Almodad ( ''’Almōḏāḏ'') was a descendant of
Noah
Noah (; , also Noach) appears as the last of the Antediluvian Patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5–9), the Quran and Baháʼí literature, ...
and the first named son of
Joktan
Joktan (also written as Yoktan; ; ) was the second of the two sons of Eber (Book of Genesis 10:25; 1 Chronicles 1:19) mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. He descends from Shem, son of Noah.
In the Book of Genesis 10:25 it reads: "And unto Eber were bo ...
in and . While the Bible has no further history regarding Almodad, this patriarch is considered to be the founder of an Arabian tribe in "
Arabia Felix". This is based on the identification of Joktan's other sons, such as
Sheba
Sheba, or Saba, was an ancient South Arabian kingdoms in pre-Islamic Arabia, South Arabian kingdom that existed in Yemen (region), Yemen from to . Its inhabitants were the Sabaeans, who, as a people, were indissociable from the kingdom itself f ...
and
Havilah
Havilah () refers to both a land and people in several books of the Bible; one is mentioned in Genesis 2:10–11, while the other is mentioned in the Generations of Noah (Genesis 10:7).
In Genesis 2:10–11, Havilah is associated with the Garden ...
, who are both identified as coming from that region.
According to ''
Easton's Bible Dictionary
The ''Illustrated Bible Dictionary'', better known as ''Easton's Bible Dictionary'', is a reference work on topics related to the Christian Bible, compiled by Matthew George Easton. The first edition was published in 1893, and a revised editio ...
'' "Almodad" means "immeasurable", however it has also been translated as "not measured", "measure of God", "the beloved," or, "God is beloved", "God is love", and "God is a friend".
Many translations and scholarly works use "Elmodad", including
Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...
,
Douay–Rheims Bible
The Douay–Rheims Bible (, ), also known as the Douay–Rheims Version, Rheims–Douai Bible or Douai Bible, and abbreviated as D–R, DRB, and DRV, is a translation of the Bible from the Latin Vulgate into English made by member ...
and the
Targum Ps.-Jonathan, which elaborates Gen 10:26 and says "begot ''Elmodad'', who measured the earth with cords."
See also
*
List of minor biblical figures, A–K
A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
References
Further reading
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{{Eastons, wstitle=Almodad
Book of Genesis people
Books of Chronicles people