《Expository Notes on the Whole Bible – Genesis》(Thomas Constable) Commentator

2. The murder of Abel 4:1-16

Chapter 4 shows the spread of sin from Adam's family to the larger society that his descendants produced. Not only did sin affect everyone, but people became increasingly more wicked as time passed. Human self-assertion leads to violence. Genesis 4:1-16 show that the Fall affected Adam and Eve's children as well as themselves. Genesis 4:17-26 trace what became of Cain and Seth and their descendants. Note that the chapter begins and ends with the subject of worship.

God had warned Adam and Eve about sin. Even so, Cain murdered his brother, the beginning of sibling rivalry, because God accepted Abel's offering but not his own. Sibling rivalry plagued each of the godly families in Genesis. Cain denied responsibility for his sin and objected to the severity of God's punishment. God graciously provided protection for Cain in response to his complaint. Chapter 3 gives the cause and chapter 4 the effect.

There are structural and conceptual parallels between this pericope (section of verses) and the previous one (Genesis 2:4 to Genesis 3:24). [Note: Wenham, p. 99.]

A Scene 1 (narrative): Cain and Abel are active, Yahweh passive (Genesis 4:2-5).

B Scene 2 (dialogue): Yahweh questions Cain (Genesis 4:6-7).

C Scene 3 (dialogue and narrative): Cain and Abel are alone (Genesis 4:8).

B' Scene 4 (dialogue): Yahweh confronts Cain (Genesis 4:9-14).

A' Scene 5 (narrative): Yahweh is active, Cain passive (Genesis 4:15-16).

Both stories conclude with the sinners leaving God's presence and going to live east of Eden (Genesis 3:24; Genesis 4:16).

". . . though the writer of Genesis wants to highlight the parallels between the two stories, he does not regard the murder of Abel simply as a rerun of the fall. There is development: sin is more firmly entrenched and humanity is further alienated from God." [Note: Ibid., p. 100.]

Verses 9-16

As in chapter 3, God came investigating the crime with questions (Genesis 4:9-10). [Note: See P. A. Riemann, "Am I My Brother's Keeper?" Interpretation 24 (1970):482-91.] There the result was God cursing the ground and people generally, but here the result is His cursing Cain, another evidence that wickedness was worsening.

Cain's punishment consisted of his being banished from God's presence and unable to enjoy his family's company and the fruitfulness of a settled pastoral life (Genesis 4:11-12; Genesis 4:14). He would have to wander from place to place seeking food rather than living a sedentary life. This punishment was just since he had alienated himself from his brother and God.

"Cain is not being condemned to a Bedouin-like existence; the terminology is too extreme to describe such a life-style. Rather it seems likely that the curse on Cain reflects the expulsion from the family that was the fate in tribal societies of those who murdered close relatives.... 'To be driven away from the land' (cf. Genesis 4:14) is to have all relationships, particularly with the family, broken. Moreover, it is to have one's relationship with the LORD broken ..." [Note: Wenham, p. 108.]

"Nomadism according to the Sumerian flood story is a plight from which the gods rescued man; according to the Bible a nomadic existence was a judgment imposed on the first murderer. This contrast fits in with the overall optimism of Mesopotamia which believes in human progress over against the biblical picture of the inexorable advance of sin ... It would seem likely that the other human achievements listed here-farming, metalwork, and music-are also seen by Genesis as somehow under the shadow of Cain's sin." [Note: Ibid., pp. 98-99.]

Cain's response to his punishment was self-pity rather than repentance and an expression of remorse over the extent of his iniquity. [Note: See Waltke, Genesis, p. 98; Sailhamer, The Pentateuch . . ., p. 114.] No one would be his keeper (cf. Genesis 4:9).

Cain's sin resulted in his being "driven" out (Genesis 4:14; cf. Genesis 3:23). Note again that sin results in broken relationships and alienation, and alienation from God leads to fear of other people (cf. Job 15:20-25). God in grace allowed Cain and his family to continue to live under His care, but apparently without salvation. Note also that human immorality again impacted earth's ecology (cf. Genesis 3:17).

