There are many difficulties that arise with this statement since Genesis only records two children of Adam and Eve to this point-Cain and Abel. The issues to be considered are these:
1)If all humanity descended from Adam and Eve, then where did his wife come from?
2)In addition, where did all the people come from that are mentioned in the account?
3)If Cain married a relative, then doesn’t this indicate incest?
4)If Cain married his sister, then wouldn’t we expect any offspring to suffer degenerative effects?
Pre-Adamic Humanity
Some have attempted to say that Cain’s wife came from a race of Pre-Adamic humans who were around before Adam and Eve. The idea of Cain marrying someone from this race creates more problems than it solves. The Scriptures are clear that Adam was the first man created (Genesis 2:7,18-19; 1 Corinthians 15:45). Furthermore, his wife Eve was given her name because she was the mother of all living (Genesis 3:20). These two facts rule out the idea of some Pre-Adamic race from which Cain chose a wife.
Other Children
Other Bible students have attempted to explain the existence of other humans apart from Cain and Abel by saying they were not necessarily the first two sons of Adam and Eve. They contend that other sons and daughters could have been born before Cain and Abel and that the Bible is merely singling out these two for emphasis. The Bible, however, knows nothing of any other children of Adam and Eve before Cain and Abel. Attempting to say that other children existed before Cain and Abel has no support in Scripture but it cannot be totally ruled out.
If all of humanity did descend from Adam and Eve and their first two sons were Cain and Abel then how do we explain the existence of Cain’s wife?
Time Not Stated
First, we must understand that no information is given as to when Cain killed Abel. The Bible does not tell us how old Cain and Abel were when this murder took place. It merely says it occurred at the end of days. It is not necessary to assume that they were mere teenagers or young men. If each of them were over fifty years of age, then there could have been a considerable number of people living at the time. We know this because the Scripture does state that Adam and Eve had many more sons and daughters than Cain and Abel.
And he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he begot sons and daughters. So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died (Genesis 5:3,4).
The Bible says Adam was one hundred and thirty years old when Seth was born. He then lived another eight hundred years. God had promised Eve that he would greatly multiply her conception (Genesis 3:16). In fact Jewish tradition states that Adam had 33 sons and 23 daughters! Therefore many people could have existed at the time when Cain killed Abel. It has been conservatively estimated that 32,000 people could have been alive at that time this event occurred.
Long Life Spans
Furthermore, Genesis 5 records long life spans of the descendants of Adam. If we assume the couples gave birth to children for only half of their life span, then the population by the time of Adam’s death could have been very large. Moreover, the genealogy in Genesis 5 records that every descendant of Adam down to Lamech had other sons and daughters. These other sons and daughters were born to men not older than one hundred and eighty-seven years.
With these facts in mind, there would be no problem finding a wife for Cain. Prior to his banishment, Cain could have had many women from whom to take a wife.
What About Incest?
It seems then that Cain, or one of his brothers, must have married a sister. If the entire human race came from an original pair then this was unavoidable. Does this not present us with the problem of incest? The answer is no. These early intermarriages between brothers and sisters does not violate the commands God later gave in the Book of Leviticus which condemned these relationships.
Sister Or Niece
Though Genesis condemns incest- relations between children and parents-it does not forbid a man from marrying his sister or niece. The Bible records other examples of intermarriage within families. Abraham, for example. married his half-sister Sarah (Genesis 20:12) while Moses’ father Amram, married his father’s sister, his aunt Jochabed (Exodus 6:20).
Changed With Law
It was when God gave the people the law of Moses that He established laws forbidding a man from marrying a sister or niece.
None of you shall approach anyone who is near of kin to him, to uncover his nakedness: I am the Lord (Leviticus 18:6)
At that time God forbade marriage between the following: mother, father, sister, brother, half-brother, brother’s wife, aunt, uncle, stepmother, granddaughter, daughter-in-law, and son-in law. Before that time, it was not forbidden (Leviticus 18:7-17).
