Genesis 4 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Genesis 4

Cain and Abel

4:1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten¹ a man with the help of the LORD.” 2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. 3 In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6 The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted?² And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to³ you, but you must rule over it.”

8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother.⁴ And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 And the LORD said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. 11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” 13 Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.⁵ 14 Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 Then the LORD said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. 16 Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod,⁶ east of Eden.

17 Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. 19 And Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. 20 Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. 22 Zillah also bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

23 Lamech said to his wives:

  “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
    you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say:
  I have killed a man for wounding me,
    a young man for striking me.
24   If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold,
    then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold.”

25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed⁷ for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.” 26 To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD.

Footnotes

[1] 4:1 Cain sounds like the Hebrew for gotten
[2] 4:7 Hebrew will there not be a lifting up [of your face]?
[3] 4:7 Or is toward
[4] 4:8 Hebrew; Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate add Let us go out to the field
[5] 4:13 Or My guilt is too great to bear
[6] 4:16 Nod means wandering
[7] 4:25 Seth sounds like the Hebrew for he appointed

Commentary

v1-4: Sin spreads from generation to generation, and varies; as seen in this chapter.

Abel is born, his name meaning “vapour,” something that ascends into the presence of God; but as we see, something that does not last on the earth, for he is soon killed.

Cain has no faith, 1 John 3:12, he follows human reason, and gives to God what he wants to, rather than what is commanded; he gives the fruit of the cursed ground.

Abel, in contrast, is a man of faith, Hebrews 11.4, and offers what God commands; he is honoured in scripture, and continues to speak, even though he is dead.

v5: Cain's anger leads to murder and lying; here is pride and rebellion. He seems to have been physically strong, but under the domination of sin. He has a battle with temptation, but he loses.

v6-7: The opportunity to repent, but that is rejected. Repentance is the route to victory over sin.

v8-10: There is no sham in Cain's wrong doing; he lied to gain the opportunity to kill Abel, and then denied his responsibility for his brother. Contrast Genesis 3:7, where Adam and Eve felt shame. Whilst shame and remorse are not the same as repentance, they can lead us to repentance.

Abel's blood speaks from the ground; Cain sought to silence him; there is no record of any words spoken by Abel; yet his blood still speaks (Heb 12.24).

v11-12: The curse upon Cain, made a fugitive and a vagabond, a wanderer, Jude 13. Yet he later builds a city (v17); and cities are often places of sin, because people live together in large numbers.

v13: Cain's sorrow, but because of his punishment, not his sin; Proverbs 13:15.

v14-15: Cain receives mercy from the Lord, yet he does not serve God. He never re-enters the presence of God. (See Job 1:6-12; 2:1,7) Cain built a city (v17), its walls being a replacement for the protection and presence of God.

v16: Cain's departure from the presence of the Lord; here is man's desire to live independently of the Lord; the inevitable effect is the continued spread of sin.

v17-18: Cain's wife is presumably his sister; at this stage there is no prohibition of this type of relationship. Later in Genesis, the patriarchal line tend to marry within the wide family. Once the nation of Israel is established in Exodus, the people marry within or between tribes.

v19: Bigamy; again not prohibited yet, although Lamech may be considered an adulterer.

v20-22: Ordinary human life, ingenuity and creativity;

Jabal the herdsman, developing farming;
Jubal the musician, developing art and literature;
Tubal-Cain the blacksmith, developing industry (see Ex 35.32).

Presumably these skills continued after the flood through Noah's family, for man is powerful, 11:6. New skills do develop quickly, for such is the lasting effect of mankind being in made in the image of God.

v23-24 Lamech the poet, but speaking of pride and revenge and harshness, not love and beauty.

v25-26: As human society develops, man rejects God. It seems only a few begin to call on the Name of the Lord; here is the idea of a faithful remnant, a theme throughout scripture. Jonathan Edwards (The History of Redemption, p39) says that this is a new thing, a clear work of the Holy Spirit on mankind; Zeph 3.9; Zech 12.10. It is the Holy Spirit who inspires men and women to call on the true God.

‘God has granted me another child,’ says Eve, when Seth is born. There is a pattern in the OT, in that the promised seed is not the first-born. Examples include Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Samuel, David. The plans of God are out of line with usual human expectation.

Scripture draws our attention to Enoch (Genesis 5:22, 24) and Noah (Genesis-6) as men of faith. These stood out among the godly. Even so the majority of mankind rejected the true God.