1345. Verse 16 And Eber lived thirty-four years, and he begot Peleg. 'Eber lived thirty-four years' means the beginning of the fourth state of this Church, 'Eber' here, as previously, being the worship in general of this Church. 'And he begot Peleg' means a derivative from it, 'Peleg' being a nation so named from him as its forefather which means external worship.

[1345a] That 'Peleg' here means external worship follows from the sequence of derivations of worship, and so from his derivation. In verse 25 of the previous chapter where it is said that 'in his days the land was divided', this name had a different meaning, for the reason that there he and his brother Joktan together represented that Church.

The number three in the Bible represents completeness. That's why Jesus rose on the third day after the Crucifixion -- his transformation was complete. It's why Elijah stretched himself on the dead child three times, why Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days, why the Lord called Samuel three times, and many more. It's also reflected in the fact that there are three levels of heaven, three levels of hell, three levels to human life and, ultimately, three aspects of the Lord Himself: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.