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.
24
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).