The commentators have interpreted Cain's "sign" or "mark" (Genesis 4:15) in a variety of ways. One view is that it was partial paralysis, based on the meaning of the word used to translate "sign" in the Septuatint. An old Jewish interpretation understood it to be the word "Yahweh," and another viewed it as a long horn growing out of the middle of Cain's forehead. Some medieval paintings represent Cain with a horn on his head following this view. Other ideas are that it was some other identifying mark on Cain in view of parallels with other marks that identify and protect their bearers in Scripture (cf. Ezekiel 9:4; Revelation 7:3; Revelation 13:16-18; Revelation 14:1). [Note: Mathews, p. 278; Wenham, p. 109; Waltke, Genesis, p. 99.] Still other interpreters believe that the mark was a verification of God's promise to Cain. This last view rests on the usual meaning of "sign" in the Old Testament (cf. Judges 6:36-40; 2 Kings 2:9-12; et al.), which the Hebrew construction supports here. [Note: See Bush, p. 104.] The text does not identify the sign, but it was some immediate indication that God gave Cain to assure him that he would not die (cf. Genesis 21:13; Genesis 21:18; Genesis 27:37; Genesis 45:7; Genesis 45:9; Genesis 46:3 with Genesis 21:14; Genesis 44:21). Whatever it was, Cain's mark served to protect him as well as to remind him and others of his banishment.

"Nod" (Genesis 4:16) means "wandering," so the very name of the place where he lived also reminded Cain of his sentence (Genesis 4:12).

"The ungodly here are portrayed as living on in the world (with a protective mark of grace ...) without being saved. Their sense of guilt was eased by their cultural development and their geographical expansion." [Note: Ross, "Genesis," p. 33.]

Cain was a man who did not care to please God. Because he did not, God did not bless him as He did Abel, who was a man of faith. Cain's anger and jealousy over Abel's blessing brought disaster on himself. God has preserved his example to help us avoid it. Those who worship God must have as their goal to please Him rather than letting envy and hatred ruin their lives.

Verses 17-24

The descendants of Cain 4:17-24

"By virtue of being Cain's descendants, the people named in the genealogy all inherit his curse. Thus the Cainite genealogy becomes part of the Yahwist's account of man's increasing sin." [Note: R. R. Wilson, Genealogy and History in the Biblical World, p. 155.]

Cain's wife (Genesis 4:17) was evidently one of his sisters or nieces (cf. Genesis 5:4). God did not prohibit marrying siblings and close relatives until the Mosaic Law.

"Because harmful mutations so greatly outnumber any supposed helpful ones, it's considered unwise nowadays (and illegal in many states) to marry someone too closely related to you. Why? Because you greatly increase the odds that bad genes will show up. By the way, you also increase the odds of bringing out really excellent trait combinations. But did you ever hear anybody say, 'Don't marry your first cousin or you'll have a genius for a child?' They don't usually say that, because the odds of something bad happening are far, far, far, far, far greater.

"That would not have been a problem, by the way, shortly after creation (no problem for Cain and his wife, for example). Until mutations had a chance to accumulate in the human population, no such risk of bad combinations existed." [Note: Gary Parker, Creation Facts of Life, p. 98. This is an excellent book that deals with the evidence of creation, Darwin and biologic change, and the fossil evidence. See also Ham, et al., pp. 17, 177-85.]

Lamech (Genesis 4:19) was the first bigamist. Bigamy was common in the ancient Near East, but it was never God's desire (cf. Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4-5). God permitted it, however, as He did many other customs of which He disapproved (e.g., divorce, marrying concubines, polygamy, etc.). That is, He allowed people who practiced them to continue to live.

