| << Gen 3 | |
| This is the New King James text of the passages. |
Genesis 4-7
Listen 
1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the LORD.”
2 Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD.
4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering,
5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
6 So the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?
7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”
8 Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
Eve initially bore two sons, Cain and Abel. The wording of verses 1-2 leads us to believe that they were twins - one conception, two boys. There has been much discussion among Old Testament scholars regarding Eve's statement in verse 1 after Cain emerged, "I have gotten a man from the LORD." First of all, based upon the wording in Hebrew, it has been suggested that she was boasting that she, as God himself, was able to create a man. That notion would suggest a less-than-right attitude toward God on Eve's part. To reinforce this theory, this statement is contrasted to her exclamation after the birth of Seth in verse 25, "For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel." In that verse, she clearly gives God the glory for the birth of Seth.
The second conjecture regarding her statement is quite noble on her part when it is suggested that she was exclaiming joy over the birth of Cain because she thought he was the Messiah. In order for that to be a viable theory, one must absolutely believe that Eve understood Genesis 3:15 (see notes) to be a prophecy regarding the Messiah. I'm just not certain Genesis 3:15 is to be understood as being Messianic. However, since the Hebrew word for "Adam" and "man" are identical and can only be differentiated by context, perhaps she was expressing amazement that she bore a little "Adam."
Abel kept sheep and Cain grew produce. That's really beside the point. Obviously they had been instructed that their offerings were to be animal sacrifices, not fruit and vegetables. Some have suggested that Cain's offering was fine, but his attitude was wrong. That doesn't seem to be the problem according to Hebrews 11:4 (see notes), "By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks." According to this verse, it is apparent that the sacrifice itself was wrong. It seems that Cain was to offer an animal sacrifice; nothing else would do. That being the case, it's the familiar scenario of man trying to circumvent God's standard. There's another point here; Cain could have made it right (verse 7), but he chose to slay the person who did do it right - his brother Abel. Why did he do it? I John 3:12 (see notes) says, "not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous." John tells us that Cain was motivated by Satan. The exact Greek adjective ("poneros") is used twice in that verse by John, first to describe Satan ("that wicked one") and then to describe Cain's actions leading to the sacrifice he made before God ("works were evil"). Let's face it, this was no mistake...no inadvertent shortcoming on Cain's part; Cain was our first example of outright rebellion against God. There's a lesson about the unregenerate life to be found here. Did Cain disobey because he lacked faith that God was God? Nope! He knew exactly who God was, and he still disobeyed. When people we meet stand in defiance against our Savior, the reason can be summed up with one verse, Psalms 10:4 (see notes), "The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts. "
God and Cain have a discussion (Genesis 4:9-24)
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 He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.
11 So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
12 When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.”
13 And Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear!
14 Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me.”
15 And the LORD said to him, “Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the LORD set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.
16 Then Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden.
17 And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son—Enoch.
18 To Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael begot Methushael, and Methushael begot Lamech.
19 Then Lamech took for himself two wives: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah.
20 And 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 harp and flute.
22 And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-cain, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.
23 Then Lamech said to his wives:
“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech!
For I have killed a man for wounding me,
Even a young man for hurting me.
24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,
Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”
Lying to God - how could that have seemed like a good idea? It's just like the child with chocolate all over his face who refuses to acknowledge that he took the candy. God placed a curse upon Cain, but forbade anyone from taking his life by placing a DO-NOT-KILL mark on him.
Here are the provisions of Cain's curse by God:
Cain's life was protected by God with a seal (verse 15); he made his home east of Eden and built a city named after his son, Enoch. This is not the Enoch who was a later descendant of his brother, Seth (Genesis 5:18, see below).
Verse 16 says, "...Cain went out from the presence of the LORD..." We see something of Cain's descendants after this - the first occurrence of polygamy with Lamech (verse 19), along with our second occurrence of the violent taking of a life in verses 23-24; perhaps it was self defense. It was a tough family.
