19. The two wives of Lamech.—No judgment is passed on Lamech's bigamy, and probably none was intended. The notice may be due simply to the fact that the names of the wives happened to be preserved in the song afterwards quoted.
Of the two female names by far the most attractive explanation is
that of Ew. (JBBW, vi. 17), that (
Hebrew characters) means Dawn (Ar. ġadin, but G
has (Greek characters)), and (Hebrew characters) (fem. of (Hebrew characters)) Shadow,—a relic of some nature-myth (cf.
Lenorm. Orig.2 183 f.). Others (Ho.) take them as actual proper names
of inferior stocks incorporated in the tribe Lamech; pointing out that
(Hebrew characters) recurs in 362ff. as a Canaanite clan amalgamated with Esau. This
ethnographic theory, however, has very little foothold in the passage.
For other explanations, see Di. p. 100.
20-22. The sons of Lamech and their occupations.—At
this point the genealogy breaks up into three branches,
introducing (as Ew. thinks) a second age of the world. But
since it is nowhere continued, all we can say is that the three
sons represent three permanent social divisions, and (we
must suppose) three modes of life that had some special
interest for the authors of the genealogy. On the significance
of this division, see at the close.—20. Yābāl, son of `Adah,
became the father (i.e. originator: TO (Hebrew characters)) of tent- and cattle-dwellers
(v.i.); i.e. of nomadic shepherds. (Hebrew characters), however,
is a wider term than (Hebrew characters) (v.2), including all kinds of cattle,
and even camels and asses (Ex. 93). The whole Bedouin life
is thus assigned to Jabal as its progenitor.—21. Yûbāl, also a
nom. case (G-K. § 90 o) of an old Sem. word (also Egypt. according
to Erman) (Hebrew characters) = 'man' (male, husband, etc.): cf. G-B. s.v.
20. (Hebrew characters)] G (Greek characters), perhaps reading
(Hebrew characters) as in 2 Ch. 1415 (so Ball). V (atque pastorum) takes (Hebrew characters) as a
ptcp.; S inserts (Syriac characters), and TO (Hebrew characters), before 'cattle'; similarly
Kuenen proposed (Hebrew characters). The zeugma is somewhat hard, but is
retained by most comm. for the sake of conformity with v.21f.; G-K.
§ 117 bb, 118 g.—21. (Hebrew characters)] cf. 1025 (J) (1 Ch. 716).—(Hebrew characters)] G (Greek characters).—(Hebrew characters)]
V cithara et organo; S (Syriac characters);
TO (Hebrew characters) (|| (Hebrew characters)). See Benzinger, Archæol.2, 237-246; We.
Psalms (Polychr. Bible), 219 f., 222 f.; Riehm, Hdwb. 1043 ff. The (Hebrew characters) is
Beiname des Sin; daraus machten die Sabäer, mit volksetymologischer Anlehnung an ihr Verbum lamaka (wahrsch. glänzen), einen Plural Almâku."