God forbade intermarriage at the time of Moses to protect the increasing chance of a deformed offspring resulting from such a union. In addition, the future health of the nation Israel was insured by this commandment. Furthermore, the commandment against this type of practice strengthened the structure of the family unit.
Degenerative Effects
If this be the case, then what about the question of genetic damage? Today the risk of genetic damage is high among relatives who intermarry. However, in the beginning, there would not be the usual genetic defects arising from intermarriage among family members. Adam and Eve were created perfect with a perfect gene pool. The Bible says when God created everything it was very good (Genesis 1:31). The perfect world only began to degenerate with the entrance of sin. Cain and Abel would have few, if any, imperfect genes. Any defects that would occur from marriage within families would not begin to appear until later generations. Thus the danger of genetic damage by intermarrying between brothers and sisters was not an issue in those early days.
One final point to note, the command that God gave to Adam and Eve-to leave father and mother-assumes that you are not going to marry either one of them! Therefore the idea of marrying your child, or parent, was never found in Scripture.
Summary
As far as the account of Cain’s finding a wife when no other people were mentioned except Adam, Eve, and Abel, we can make the following observations:
1.The problem of the identity of Cain’s wife cannot be solved by arguing for some race of Pre-Adamic humans. The Scripture is clear that Adam was the first man and that Eve was the mother of all the living.
2.Some believe that the answer to the population problem is to say that there were older brothers and sisters of Cain and Abel. There is no biblical support for this view but it cannot be totally ruled out.
3.We are not told the age of Cain and Abel when the murder occurred. They could have advanced to a considerable age before Cain killed Abel. The limit the Bible puts on the age of Cain and Abel is 130 years.
4.Adam and Eve had many sons and daughters. We are not told specifically how many, but we are told that Adam lived 930 years. This raises the possibility of dozens of children from that couple alone. There were possibly as many as 32,000 people living at the time Cain killed Abel.
5.Genesis 5 tells us that some of Adam’s descendants also had long life spans. Likewise, the Bible says that they gave birth to many sons and daughters.
6.There would not be an issue of incest-parents sexual relationships with their children. This would be a matter of siblings intermarrying-something that was not condemned in Scripture until the Law of Moses. Abraham is one biblical example of a person marrying his half-sister.
7.The Law of Moses condemned intermarriage between brothers and sister to protect the health of the nation as well as the family unit.
8.Because Adam and Eve were created perfect, their gene pool would not have been corrupted until after the Fall. Children of close relatives that married soon after the Fall would not be subject to the same degeneration that would occur in later generations.
9.Genesis 1 says we are to leave father and mother when we get married. That assumes you don’t marry one of them!
Biblical Meaning: The name Zipporah is a Biblical baby name. In Biblical the meaning of the name Zippo rah is: LITTLE BEAUTIFUL BIRD. Beauty, trumpet, mourning. ZIPPORAH
The Woman Who Wrongly Opposed Her Husband
Scripture References—Exodus 2:21, 22; 4:24, 25; 18:1-6
Name Meaning—A Midian name, Zipporah means “a little bird,” “a sparrow.” Wilkinson observes that “the feminine termination ah added to the common word Zippor, which is also the father of Balak, king of Moab.” Such a name like “dove” or “lamb” would originally be a term of endearment, and thus the word passer &–;“a sparrow”—is used by the Roman poets. Passer is also being found as a Roman family name. The root of this word is an Arabic verb, signifying “to chirp.”
Family Connections—Zipporah was one of the seven daughters of Jethro who is also called Reuel and Raguel (Exodus 2:18; 4:24, 25; 18:1-6; Numbers 10:29). It was to the home of this shepherd-priest in Midian that Moses came when at forty years of age he fled from Egypt, and meeting the seven girls drawing water Moses assisted them. Arriving home earlier than usual they told how the Egyptian had helped them. Brought up as a son of Pharaoh, Moses must have looked every inch a cultured Egyptian. Invited home, Moses was content to live with Jethro’s family, and married Zipporah, eldest of the seven daughters. Two sons were born of the union, Gershom and Eliezer. Some writers affirm, without adequate support, that the dark-skinned Ethiopian, “the Cushite woman” whom Miriam and Aaron were jealous over, is merely a description of Zipporah, and that therefore Moses was only married once. But the statement “He had married an Ethiopian woman” implies a recent occurrence, and that Zipporah, whom Moses had married 40 years previously, was dead. It is most unlikely that Miriam and Aaron would have waited all those years to murmur against Moses if Zipporah and the Ethiopian had been one and the same woman.
