Naamah (Genesis)

Naamah
Marble bas relief at Orvieto Cathedral depicts Naamah as a teacher of reading, while her half-brother Jubal is a father of music.
Born	Naamah
Other names	Naama
Spouse	maybe Noah
Parents	Lamech and Zillah
Relatives	Jabal (half-brother) Jubal (half-brother) Tubal-cain (brother)

This article is about the individual in Genesis 4. For other uses, see Naamah (disambiguation).

Naamah is an individual mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, in Genesis 4:22. A descendant of Cain, she was the only daughter of Lamech and Zillah and their youngest child; her brother was Tubal-cain, while Jabal and Jubal were her half-brothers, sons of woman called Adah.

Theories

Gordon Wenham notes that the reason "she should be picked out for special mention remains obscure,"^[1] while R. R. Wilson suggests that the narrator simply wished to offer a balanced genealogy by noting that both of Lamech's wives had two children.^[2]

The early Jewish midrash Genesis Rabba (23.3) ^[3] identifies this Naamah (the daughter of Lamech and sister of Tubal-cain) as the wife of Noah (see Rashi's commentary on Genesis 4:22), while some Jewish traditions associate her with singing.^[1]

However, a Sethite Naamah is named as the wife of Noah, and a daughter of Enoch, Noah's grandfather, in the mediaeval midrash Book of Jasher Chapter 5:15.

The 17th century theologian John Gill identified Naamah instead with the name of the wife of Ham, son of Noah, whom he believed may have become confused with Noah's wife. See Wives aboard the Ark.

The demon Naamah is identified with this person in some Kabbalistic traditions.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Gordon Wenham, Genesis 1-15 (Word, 1987), 114.
2. ^ R. R. Wilson, Genealogy and History in the Biblical World (Yale University Press, 1977), 144.
3. ^ * http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/mhl/mhl05.htm Sacred Texts: Judaism: The Bereshith or Genesis Rabba], a selection of sayings from the work translated into English by Samuel Rapaport. .