Adah

The Bible mentions two women named Adah. One is the wife of Lamech in Genesis 4; the other is the wife of Esau in Genesis 36. This article focuses on Lamech's wife and includes a separate section on Esau's wife.

Biblical Account

Wife of Lamech

Genesis 4 traces the line of Cain in this order: Cain, Enoch, Irad, Mehujael, Methusael, and Lamech. Lamech, the last figure in this genealogy, took two wives: "the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah" (Genesis 4:19).

Adah bore two sons. Jabal "was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle," and Jubal "was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ" (Genesis 4:20–21). Zillah bore Tubal-cain, "an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron," and his sister Naamah (Genesis 4:22). These brothers are discussed in the article Jabal, Jubal, and Tubal-cain.

Lamech addresses a short song to his two wives, beginning, "Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice." In the song Lamech declares that he has slain a man who wounded him, and that "if Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold" (Genesis 4:23–24). The text does not record how Adah responded to the song. This is the extent of the biblical record concerning her.

Wife of Esau

Genesis 36 names Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite, as a wife of Esau (Genesis 36:2). This Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau (Genesis 36:4, 10). Timna, the concubine of Eliphaz, bore him Amalek, and several chiefs of Edom descended from Eliphaz. The text calls these chiefs "the sons of Adah" (Genesis 36:12, 16).

Significance in Scripture

Adah, the wife of Lamech, is recorded as the mother of sons who stand at the origins of two cultural pursuits in Cain's line: herding and music. In addition, Lamech is the first person in Scripture recorded as having two wives, and Adah is mentioned in connection with that record. Neither Adah appears in the New Testament.

Interpretation and Issues

• The record of polygamy: Many interpreters read Lamech's taking of two wives as a departure from the union of one man and one woman described in Genesis 2:20–24. The text itself does not directly evaluate the practice.
• Later embellishments: Later Jewish tradition contains material not found in the biblical text, such as the story that the man Lamech killed was Cain. The text of Genesis does not identify the man Lamech killed.
• The names of Esau's wives: Genesis 26:34 names Esau's Hittite wife as "Bashemath the daughter of Elon," whereas Genesis 36:2 names the daughter of Elon as Adah. Some interpreters therefore hold that the two names refer to the same person, while others hold that the text reflects differing traditions.

In the Korean Church

Sermons devoted solely to Adah are rare in the Korean church. She is usually mentioned as Jubal's mother in sermons or Bible study sessions that explain Cain's genealogy in Genesis 4, or in discussions of worship music that present Jubal as "the father of music."