"To be sure, no rebuke from God is directed at Lamech for his violation of the marital arrangement. It is simply recorded. But that is the case with most OT illustrations of polygamy. Abraham is not condemned for cohabiting with Sarah and Hagar, nor is Jacob for marrying simultaneously Leah and Rachel. In fact, however, nearly every polygamous househould [sic] in the OT suffers most unpleasant and shattering experiences precisely because of this ad hoc relationship. The domestic struggles that ensue are devastating." [Note: Hamilton, p. 238. Cf. Deuteronomy 21:15-17.]

"Cain's family is a microcosm: its pattern of technical prowess and moral failure is that of humanity." [Note: Kidner, p. 78.]

God shows the destructive consequences of sin (cf. Genesis 2:24) more often than He states them in the Old Testament. Polygamy is one form of sin.

Polygamy is ". . . the symptom of an unbalanced view of marriage, which regards it as an institution in which the wife's ultimate raison d'etre [reason for being] is the production of children. Where God had created the woman first and foremost for partnership, society made her in effect a means to an end, even if a noble end, and wrote its view into its marriage contracts." [Note: Ibid., p. 36.]

This is the first occurrence of polygamy in Genesis. We shall find several cases of it throughout the Old Testament. People practiced it widely in the ancient Near East, but it was contrary to the will of God (Genesis 2:24). Besides indulging the flesh, polygamy was an attempt to ensure the survival of the family by providing male successors. [Note: For a good, brief introduction to polygamy, see M. Stephen Davis, "Polygamy in the Ancient World," Biblical Illustrator 14:1 (Fall 1987):34-36.] The presence of polygamy in Lamech's generation shows how sin escalated in the marriage relationship following the Fall.

The reference to forging (lit. sharpening) iron implements (Genesis 4:22) appears anacronistic since the smelting of iron was not common until the Iron Age, in the second millennium B.C. Perhaps this is a reference to the cold forging of meteoric iron, which was common earlier. [Note: The New Bible Dictionary, 1962 ed., s.v. "Mining and Metals," by A. Stuart. See also Mathews, p. 287; and Hamilton, p. 239.]

We could paraphrase the idea in Lamech's mind as expressed in Genesis 4:23-24 more clearly as follows. "If I am threatened again, I will retaliate again, even more forcefully than Cain did." Lamech may have been claiming that he had killed in self-defense. Nevertheless he was boasting and shows himself thereby to be more barbaric than his forefather Cain (cf. Exodus 21:25). The seventh generations from Adam through Cain and Seth, ungodly Lamech (Genesis 4:19-24) and godly Enoch (Genesis 5:24), stand in sharp contrast to each other. The former man inflicts death, and the latter does not die. Some scholars have called Lamech's poem the "Song of the Sword." Lamech thought himself invincible with his newly acquired weapons.

"Both Cain's antediluvian lineage and the postdiluvian Babel cautioned later Israel that cities founded upon arrogance resulted in violence and ultimately destruction." [Note: Mathews, pp. 282-83.]

Verses 17-26

3. The spread of civilization and sin 4:17-26

Cain prospered even though he rebelled against God. This is another indication of God's grace. Cain's descendants took the lead in building cities, developing music, advancing agriculture, creating weapons, and spreading civilization. However the descendants of Seth made an even more important advance, the worship of God.

Verse 25-26

The family of Seth 4:25-26

Seth's name, from the Hebrew verb translated "granted" and meaning "to set or place," expresses Eve's faith that God would continue to provide seed despite death. [Note: Waltke, Genesis, p. 101.]

Many commentators regarded Genesis 4:26 as the first reference to prayer as we know it in the Bible. Prayer is basic to man's relationship with God, which is a major theme in Genesis. However the phrase "call on the name of the Lord" usually refers to proclamation rather than prayer in the Pentateuch. [Note: Ross, Creation and . . ., p. 169.] Here it probably refers to the beginning of public worship of Yahweh.

