Genesis Chapter 4
Annotate Commentary with Links
| 1The man knew Eve his wife. She conceived, and gave birth to Cain, and said, “I have gotten a man with Yahweh’s help.” | The Hebrew word translated as “gotten” or sometimes “acquired” is qana. Scholars have proposed this is similar to Cain (qayin), thus explaining Eve’s word play. |
| 2Again she gave birth, to Cain’s brother Abel. Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. | |
| 3As time passed, Cain brought and offering to Yahweh from the fruit of the ground. | |
| 4Abel also brought some of the firstborn of his flock and of its fat. Yahweh respected Abel and his offering, | |
| 5but he didn’t respect Cain and his offering. Cain was very angry, and the expression on his face fell. | We are not told why God does not approve of Cain’s offering. Scholars have proposed many different reasons, but there is no universally accepted consensus. |
| 6Yahweh said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why has the expression of your face fallen? | In Chapter 11 of Hebrews, the author of comments on Abel’s offering, echoing that Abel’s offering was superior to Cain’s, but he does not explain why. “By faith, Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had testimony given to him that he was righteous, God testifying with respect to his gifts; and through it he, being dead, still speaks.” (Her 11: 4) |
| 7If you do well, won’t it be lifted up? If you don’t do well, sin crouches at the door. Its desire is for you, but you are to rule over it.” | The word used for desire (tesuqa) is the same word used in Genesis 3 for Eve’s desire for her husband and the word for master (msl) is the same word used for Adam’s relationship with Eve. |
| 8Cain said to Abel, his brother, “Let’s go into the field.” While they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and killed him. | John references Cain’s murder of Abel in 1 John 3:11-12. John claims Cain is a servant of Satan. “For this is the message which you heard from the beginning, that we would love one another; unlike Cain, who was of the evil one, and killed his brother. Why did he kill him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s righteous.” |
| 9Yahweh said to Cain, “Where is Abel, your brother?” He said, “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” | |
| 10Yahweh said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries to me from the ground. | |
| 11Now you are cursed because of the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your bother’s blood from your hand. | |
| 12From now on, when you till the ground, it won’t yield its strength to you. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth. | |
| 13Cain said to Yahweh, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. | |
| 14Behold, you have driven me out today from the surface of the ground. I will be hidden from your face, and I will be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth. Whoever finds me will kill me.” | The fact that Cain is worried about being killed strongly suggests there are other people alive on the earth, besides Adam and Eve, at the time of his punishment. |
| 15Yahweh said to him, “Therefore whoever slays Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold.” Yahweh appointed a sign for Cain, so that anyone finding him would not strike him. | |
| 16Cain left Yahweh’s presence, and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden. | Since Eden is where God dwells, Cain, like his father Adam, is exiled from the presence of God. He becomes a wanderer and an outsider. |
| 17Cain knew his wife. She conceived, and gave birth to Enoch. He built a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. | |
| 18To Enoch was born Irad. Irad became the father of Mehujael. Mehujael became the father of Methushael. Methushael became the father of Lamech. | |
| 19Lamech took two wives: the name of the first one was Adah, and the name of the second one was Zillah. | Lamech’s marriage to two women is the first instance of polygamy in the Bible. This is in disobedience of Genesis 2, where one man and one woman are supposed to become one flesh. |
| 20Adah gave birth to Jabal, who was the father of those while dwell in tents and have livestock. | The Hebrew word used for Jamal’s livestock is miqneh. This is a broader term than that used for Abel’s livestock (sonow). Sonow only includes small sheep, goats and small cattle while miqneh includes all livestock, including camels and donkeys. |
| 21His brother’s name was Jubal, who was father of all who handle the harp and pipe. | |
| 22Zillah also gave birth to Tubal Cain, the forger of every cutting instrument of brass and iron. Tubal Cain’s sister was Naamah. | |
| 23Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zilch, hear my voice. You wives of Lamech, listen to my speech, for I have slain a mond for wounding me, a young man fro bruising me. | Lamech brags that he killed a man for slighting him. He takes what is evil, murder, and makes it a virtue. |
| 24If Cain will be avenged seven times, true Lamech seventy-seven times.” | |
| 25Adam knew his wife again. She gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, saying, “for God has given me another child instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.” | |
| 26A son was also born to Seth, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to call on Yahweh’s name. | Enosh, like Adam, is a Hebrew word for “man.” |
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