פָּלַג pâlag — to split (literally or figuratively)
Translated in the KJV as divide.
a primitive root; to split (literally or figuratively).
pâlag in each stem
Niph'al
Perfect (qatal) 2
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.
And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg; because in his days the earth was divided: and his brother’s name was Joktan.
Pi'el
Perfect (qatal) 1Imperative 1
Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;
Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof: mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it.
What the stems mean
A Hebrew verb is its root letters set into a pattern. The pattern — the binyan — is the grammar's way of saying three things at once: whether the action is simple, intensive or causative, and whether its subject is active, passive or reflexive. That is why one Hebrew word can need six English ones. All seven binyanim, explained ›