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| Marble bas relief at Orvieto Cathedral, Italy, picturing Naamah teaching reading (left) while her half-brother Jubal plays music. |
I love mysteries! You may be aware that the author I've read the most novels by is Agatha Christy. She's got competition: Donna Fletcher Crow is catching up, who has three different mystery series.
With that in mind, join me in reading Cain's genealogy in Genesis 4:16-24. Just a list of names - no record on how long they lived as the Genesis 5 genealogy does - till it gets to Cain's great, great, great grandson Lamech (not as long a genealogy in Genesis 5 either).
Lamech was a character. He is the first person recorded in Scripture to have multiple wives (it names two: Adah and Zillah). He also murdered someone for insulting him, and has no remorse over it.
It does include the children of Lamech in this text, and most of them were an interesting group. Let me quote:
"And Adah bore Jabal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. His brother's name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the harp and flute. And as for Zillah, she bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah." Genesis 4:20-22, NKJV
The men of the family were important. But my mystery loving gene kicked in with Naamah. What do we know about her? She's the daughter of the Cainite Lamech (not to be confused with Noah's father Lamech), her mother is Zillah, and her full brother is Tubal Cain the original metal craftsman. That's it.
Let me put this in context. In the Genesis 4 and 5 genealogies only three women are mentioned by name. Genesis 5 mentions daughters were born, but no names. The three mentioned are Adah wife of Cainite Lamech, Zillah wife of Cainite Lamech, and Naamah daughter of Lamech. In the genealogy of Christ, four women are mentioned (five if you count Mary), all of which are familiar to readers of the Old Testament. So that makes the mention of Naamah stand out.
Now, I'm not the first to try to figure out the mystery. One Jewish Midrash says she may be the wife of Noah (another midrash disagrees, claiming Noah's wife is a different, Sethite Noah, maybe a daughter of Enoch). She's speculated to be a teacher of reading (before the flood?) or a singer. But this is all speculation.
So allow me to offer my speculation. Her brothers are the fathers of cattle-raising nomads, musicians, and metal workers? Then maybe Naamah is the mother of veterinarians and zookeepers.
Some may say, "Sure. Why not? You want to hear my guess?" However, I'm sure those who know me think there's something behind my theory. You're right. But let me add a second and seemingly dissimilar but related speculation.
Maybe Naamah is the mother of those born to the wicked who enter the family of God.
Remember, there's not enough to be dogmatic about (though that doesn't stop some people, but that's another blog). But why is Naamah's name mentioned here? Maybe the above mentioned theory that Naamah is Noah's wife is correct. Or she may be one of Noah's three daughter-in-laws (17th century theologian John Gill offers the theory that she was Ham's wife). True, her father Lamech was the 5th generation mentioned in the Cainite genealogy and Noah's father Lamech was the seventh after Seth, but some Biblical genealogies sometimes skip generations (for example, Matthew doesn't mention the kings Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah), We probably won't know this side of heaven.
Someday, we'll find out who Naamah is or why she's mentioned. After all, I don't think the Holy Spirit inspired her conclusion for no reason. But I wouldn't be surprised if she turned from the evil of her father to grace.
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