It's a boy...finally! (Genesis 4:25-26)
25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, “For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.”
26 And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the LORD.
With their righteous son dead and their other son an exiled murderer, Adam and Eve are very excited about the birth of another son, Seth. Eve's expression of joy in verse 25 indicates her gratitude that God had restored what Cain had taken away. By the way, "Seth" is the Hebrew word for "substituted." Incidentally, the last sentence of verse 26 is obviously meant to add significance to the birth of Seth when it says, "Then men began to call on the name of the LORD." What does that mean? It obviously marks the beginning of an era, but what kind of an era?
Before we answer that question, consider this: Where did Cain get his wife? Only three possibilities initially come to mind: (1) God created more people, (2) they were descendants of Abel before his death or (3) they were descendants of Adam and Eve. The Bible doesn't tell us directly, but scratch possibility number 1; Paul makes it clear that everyone has an Adamic sin nature because everyone is a descendant of Adam. Therefore, Cain either married his sister or his niece. We are not told specifically, but we get the impression that neither Cain nor Abel bore children prior to the murder of Cain. Whichever the case, Adam and Eve obviously reproduced other children prior to Seth, but Seth gets special mention. Could it be that Seth was the first male child born into this world after Abel who was not a descendant of "wicked" Cain? It seems quite likely that Seth marked the beginning of a righteous, God-worshipping blood line after the death of Abel, and so it is said, "Then men began to call on the name of the LORD." That would also explain Eve's statement in verse 25 when she proclaims at the birth of Seth that God "has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel." Eve must have had a long string of girls in between the births of Abel and Seth. We do know for certain from Genesis 5:4 (see below) that Adam "had sons and daughters." However, Genesis 5:3 tells us that Adam was 130 years old when Seth was born.
So, who's your daddy? (Genesis 5)
1 This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.
2 He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created.
3 And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.
4 After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons and daughters.
5 So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died.
6 Seth lived one hundred and five years, and begot Enosh.
7 After he begot Enosh, Seth lived eight hundred and seven years, and had sons and daughters.
8 So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years; and he died.
9 Enosh lived ninety years, and begot Cainan.
10 After he begot Cainan, Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years, and had sons and daughters.
11 So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years; and he died.
12 Cainan lived seventy years, and begot Mahalalel.
13 After he begot Mahalalel, Cainan lived eight hundred and forty years, and had sons and daughters.
14 So all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years; and he died.
15 Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and begot Jared.
16 After he begot Jared, Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years, and had sons and daughters.
17 So all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years; and he died.
18 Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch.
19 After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters.
20 So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died.
21 Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah.
22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters.
23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.
24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.
25 Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and begot Lamech.
26 After he begot Lamech, Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years, and had sons and daughters.
27 So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died.
28 Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son.
29 And he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed.”
30 After he begot Noah, Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years, and had sons and daughters.
31 So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years; and he died.
32 And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Chapter 5 is the record of the descendants of Adam through his son Seth down to Noah and his three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth. In all, 1,656 years are spanned by this chronological record - from creation to the flood. Notice that Seth is given elder-son status in verse 4. As a matter of fact, Noah's genealogy traces back to Seth, making Noah's three sons (the fathers of us all) also descendants of Seth. Yup! Though Adam bore other "sons and daughters," Seth must have been the third son born to Adam and Eve.
A bit of information is included along the way with special note in verses 21-24 regarding Enoch. Notice verse 24, "And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him." Enoch didn't die, God just took him. That places Enoch in a very special category. Notice what Paul says in Hebrews 11:5 (see notes) regarding Enoch, "By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, and was not found, because God had taken him; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God." No question here - Enoch did not die.
Notice how long everyone in the Seth blood line lived...and how old they were before they had their first-born sons. Those life spans begin to shorten after the flood. Where it is not uncommon to find these first-born sons before the flood being born when their fathers were well over 100 years old, Abraham (after the flood) was considered old at 100 for the purpose of fathering a child. Could it be that the canopy of water we saw in Genesis 2:5-6 (see notes), along with the absence of rain, somehow shielded humans from environmental impacts that later caused rapid aging? Who really knows for certain!