Zipporah, as a woman of Midian, did not share the spiritual values of her notable husband who found himself acting against the sacred tradition of Israel. This may be one reason why he named his second son Eliezer, meaning “The Lord of my father was my help.” To keep the peace, Moses compromised with his unbelieving wife and withheld circumcision, the sign of God’s covenant, from Eliezer. The Lord intervened, and as a sign of divine displeasure, Moses is stricken with a mortal disease. Both Zipporah and Moses became conscience-stricken over the profanation of God’s covenant, and Zipporah yields. Moses is too prostrate to take a knife and circumcize the child, so his wife severed the boy’s foreskin and, throwing it down before Moses said, “Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.”
When Moses was restored to health relations in the home were not congenial, for he went on alone to Egypt, and Zipporah and the two sons went back to her home in Midian. Of this unhappy incident Alexander Whyte says, “There are three most obscure and most mysterious verses in Moses’ history that mean, if they mean anything at all to us, just such an explosion of ill-temper as must have left its mark till death on the heart of Moses and Zipporah. The best of wives; his help meet given him of God; the most self-effacing of women; the wife who holds her husband in her heart as the wisest and best of men &–;under sufficient trial and provocation and exasperation, even she will turn and will strike with just one word; just once in her whole married lifetime.”
When Moses became the mighty leader and law-giver of Israel, there was the episode when Jethro, his father-in-law came out to the wilderness to see Moses and brought with him Zipporah and the two sons. The union was devoid of any restraint for Moses graciously received them and neither disowned nor ignored his wife and sons. But after this visit during which Jethro gave his over-burdened son-in-law some very practical advice, nothing more is said of Zipporah. She disappears without comment from the history of the Jewish people in which her husband figured so prominently. “Neither as the wife of her husband nor as the mother of her children did she leave behind her a legacy of spiritual riches.” How different it would have been if only she had fully shared her husband’s unusual meekness and godliness and, like him, left behind footprints in the sands of time!
Zipporah is far from being an inspiring character with which to end our alphabetical coverage of all the named women of the Bible. One could have wished for a nobler and more godly example of female biography as a fitting conclusion to this section of our study. Looking back over the large number of women whose names are recorded in Holy Writ we realize that taken together they represent all aspects of human nature—good, bad and indifferent. For the majority, they lived their lives as they passed through this short scene of trial into eternity, leaving little trace behind them. But as we have seen, others, by their character and history, have left their names engraved in the impregnable Rock of Holy Scripture, with their records serving as either warning signals where they were conspicuous for evil, or as shining examples of high endeavor, where their lives were lived as unto Him who created both male and female for His glory.
Whatever was thus written in former days was written for our instruction, that by [our steadfast and patient] endurance and the encouragement [drawn] from the Scriptures we might hold fast and cherish hope (Romans 15:4, Amplified Bible).
The Bible does not say much about Moses’ wife, Zipporah. We know that she was the daughter of a man called Jethro (or Reuel), OR BY HIS ARABIC NAME as shoaieb desended from Ishmael son of Abraham. who was a priest in the land of Midian (Exodus 3:1; cf. 2:18). The Bible does not explicitly say that Moses had more than one wife. However, Numbers 12:1 leads many to surmise another wife: “Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite.” The question of the number of Moses’ wives hinges on the identity of this Cushite (or Ethiopian) woman. Is this a reference to Zipporah? Or is this another woman?
