We shall hereafter see some proof that this “Naamah,” the mother of Rehoboam, was the individual whose praises are celebrated in the book of Canticles: at any rate, she was an Ammonitess, a descendant of Ham, and the prophet Hanani includes the Ammonites among those whom he calls Ethiopians. See 2 Chron. xvi. 8.
If then it be true that Naamah, the daughter of Lamech, was the great female progenitor of the race of Ham, we should expect to find some testimony of her remembrance even among her mingled offspring. And since the unmixed race of Ham have generally, at all times of the world, been too degraded to even leave behind them any written memorials, it is to the mixed race, and their connection with the races of Shem and Japheth, that we are principally to look for any particular fact concerning them; and it is reasonable to conclude, as we find this kind of memorial among the mixed race, that the same kind of memorial existed much more frequently among the unmixed races of Ham.
“And the sons of Benjamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard.” Gen. xlvi. 21.
“The sons of Benjamin after their families of Bela, the family of the Belaites; of Ashbel, the family of the Ashbelites; of Ahiram, the family of the Ahiramites; of Shupham, the family of the Shuphamites; of Hupham, the family of the Huphamites. And the sons of Bela were Ard and Naaman; of Ard, the family of Ardites, and of Naaman, the family of Naamanites.” Num. xxvi. 38–40.
“Now Benjamin begat Bela his first-born, Ashbel the second, and Ahirah the third, Nohah the fourth, and Rapha the fifth. And the sons of Bela were Addar, and Gera, and Abihud, and Abishua, and Naaman, and Ahoah, and Gera, and Shephuphan, and Huram. And these are the sons of Ehud: these are the heads of the fathers of the inhabitants of Geba, and they removed them to Manahath. And Naaman, and Ahiah, and Gera, he removed them, and begat Uzra and Abihud. And Shaharaim begat children in the country of Moab, after he had sent them away.” 1 Chron. viii. 1–8.
The hurried reader might well apprehend these three different accounts of the same matter to be somewhat contradictory. We think otherwise. We had, in fact, prepared several sheets, elucidating these genealogies of Benjamin, but upon a review we found much irrelevant to the subject of our present inquiry: we deem only a few remarks necessary.
Our object is to show that these genealogies prove that some portion of the family named were coloured people, descended from Ham, and that Naaman is distinguished most clearly to be of that class.
It will be readily perceived that Muppim מִפֻּיִ֥םmippuyim, in Genesis, is formed from מֹףmoph Moph, and thus used in Hos. ix. 6: “Memphis (מַֹףmōap Moph) shall bury them.” Our word is a Hebraism of the Coptic word נֹףnōp Noph, the Nod of Genesis, the No of the prophets Ezekiel and Nahum, and finally confounded with Memphis.
It is here used after the form of a Hebrew masculine plural, and as a caput, to aid in the classification of the descendants of Benjamin; and clearly designates, whatever may have been their blood, that one class were Memphites.
So the word huppim הֻפִּיםhuppîm is formed from the quite ancient word הַףhap haph, which means innocence, purity; whence also the word הָפָהhāpâ haphah, covered, shielded, protected; and hence, הֻפָּהhuppâ hupah, bride-chamber, the marriage-bed, and marriage itself. In this sense the word is used in Joel ii. 16, and in several other places, where the translator has so paraphrased the idea as to make it imperceptible to the English reader.