Genesis 4:26 | 15 more than I can bear . 14 To day you are driv ing me from the land , and I will be hid den from your presence ; I will be a rest less wan der er on the earth , and who ev er finds me will kill me .”
15
But the Lord said to him , “ Not so a ; any one who kills Cain will suf fer ven geance sev en times over .” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him . 16 So Cain went out from the Lord ’ s pres ence and lived in the land of Nod , b east of Eden .
17
Cain made love to his wife , and she be came preg nant and gave birth to Enoch . Cain was then build ing a city , and he named it af ter his son Enoch . 18 To Enoch was born Irad , and Irad was the fa ther of Me hu ja el , and Me hu ja el was the fa ther of Me thu sha el , and Me thu sha el was the fa ther of La mech .
19
La mech mar ried two wom en , one named Adah and the oth er Zil lah . 20 Adah gave birth to Ja bal ; he was the fa ther of those who live in tents and raise live stock . 21 His broth er ’ s name was Ju bal ; he was the fa ther of all who play stringed in stru ments and pipes . 22 Zil lah also had a son , Tu bal-Cain , who forged all kinds of tools out of c bronze and iron . Tu bal Cain ’ s sis ter was Na a mah .
23
La mech said to his wives ,
“ Adah and Zillah , listen to me ; wives of Lamech , hear my words .
I have killed a man for wounding me , a young man for injuring me .
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If Cain is avenged seven times , then Lamech seventy-seven times .”
25
Adam made love to his wife again , and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth , d say ing , “ God has grant ed me an oth er child in place of Abel , since Cain killed him .” 26 Seth also had a son , and he named him Enosh .
At that time peo ple be gan to call on e the name of the Lord .
a
15 Septuagint , Vulgate and Syriac ; Hebrew Very well b
16 Nod means wandering ( see verses 12 and 14 ). c
22 Or who instructed all who work in d
25 Seth probably means granted . e
26 Or to proclaim is commonly translated as “ sin ” or “ iniquity ” ( 15:16 ; 2Sa 22:24 ). It can refer to both the offense and its punishment ( 1Sa 28:10 ; see note on Ps 130:3 ). The idea is that Cain ’ s sin is greater than he can bear . The consequences will overtake him . 4:14 I will be hidden from your presence Part of Cain ’ s anguish is that he fears being cut off from Yahweh . whoever finds me will kill me By the time of Abel ’ s murder , there were others living nearby . As with Cain ’ s wife ( see Ge 4:17 and note ), the narrator has no interest in providing a chronology and description of circumstances that would explain where the people living outside Eden came from . Statements of this nature imply that the Biblical genealogies are selective . 4:15 anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance God ’ s intent in punishing Cain is not to cause him harm . seven times over This idiomatic phrase indicates severity . Lord put a mark on Cain While the precise nature of this mark is unclear , it is visible and it is for Cain ’ s protection . Since the Hebrew preposition here , usually translated “ on ,” may be translated “ for ,” the phrase could be translated : “ Yahweh put ( or placed ) a mark for Cain .” This would indicate that Yahweh marked something for Cain ’ s protection , not necessarily him . 4:16 land of Nod This city or region is unknown . It may be symbolic — the Hebrew word nod means “ wandering ” which fits with Yahweh ’ s earlier description of Cain ’ s fate ( see vv . 12,14 ). 4:17 Cain made love to his wife The narrative of ch . 4 does not give a literal chronology of all events that extend from ( or are related to ) Adam and Eve ’ s life outside Eden . Rather , the narrative shows how Adam and Eve survived , and it traces the beginning of their lineage . The narrative does not say where Cain ’ s wife came from , only that his lineage began through her . Since the narrative is selective and contains no time references concerning how long Adam , Eve and Cain lived after the death of Abel , it is possible ( though speculative ) that Cain married a woman also birthed by Eve ( compare v . 25 ). Biblical genealogies are typically selective and unconcerned with the precise number of children a couple produced , preferring to follow specific lineages . building a city Cain is cast as the originator of urban civilization . There is no indication that God is displeased with Cain or views the building of the city as a rebellion against his punishment ( vv . 12,14 ). 4:18 Irad This name may be associated with Eridu , the first city in Sumerian tradition . 4:19 Lamech married two women Lamech is the first polygamist identified in the Bible . 4:20 Jabal The name Jabal here and Jubal in v . 21 are noticeably similar . Jabal and Jubal may be derived from the Hebrew word yevul , meaning “ to produce .” Jabal , Jubal and Tubal-Cain are all depicted as inventors or founders . 4:22 Tubal-Cain , who forged In addition to being related to Cain ’ s name , this name rhymes with the name Jubal , creating wordplay ( see note on v . 20 ; note on v . 1 ).
4:23 – 24 Lamech ’ s poem uses a Hebrew literary technique known as synonymous parallelism — the same concept is stated two different ways in parallel lines . The short poem illustrates Cain ’ s legacy of violence and Lamech ’ s arrogance in thinking his act of killing a man is justified . He addresses the poem to his wives , possibly as a means of intimidating them ( compare 3:16 and note ).
4:24 seventy-seven Lamech alludes to God ’ s promise regarding the severity of what would happen to any who killed Cain ( v . 15 ). Apparently Lamech sees God ’ s promise as a sign of approval rather than an act of mercy , since he claims for himself even greater vengeance . Either Lamech believes that he , too , will have divine protection , or his arrogant boasting arises from his belief that his own greatness makes divine protection unnecessary . 4:25 named him Seth The Hebrew name sheth derives from a verb that means “ to put ,” “ to place ” or “ to set .” This subtly relates to the idea that the birth of Seth compensates for the loss of Abel . When not a proper name , the Hebrew noun sheth may be translated as “ foundation ,” since a foundation is itself set or put in place ( Ps 11:3 ). 4:26 call on the name of the Lord Up to this point in the narrative , no one has invoked God by his name , yhwh ( Yahweh ).