LatineEnglish
{To Heber were born two sons: the name of one was Phaleg, because in his days the earth was divided.}1
Nati sunt Heber filii duo, nomen uni Phaleg, eo quod in diebus eius divisa sit terra.
ILLUD pronomen „eius“ potest referri vel ad Heber vel ad Phaleg. „Nam si hoc nomen,“ inquit Caietanus, „fuit ei impositum a nativitate eius, demonstrat Heber propterea filio tale nomen imponentem, quia in diebus Heber divisa est terra: sin autem adventitium fuit nomen, utique demonstrat ipsum Phaleg, quippe qui ad perpetuam memoriam divisionis terrae quae tempore eius facta est tale nomen sortitus sit. Divisio autem terrae significat hoc loco divisionem hominum in terra secundum diversas linguas, et secundum profectionem ad diversas terrae partes incolendas.“ Sic Caietanus. Verum fere interpretes illud pronomen „eius“ referunt ad Phaleg, et recte: significatur enim in illud ipsum tempus quo divisae sunt linguae et hominum habitationes, Phaleg ortum, vel, ut placet aliis, aetatem incurrisse. Sed breviter hac etiam de re ad praesens disputandum est.
That pronoun ‘his’ can be referred either to Heber or to Phaleg. „For if this name,“ says Cajetan, „was imposed on him from his birth, it shows Heber to be the one imposing such a name on his son, because in the days of Heber the earth was divided; but if the name was adventitious, it surely shows Phaleg himself, inasmuch as he obtained such a name for the perpetual memory of the division of the earth which was made in his time. The division of the earth, moreover, signifies in this place the division of men on the earth according to the diverse languages, and according to their setting out to inhabit the diverse parts of the earth.“ So Cajetan. But nearly all interpreters refer that pronoun ‘his’ to Phaleg, and rightly: for it is signified that Phaleg was born — or, as others prefer, came of age — at that very time when the languages and the habitations of men were divided. But of this matter too we must now dispute briefly.2
Translator’s notes
- Gen 10:25 (verse lemma). ↩
- §(Gen 10:25 comment). The pronoun ‘his’ may refer to Heber or Phaleg. Cajetan: if the name was given at birth it points to Heber (the division was ‘in the days of Heber’); if adventitious, to Phaleg (named to memorialize the division in his time) — ‘division of the earth’ = the division of men by tongues and migration. But most interpreters (rightly) refer ‘his’ to Phaleg, born (or coming of age) at the time of the division. Margin: Cajetan. ↩