First, some background. While he was still in Egypt, Moses killed an Egyptian guard who was assaulting a Hebrew slave, and he hid the body. Soon, Moses got word that Pharaoh knew what he had done and was going to kill him, so he fled from Egypt to the land of Midian to avoid prosecution. When he got to Midian, he sat down by a well, and there he encountered a family living in that area. The priest of Midian had seven daughters, shepherdesses who came to water their father’s flock. Some shepherds tried to drive the women away, but Moses fought the shepherds off and helped the women, even drawing water for their animals. The seven reported this heroic action to their father, and he asked Moses to come and eat with his family. Sometime later, Moses was married to Zipporah, the daughter of Reuel, the priest of Midian (Exodus 2:16–22).
In later chapters Reuel is called Jethro. There is no explanation for this name change, but the title “priest of Midian” accompanies both names, and he is called Moses’ father-in-law, so it is safe to assume this was the same man. The only other possibility is that there were two priests of Midian, one called Jethro and one called Reuel and that Moses had married a daughter from each family—but that would be very unlikely.
More evidence that Moses only had one wife is found in Exodus 4:20: “Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt.” Wife is singular, and there is no mention of any other wife or wives that Moses had. On the way to Egypt, Zipporah circumcised their son and thus saved her husband’s life—Moses had neglected to obey the Lord in this matter, and the Lord would have killed Moses had not Zipporah intervened (Exodus 4:24–26). After this event, it seems that Moses sent Zipporah and his sons back home to stay with Jethro. We don’t encounter Zipporah again until after the exodus when she returns to Moses in the wilderness (Exodus 18).
That brings us to Numbers 12:1 and the reference to Moses’ marriage to the Cushite, or Ethiopian. It is possible, though not probable, that the Cushite is Zipporah. Arguing against that possibility are two facts: 1) the link between Midianites and Ethiopians is very difficult to trace convincingly; and 2) the objection to the marriage raised by Miriam and Aaron seems to indicate a recent event. Moses and Zipporah would have been married for over 40 years by this time, and it is unlikely that Moses’ siblings would just then be protesting. Much more likely is that Zipporah had died (although her death is not recorded in Scripture) and that Moses had remarried.
Some see in Moses’ marriages to two Gentiles as prefiguring the gospel message going into all the world, blessing even the Gentiles (see Acts 1:8). Zipporah the Midianite was related to the Israelites but only through Abraham’s son by a concubine (Genesis 25:1–2); the Cushite was farther removed from the lineage of Israel. Moses’ marriages expanded in a widening circle into the Gentile world, helping to show that in Abraham’s seed all the nations of the world would be blessed (Genesis 12:3).
WIFE OF MOSES .
2-Jacob had twelve sons and at least one daughter, by his two wives, Leah and Rachel, and by their handmaidens Bilhah and Zilpah. Jacob’s twelve sons, named in Genesis, were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin.
Abraham settled between Kadesh and Shur in the land of the Philistines. While he was living in Gerar, Abraham openly claimed that Sarah was his sister. Upon discovering this news, King Abimelech had her brought to him. God then came to Abimelech in a dream and declared that taking her would result in death because she was a man’s wife. Abimelech had not laid hands on her, so he inquired if he would also slay a righteous nation, especially since Abraham had claimed that he and Sarah were siblings. In response, God told Abimelech that he did indeed have a blameless heart and that is why he continued to exist. However, should he not return the wife of Abraham back to him, God would surely destroy Abimelech and his entire household. Abimelech was informed that Abraham was a prophet who would pray for him.[Genesis 20:1–7]
Early next morning, Abimelech informed his servants of his dream and approached Abraham inquiring as to why he had brought such great guilt upon his kingdom. Abraham stated that he thought there was no fear of God in that place, and that they might kill him for his wife. Then Abraham defended what he had said as not being a lie at all: “And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.”[Genesis 20:12] Abimelech returned Sarah to Abraham, and gave him gifts of sheep, oxen, and servants; and invited him to settle wherever he pleased in Abimelech’s lands. Further, Abimelech gave Abraham a thousand pieces of silver to serve as Sarah’s vindication before all. Abraham then prayed for Abimelech and his household, since God had stricken the women with infertility because of the taking of Sarah.[Genesis 20:8–18]
