Naamah ( – ''Naʿămā'') is mentioned in the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

, in , as a descendant of

Cain Cain is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He was a farmer who gave an offering of his crops to God. How ...

. She was the only mentioned daughter of Lamech and Zillah and their youngest mentioned child; her brother was

Tubal-cain Tubal-cain or Tubalcain ( – ''Tūḇal Qayīn'') is a person mentioned in the Bible, in , named therein as the first blacksmith. He is stated as the "forger of all instruments of bronze and iron". A descendant of Cain, he was the son of Lamec ...

, while Jabal and Jubal were her half-brothers, sons of Lamech's other wife Adah. She is often conflated with or connected to Naamah of the

Zohar The ''Zohar'' (, ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work of Kabbalistic literature. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material o ...

, one of the first women to seduce the

grigori Grigory, Grigori and Grigoriy () are Russian masculine given names. Russian version of Gregory (given name). Grigory * Grigory Baklanov (1923–2009), Russian novelist * Grigory Barenblatt (1927–2018), Russian mathematician * Grigory Bey-Bi ...

and give birth to

nephilim The Nephilim (; ''Nəfīlīm'') are mysterious beings or humans in the Bible traditionally understood as being of great size and strength, or alternatively beings of great power and authority. The origins of the Nephilim are disputed. Some, ...

Theories

Gordon Wenham Gordon J. Wenham (; 21 May 1943 – 13 May 2025) was a Reformed British Old Testament scholar and writer. He authored several books about the Bible. Tremper Longman called him "one of the finest evangelical commentators today." Early life and ...

notes that the reason "she should be picked out for special mention remains obscure",

, ''Genesis 1–15'' ( WBC; Word, 1987), 114. 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. The Naamah mentioned in the Bible is a Cainite, a descendant in the lineage of Cain (the daughter of Lamech and sister of Tubal-cain). However, a

Seth Seth, in the Abrahamic religions, was the third son of Adam and Eve. The Hebrew Bible names two of his siblings (although it also states that he had others): his brothers Cain and Abel. According to , Seth was born after Abel's murder by Cain, ...

ite Naamah is named as the wife of Noah (see

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi (). Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...

's commentary on Genesis 4:22), and a daughter of

Enoch Enoch ( ; ''Henṓkh'') is a biblical figure and Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch prior to Noah's flood, and the son of Jared (biblical figure), Jared and father of Methuselah. He was of the Antediluvian period in the Hebrew Bible. The text of t ...

, Noah's great-grandfather, in the early Jewish ''

midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...

Genesis Rabba Genesis Rabbah (, also known as Bereshit Rabbah and abbreviated as GenR) is a religious text from Judaism's classical period, probably written between 300 and 500 CE with some later additions. It is an expository midrash comprising a collection of ...

(23.3) Some Jewish traditions associate her with singing. The 17th-century theologian John Gill mentioned a theory which identified Naamah instead with the name of the wife of

Ham, son of Noah Ham (in ), according to the Table of Nations in the Book of Genesis, was the second son of Noah and the father of Cush, Mizraim, Phut and Canaan. Ham's descendants are interpreted by Josephus and others as having populated Africa. The Bible ...

, who he believed may have become confused with Noah's wife. See Wives aboard the Ark.''Exposition of the Old and New Testament,'' by John Gill, (1746–63), at sacred-texts.com.
note on Genesis 4:22.

Family tree

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Naamah Book of Genesis people Bereshit (parashah) Women in the Hebrew Bible