Some Midrashim say that, after Lilit, Adam's next helpmeet was Na'amah, the sister of Tuval Kayin, from whom a host of other demons were produced who still plague mankind (it is difficult to understand how the only human being yet created can have married a woman who will only be created several generations later, but this is the nature of Midrash); and if I have written "mankind" with a lower case "m" it is because these daemons, being female, do not appear to plague womankind as well; and if I have written both "demons" and "daemons" it is because the former are negative, but the latter theoretically positive, and it is not obvious from the texts which of the two is intended, and it may be both. Na'amah and Lilit will both turn up at Shelomoh's (Solomon's) throne later on, disguised as harlots, which may allow us to understand the demons/daemons as priestesses of the moon-goddess, given that the patriarchal Tanach demonises every one of these in this manner (cf Tamar, Rachav etc).
Genesis 4:22 names her as a daughter of Lamech by Tsilah (צלה); once again denoting her as a sister of Tuval-Kayin (תובל-קין). Tuval-Kayin is stated to be the inventor of brass and iron, and is normally reckoned to be the Tibareni of Asia Minor, and therefore linked with Meshech, the Yehudit name for the Moschii, who were the Tibareni's Anatolian neighbours in an area that confuses us today, because it was the original Iberia before that name became attached to Spain and Portugal.
Lamech's other wife was Adah (עדה) who bore him Yaval (יבל) – "the father of all who dwell in tents" - and Yuval (יובל) – "the father of all who play the harp and pipes".
The meaning of Tsilah is uncertain. It may be the feminine of Tsel (צל) = "a shadow", or more likely comes from Tsalah (צלה) = "to roast", which would link her to Gacham (גחם), one of the five children of Re'umah in Genesis 22:23; that name also means "to roast" and, as explained in the notes to Milkah (מלכה), the five children were all temple servants with specific duties relating to the sacrifices. There is also the possibility that Tsilah (צלה) may be a phonetic error for Tselah (צלע), being the rib from which Chava (Eve) was made in Genesis 2:21 (and thereby a possible explanation of the Midrashic tale) and also the name of the women's court at the Temple (likewise explaining who the "harlots" were before they became demonised).
1 Kings 14:21 and 31, and 2 Chronicles 12:13, name Na'amah as the mother of Rechav-Am (רְחַבְעָם - Rehoboam); she was from the Beney Amon (Ammonites); the husband - funny coincidence this, after the comments above! - was King Shelomoh (Solomon).
The meaning of Tsilah is uncertain. It may be the feminine of Tsel (צל) = "a shadow", or more likely comes from Tsalah (צלה) = "to roast", which would link her to Gacham (גחם), one of the five children of Re'umah in Genesis 22:23; that name also means "to roast" and, as explained in the notes to Milkah (מלכה), the five children were all temple servants with specific duties relating to the sacrifices. There is also the possibility that Tsilah (צלה) may be a phonetic error for Tselah (צלע), being the rib from which Chava (Eve) was made in Genesis 2:21 (and thereby a possible explanation of the Midrashic tale) and also the name of the women's court at the Temple (likewise explaining who the "harlots" were before they became demonised).
1 Kings 14:21 and 31, and 2 Chronicles 12:13, name Na'amah as the mother of Rechav-Am (רְחַבְעָם - Rehoboam); she was from the Beney Amon (Ammonites); the husband - funny coincidence this, after the comments above! - was King Shelomoh (Solomon).
Joshua 15:41 has a town in the Shephelah (הַשְּפֵלָה), also known as Shephalat Yehudah (שְׁפֵלַת יְהוּדָה), named Na'amah.
The root is Na'em (נעמ) which means "pleasantness", "delight", "loveliness", and yields several variations, including Avi-No'am (Judges 4:12) and Na'ami (נעמי), Rut's (Ruth's) mother-in-law, usually usually mispronounced in English as Naomi.
As so often, we find traces of Yisra-Eli lore in the lore of the Irish Celts, a consequence of the tribe of Dan being the Dana'ans who first settled Eireland as the Tuatha Dé Danann. Na'amah reappears in Irish mythology as Niamh, the daughter of Manannán mac Lir (the son, that is to say, of the original King Leir). She is one of the Queens of Tir na nÓg (no, that is not a spelling error), which is known both as "The Land of the Young" and as "The Promised Land". The name means "bright" or "radiant", both of which are undoubtedly synonyms for "pleasantness", "delight" and "loveliness, and it was originally pronounced Ni-em, reflecting the Yehidit pronunciation; with the development of Gaelic under English prohibitions and forced changes, it is today pronounced Neave.
1 Chronicles 4:15 has a Na'am (נעם), the masculine version, from the same root.
See notes on Na'aman.
As so often, we find traces of Yisra-Eli lore in the lore of the Irish Celts, a consequence of the tribe of Dan being the Dana'ans who first settled Eireland as the Tuatha Dé Danann. Na'amah reappears in Irish mythology as Niamh, the daughter of Manannán mac Lir (the son, that is to say, of the original King Leir). She is one of the Queens of Tir na nÓg (no, that is not a spelling error), which is known both as "The Land of the Young" and as "The Promised Land". The name means "bright" or "radiant", both of which are undoubtedly synonyms for "pleasantness", "delight" and "loveliness, and it was originally pronounced Ni-em, reflecting the Yehidit pronunciation; with the development of Gaelic under English prohibitions and forced changes, it is today pronounced Neave.
1 Chronicles 4:15 has a Na'am (נעם), the masculine version, from the same root.
See notes on Na'aman.
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