity of Pangaea does exist in the bible. (See also Genesis 1:9-10). We must keep in mind that everything in the bible was written for a reason.
Secular scientists will tell us that the splitting of Pangaea took millions of years
to divide. They can't prove anything. They weren't there when it occurred.
If their claim (of a hundred million years for the continents to split apart to
where they are now) is correct, why is it that the coastlines fit together so
well? Given the rapid rate at which erosion occurs, would it not be true that the effects of erosion over this length of time would have completely changed the shape of every coastline in the world?
Scientists and geologists who over the years have studied the soil, rock strata and mountain ranges near the east coast of South America and the west coast
of Africa, have noticed that not only do those coastlines share the same shape, they share the same geological characteristics.
The Bible records our history. God made man in His own image. There was
a worldwide Flood, which explains the THEORY of the "Ice Age". God confounded the language of man, which explains the various tongues. Man and dinosaur roamed the earth together, as is evidenced in the Book of Job and the findings of a man's footprint fossilized with the footprint of dinosaur. Evolution cannot be proven, nor will it ever be proven...
http://www.geocities.com/cobblestoneministries/2006/GlobalFlood_Pangea_InBible.html
We believe that at one time, the seven continents of earth were once fitted together in one major continent called "Pangea" or "Pangaea". The massive super-continent was later divided into the continents that we have today but one cannot be dogmatic regarding when the splitting of Pangaea occurred. It is NOT a doctrinal issue that needs careful attention.
Scientists will throw all their theories out there but the truth is that they really don’t know when the breakup of Pangaea occurred. Nothing they say regarding the past can be proven as truth. They will never disprove the bible because the bible gives us an accurate historical record, which science proves to be true again and again, even when man attempts to disprove it. The Bible recorded the earth to be round (Isaiah 40:22) thousands of years before scientists discovered it to be so.
Some Creationists will tell you that Pangaea broke into pieces during the time
of the Flood, when the "fountains of the deep" broke forth. However, since
Noah's Ark is the STARTING point for man and animals, how did marsupials find their home in Australia? How did the native creatures of the Americas find their home after emerging from the ark? Dr. Henry M. Morris (See his book, "The Genesis Record" for more information) theorizes that people could have walked across the post-Flood great continental ice sheets to their destinations. This could be so but it does not explain how the herbivore animals crossed sheets of ice, without food supplied along their journey, across the ice- covered ocean.
We believe, though not dogmatically, that Pangaea was split during the days of the life of Peleg, taken from Genesis 10:25. The belief is that during the Flood, fault lines were created. After the dispersion at Babel, as mankind journeyed from Shinar, they each went to various locations across Pangaea. When all
tribes were in their destined place, God then slowly divided the massive landmass into the continents we have today. The earthquake (which began the continental breakup) was such a significant event that a man named his own
son after it.
We read in Genesis 10:25 And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of
one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan.
Now, reading the verse in English is interesting but reading it in Hebrew gives
us a more concise answer. The name, Peleg, actually means "earthquake".
The Hebrew word for “earth” means “ground,” or “land,” and “divided” means, “to split” or “to divide”.
*Bernard Northrup, a Hebrew scholar, states:
[Peleg, palag, or PLG] often contains within it a reference to water. It is used to refer to a stream
of water in Hebrew, Coptic, Ethiopic and in Greek. The root is used to refer to irrigation canals
which carried the water throughout the farming land of Mesopotamia. However, an examination of
the Greek usage (of the family of Japeth) of the root letters PL and PLG clearly shows that in the majority of the instances this root was used of the ocean...It is used to mean: “to form a sea or lake,” “of places that are flooded and under water,” “of crossing the sea,” of “the broad sea” itself,
of “being out at sea,” “on the open sea.” It is used of seamen and ships. The noun with the result suffix is used of “an inundation.” I continue: it is used of “a being at sea,” of “a creature of or on the sea,” of “one who walks on the sea,” of “running or sailing on the open sea,” of “a harbor that is formed in the open sea by means of sandbags,” and in many ways of “the open sea itself,” of “going to, into or toward the sea,” of “roving through the sea,” of “being sea-nourished,” of “turning something into the sea or into the sea or of flooding.” It is quite apparent that every Greek usage here involves the sea in someway.
So if we are interpreting the text correctly, a great earthquake must have occurred near or at the time of Peleg's birth-- the result of the tectonic plates on the crust of the earth beginning to move, separating the continents. That is why the Scripture says, "for in his days was the earth divided" The earthquake occurred at his birth but it took many years in his lifetime as these continents were pulled apart. Remember that when the languages were confounded at Babel, each group went in their own direction. No doubt they were fearful of one another and for good reason. If one cannot understand the other, it causes fear to develop. Remember there was no police back then. Each patriarch was responsible for his own family's safety. Each one would want distance
between themselves and foreign language speaking tribes. Therefore they
would cross the streams that filled the fault lines of the earthquake, giving them ample room from the other tribes. As time progressed, these streams became rivers as the continents continued to separate, the rivers grew wider until they became the oceans we have today.
Acts 17:24-27 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should
seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
If Genesis 10:25 does refer to the dividing of Pangaea, then it could explain
how various tribes and animals occupied all "discovered" lands. They did not
sail across but walked across Pangea. (Again, since all flesh in the earth died,
save those saved in the ark, the starting point of all peoples and animals we know today emerged from Noah's Ark.) It would make perfect sense that they walked across the large continent and crossed various little streams and rivers
to where God wanted them to be and then the land broke up into the continents
we have today. As the continents pushed away from one another, mountain ridges formed, separating one tribe from the other and one species of animal from the other.
Again, no one knows for sure if Gen.10:25 is referring to the dividing of
Pangaea but the possiblity of Pangaea does exist in the bible. (See also Genesis 1:9-10). We must keep in mind that everything in the bible was written for a reason.
Secular scientists will tell us that the splitting of Pangaea took millions of years
to divide. They can't prove anything. They weren't there when it occurred.
If their claim (of a hundred million years for the continents to split apart to
where they are now) is correct, why is it that the coastlines fit together so
well? Given the rapid rate at which erosion occurs, would it not be true that the effects of erosion over this length of time would have completely changed the shape of every coastline in the world?
Scientists and geologists who over the years have studied the soil, rock strata and mountain ranges near the east coast of South America and the west coast
of Africa, have noticed that not only do those coastlines share the same shape, they share the same geological characteristics.
The Bible records our history. God made man in His own image. There was
a worldwide Flood, which explains the THEORY of the "Ice Age". God confounded the language of man, which explains the various tongues. Man and dinosaur roamed the earth together, as is evidenced in the Book of Job and the findings of a man's footprint fossilized with the footprint of dinosaur. Evolution cannot be proven, nor will it ever be proven...
http://www.geocities.com/cobblestoneministries/2006/GlobalFlood_Pangea_InBible.html