Who was Emzara in the Bible?

The name Emzara is not found in the Bible but originates from extra-biblical Jewish tradition as the name of Noah’s wife. The name is specifically mentioned in the Book of Jubilees, which reads, “Noah took to himself a wife, and her name was Emzara, the daughter of Rake’el, the daughter of his father’s brother” (Jubilees 4:33). Emzara may have been chosen to draw a link between Noah and Abraham, as it means “mother of Sarai.”

The Bible never mentions what name Noah’s wife may have had. It simply states, “And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood” (Genesis 7:7). Given the limited information about Noah’s wife, suggestions such as her name being Emzara have captured people’s curiosity.

Noah’s wife is assigned different names in different sources. The Book of Jasher suggests the name Naamah, corroborated by sources like Genesis Rabba. Unlike Emzara, the name Naamah is found in the canonical text (Genesis 4:22), where it is assigned to the sister of Tubal-Cain. Other proposed names for Noah’s wife are Barthenos, Norea, Uxor, and the list continues.

Which name is correct? In truth, we do not know. We should begin by asking if non-canonical Jewish works are reliable enough to provide valid information.

The Book of Jubilees—where the name Emzara originates—has been called “little Genesis” because it recapitulates and expands on events in Genesis and Exodus. The book was highly regarded by the Essenes and the Qumran community but did not gain wide acceptance among early Jewish and Christian communities. It was likely written in the second century, long after Moses, making it a pseudepigraphical work. As the Hebrew Bible was collected, the Book of Jubilees was excluded as non-canonical.

The Old Testament mentions the Book of Jasher in Joshua 10:13: “So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.” It is also mentioned in 2 Samuel 1:18. However, the current Book of Jasher is believed to have been written in the medieval period, thousands of years after Joshua’s time. Therefore, like the Book of Jubilees, the Book of Jasher is not classified as canonical.

Speculations can be fun, but we must be careful not to get caught up in them (1 Timothy 1:3–4). Emzara could have been the name of Noah’s wife, but there is no way to be uncertain.