Torah Tuesday - Genesis 4:9-16

Torah Tuesday is a weekly series in which I share brief insights from the first five books of the Old Testament. In this video, we explore the consequences of Cain's murder of Abel. Follow me on Facebook or Twitter to keep up with my research.

Filmed at Prairie College by Carmen Imes.
Produced by Danny Imes.
Original music (Psalm 119:18) by Joshua Sherman.
Photo by Crystal Gillespie.

[lifegrip]

Genesis 4:16 “So Cain went out from the LORD’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.” In my study Bible it says that Nod means means “wandering” and is from the same Hebrew root in “restless wander” in verse 12 and 14. Thanks, Carmen have a great week.

[brianpollock]

Another good one, Carmen. I think we can lose sight of how much time is compressed when we read Scripture. It just takes us a few moments to read their stories, but our oldest ancestors lived hundreds of years. Adam was 130 when he and Eve had Seth and he lived another 800 years. Genesis 5:4 tells us that he had other sons and daughters. Those sons and daughters would have had children too. I have no problem with the idea that Cain married one of his sisters or one of his cousins. I can also believe that the population grew quickly and people gathered and created cities. Cities don't have to be the size of New York to be cities. I'm still reading Swamidass' "The Genealogical Adam & Eve" and he has yet to convince me that the only possible answer is that God created additional humans that did not come from the line of Adam and Eve.

[LEM]

I really liked the point you made that God is being gracious to Cain in order to stop this cycle of violence.
In 5:4 it is recorded that Adam and Eve had other sons and daughters. So I understand why people think he married a sister. That's not my opinion but I can see why people go there since not every story is chronological. We've even seen how Gen 1 and 2 have differing chronologies. I also agree with you that city implies a society beyond just one family. Especially since Cain is scared of these people when he should be the eldest and known by everyone if it is just one family. In The Mosaic of Atonement the opening chapter speak a lot about Adam as representative king of humanity and not necessarily direct ancestor. I love it. It is so well articulated!

[storyofscripture]

I have thought the same thing about the other people and if Cain married a sister, or were there more people around.

[BrokenLogic-eli]

So the blood from Abel’s sacrifice to Yahweh speaks a good word about Abel(bears witness), and then Cain slays his brother. Then Abel’s blood cries out against Cain’s action to Yahweh(bears witness), and Cain is judged for it. Now enter Hebrews 12:24 where Jesus’ blood speaks as a witness to us about Yahweh and His kingdom!
Thank you Carmen, this is helpful though it adds more questions as I’m going through a journey to understand why Jesus Christ had to like die die. I mean I’ve heard the sermons and all and I know why, but I don’t know why salvation had to be delivered this way.

[AdrienTaylorsVersion]

Your comments brought out a couple of paradoxes in the story of Cain. First is the fact that Cain "settled" in "a land of wandering" (verse 16). Bracketing that paradox is the fact that Cain is a "fugitive and wanderer" (verse 12) who builds a city (verse 17). These descriptions are inherently oxymoronic. I wonder if these opposing concepts are telegraphing a message beneath the surface of the narrative.
On the other hand, while watching your video it also clicked that if Cain could not sustain himself through the typical agrarian methods, dwelling in a city would be his only option, because he would have to have a vocation that did not involve crops or herds. He would have to "invent" city life where people could exchange goods and services for food rather than grow it for themselves.

[stevenguest]

Carmen, again, I commend you for thoughtful insights into the ancient text. However, I do want to address the possibility of God "creating" more people that did not derive their origin from Adam. Were these people created without "original sin"? If so, then Paul's theological assertions in Romans 5 (and elsewhere) seem to be built on shaky assumptions. I know that in recent years there has been a lot of discussion regarding the question (based on genetic research and other concerns) of whether or not all of humanity could possibly trace its origin to a single set of parents, but one has to engage in a lot of mental gymnastics with the biblical record (and theological constructs derived from the biblical witness) in order to come to those conclusions, IMHO

[sharonjacob]

The laws against close kinship marriage were only given after the flood. Medically the reason for not marrying a close kin is because of DNA mutations being reinforced etc. Given the very long lives of the pre Noahic people the amount of children a perfect physical and perfect DNA couple could have number in the thousands of thousands. There is no biblical reason to believe that there were other people made from the "dust" and not originating from Adam and Eve. As with most Hebrew stories only highlights are told not the full linear account that modern minds look for and demand.