Interesting Facts

• Mu’ak is identified as the wife of Shelah (also called Salah).
• Her father was Kesed, who was the brother of Shelah’s father, Arphaxad, making her Shelah’s cousin.

Genealogy

• Mu’ak was the daughter of Kesed, who is identified as the brother of Shelah’s father, Arphaxad. This familial relationship indicates a marriage between cousins.
• Her grandfather was Shem, the son of Noah.
• Her great-grandfather was Noah, the patriarch who survived the great flood.
• She married Shelah (or Salah), the son of Arphaxad.
• She bore Shelah a son named Eber.

Historical Context

Mu’ak lived after the initial generations following the flood. Her marriage to Shelah occurred in the first year of the fifth week of the thirty-first jubilee, which corresponds to the year 1499 A.M. according to Jubilees. This period was after the birth of the second and third generations after the flood and before the significant event of the division of the earth in the days of Peleg. Noah was still alive during a portion of this time and had given instructions to his descendants regarding righteousness and avoiding the sins that led to the flood. The building of cities by the sons of Noah and their families was also underway. Mu’ak’s marriage within the extended family highlights the social structures and potential preferences for unions within close kin during this era, as documented in the Book of Jubilees.

Narrative

Mu’ak’s role in the narrative of the selected sources is primarily genealogical, specifically within the Book of Jubilees. She is mentioned as the wife taken by Shelah, the son of Arphaxad. Her significance lies in her being the mother of Eber, a crucial figure in the lineage leading from Shem, from whom the Hebrews are traditionally believed to descend. The text specifies the timing of her marriage to Shelah and the subsequent birth of their son Eber. Similar to other women mentioned in these early genealogies, no specific actions or dialogues are attributed to Mu’ak. Her importance is defined by her place in the ancestral line and her contribution to the continuation of Shem’s descendants as recorded in the Book of Jubilees.