Naamah
1:
NAAMAH (PERSON) [Heb na˓ămâ (נַעֲמָה)]. 1. Sister of Tubal-cain; daughter of Cain and Zillah (Gen 4:22). Naamah is mentioned in the J genealogy of Cain (Gen 4:17–22), along with her brother (Tubal-cain) and two half-brothers (Jabal and Jubal). Her inclusion is somewhat enigmatic. Daughters are rarely mentioned in the genealogies of Genesis. Moreover, Naamah’s entry lacks the vocational information given for each of her brothers (Jabal as herdsmen; Jubal associated with instrumental musicians; Tubal-cain connected with workers in metal). Some traditions clarify her background by identifying her as Noah’s wife (Gen.Rab.) and associating her with singers (Tg. Ps.-J., Gen.Rab.). The antiquity of these traditions, however, is hard to verify. The inclusion of Naamah’s name in Gen 4:22 may simply indicate an attempt to present the reader with a balanced genealogy—two children for each of Lamech’s two wives.
2. Mother of Rehoboam, king of Judah (1 Kgs 14:21 = 2 Chr 12:13; 1 Kgs 14:31). Naamah’s name occurs in her son’s introductory (1 Kgs 14:21 = 2 Chr 12:13) and concluding (1 Kgs 14:31) regnal formulae. The reference in the latter is unusual and is missing from some versions (Syriac, Ethiopian) and from the parallel account in 2 Chr 12:16 Each reference to Naamah identifies her as “the Ammonitess.” This coincides with the tradition in 1 Kgs 11:1, which lists Ammonite women among the foreign wives of Solomon. Moreover, according to 1 Kgs 12:24 (LXX) Naamah was the daughter of Ana, son of Naash, king of the children of Ammon. If this is true, it lends credence to the theory that Solomon’s marriage to Naamah was a shrewd attempt to consolidate the territory captured by his father, David. See also REHOBOAM; QUEEN.
Linda S. Schearing
NAAMAH (PLACE) [Heb na˓ămâ (נַעֲמָה)]. Town situated in the Shephelah, or lowlands, of Judah (Josh 15:41), within the same district as Lachish. This settlement, whose name perhaps means “pleasant town” (from n˓m, “to be pleasant, delightful”), is listed among the towns within the tribal allotment of Judah (Josh 15:21–62). Although a location in the Sorek valley near Timna has often been proposed (e.g., Abel GP, 89), a location farther to the S in the vicinity of Lachish seems more appropriate given Naamah’s inclusion in the same district. Unfortunately, its exact location has yet to be identified.
Wade R. Kotter
Freedman, D. N. (1996, c1992). The Anchor Bible Dictionary (4:967). New York: Doubleday.
2:
Naamah — the beautiful. (1.) The daughter of Lamech and Zillah (Gen. 4:22).
(2.) The daughter of the king of Ammon, one of the wives of Solomon, the only one who appears to have borne him a son, viz., Rehoboam (1 Kings 14:21, 31).
(3.) A city in the plain of Judah (Josh. 15:41), supposed by some to be identified with Na’aneh, some 5 miles south-east of Makkedah.
Easton, M. (1996, c1897). Easton's Bible dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
3:
NAAMAH (Person)
1. Daughter of Zillah and Lamech in the list of Cain’s descendants (Gn 4:22).
2. One of Solomon’s many wives, an Ammonitess (1 Kgs 14:21, 31; 2 Chr 12:13). She was surely responsible in part for Solomon’s idolatry. Her son Rehoboam ruled Judah after Solomon’s death (1 Kgs 14:21–24).
NAAMAH (Place) One of the 16 cities located in the Shephelah assigned to Judah’s tribe for an inheritance, mentioned between Beth-dagon and Makkedah (Jos 15:41).
Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). Tyndale Bible dictionary. Tyndale reference library (928). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
4:
NA´AMAH (nāʹa-ma; “sweetness, pleasantness”).
1. One of the four women whose names are preserved in the records of the world before the Flood, all except Eve being Cainites. She was the daughter of Lamech and Zillah and sister of Tubal-cain (Gen. 4:22).
2. Wife of Solomon and mother of King Rehoboam (1 Kings 14:21, 31; 2 Chron. 12:13). On each occasion she is distinguished by the title “the [not “an,” as in the KJV] Ammonitess.” She was, therefore, one of the foreign women whom Solomon took into his establishment (1 Kings 11:1), after 960 b.c.
3. A city in the plain of Judah, mentioned between Beth-dagon and Makkedah (Josh. 15:41), not definitely located.
Unger, M. F., Harrison, R. K., Vos, H. F., Barber, C. J., & Unger, M. F. (1988). The new Unger's Bible dictionary. Revision of: Unger's Bible dictionary. 3rd ed. c1966. (Rev. and updated ed.). Chicago: Moody Press.
5:
NAAMAH (‘pleasant’). 1. A daughter of Zillah and sister of Tubal-cain (Gn. 4:22). 2. ‘The Ammonitess’, the mother of Rehoboam (1 Ki. 14:21). 3. A city in lowland Judah (Jos. 15:41), probably identical to modern Nā‘neh, 10 km S of Lydda. Zophar, one of Job’s ‘comforters’, was a Naamathite, but it is unlikely that he originated from the same Naamah. g.w.g.
Wood, D. R. W., Wood, D. R. W., & Marshall, I. H. (1996, c1982, c1962). New Bible Dictionary. Includes index. (electronic ed. of 3rd ed.) (796). Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.
6:
Naamah (nayʹuh-muh). 1 A daughter of Lamech and his wife Zillah, and the sister of Tubal-Cain (Gen. 4:22). 2 One of the cities that was included in Judah’s ‘inheritance,’ i.e., its portion of the promised land (1 Kings 14:21, 31). 3 An Ammonite wife of Solomon and the mother of Rehoboam, who succeeded Solomon to the throne of Judah (1 Kings 14:21, 31; 2 Chron. 12:13).
Achtemeier, P. J., Harper & Row, P., & Society of Biblical Literature. (1985). Harper's Bible dictionary. Includes index. (1st ed.) (676). San Francisco: Harper & Row.
7:
Naamah (Heb. na˓ămâ) (PERSON)
1. The daughter of Lamech and Zillah, and the sister of Tubal-cain in the lineage of Cain (Gen. 4:22).
2. An Ammonite woman who married Solomon; the mother of Rehoboam (1 Kgs. 14:21, 31; 2 Chr. 12:13).
Naamah (Heb. na˓ămâ) (PLACE)
A town in the Shephelah of Judah, part of that tribe’s inheritance (Josh. 15:41). It is included in the Lachish district, but the exact location remains uncertain. Some scholars have suggested sites in the Sorek Valley near Timnah on the basis of toponymic evidence, while others believe it should be located nearer Lachish.
Bibliography. W. F. Albright, “Topographical Researches in Judøa,” BASOR 18 (1925): 6–11.
Jennifer L. Groves
Freedman, D. N., Myers, A. C., & Beck, A. B. (2000). Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible (936). Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans.