"Genesis 4 concludes the story of mankind that was cut off in the flood, a tale that opened with Genesis 2:4, 'This is the history....' With the aid of a genealogy from Adam to Lamek, the seventh generation, it traces the development of technology and arts on the one hand and the growth of violence on the other. Only in the last two verses introducing the descendants of Seth do we have glimmers of hope, for from him, as chap. 5 will describe, descended Noah, the survivor of the flood, and it was in Enosh's day that the public worship of God was reintroduced." [Note: Wenham, p. 116.]

Chapter 4 also teaches that it is important for the righteous to preserve the knowledge of God when they live in an ungodly society.
05 Chapter 5
Verses 1-8

C. What became of Adam 5:1-6:8

The primary purpose of this second toledot section appears to be to link the generations of Adam and Noah. The cursed human race continued to multiply, and human beings continued to die. Yet the record of Enoch gives hope.

"Genealogies in this book of genealogies ... serve several purposes, depending in part on the nature of the genealogy. Broad genealogies present only the first generation of descendants (e.g., "the sons of Leah ... the sons of Rachel ... " in Genesis 35:23-26; cf. Genesis 6:9-10; Genesis 25:13-15). Deep genealogies list sequential descendants, in this book usually numbering from two to ten. (There are ten generations from Adam through Seth to Noah. In the eleventh generation the genealogy becomes segmented.) Linear genealogies display only depth (e.g., "Cain ... gave birth to Enoch. To Enoch was born Irad ..." Genesis 4:17-18; cf. Genesis 5:1-31; Genesis 11:10-26; Genesis 36:31-40). Segmented genealogies display both depth and breadth (e.g., "This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth.... The sons of Japheth: Gomer ... The sons of Gomer ..." Genesis 10:1-29; cf. Genesis 11:27-29; Genesis 19:36-38; Genesis 25:19-26; Genesis 36:1-5; Genesis 36:10-30; Genesis 46:8-25). The distinctions of broad, deep, linear, and segmented genealogies help explain the various functions of genealogies." [Note: Waltke, Genesis, p. 105. See also David M. Howard Jr., An Introduction to the Old Testament Historical Books, pp. 249-50; M. D. Johnson, The Purpose of the Biblical Genealogies, pp. 77-82.]

"Genesis begins the process of identifying the seed that will rule the earth (Genesis 1:26-28) and crush the Serpent (Genesis 3:15). Book 2 [Genesis 5:1 to Genesis 6:8] traces that lineage from Adam to Noah, even as the matching ten-generation genealogy of Book 5 [Genesis 11:10-26] traces it from Shem to Abraham. Book 2 concludes with the progressive and rapid hardening of sin and the inability of the godly seed of the woman on its own to reverse it. Sin, like the Serpent, is too strong for them. Clearly, both God's judgment and deliverance are needed." [Note: Waltke, Genesis, p. 109.]

Verses 1-32

1. The effects of the curse on humanity ch. 5

There are at least three purposes for the inclusion of this genealogy, which contains 10 paragraphs (Genesis 5:1-32).

1. It shows the development of the human race from Adam to Noah and bridges the gap in time between these two major individuals. One writer argued that the ages of these patriarchs were inflated to glorify them. [Note: R. K. Harrison, "From Adam to Noah: A Reconsideration of the Antediluvian Patriarchs' Ages," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 37:2 (June 1994):161-68.] I think not as this would seemingly undermine the trustworthiness of Scripture.

"The genealogies [in chapters 5 and 11] are exclusionist in function, indicating by linear descent the one through whom the promissory blessing will be channeled." [Note: Mathews, p. 298.]

2. It demonstrates the veracity of God's word when He said that people would die as a result of sin (cf. Genesis 2:17). Note the recurrence of the phrase "and he died" (Genesis 5:5; Genesis 5:8; Genesis 5:11; Genesis 5:14; Genesis 5:17; Genesis 5:20; Genesis 5:27; Genesis 5:31).