After living for some time in the land of the Philistines, Abimelech and Phicol, the chief of his troops, approached Abraham because of a dispute that resulted in a violent confrontation at a well. Abraham then reproached Abimelech due to his Philistine servant’s aggressive attacks and the seizing of Abraham’s well. Abimelech claimed ignorance of the incident. Then Abraham offered a pact by providing sheep and oxen to Abimelech. Further, to attest that Abraham was the one who dug the well, he also gave Abimelech seven ewes for proof. Because of this sworn oath, they called the place of this well: Beersheba. After Abimelech and Phicol headed back to Philistia, Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba and called upon “the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.”[Genesis 21:22–34]
Birth of Isaac
Sacrifice of Isaac, by Caravaggio
As had been prophesied in Mamre the previous year,[Genesis 17:21] Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham, on the first anniversary of the covenant of circumcision. Abraham was “an hundred years old”, when his son whom he named Isaac was born; and he circumcised him when he was eight days old.[Genesis] For Sarah, the thought of giving birth and nursing a child, at such an old age, also brought her much laughter, as she declared, “God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.”[Genesis] Isaac continued to grow and on the day he was weaned, Abraham held a great feast to honor the occasion. During the celebration, however, Sarah found Ishmael mocking; an observation that would begin to clarify the birthright of Isaac.[Genesis 21:8–13]
Abraham and Ishmael
See also: Ishmael in Islam § The sacrifice
Ishmael was fourteen years old when Abraham’s son Isaac was born to a different mother, Sarah. Sarah had finally borne her own child, even though she had passed her child-bearing period. When she found Ishmael teasing Isaac, Sarah told Abraham to send both Ishmael and Hagar away. She declared that Ishmael would not share in Isaac’s inheritance. Abraham was greatly distressed by his wife’s words and sought the advice of his God. God told Abraham not to be distressed but to do as his wife commanded. God reassured Abraham that “in Isaac shall seed be called to thee.”[Genesis 21:12] He also said that Ishmael would make a nation, “because he is thy seed”.[Genesis 21:9–13]
Early the next morning, Abraham brought Hagar and Ishmael out together. He gave her bread and water and sent them away. The two wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba until her bottle of water was completely consumed. In a moment of despair, she burst into tears. After God heard the boy’s voice, an angel of the Lord confirmed to Hagar that he would become a great nation. A well of water then appeared so that it saved their lives. As the boy grew, he became a skilled archer living in the wilderness of Paran. Eventually his mother found a wife for Ishmael from her home country, the land of Egypt.[Genesis 21:14–21]
Abraham and Isaac
The Angel Hinders the Offering of Isaac by Rembrandt
Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac. From a 14th-century missal
Main article: Binding of Isaac
At some point in Isaac‘s youth, Abraham was commanded by God to offer his son up as a sacrifice in the land of Moriah. The patriarch traveled three days until he came to the mount that God told him of. He commanded the servants to remain while he and Isaac proceeded alone into the mount. Isaac carried the wood upon which he would be sacrificed. Along the way, Isaac asked his father where the animal for the burnt offering was, to which Abraham replied “God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering”. Just as Abraham was about to sacrifice his son, he was interrupted by the angel of the Lord, and he saw behind him a “ram caught in a thicket by his horns”, which he sacrificed instead of his son. For his obedience he received another promise of numerous descendants and abundant prosperity. After this event, Abraham went to Beersheba.[Genesis 22:1–19]
Later years
Sarah died, and Abraham buried her in the Cave of the Patriarchs (the “cave of Machpelah”), near Hebron which he had purchased along with the adjoining field from Ephron the Hittite.[Genesis 23:1–20] After the death of Sarah, Abraham took another wife, a concubine named Keturah, by whom he had six sons: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.[Genesis 25:1–6] According to the Bible, reflecting the change of his name to “Abraham” meaning “a father of many nations”, Abraham is considered to be the progenitor of many nations mentioned in the Bible, among others the Israelites, Ishmaelites,[Genesis 25:12–18] Edomites,[Genesis 36:1–43]) Amalekites,[Genesis 36:12–16]Kenizzites,[Genesis 36:9–16] Midianites and Assyrians,[Genesis 25:1–5] and through his nephew Lot he was also related to the Moabites and Ammonites.[Genesis 19:35–38]Abraham lived to see his son marry Rebekah, (and possibly to see the birth of his twin grandsons Jacob and Esau). He died at age 175, and was buried in the cave of Machpelah by his sons Isaac and Ishmael.[Genesis 25:7–10]1Chronicles 1:32
Isaac was 60 years old when his two sons were born. Isaacfavored Esau, and Rebekah favored Jacob. Isaac is unique among the patriarchs for remaining faithful to his wife, and for not having concubines.
