1 And Adam H120 knew H3045 H853 Eve H2332 his wife; H802 and she conceived, H2029 and bare H3205 H853 Cain, H7014 and said, H559 I have gotten H7069 a man H376 from H854 the LORD. H3068
2 And she again H3254 bare H3205 his brother H251 Abel. H1893 And Abel H1893 was a keeper H7462 of sheep, H6629 but Cain H7014 was a tiller H5647 of the ground. H127
3 And in process H7093 of time H3117 it came to pass, that Cain H7014 brought H935 of the fruit H6529 of the ground H127 an offering H4503 unto the LORD. H3068
4 And Abel, H1893 he H1931 also brought H935 of the firstlings H1062 of his flock H6629 and of the fat H2459 thereof. And the LORD H3068 had respect H8159 unto Abel H1893 and to his offering: H4503
5 But unto Cain H7014 and to his offering H4503 he had not respect. H8159 And Cain H7014 was very H3966 wroth, H2734 and his countenance H6440 fell. H5307
6 And the LORD H3068 said H559 unto Cain, H7014 Why art thou wroth? H2734 and why is thy countenance H6440 fallen? H5307
7 If H518 thou doest well, H3190 shalt thou not be accepted? H7613 and if thou doest not well, H3190 sin H2403 lieth H7257 at the door. H6607 And unto thee shall be his desire, H8669 and thou shalt rule H4910 over him.
8 And Cain H7014 talked H559 with H413 Abel H1893 his brother: H251 and it came to pass, when they were in the field, H7704 that Cain H7014 rose up H6965 against H413 Abel H1893 his brother, H251 and slew him. H2026
9 And the LORD H3068 said H559 unto Cain, H7014 Where H335 is Abel H1893 thy brother? H251 And he said, H559 I know H3045 not: Am I my brother's H251 keeper? H8104
10 And he said, H559 What H4100 hast thou done? H6213 the voice H6963 of thy brother's H251 blood H1818 crieth H6817 unto me from the ground. H127
11 And now art thou cursed H779 from the earth, H127 which hath opened H6475 her mouth H6310 to receive H3947 thy brother's H251 blood H1818 from thy hand; H3027
12 When H3588 thou tillest H5647 the ground, H127 it shall not henceforth H3254 yield H5414 unto thee her strength; H3581 a fugitive H5128 and a vagabond H5110 shalt thou be in the earth. H776
13 And Cain H7014 said H559 unto the LORD, H3068 My punishment H5771 is greater H1419 than I can bear. H5375
14 Behold, thou hast driven me out H1644 this day H3117 from the face H6440 of the earth; H127 and from H5921 thy face H6440 shall I be hid; H5641 and I shall be a fugitive H5128 and a vagabond H5110 in the earth; H776 and it shall come to pass, H1961 that every one that findeth me H4672 shall slay me. H2026
15 And the LORD H3068 said H559 unto him, Therefore H3651 whosoever slayeth H2026 Cain, H7014 vengeance shall be taken H5358 on him sevenfold. H7659 And the LORD H3068 set H7760 a mark H226 upon Cain, H7014 lest H1115 any finding H4672 him should kill H5221 him.
16 And Cain H7014 went out H3318 from the presence H6440 of the LORD, H3068 and dwelt H3427 in the land H776 of Nod, H5113 on the east H6926 of Eden. H5731
17 And Cain H7014 knew H3045 his wife; H802 and she conceived, H2029 and bare H3205 Enoch: H2585 and he builded H1129 a city, H5892 and called H7121 the name H8034 of the city, H5892 after the name H8034 of his son, H1121 Enoch. H2585
18 And unto Enoch H2585 was born H3205 Irad: H5897 and Irad H5897 begat H3205 Mehujael: H4232 and Mehujael H4232 begat H3205 Methusael: H4967 and Methusael H4967 begat H3205 Lamech. H3929
19 And Lamech H3929 took H3947 unto him two H8147 wives: H802 the name H8034 of the one H259 was Adah, H5711 and the name H8034 of the other H8145 Zillah. H6741
20 And Adah H5711 bare H3205 Jabal: H2989 he was the father H1 of such as dwell H3427 in tents, H168 and of such as have cattle. H4735
21 And his brother's H251 name H8034 was Jubal: H3106 he was the father H1 of all such as handle H8610 the harp H3658 and organ. H5748
22 And Zillah, H6741 she also bare H3205 Tubalcain, H8423 an instructer H3913 of every artificer H2794 in brass H5178 and iron: H1270 and the sister H269 of Tubalcain H8423 was Naamah. H5279
23 And Lamech H3929 said H559 unto his wives, H802 Adah H5711 and Zillah, H6741 Hear H8085 my voice; H6963 ye wives H802 of Lamech, H3929 hearken H238 unto my speech: H565 for I have slain H2026 a man H376 to my wounding, H6482 and a young man H3206 to my hurt. H2250
24 If H3588 Cain H7014 shall be avenged H5358 sevenfold, H7659 truly Lamech H3929 seventy H7657 and sevenfold. H7651
25 And Adam H120 knew H3045 his wife H802 again; H5750 and she bare H3205 a son, H1121 and called H7121 his name H8034 Seth: H8352 For God, H430 said she, hath appointed H7896 me another H312 seed H2233 instead H8478 of Abel, H1893 whom H3588 Cain H7014 slew. H2026
26 And to Seth, H8352 to him H1931 also there was born H3205 a son; H1121 and he called H7121 his name H8034 Enos: H583 then began men H2490 to call H7121 upon the name H8034 of the LORD. H3068
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Genesis 4
Commentary on Genesis 4 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 4
Ge 4:1-26. Birth of Cain and Abel.
