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Post by Admin on Oct 27, 2016 5:45:31 GMT -6
16 Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. 17 Cain had relations with his wife and she conceived, and gave birth to Enoch; and he built a city, and called the name of the city Enoch, after the name of his son. 18 Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad became the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael became the father of Methushael, and Methushael became the father of Lamech. 19 Lamech took to himself two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other, Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to 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 As for Zillah, she also gave birth to Tubal-cain, the forger of all implements of bronze and iron; and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah. 23 Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, Listen to my voice, You wives of Lamech, Give heed to my speech, For I have killed a man for wounding me; And a boy for striking me; 24 If Cain is avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.” 25 Adam had relations with his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, for, she said, “God has appointed me another offspring in place of Abel, for Cain killed him.”
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
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JB
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Dedicated TruthSeeker
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Post by JB on Nov 15, 2016 6:09:44 GMT -6
4:16 Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
The presence of the Lord here is probably at the entrance to the Garden of Eden. The garden itself was in the eastern part of Eden (2:8), and Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden on its east side (3:23-24). The entrance was guarded by cherubim and flaming swords. Cain, who refused God’s grace, moved still further eastward which was, interestingly enough considering he was a horticulturist, upstream of the main river that flowed from Eden (2:10). There really is no other choice but those two – accept God’s grace or move further away from him. This part of the story will show what happens when the latter choice is made. It begins with Cain’s journey in the land of Wandering (which is the Hebrew meaning of “Nod”). Wandering aimlessly about with no purpose because he is detached from the One and only One who can give adequate purpose to anything.
4:17a Cain had relations with his wife and she conceived, and gave birth to Enoch;
As his mother did when he was born, Cain’s wife experienced a consequence of fallenness – painful and ultimately hopeless childbirth.
4:17b and he built a city, and called the name of the city Enoch, after the name of his son.
What we see ahead in this part of the story is Cain and his descendants establishing civilization. Civilization is mankind’s greatest effort to create value and purpose and hope. Through civilization man endeavors to discern truth and acquire wisdom; to establish law and administer justice; to provide for his own needs, find love, and experience contentment. Civilization, in short, is man’s best attempt at being God. The first city was built by a condemned murderer. Cain built it and named it to memorialize his own son. You can see the God’s absence rather clearly from that start.
4:18 Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad became the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael became the father of Methushael, and Methushael became the father of Lamech.
We are now 5 generations from Cain. There is no way to know how many years this took, especially considering the extra-long lives people lived at that time. Lamech takes the focus of the story.
4:19 Lamech took to himself two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other, Zillah.
Lamech introduced polygamy into the fallen world with wives from A to Z. He broke the pattern God set forth in the beginning: “a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh” (2:24). How could this happen with multiple wives? This action is the first to clearly demonstrate how Cain’s offspring moved further and further from the Lord.
4:20 Adah gave birth to 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 As for Zillah, she also gave birth to Tubal-cain, the forger of all implements of bronze and iron; and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah. 23 Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, Listen to my voice, You wives of Lamech, Give heed to my speech, For I have killed a man for wounding me; And a boy for striking me; 24 If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”
Seven generations from Cain now, and that appears to be all we need. After building homes to live in, establishing commerce, developing the musical arts, forging weapons and tools from metal, and glamorizing physical beauty (which is the Hebrew meaning of “Naamah), Lamech killed a man in retribution. The poem Lamech wrote in vv.23-24 is difficult to both translate and interpret. It can be read many ways. As I read it, it seems most to me to be saying “if the person who kills Cain will be avenged sevenfold, then the person who kills me or any of my family will be avenged seventy-seven-fold because the murder I committed was to pay back a wrong done against me.” Oh how natural man misses the concept s of righteousness, grace, mercy, and forgiveness. SIDE NOTE
It has been reasonably estimated that the population of the earth at this point was nearly 1 Million people. I may break that down a little in our next study.
Genesis 4:25 Adam had relations with his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, for, she said, “God has appointed me another offspring in place of Abel, for Cain killed him.”
The name “Seth” in Hebrew means “appointment” or “compensation.” So Eve essentially said “I will name my son Appointed because God has Appointed another son to Compensate for Abel. And in this she was correct, as the rest of the story will show. Abel, a man of faith, was removed from the world. But that did not stop God from furthering His purpose. He rose up another man of faith to carry it on. As John Wesley’s tombstone reads, "God buries His workman, but He carries on His work." |
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