Ismail (Ishmael) – Ishmael’s Wives
| The Prophet continued: “After Ishmael’s mother had died, Abraham came after Ishmael’s marriage in order to see his family that he had left before, but he did not find Ishmael there. When he asked Ishmael’s wife about him, she replied: ‘He has gone in search of our livelihood.’ Then he asked her about their way of living and their condition, and she replied: ‘We are living in misery; we are living in hardship and destitution,’ complaining to him. He said, ‘When your husband returns, convey my salutation to him and tell him to change the threshold of the gate (of his house).’
“When Ishmael came, he seemed to have felt something unusual, so he asked his wife: ‘Has anyone visited you?’ She replied: Yes, an old man of such-and-such description came and asked me about you, and I informed him, and he asked about our state of living, and I told him that we were living in a hardship and poverty.’ On that Ishmael said: ‘Did he advise you anything?’ She replied: Yes, he told me to convey his salutation to you and to tell you to change the threshold of your gate.’ Ishmael said: ‘It was my father, and he has ordered me to divorce you. Go back to your family.’ So, Ishmael divorced her and married another woman from among them (i.e. Jurhum). ‘Then Abraham stayed away from them for a period as long as Allah wished and called on them again but did not find Ishmael. So he came to Ishmael’s wife and asked her about Ishmael. She said: ‘He has gone in search of our livelihood.’ Abraham asked her: ‘How are you getting on?’ asking her about their sustenance and living. She replied: ‘We are prosperous and well-off (i.e. we have everything in abundance).’ Then she thanked Allah. Abraham said: ‘What kind of food do you eat?’ She said: ‘Meat.’ He said: ‘What do you drink?’ She said: ‘Water.’ He said: ‘0 Allah! Bless their meat and water.”‘ The Prophet added: “At that time they did not have grain, and if they had had grain, he would have also invoked Allah to bless it. If somebody has only these two things as his sustenance, his health and disposition will be badly affected, unless he lives in Mecca.” The Prophet continued: ‘Then Abraham said to Ishmael’s wife: ‘When your husband comes, give my regards to him and tell him that he should keep firm the threshold of his gate.’ When Ishmael came back, he asked his wife: ‘Did anyone call on you?’ She replied: Yes, a good-looking old man came to me,’ so she praised him and added: ‘He asked about you and I informed him, and he asked about our livelihood and I told him that we were in a good condition.’ Ishmael asked her: ‘Did he give you any piece of advice?’ She said: Yes, he told me to give his regards to you and ordered that you should keep firm the threshold of your gate.’ On that Ishmael said: ‘It was my father, and you are the threshold (of the gate). He has ordered me to keep you with me.’ |
Perhaps the most common name given to Noah’s wife is Naamah. The Jewish writing known as Genesis Rabba (c. 5th century AD) states, “Naamah, daughter of Lemech and sister to Tubalcain, was Noah’s wife.” Near the end of the listing of Cain’s descendants in the Bible we read these words:
Then Lamech took for himself two wives: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah. And Adah bore Jabal . . . his brother’s name was Jubal . . . And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain . . . and the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah. (Genesis 4:19–22)
The rationale for choosing Naamah as the name for Noah’s wife is that some interpreters believe the mention of Naamah in Genesis 4:22 must have some special significance not explained in the text. She may have been an important person, but the Bible does not tell us anything other than her name and the names of a few immediate family members. She may have lived close to the same time as Noah, although she was in the eighth generation and Noah was in the tenth.
