Iscah ( ''Yīskā''; gr, Ἰεσχά) is the daughter of
Haran and the niece of
Abraham
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Je ...
in the Book of
Genesis. The passage in which Iscah is mentioned is extremely brief. As a result rabbinical scholars have developed theories to explain it, typically adopting the claim that Iscah was an alternate name for
Sarah (Sarai), the wife of Abraham, particularly that it denoted her role as a prophetess.
The
Babylonian Talmud connects the name Iscah to an Aramaic verbal rooting, meaning "to see". It connects the name with prophetic foresight.
[. The place of the Talmud referred by Zucker and Reiss is Sanhedrin 69b.] Modern scholars are not convinced by the Talmud's explanation, and Iscah's etymology is currently regarded as uncertain.
[. The place of the Talmud referred by Zucker and Reiss is Sanhedrin 69b.]
"Iscah" is also believed to be the source of the name "
Jessica", via a character in
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's play ''
The Merchant of Venice
''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock.
Although classified as ...
''.
Biblical text
The only reference to Iscah is in a brief passage in the Book of Genesis:
And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife '' as' Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, who is the daughter of Haran, who is also the father of Iscah.
— KJV
Rabbinical interpretation
Since Haran is described as the father of both Iscah and Milcah, Rabbinical scholars concluded that Iscah was another name or title for Sarai. This was formulated in the
Targum Pseudo-Yonathan.
Howard Schwartz explains:
Rabbi Isaac commented "Iscah was Sarah, and why was she called Iscah? Because she foresaw the future by divine inspiration." Schwarz describes Iscah as an "extension of Sarah's personality beyond its normal bounds".
Modern views
Historian Savina J. Teubal takes the view that the name of Iscah was probably included in the text of Genesis because Iscah represented an important genealogy:
Jessica
The name "Jessica" comes from a character in Shakespeare's play ''The Merchant of Venice'', the daughter of Shylock. Iscah was supposedly rendered "Jeska" in some English Bibles available in Shakespeare's day, although the
Tyndale Bible has "Iisca" as does the
Coverdale Bible, the
Geneva Bible has "Iscah", and the earlier
Wycliffe Bible
Wycliffe's Bible is the name now given to a group of Bible translations into Middle English that were made under the direction of English theologian John Wycliffe. They appeared over a period from approximately 1382 to 1395. These Bible translati ...
has "Jescha". The
Matthew Bible
''The Matthew Bible'', also known as ''Matthew's Version'', was first published in 1537 by John Rogers, under the pseudonym "Thomas Matthew". It combined the New Testament of William Tyndale, and as much of the Old Testament as he had been able ...
(1537) has "Iesca".
References
{{Authority control
Book of Genesis people
Noach (parashah)
Women in the Hebrew Bible