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Adah

Biblical
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

One of Lamech’s wives and mother of Jabal and Jubal, early figures in human civilization

Detailed Definition
Adah, wife of the descendant of Cain, bore Jabal (father of tent-dwellers) and Jubal (father of musicians) (Genesis 4:19–20). She represents early matriarchal influence in cultural development. In poetry, Adah signifies the dawn of human arts and domestic life, embodying the generative role of women in shaping civilization before the Flood—often evoked as a muse of primal creativity and lineage.
Example
Example in poetry:
In John Milton’s "Paradise Lost," Adah (Lamech’s wife) is part of the genealogical tapestry of early humanity; In William Blake’s "The Book of Urizen," Adah represents prelapsarian femininity; In Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s "The Drama of Exile," Adah’s silence speaks to the marginalization of women in patriarchal lines; In George Herbert’s "The Temple," Adah’s name evokes the mystery of ancestral faith; In Christina Rossetti’s "Eve," Adah is a shadowy figure in the lineage of sorrow; In John Keble’s "Lyra Innocentium," Adah symbolizes the quiet endurance of women in sacred history.
Additional Notes
Adah: Name of two women in Genesis—Lamech’s wife (Gen 4:19) and Esau’s wife (Gen 36:2). Though minor, Adah introduces themes of polygamy, lineage, and cultural intermarriage. In poetic usage, she may symbolize the silent women of genealogies or the complexities of ancestral heritage. Her name (“ornament” or “beauty”) invites lyrical treatment in contrast to her sparse biblical narrative.
Also Known As
Adah wife of Lamech Adah daughter of Elon
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