The work known as the Book of Jasher, mentioned in Joshua 10:13 and 2 Samuel 1:18, also calls her Naamah. However, the text we currently call the Book of Jasher is considered to be a forgery and not the same as the work mentioned in Scripture.
Enoch (/ˈiːnək/; Hebrew: חֲנוֹךְ, Modern H̱anokh, Tiberian Ḥănōḵ; Arabic: ʼAkhnūkh أَخْنُوخ, [commonly in Qur’ānic literature]: ʼIdrīs إِِدْرِيس) is a figure in Biblical literature. “In the seventh generation from Adam,”[2] he was considered the author of the Book of Enoch[3] and also called Enoch the scribe of judgment.[4] In addition to an appearance in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible, Enoch is the subject of many Jewish and Christian writings.
Enoch was the son of Jared (Genesis 5:19–21), the father of Methuselah, and the great-grandfather of Noah. At 65 years old,[5] he begot Methuselah.[6] Regim and Gaidad[7] are also mentioned as his sons according to 2 Enoch.
The Bible says that Enoch lived 365 years before he was taken by God. The text reads that Enoch “walked with God: and he was no more; for God took him” (Gen 5:21–24), which can be understood as God taking Enoch to heaven while still alive, body and soul.
This Enoch is not to be confused with Cain’s son Enoch (Genesis 4:17). The Christian New Testament has three references to Enoch from the lineage of Seth (Luke 3:37, Hebrews 11:5, Jude 1:14–15).
Jubilees 4:20 And in the twelfth jubilee, in the seventh week thereof (575-581 AM), he took to himself a wife, and her name was Edna, the daughter of Danel, the daughter of his father’s brother, and in the sixth year in this week (587 AM) she bare him a son and he called his name Methuselah. Yet Enoch had more sons and daughters 300 years later!!! With wife # 1? Some generations passed and in the scant record, we come upon one name that shines brightly in the story. “When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with “Yah 300″ years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with Yah; then he was no more, because Yah took him away.” Genesis 5:21-24 Seems to me more than one wife was needed some 300 years after Metusallah. Was Enoch also an adulterer…tell me pastors out there?
King Saul initially offered David his oldest daughter Merab. David did not refuse the offer, but humbled himself in front of Saul to be considered among the King’s family.[1] Saul reneged and instead gave Merab in marriage to Adriel the Meholathite.[2] Having been told that his younger daughter Michal was in love with David, Saul gave her in marriage to David upon David’s payment in Philistine foreskins. [3]
Saul became jealous of David and tried to have him killed. David escaped. Then Saul sent Michal to Galim to marry Palti, son of Laish. [4] As years passed, David married many women and wanted Michal back. In response to David’s plea, Saul’s son Ish-boshet delivered her to David, causing her husband (Palti) great grief.[5]
When David brought the Ark of the Covenant to the City of David, Michal watched him from her window. She was displeased with his behavior because he was wearing the linen ephod on that occasion and not what royalty should be wearing in public. However David claimed he did what he did before the Lord and that is what justified him.[6]
Michal had no children with David.[7] Somewhat discrepantly she, rather than Merab, is said to have had 5 sons with Adriel.[8] Many scholars believe this to be an ancient copyist error, that the 5 sons were actually Merab’s but an ancient copyist accidentally wrote “Michal” in place of “Merab”.[9][10] The name “Michal” appears in the Hebrew Bible and KJV, but many modern translations substitute Merab for Michal, restoring the hypothesized original text.
Solomon –Born: 1011 BC, Jerusalem, Israel
Died: 931 BC, Jerusalem, Israel
Reign: c. 970–931 BCE
Spouse: Pharaoh’s daughter, Naamah, Queen of Sheba
Books: Odes of Solomon, Psalms of Solomon
Children: Rehoboam, Menelik I, Taphath, Basemath
; According to the Bible, Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. The wives were described as foreign princesses, including Pharaoh’s daughter and women of Moab, Ammon, Sidon and of the Hittites. The only wife mentioned by name is Naamah the Ammonite, mother of Solomon’s successor, Rehoboam.