1. Eve said, I have gotten a man from the Lord—that is, "by the help of the Lord"—an expression of pious gratitude—and she called him Cain, that is, "a possession," as if valued above everything else; while the arrival of another son reminding Eve of the misery she had entailed on her offspring, led to the name Abel, that is, either weakness, vanity (Ps 39:5), or grief, lamentation. Cain and Abel were probably twins; and it is thought that, at this early period, children were born in pairs (Ge 5:4) [Calvin].
2. Abel was a keeper of sheep—literally, "a feeder of a flock," which, in Oriental countries, always includes goats as well as sheep. Abel, though the younger, is mentioned first, probably on account of the pre-eminence of his religious character.
3. in process of time—Hebrew, "at the end of days," probably on the Sabbath.
brought … an offering unto the Lord—Both manifested, by the very act of offering, their faith in the being of God and in His claims to their reverence and worship; and had the kind of offering been left to themselves, what more natural than that the one should bring "of the fruits of the ground," and that the other should bring "of the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof" [Ge 4:4].
4. the Lord had respect unto Abel, not unto Cain, &c.—The words, "had respect to," signify in Hebrew,—"to look at any thing with a keen earnest glance," which has been translated, "kindle into a fire," so that the divine approval of Abel's offering was shown in its being consumed by fire (see Ge 15:17; Jud 13:20).
7. If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?—A better rendering is, "Shalt thou not have the excellency"? which is the true sense of the words referring to the high privileges and authority belonging to the first-born in patriarchal times.
sin lieth at the door—sin, that is, a sin offering—a common meaning of the word in Scripture (as in Ho 4:8; 2Co 5:21; Heb 9:28). The purport of the divine rebuke to Cain was this, "Why art thou angry, as if unjustly treated? If thou doest well (that is, wert innocent and sinless) a thank offering would have been accepted as a token of thy dependence as a creature. But as thou doest not well (that is, art a sinner), a sin offering is necessary, by bringing which thou wouldest have met with acceptance and retained the honors of thy birthright." This language implies that previous instructions had been given as to the mode of worship; Abel offered through faith (Heb 11:4).
unto thee shall be his desire—The high distinction conferred by priority of birth is described (Ge 27:29); and it was Cain's conviction, that this honor had been withdrawn from him, by the rejection of his sacrifice, and conferred on his younger brother—hence the secret flame of jealousy, which kindled into a settled hatred and fell revenge.
8. And Cain talked with Abel his brother—Under the guise of brotherly familiarity, he concealed his premeditated purpose till a convenient time and place occurred for the murder (1Jo 3:12; Jude 11).
9. I know not—a falsehood. One sin leads to another.
10. the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me—Cain, to lull suspicion, had probably been engaging in the solemnities of religion when he was challenged directly from the Shekinah itself.
11, 12. now art thou cursed from the earth—a curse superadded to the general one denounced on the ground for Adam's sin.
12. a fugitive—condemned to perpetual exile; a degraded outcast; the miserable victim of an accusing conscience.
13, 14. And Cain said … My punishment is greater than I can bear—What an overwhelming sense of misery; but no sign of penitence, nor cry for pardon.
14. every one that findeth me shall slay me—This shows that the population of the world was now considerably increased.
15. whosoever slayeth Cain—By a special act of divine forbearance, the life of Cain was to be spared in the then small state of the human race.
set a mark—not any visible mark or brand on his forehead, but some sign or token of assurance that his life would be preserved. This sign is thought by the best writers to have been a wild ferocity of aspect that rendered him an object of universal horror and avoidance.
16. presence of the Lord—the appointed place of worship at Eden. Leaving it, he not only severed himself from his relatives but forsook the ordinances of religion, probably casting off all fear of God from his eyes so that the last end of this man is worse than the first (Mt 12:45).
land of Nod—of flight or exile—thought by many to have been Arabia-Petræa—which was cursed to sterility on his account.
17-22. builded a city—It has been in cities that the human race has ever made the greatest social progress; and several of Cain's descendants distinguished themselves by their inventive genius in the arts.
19. Lamech took unto him two wives—This is the first transgression of the law of marriage on record, and the practice of polygamy, like all other breaches of God's institutions, has been a fruitful source of corruption and misery.
23, 24. Lamech said unto his wives—This speech is in a poetical form, probably the fragment of an old poem, transmitted to the time of Moses. It seems to indicate that Lamech had slain a man in self-defense, and its drift is to assure his wives, by the preservation of Cain, that an unintentional homicide, as he was, could be in no danger.
26. men began to call upon the name of the Lord—rather, by the name of the Lord. God's people, a name probably applied to them in contempt by the world.