Who are these...people...or beings? (Genesis 6:1-2)
1 Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them,
2 that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.
There is a doctrine that "sons of God" of verse 2 is a reference to fallen angels. It is further said that these angels intermarried with humans to create a race of giants. Many conclude that there's at least one major problem with this theory: Christ said in Matthew 22:30 (see notes), "For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven." Does he not plainly say here that angels do not marry? Many therefore conclude that verse 2 is probably making reference to Cain's descendants intermarrying with the other descendants of Adam and Eve. After all, the only other genealogical record given to us besides that of Seth is Cain's.
It is interesting, however, that this tradition of the fallen angels intermarrying goes back at least a couple of centuries before Christ. This angels-marrying-humans scenario is found in the compiled copies of the so-called "Book of Enoch" in some detail. This seems to have credibility to some, inasmuch as Jude appears to quote from this book in Jude 14-15 (see notes), though not regarding this issue. The currently-extant "Book of Enoch" is what scholars refer to as a pseudepigraphical book - not inspired by the Holy Spirit and not included in the canon of scripture. Copies of this book are available today and may, in fact, contain portions of Enoch's prophecies, though translated from the only extant manuscripts, Ethiopic and some Greek (no Hebrew manuscripts beyond small fragments). It is obvious to virtually all scholars who have studied this book that it is a compilation of works from various authors rather than only Enoch. As a matter of fact, even the casual Bible student will observe how uncharacteristic much of the contents are from Old Testament scripture. The now-extant "Book of Enoch" is obviously a late work (perhaps as late as the second century B.C.), but apparently does contain at least some of the words of Enoch's prophecies. The problem is, it is impossible to know which are truly from Enoch and which are not. The real "Book of Enoch" was not preserved, and it would not be prudent to view that which is purported to be the "Book of Enoch" in print today as having any authenticity or authority beyond that which is substantiated in our scripture. Therefore, the fact that the Book of Enoch gives some detail regarding the situation in Genesis 6:1-2 reflects only that there were people in the second century B.C. who subscribed to that theory; it does not validate that theory.
How about a hybrid view of what took place in Genesis 6:1-2. Could it be that these fallen angels possessed men who married the "daughters of men" in verse 2? We know that on numerous occasions in scripture we have seen the demon possession of humans; Jesus himself cast out demons from people. Demons are no more than fallen angels. Therefore, it is at least a reasonable theory that the "sons of God" could refer to men possessed by these fallen angels. The bottom line is: It's all speculation. No one can know for certain what exactly verses 1-2 are describing.
We've got some serious wickedness here (Genesis 6:3-7)
3 And the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”
4 There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
7 So the LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”
Verse 3 has a phrase open to diverse interpretation, "And the LORD said, My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years." So, what does that mean - that man will now only live to be 120 years old? Well, men did have longer life spans than 120 years after Genesis 6. I don't think that's what it means. The rest of the chapter talks about the wickedness on earth and the man, Noah, whom God raised up for the remedy. I think this period of 120 years is a reprieve from God's judgment - 120 years from Genesis 6:3 until the flood comes and destroys virtually all of mankind from the earth.
Let's look at the numbers regarding a 120-year reprieve from Genesis 6:3 until the flood. While they aren't conclusive, they do create a strong case for this view. We see in Genesis 5:32, "And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth." Then we see in Genesis 7:6 (see below), "Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth." We see in Genesis 6:8, "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." Then we see in Genesis 6:10, "And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth." So...the math works out that Genesis 6:3 refers to God's decision to give a reprieve of 120 years...20 years before Noah begat his children in verse 10. While not conclusive, it does make a pretty good case for the 120 years being a reference to the time period between verse 3 and Genesis 7:6 when the flood began.
