Interesting Facts

• Melka is identified as one of the two wives of Arphaxad.
• Her father was Madai, who was a son of Japheth.
• She bore Arphaxad a son named Shelah (also referred to as Salah).
• Her marriage to Arphaxad occurred in the thirtieth jubilee.

Genealogy

• Melka was the daughter of Madai, who was one of the seven sons of Japheth, the son of Noah.
• Her grandfather was Noah, the patriarch who survived the great flood.
• Her great-uncles were Shem and Ham, the other sons of Noah.
• She married Arphaxad, who was a son of Shem, making her marriage to Arphaxad an inter-generational union between the lines of Japheth and Shem. Arphaxad had another wife, Rasu’eja, the daughter of Susan and granddaughter of Elam, who bore him Kainam.
• Her son with Arphaxad was named Shelah (or Salah).

Historical Context

Melka lived in the early post-flood era, specifically entering the narrative around the thirtieth jubilee, which corresponds to the year 1429 A.M. according to Jubilees. This period followed the initial repopulation of the earth by Noah’s descendants and occurred after the birth of the first post-flood generation. It was before the significant events of the division of the earth in the days of Peleg and the construction and subsequent confusion of languages at the Tower of Babel, which took place later in the thirty-third and thirty-fourth jubilees. The sources indicate that during this time, Noah was still alive and had imparted instructions and commandments to his sons and grandsons. Melka’s marriage to Arphaxad highlights the intermingling of the families of Noah’s sons as they continued to establish their lineages and inhabit the earth.

Narrative

Melka’s role in the narrative of the selected sources is primarily genealogical, specifically within the Book of Jubilees. She is mentioned as the second wife taken by Arphaxad, son of Shem. Her significance lies in her being the mother of Shelah (or Salah), who is a crucial figure in the lineage leading from Shem. The text notes the specific time of her marriage, in the first year of the second week of the thirtieth jubilee, and the birth of her son Shelah four years later, in the fourth year of that week. Unlike Rasu’eja, Arphaxad’s other wife, no earlier ancestry for Melka beyond her father Madai is given within the immediate context of her introduction. Her inclusion in the genealogy serves to trace the descendants of Noah through Japheth and Shem, illustrating the family connections and the progression of generations in the post-diluvian world as recorded in Jubilees. There are no actions or dialogues attributed directly to Melka in the provided texts; her importance is solely within the framework of family lineage and the timeline of births and marriages.