3. It contrasts the progress of the godly line of Seth culminating in Enoch who walked with God and experienced translation (Genesis 5:6-24) with the development of the ungodly line of Cain. Cain's branch of the human race culminated in Lamech who was a brutal bigamist (Genesis 4:16-24).

"The author's return to the theme of God's 'blessing' man (cf. Genesis 5:2) is also a part of his overall scheme to cast God's purposes for man in terms that will recall a father's care for his children. Throughout the remainder of the Book of Genesis, a recurring theme is that of the father's blessing his children (Genesis 9:26-27; Genesis 27:27; Genesis 48:15; Genesis 49:1-28). In keeping with such a theme, the author shows at each crucial turning point in the narrative that God himself renewed his blessing to the next generation of sons (Genesis 1:28; Genesis 5:2; Genesis 9:1; Genesis 12:3; Genesis 24:11). Seen as a whole, the picture that emerges is that of a loving father insuring the future well-being of his children through the provision of an inherited blessing. In this way the author has laid a theological foundation for the rest of Scripture. God's original plan of blessing for all humanity, though thwarted by human folly, will nevertheless be restored through the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15), the seed of Abraham (Genesis 12:3), and the 'Lion of the tribe of Judah' (Genesis 49:8-12; cf. Revelation 5:5-13). It is on this same foundation that the apostle Paul built his view of Jesus as the one through whom God has 'blessed us' (Ephesians 1:3) and 'adopted us as his sons' (Genesis 5:5) so that 'we have obtained an inheritance' (Genesis 5:11, KJV) from the one we may call 'Abba, Father' (Romans 8:15)." [Note: Sailhamer, "Genesis," pp. 70-71.]

Some commentators have seen evidence in the text that this genealogy is not complete. [Note: E.g., Mathews, p. 305.]

1. The word "father" can just as accurately be translated "ancestor" (Genesis 5:3, et al.). It does not require a literal father-son relationship. [Note: See Kenneth Kitchen, The Bible In Its World, p. 33.]

2. The fact that Lamech, the sixth name in Cain's list (Genesis 4:16-24), corresponds to Enoch, the sixth name in Seth's list (Genesis 5:6-24), is suggestive. It indicates that God wanted to point out the contrast between the generations of these two sons of Adam. One was ungodly and the other godly. This purpose seems to some writers more dominant than that God wanted simply to preserve a complete record of all the generations between Adam and Noah. Lamech and Enoch were each the seventh generation, as recorded in this list, from Adam (cf. Judges 1:14). Matthew 1:1-17 contains another genealogy in which 14 men from each of three historical periods appear, and it is not complete.

3. The writer did not list Noah's sons in the order of their birth (cf. Genesis 5:32 and Genesis 9:24).

4. The genealogy in chapter 11 may not be complete. [Note: See my comments on 11:12. For defense of the view that the Scriptures do not fix and were not intended to fix the dates of any events before the time of Abraham, see W. H. Green, "Primeval Chronology," in Classical Evangelical Essays in Old Testament Interpretation, pp. 13-28; and B. B. Warfield, "On the Antiquity and the Unity of the Human Race," Princeton Theological Review 9:1 (January 1911):1-25.]

The careful recording of the age of each man when he fathered the next man in the list strongly suggests that this list is complete. Furthermore the genealogies in 1 Chronicles 1:1-4 and Luke 3:36-38 are identical to the one in Genesis 5. There are probably no missing generations. [Note: See Keil and Delitzsch, 1:120-27. Wenham, pp. 130-34, wrote an excursus on the ages of the antediluvians that is the best discussion of this issue that I have found.]

"The genealogy of Seth in Genesis 5 is thus intended to take up the creation story which had reached its first climax in the creation, as we would now read it, of Adam. The elemental orderliness of the genealogy continues the order begun at creation; indeed, it reaffirms that order after the threatened slide back into chaos narrated in the intervening chapters. But the genealogy does more; it imparts movement to creation. The Genesis 1 creation story is essentially static. When God rests on the seventh day, all phyla of creation are in their proper order and the earth is at rest. There is little suggestion of movement or further development, no story to be traced. The sole dynamic elements lie in God's command to newly created humanity to 'be fruitful and multiply' and 'subdue the earth.' The genealogies document the fruitfulness of humanity and thus become the expression of the fulfillment of God's mandate, providing movement away from the steady state of creation but at the same time preserving its orderliness. Creation's order advanced through the genealogy.

