Genesis 4

Cain and Abel// Hebrews 11:4

¹And Adam had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain.

“With the help of Yahweh I have brought forth a man,” she said.

²Later she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel.

Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the soil. ³So in the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to Yahweh, ⁴while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock.

And Yahweh looked with favor on Abel and his offering, ⁵but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell.

⁶“Why are you angry,” said Yahweh to Cain, “and why has your countenance fallen? ⁷If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you refuse to do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires you, but you must master it.”

⁸Then Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

• GEN 4:8[ALLUDED TO]The New Testament refers to this → 1JN 3:12
• GEN 4:8[ALLUDED TO]The New Testament refers to this → JUDE 1:11
• GEN 4:8[TEXT]The Hebrew text does not say what Cain said. The Samaritan, Greek and Latin versions add the words Let us go out to the field.

⁹And Yahweh said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

“I do not know!” he answered. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

¹⁰“What have you done?” replied Yahweh. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. ¹¹Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. ¹²When you till the ground, it will no longer yield its produce to you. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”

• GEN 4:10[FORESHADOW]Abel's blood cries out from the ground. Jesus' blood speaks a better word → HEB 12:24; MT 23:35MEDIUM

¹³But Cain said to Yahweh, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. ¹⁴Behold, this day You have driven me from the face of the earth, and from Your face I will be hidden; I will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”

• GEN 4:14[NOTABLE]If Adam, Eve and Cain were the only people on earth, who was Cain afraid of? God even puts a mark on Cain so others will not kill him in 4:15, and in 4:17 Cain has a wife and builds a city. Many readers see this as a strong hint that other people were already living outside the garden, maybe even before Adam and Eve. This idea is called the pre Adamite view, and a French scholar named Isaac La Peyrere wrote a book about it in 1655. The traditional answer is that Adam and Eve had many other sons and daughters, 5:4, so the family may already have been large, and Cain married a relative. The Bible does not say for sure, which makes this one of its most famous puzzles.

¹⁵“Not so!” replied Yahweh. “If anyone slays Cain, then Cain will be avenged sevenfold.” And Yahweh placed a mark on Cain, so that no one who found him would kill him.

¹⁶So Cain went out from the presence of Yahweh and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

The Descendants of Cain

¹⁷And Cain had relations with his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. Then Cain built a city and named it after his son Enoch.

¹⁸Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methusael, and Methusael was the father of Lamech. ¹⁹And Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah.

²⁰Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and raise livestock. ²¹And his brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute.

²²And Zillah gave birth to Tubal-cain, a forger of every implement of bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

²³Then Lamech said to his wives:

“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;

wives of Lamech, listen to my speech.

For I have slain a man for wounding me,

a young man for striking me.

²⁴If Cain is avenged sevenfold,

then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”

Seth and Enosh

²⁵And Adam again had relations with his wife, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another seed in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”

• GEN 4:25[FORESHADOW]The promised line would continue through Seth after Abel died → LK 3:38MEDIUM

²⁶And to Seth also a son was born, and he called him Enosh.

At that time men began to call upon the name of Yahweh.