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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Genesis 4:16 - 4:24
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The Family of Cain
v. 16. And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. From over against the face of the Lord, from the place where the Lord revealed Himself to His people, Cain, with one of his sisters, who was his wife, journeyed toward the east of the land of Eden, where the garden of the Lord was situated. He cut himself off from all intercourse with the Lord and with His people.
v. 17. And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived and bare Enoch. Since of one blood all nations of men are made to dwell on the earth, it was necessary, in the early days, for brothers and sisters to marry. Later, the Lord Himself changed this order, the marriage of close relatives at this time being apparently also against a law of nature. Cain called his first son Enoch (dedication), since he believed that his generation would be built up through this son. And he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. Literally the text has it that Cain was building a city, that is, a fortified enclosure, as a stronghold for his entire family; it was the work of a lifetime, and gave him some sense of security, affording him a shelter whenever his restlessness permitted him to return home.
v. 18. And unto Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begat Mehujael; and Mehujael begat Methusael; and Methusael begat Lamech. In each case, of course, only the first-born or the most prominent son is named, the number of offspring being very large, as the entire Bible account indicates.
There is a brief account of the family of Cain:
v. 19. And Lamech took unto him two wives; the name of the one was Adah and the name of the other Zillah. It was a descendant of Cain that first changed the order of God with regard to monogamy. He married two wives, thus instituting polygamy, by which the purity of marriage was perverted either into wife-slavery or into the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes.
v. 20. And Adah bare Jabal; he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. Here was the beginning of the nomadic life, with the raising and grazing of cattle and no fixed dwelling-places.
v. 21. And his brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. This was the second son of Lamech and Adah whose name has been preserved, the inventor of the zither, a kind of stringed instrument, and the horn, or wind instrument. This, then, was the beginning of musical art.
v. 22. And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron; and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah. Tubalcain was the inventor of various sharp tools for cutting metals, especially brass and iron. That was the beginning of crafts in the world. The entire narrative indicates that the minds of the Cainites were directed solely to this world and its enjoyment. Even the names which they gave to their women shows this, for Adah means "the ornamented one," Zillah "the sweet-sounding one," and Naamah "the lovely one. " The powers given to man for the ruling of nature were thus abused for the gratification of various personal desires and lusts.
v. 23. And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice, ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech; for I have slain a man to my wounding and a young man to my hurt.
v. 24. If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly, Lamech seventy and sevenfold. Here is the first instance of the art of poetry, but even this is placed into the service of sin; for this is the form of the poem:—
Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
Ye wives of Lamech, listen to my speech;
For a man have I killed for my wound and a young man for my welt;
For sevenfold will Cain be avenged, and Lamech seven and seventy fold.
Thus Lamech boastfully sang in praise of his son's invention which had enabled him to take quick vengeance on some man with whom he had had a quarrel and who managed to wound him. Far from feeling any remorse over his deed, he glorifies the name of his forefather Cain, whom the Lord had given the assurance that He would avenge him in case any one should dare to harm him, and claims for himself a much greater glory for his murder. That reveals the depravity of the children of the world as it had fully developed in the age of Lamech. And thus today also the culture of the world does not hinder sin, but offers new opportunities to it. Arts and crafts, commerce, industry, they all are in the service of mammon, they all are used to harm one's neighbor.