"Connection of the genealogy to creation also exerts a reciprocal influence on our understanding of this and subsequent genealogies. The genealogies represent the continuation of creation's fundamental order through time. As a result, they assume theological significance. The organic and orderly succession of generations is not an expression of thematically empty biological necessity but of God's initial creative activity. Birth awakens not neutral destiny but enrollment in the continuing order of creation ordained by God. The genealogies become bearers of the creation theme and, by their elemental, organic nature, its fit expression." [Note: Robert B. Robinson, "Literary Functions of the Genealogies of Genesis," Catholic Biblical Quarterly 48 (October 1986):600-601.]

Even though the death motif is strong in this chapter there is even more emphasis on God's grace. We see this in the references to life, fertility (sons and daughters), Enoch's translation, and other blessings. The enjoyment of God's blessings depends on walking with God. "Walk" is a biblical figure for fellowship and obedience that results in divine blessing (cf. 1 Samuel 15:25; Ephesians 4:1).

"Enoch is pictured as one who did not suffer the fate of Adam ('you shall surely die') because, unlike the others, he 'walked with God.'

"The sense of the author is clear. Enoch is an example of one who found life amid the curse of death. In Enoch the author is able to show that the pronouncement of death is not the last word that need be said about a person's life. One can find life if one 'walks with God.'" [Note: Sailhamer, The Pentateuch . . ., p. 118. Cf. 3:8; 6:9; 15:6; 17:1; 24:40; 48:15; Deuteronomy 30:15-16; Micah 6:8; Malachi 2:6. See also Timothy J. Cole, "Enoch, a Man Who Walked with God," Bibliotheca Sacra 148:591 (July-September 1991):288-97.]

"'Walked with God' is metaphorical and indicates that Enoch had a lifestyle characterized by his devotion to God. The sense of 'walk' (halak) in its verbal stem indicates a communion or intimacy with God." [Note: Mathews, p. 313. Cf. 3:8; 6:9.]

"The double repetition of the phrase 'walked with God' indicates Enoch was outstanding in this pious family." [Note: Wenham, p. 127.]

Repetition usually reinforces and emphasizes in Scripture. The central lesson of the section appears to be that the godly can experience victory over the effects of the curse by walking with God. [Note: For additional study of the genealogies, see Kenneth Kitchen, Ancient Orient and Old Testament, pp. 36-39; Schaeffer, pp. 122-124; Kidner; "Chronology" in Westminster Dictionary of the Bible; International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, s.v. "Antediluvian Patriarchs," by John J. Davis; James L. Hayward and Donald E. Casebolt, "The Genealogies of Genesis 5, 11 : a statistical study," Origins 9:2 (1982):75-81; Frederick Cryer, "The Interrelationships of Genesis 5, 32; Genesis 11, 10-11 and the Chronology of the Flood," Biblica 66:2 (1985):241-61; and Barr, pp. 584-85.]

"The finality of death caused by sin, and so powerfully demonstrated in the genealogy of Genesis, is in fact not so final. Man was not born to die; he was born to live, and that life comes by walking with God.... Walking with God is the key to the chains of the curse." [Note: Cole, p. 294.]

"Within the time-scale of Genesis, this chapter ⁽⁵⁾ covers the longest period in world history." [Note: Wenham, p. 145.]

As the story of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:3-24) interrupted the genealogy of Adam in Genesis 4:1-2; Genesis 4:25-26, so the story of the Flood (Genesis 6:1 to Genesis 9:27) interrupts the genealogy of Noah in Genesis 5:32 and Genesis 9:28-29.