Noah’s Daughters-in-Law

Jubilees 7:14–16

Mid-2nd Century BCE

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Although the biblical text does not name the wives of Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the book of Jubilees adds these details to its account. The etymologies of these women’s names are not entirely clear, but Neelatamauk may mean “heritage of destruction/blotting out,” and Sedeqatelebab likely means “righteousness of heart.”

14He [Ham—Ed.] built himself a city and named it after his wife Neelatamauk. 15When Japheth saw [this], he was jealous of his brother. He, too, built himself a city and named it after his wife Adataneses. 16But Shem remained with his father Noah. He built a city next to his father at the mountain. He, too, named it after his wife Sedeqatelebab.

Translated by James C. VanderKam.
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Notes

Words in brackets appear in the original translation unless otherwise noted.

Credits

Jubilees 7:14–16, trans. James C. VanderKam, in James C. VanderKam, Jubilees: A Commentary in Two Volumes, vol. 1, ed. Sidnie White Crawford, Hermeneia: A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2018), p. 330. Used with permission of 1517 Media.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.

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Although the biblical text does not name the wives of Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the book of Jubilees adds these details to its account. The etymologies of these women’s names are not entirely clear, but Neelatamauk may mean “heritage of destruction/blotting out,” and Sedeqatelebab likely means “righteousness of heart.”

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