עָדָה
𐤏𐤃𐤄
Adah
H5711 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Proper noun, feminine personal name: ʻAdah. Occasionally may also mean 'adornment' or 'ornament' when derived from the verbal/adjectival sense, but in the biblical text, it consistently functions as a proper name of two women—one the wife of Lamech (Genesis 4:19, 23) and the other the wife of Esau (Genesis 36:2, 4, 10, 12, 16).
Semantic Range
personal name (female), possibly 'adorned one' or 'ornamented'; implied connotation of beauty or adornment but used only as a proper noun in the Hebrew Bible
Root / Etymology
From the root עָדָה (to ornament, to adorn), thus likely bearing the sense of 'ornamented one' or 'adorned.' Root meaning is 'to decorate, to adorn', but in the biblical occurrences, forms a proper feminine name.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In all extant biblical occurrences, עָדָה functions exclusively as a personal name for women. The name likely reflects the value placed on beauty or ornamentation, aligning with the meaning of the root. There is no evidence in biblical Hebrew that עָדָה as a noun is used independently to mean 'ornament' (that sense is better attested with עֶדְי or עֲדִי). The translation 'ornament' or 'adornment' is only implicit in the name’s etymological background. Notably, 'Adah' is the transliteration used in most English Bibles, but this is a proper name, not a common noun or title. The women named ʻAdah are figures from the Genesis genealogies; their identification is ethnic-Israelite (or antediluvian in the case of Lamech's wife), never Judean. The semantic field is limited due to the term's only attested use as a name, in contrast to more widely used words for physical ornamentation. Later Jewish or Christian interpretive traditions sometimes associate the name with various symbolic meanings, but these are not grounded in biblical usage.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from עָדָה; ornament; Adah, the name of two women; Adah.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
עדה (ʿ-d-h) — to adorn, decorate, array oneself
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H112 | אִדּוֹ | Timely One |
| H4572 | מַעֲדַי | Adorned One |
| H4573 | מַעֲדְיָה | Yahweh-is-Ornament |
| H5709 | עֲדָא | they caused to pass away |
| H5710 | עָדָה | Adorned One |
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H5711-01 |
עָדָ֔ה | adah | HNp |
Adah | Adorned One | 8 |
Occurrences in Scripture
8 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H5711-01 |
Genesis 4:19 | עָדָ֔ה | adah | HNp |
was Adah | Adorned One |
H5711-01 |
Genesis 4:20 | עָדָ֖ה | adah | HNp |
Adah | Adorned One |
H5711-01 |
Genesis 4:23 | עָדָ֤ה | adah | HNp |
Adah | Adorned One |
H5711-01 |
Genesis 36:2 | עָדָ֗ה | adah | HNp |
Adah | Adorned One |
H5711-01 |
Genesis 36:4 | עָדָ֛ה | adah | HNp |
Adah | Adorned One |
H5711-01 |
Genesis 36:10 | עָדָה֙ | adah | HNp |
of Adah | Adorned One |
H5711-01 |
Genesis 36:12 | עָדָ֖ה | adah | HNp |
of Adah | Adorned One |
H5711-01 |
Genesis 36:16 | עָדָֽה | adah | HNp |
Adah | Adorned One |