“Genesis 4:16-25”

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

“Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Cain had relations with his wife and she conceived, and gave birth to Enoch; and he built a city, and called the name of the city Enoch, after the name of his son. Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad became the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael became the father of Methushael, and Methushael became the father of Lamech. Lamech took to himself two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other, Zillah. Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. As for Zillah, she also gave birth to Tubal-cain, the forger of all implements of bronze and iron; and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah. Lamech said to his wives, ‘Adah and Zillah, listen to my voice, you wives of Lamech, give heed to my speech, for I have killed a man for wounding me; and a boy for striking me; If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.’ Adam had relations with his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, for, she said, ‘God has appointed me another offspring in place of Abel, for Cain killed him.’ To Seth, to him also a son was born; and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord.”

---End of Scripture verses---

Nahum Sarna astutely summarizes this section of Scripture: “The first killing has taken place, and justice has been done. A human life has been extinguished, but life must go on. Humankind proliferates. Cain and his descendants are now listed, seven generations in all. The genealogy is linear, with only the first-born mentioned until the seventh generation; then the list becomes segmented, and more than one branch. Brief narrative material about the development of the arts of civilization is interspersed throughout the list… The list constitutes a silent polemic against the mythological concepts of the ancient world, which attributed the advance of culture to divine or semidivine figures… The development of human culture is demythologized and historicized. The seven-day divine creation of the cosmos is paralleled by these seven generations of human creativity. Man became a copartner with God in the world of creation. At the same time, the ascription of the origins of technology and urban life to Cain and his line constitute an unfavorable…judgment of man’s material progress…a recognition that it frequently outruns moral progress and that human ingenuity, so potentially beneficial, is often directed toward evil ends.”

“Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord…” (verse 16). Of course it is impossible to travel outside of the sphere of influence of the All-Seeing and All-Knowing Creator of the universe. But Cain’s one-on-one encounters with the Lord were over. He also left his place of origin, near unto the garden where God had manifested himself physically. He travelled to and settled in “Nod”, a word that itself means “wandering”. He is noted for building a city, the first “urbanized” center for human interactivity, commerce, amusement. Cain was “cursed from the ground” (verses 13) for spilling his brother’s blood into it, so he set about pursuing different endeavors.

Cain and his (unnamed) wife had a son they called “Enoch” (verse 17). This man must not be confused with the faithful Enoch of the lineage of Seth who “walked with God” (Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5). The descendants of Cain and his son Enoch moved farther and farther away from the Lord. Enoch’s great-great-grandson, Lamech, holds the dishonorable notoriety of being the world’s first polygamist (verse 19), perverting the God-ordained arrangement of marriage constituting a “one flesh” bond between one man and one woman.

He was also an arrogant and belligerent man, boasting to his wives about killing a man and a boy for doing him harm (verse 23-24). “Although this little poem is somewhat uncertain as to the meaning, it is nevertheless recognized as the oldest poem ever written, at least the oldest that has come down through history, and, tragically, it is a song of murder and vengeance. Perhaps the significant thing in it is the arrogant egotism of Lamech. It was God who had promised to avenge any slayer of Cain, but Lamech does not rely upon God. He apparently thinks that with the new weapons which his son has invented, he does not need God at all; he is fully able to take care of himself. Furthermore, he will do a much bigger and more effective job of avenging himself than God had mentioned in regard to Cain! Whereas, Cain would have been avenged sevenfold, Lamech will execute his own vengeance on a scale ten times as terrible as that God promised upon behalf of Cain!” (James Burton Coffman)

Lamech’s son “Jabal…was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. (verse 20). Jabal’s “brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe.” (verse 21). Lamech's son “Tubal-cain" was "the forger of all implements of bronze and iron.” (verse 22). “The seventh natural-born generation comprises three brothers, and to each of them a major advance in material culture is attributed. By this time labor has become still more specialized, and an artisan class has arisen. An intriguing question is the reason for highlighting only the three ingredients of civilization mentioned here. The similarity of the sound between the three personal names and the common fatherhood suggests closeness of relationship between the pastoral, musical, and metalworking arts, which in fact is well founded.” (Nahum Sarna)

Adam and Eve had another son and “named him Seth.” (verse 25) “The purpose of the narrator here is to introduce the institution of public worship and to announce the appearance of the Messianic line in the person of Seth and his posterity. It is clear that the evil course of mankind had already been charted by the godless behavior of the descendants of Cain; and this is the introduction of a new and higher element into the history of mankind.” (James Burton Coffman)

The Hebrew name “Shet” means "given". The birth of her son Seth compensates Eve for the death of Abel. To Seth a son was born whom he named “Enosh”. “Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord.” (verse 26) These were the godly men who dwelled upon the earth and prayed earnestly to God for his guidance, mercy and provision. There can be no doubt that the first believers in God were not polytheistic idolaters. God gave life to the human race, and, even though people chose to stray from His guidance, love and care, the early generations of men knew from firsthand experience, or knew people who had firsthand experience, who the true God of heaven and earth was.

Please read Genesis 5:1-17 for tomorrow.

Have a blessed day!

- Louie Taylor

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