Topical Encyclopedia
The term "peopled" refers to the act of populating or inhabiting a particular area or region. In the context of the Bible, it often describes the filling of the earth with human beings, as commanded by God. This concept is rooted in the creation narrative and is significant in understanding the spread of humanity across the earth.
Creation and the Mandate to PopulateThe idea of the earth being "peopled" begins in the Book of Genesis. After creating Adam and Eve, God gives them a specific mandate: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it" (
Genesis 1:28). This command establishes the divine intention for humanity to spread across the earth, populating it and exercising stewardship over creation.
The Post-Flood Re-PopulationFollowing the Great Flood, the earth was once again in need of being peopled. God reiterated His command to Noah and his sons: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth" (
Genesis 9:1). This directive ensured the continuation of human life and the fulfillment of God's original plan for the earth to be inhabited by people.
The Tower of BabelThe narrative of the Tower of Babel in
Genesis 11 illustrates a significant moment in the peopling of the earth. Humanity, speaking a single language, sought to build a city and a tower reaching the heavens. However, this act of defiance against God's command to fill the earth led to divine intervention. God confused their language, causing them to scatter and populate different regions: "So the LORD scattered them from there over the face of all the earth, and they stopped building the city" (
Genesis 11:8). This event furthered the peopling of the earth by dispersing humanity into various linguistic and cultural groups.
The Nations and Their InheritanceThe Bible also speaks of the division of the earth among the nations, which is a direct result of the peopling process.
Deuteronomy 32:8 states, "When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when He divided the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God" . This division underscores the divine orchestration in the distribution and habitation of peoples across the globe.
The Role of IsraelIn the biblical narrative, the nation of Israel holds a unique place in the peopling of the earth. As God's chosen people, Israel was to be a light to the nations, demonstrating God's laws and His covenant relationship with humanity. The land of Canaan, promised to Abraham and his descendants, was to be peopled by the Israelites as a fulfillment of God's promise: "I will give this land to your descendants" (
Genesis 12:7).
Prophetic Visions of a Peopled EarthProphetic literature in the Bible often envisions a future where the earth is peopled in harmony under God's reign.
Isaiah 11:9 speaks of a time when "the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the sea is full of water" . This vision reflects the ultimate fulfillment of God's plan for a peopled earth living in accordance with His will.
In summary, the concept of "peopled" in the Bible encompasses God's command to populate the earth, the historical events that facilitated this process, and the prophetic visions of a world fully inhabited and aligned with divine purposes.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
imp. & p. p.) of People.
2. (a.) Stocked with, or as with, people; inhabited.
Library
The Powers of Darkness
... For him, the physical world ispeopled with spirits good and evil, capable of
exercising the most far-reaching influences on the fortunes of men....
The Man of Faith
... First he was simply called to go"no promise of inheritance"obeyed"came to
Canaan-found a thicklypeopled land with advanced social order, and received no...
Introduction
... The highlands of Canaan had beenpeopled by the Amorites, a tall fair race, akin
probably to the Berbers of northern Africa and the Kelts of our own islands...
Chapter I Beginning and Early Days of the Orphan Work.
... The competition in trade, the bad times, the over-peopled country, were given as
reasons why, if the business were carried on simply according to the word of...
On the Advisableness of Improving Natural Knowledge.
... It would, I fancy, have fared but ill with one who, standing where I now stand,
in what was then a thicklypeopled and fashionable part of London, should have...
Now I Thought at that Time that all Men were Judged Worthy of the...
... Also I estimate wisdom at so high a price, that I should deem a small and
poorly-peopled city, even though besieged also by a mighty king with his forces,...
The Division Between East and West
... [Sidenote: Beginnings of disunion.] Western dioceses, nowpeopled by the barbarian
nations who had overrun Europe, still looked up to Rome as their centre and...
Trinidad
... He found the islandpeopled by a race of Indians with fairer complexions than any
he had hitherto seen; 'people all of good stature, well made, and of very...
At the Foot of the Bamboos
... the city. It was near the water's edge at the mooring-place of junks from
the many-peopled districts of Tong-an and Lam-an. The...
From the Flood to Abraham
... of the earth. Year by year, the Japhethites have spread over the globe,
until whole continents are nowpeopled by him. He now rests...
Thesaurus
Peopled (11 Occurrences)... Multi-Version Concordance
Peopled (11 Occurrences). Genesis 9:19 These three were
the sons of Noah and from them all the earth was
peopled. (BBE RSV).
...Elishah (3 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary The oldest of the four sons of Javan (Genesis
10:4), whose descendantspeopled Greece. It has been supposed...
People (13047 Occurrences)
Japheth (12 Occurrences)
... After the Flood the earth was re-peopled by the descendants of Noah, "the sons of
Japheth" (Genesis 10:2), "the sons of Ham" (6), and "the sons of Shem" (22)....
Thickly (1 Occurrence)
... Ezekiel 36:11 Man and beast will be increased in you, and they will have offspring
and be fertile: I will make you thicklypeopled as you were before, and will...
Evil-doings (5 Occurrences)
... Ezekiel 36:33 This is what the Lord has said: In the day when I make you clean from
all your evil-doings I will let the towns bepeopled and there will be...
Barbarous (1 Occurrence)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (a.) Being in the state of a barbarian; uncivilized;
rude;peopled with barbarians; as, a barbarous people; a barbarous country....
Caria
... fact showing that its population was mixed. Its coast cities, however,
werepeopled chiefly by Greeks. In 129 BC Caria became a...
Corinth (13 Occurrences)
... destroyed by the Romans (BC 146), and that mentioned in the New Testament was quite
a new city, having been rebuilt about a century afterwards andpeopled by a...
Cosmological
... Beyond were the heavens where God's throne was,peopled by innumerable spiritual
intelligences, whose hosts worshipped and obeyed Him (Genesis 28:12 Psalm 103...
Resources
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