Original Word: פֶלֶג
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: peleg
Pronunciation: peh'-leg
Phonetic Spelling: (peh'-leg)
KJV: river, stream
NASB: streams, channels, stream
Word Origin: [from H6385 (פָּלַג - divided)]

1. a rill (i.e. small channel of water, as in irrigation)

river, stream

From palag; a rill (i.e. Small channel of water, as in irrigation) -- river, stream.

see HEBREW palag

Word Origin
from palag
Definition
a channel, canal
NASB Translation
channels (1), stream (1), streams (8).

I. מֶּ֫לֶג noun masculine^{Psalm 65:10} (cleft) channel, (artificial) canal; — usually plural מְּלָנִים Isaiah 30:25 ( + יִבְלֵימָֿ֑יִם); construct מַּלְגֵימַֿיִם Psalm 1:3, simile Isaiah 32:2; Proverbs 21:1, metaphor Proverbs 5:16, of tears Lamentations 3:48; Psalm 119:136; מְּלָגָיו Psalm 46:5 (i.e. irrigating canals from river, metaphor); מַּלְגֵישָֿׁ֑מֶן Job 29:6 (figurative of prosperity); singular מֶּלֶג אֱלֹהִים Psalm 65:10, poetic of channel for rain (compare Job 38:25).

Definition and Scope

פֶלֶג denotes an artificial or natural watercourse—canal, channel, divided stream—employed both literally and figuratively across the Old Testament.

Literal Channels and Ancient Hydrology

Job 29:6 recalls patriarchal prosperity: “when my steps were bathed in cream and the rock poured out for me streams of oil.” The image presupposes hewn channels guiding olive oil from presses, paralleling irrigation channels that captured seasonal rains. Psalm 65:9 celebrates Israel’s agrarian dependence on such divisions: “You visit the land and water it; You greatly enrich it. The river of God is full of water; You provide grain, for so You have ordained it.” Ancient farmers slit levees to let peleg-streams spread fertility—an everyday reminder that creation’s bounty flows from the Creator.

Streams as Emblems of Divine Supply and Stability

Psalm 46:4 elevates the term from agricultural utility to sanctuary joy: “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.” The plural “streams” points to multiple channels branching from a single source, portraying God’s multifaceted grace sustaining His people. Psalm 1:3 links the righteous man’s flourishing to this constant supply: “He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season.” Stability, vitality, and dependable fruit mark a life irrigated by the Word.

Moral Channels: Human Agency Directed by God

Proverbs 21:1 moves the imagery from geography to governance: “The king’s heart is a watercourse in the hand of the LORD; He directs it wherever He pleases.” Human volition, even royal power, flows along channels sovereignly carved by God. Proverbs 5:16 warns against wasting marital fidelity: “Should your springs be dispersed abroad, streams of water in the streets?” The verse urges disciplined stewardship of life-giving affections, lest sacred resources leak into unholy paths.

Streams of Tears: Penitence and Corporate Grief

The same term that depicts blessing also conveys brokenness. Psalm 119:136 laments covenant breach: “Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for Your law is not obeyed.” Lamentations 3:48 widens the grief to national catastrophe: “Streams of tears flow from my eyes over the destruction of the daughter of my people.” The channel now carries sorrow, yet even tears become a prayerful offering, testifying to God’s moral order.

Prophetic Streams and Eschatological Hope

Isaiah envisions judgment replaced by restoration. Isaiah 30:25 promises, “On every lofty mountain and every high hill will be streams of running water, in the day of great slaughter when the towers fall.” Isaiah 32:2 depicts each righteous leader “like streams of water in a dry land,” foreseeing Messiah’s kingdom where justice channels life to parched hearts.

Theological Themes

1. Source and Supply: All channels trace back to a single river—God Himself.
2. Guidance and Sovereignty: Hearts and histories are steered as readily as irrigation ditches.
3. Responsibility and Stewardship: Human choices determine whether channels convey purity or pollution.
4. Lament and Renewal: Tears are acknowledged yet anticipate cleansing, prefiguring the promise that “the Lamb… will guide them to springs of living water” (Revelation 7:17).

Ministry Applications

• Preaching: Use Psalm 1:3 to contrast rooted discipleship with desiccated worldliness.
• Counseling: Proverbs 21:1 reassures believers struggling with political anxiety that God remains the ultimate hydrologist of history.
• Worship: Psalm 46:4 invites liturgical celebration of God’s indwelling presence as a life-giving stream.
• Pastoral Care: Passages on tears legitimize grief while pointing sufferers toward hope.
• Mission: Isaiah’s vision of widespread streams fuels confidence that the gospel will irrigate every desert.

Intertextual Echoes

Peleg imagery culminates in John 7:38 where Jesus declares, “Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: streams of living water will flow from within him.” The Old Testament’s physical and poetic channels converge in the Spirit’s interior river, fulfilling the promise that began in Eden’s parted streams and will consummate in the New Jerusalem’s river of life.

כְּפַלְגֵי־ כפלגי־ פְּלָגִ֖ים פְּלָגָ֗יו פֶּ֣לֶג פַּלְגֵ֫י פַּלְגֵי־ פלג פלגי פלגי־ פלגיו פלגים kə·p̄al·ḡê- kefalgei kəp̄alḡê- pal·ḡê pal·ḡê- palḡê palḡê- palgei pə·lā·ḡāw pə·lā·ḡîm pe·leḡ pelaGav pəlāḡāw pelaGim pəlāḡîm Peleg peleḡInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts