View source for Jemima (Bible)

{{Short description|Eldest daughter of Job in the Bible}}
{{other people||Jemimah (disambiguation)}}
{{One source|date=September 2021}}
[[File:Job and His Daughters Butts set.jpg|thumb|300px|Job with his three daughters by [[William Blake]]]]

'''Jemimah''' or '''Jemima''' ({{IPAc-en|dʒ|ə|ˈ|m|aɪ|m|ə}} {{respell|jə|MY|mə}}; {{langx|he|יְמִימָה|Yəmīmā}}) was the oldest of the three beautiful daughters of [[Job (biblical figure)|Job]], named in the Bible as given to him in the later part of his life, after God made Job prosperous again. Jemimah's sisters are named [[Keziah]] and [[Keren-Happuch]]. Job's sons, in contrast, are not named.

Job treated his daughters better after his suffering due to gaining the perspective that his daughters were receiving unjust [[suffering]] at his own hands, like Job was experiencing with [[Satan]]. First, Job's sons only received birthday feasts, with an extension to attend for the sisters ([https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job%201%3A4&version=NIV Job 1:4]). This social inequality may be attributed to the larger [[Patriarchy|patriarchal]] narrative of the time. Second, Job's social status lowered significantly as he suffered, as there was a societal assumption that Job had [[Sin|sinned]] and was receiving justice from [[God in Judaism|God]]. As a result, Job gains empathy for his daughters "for being excluded through no fault of one's own".<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Wilcox |first=Karl G. |date=2018 |title=Job, His Daughters and His Wife |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0309089216677675 |journal=Journal for the Study of the Old Testament |language=en |volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=303–315 |doi=10.1177/0309089216677675 |issn=0309-0892|url-access=subscription }}</ref> 

With the prologue and epilogue of Job, the [[Ethics|ethical]] evolution of Job can be experienced through his evolving relationship with his daughters. As a natural narrative and ethical conclusion to personal and societal [[Injustice|injustices]], Jemimah and her sisters were granted [[Inheritance|inheritances]] by her father, Job, and described as the most beautiful women in the land ({{bibleverse||Job|42:15}}). Apart from these brief references at the end of the [[Book of Job]], Jemimah is not mentioned elsewhere in the [[Bible]].<ref name=":0" />

The name Jemimah means "[[dove]]".<ref name="BrandEngland2003">{{cite book|author1=Chad Brand|author2=Archie England|author3=Charles W. Draper|title=Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OxG5AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT1254|date=1 October 2003|publisher=B&H Publishing Group|isbn=978-1-4336-6978-1|page=1254}}</ref>

In [[Book of Job|Job]] 42:14 ([[English Standard Version|ESV]]):

<blockquote>And he called the name of the first daughter Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-Happuch. </blockquote>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Book of Job}}
[[Category:Book of Job people]]
[[Category:Job (biblical figure)]]
[[Category:Women in the Hebrew Bible]]