And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.
Tubal-cain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron. Delitzsch remarks that the Hebrew verb must be construed as neuter, and consequently the proper translation of this clause should be, 'Tubal-cain, a hammerer or forger of every cutting instrument in brass and iron.' The meaning of the name Tubal-cain is very obscure. Gesenius and Delitzsch derive it from the Persian Tubal, earth, and the Arabic Cain, smith; while Bunsen traces it to the hieroglyphic Teb, or Tbl, which signifies dried bricks; and then earthen ore х nªchoshet (H5178)], which in our version is rendered brass, a composite metal, invented at a period long posterior to this early age, properly denotes copper, principally as hardened and tempered, so as to be capable of being used for arms and other instruments (Exodus 26:13). 'Copper,' says Kitto, is frequently found on or near the surface of the earth; it is soft and easily malleable; and people whose instruments were only of this metal have been known to execute great works, and to have attained an advanced state of civilization. It is probable that the ancients possessed some secret in hardening copper, which has been lost since the more general use of iron threw it out for common purposes. The text itself seems to intimate that great and important discoveries in the working of metals were made by Tubal-cain, rather than that he was the first to apply them to any use. He is not, like his brothers Jabal and Jubal, called "the father" or originator of the art he taught, but "an instructor" of those that worked with it. So strong is our impression respecting the earlier use of copper, and comparatively limited employment of iron, that we would almost venture to conjecture, that Tubal-cain's researches in metallurgy, which led him to great improvements in the working of copper, also led him to the discovery of iron.' The names of the three sons of Lamech all come from a common root, signifying to flow as a river; and the embodiment of such an idea in the names given to them conveys an impression of his pride and complacency that by the inventive genius of his family the tide of worldly prosperity and distinction was rapidly flowing in the direction of his house:
`Studious they appear Of arts that polish life-inventors rare -- Unmindful of their Maker, though His Spirit Taught them; but they His gifts acknowledged none. (MILTON)
And the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah - i:e., beautiful, sweet, graceful. The introduction of her name in this connection is naturally accounted for by the fact that, in a polygamous family, she was the full sister of Tubal-cain. But the Jewish Rabbis subjoin this additional reason, that she was associated with him in the practical application of his art by the introduction of weaving, so that she supplied the materials for clothing, while Tubal-cain invented metallic ornaments of various kinds for dress. The occurrence of her name in this genealogical list is somewhat remarkable; and as no female in Seth's line is mentioned, the particular notice here taken of the wives as well as the daughter of Lamech, corroborates an observation previously made, that female influence was at this period acquiring an ascendancy which might have contributed to the progress of civilization and refinement, had it not been for the introduction of the unnatural and demoralizing influence of polygamy. Thus, early crept in a canker into the constitution of the domestic relation:
`The only bliss Of paradise that has survived the fall.'