One more interesting aspect of this 120-year period - what did Noah do during this time? Peter gives us a hint to the answer in II Peter 2:5 (see notes) where Peter tells us that Noah was a "preacher of righteousness."It seems safe to assume that God gave the wicked people of the earth a 120-year reprieve, during which time Noah preached salvation to them; they refused that salvation. As an aside, Lamech, Noah's father lived 595 years after Noah's birth (Genesis 5:30, see above), so he died five years before the flood. And...Noah's sons were born when he was 500 years old according to Genesis 5:32 (see above), so they were 100 years old when the flood came.
The Hebrew word for giant in verse 4 is just used in two verses in the Old Testament, here and Numbers 13:33 (see notes) where it refers to the large people in the Land of Canaan. However, the word may be translated "bully" rather than "giant." All other Old Testament occurrences of the word "giant" come from a totally-unrelated Hebrew word. Since we saw Lamech's threat of violence (Cain's descendant) in chapter 4, perhaps the point intended here is that the intermarriage between Cain's descendants and the rest of mankind resulted in the birth of some really wicked, mean-spirited men.
With that being said, let me introduce you to what I consider an erroneous doctrine that is commonly held today. It is widely taught that the "sons of God" of verse 2 were supernatural beings (fallen angels) who reproduced children with mortal women, thus producing these "giants." As I said, I'm relatively certain that angels just don't have what it takes to reproduce. Therefore, I take a less-exciting view of the origin and identity of these giants in verse 4; sometimes I'm just boring like that.
The remedy? Noah! Build an ark! (Genesis 6:8-22)
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.
10 And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
13 And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
14 Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch.
15 And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.
16 You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.
17 And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die.
18 But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.
19 And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.
20 Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive.
21 And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them.”
22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.
Noah was righteous before God (verses 8-9). The rest of the inhabitants of the earth, with the exception of Noah's family, were condemned to death because of their wickedness (verses 12-13). God instructs Noah to build an ark, a huge floating box about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 3 stories high (verses 14-16). Keep in mind, it didn't have to sail - just float. By the way, flooding was an unknown phenomenon back then; so was rain. Remember how the earth was watered back in Genesis 2:5-6 (see notes)? It was a process of evaporation and condensation, but no rain. While Noah is building an ark because of the threat of a flood by rain...well...it must have seemed kinda ridiculous to all those wicked people, "Rain, what's rain?!!!" They'll soon find out. Here we find the first usage of the word "covenant" in scripture (verse 18). God's special covenant will be through Noah. Click here to see the details of that covenant in Genesis 8:21-9:17. Noah then gets his instructions regarding the stocking of the ark which is continued in chapter 7.
Time to pack up and go! (Genesis 7)
1 Then the LORD said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.
2 You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female;
3 also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth.
4 For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made.”
5 And Noah did according to all that the LORD commanded him.
6 Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth.
7 So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean animals, of animals that are unclean, of birds, and of everything that creeps on the earth,
9 two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as God had commanded Noah.
10 And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
12 And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights.
13 On the very same day Noah and Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark—
14 they and every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort.
15 And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life.
16 So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the LORD shut him in.
17 Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.
18 The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters.
19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered.
20 The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered.
21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man.
22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died.
23 So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.
24 And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.
Here's a Bible trivia question: How many of each type of animal did God instruct Noah to put into the ark? You may want to read verses 2-3 before you answer that. That's right - seven of the clean animals while only two of the unclean. Now Noah is 600 years old, and it starts to rain. It only rained for 40 days, but the waters covered the earth for much longer than that - 150 days before the tops of the mountains began to peek through. Click here to see the complete timeline for the flood events provided with the summary of Genesis 8. The cataclysm of the flood caused a landscape transformation after that. Mountains and valleys were accentuated (the highest previously being less than 25 feet or so according to verse 20), and the land masses were divided into continents. It was truly a global occurrence. Verse 24 says that everything upon the dry ground died except those in the ark with Noah.
"Where did all that water come from?" you might ask. Answer: From above and below. First...back to Genesis 2:5-6 (see notes). It had never rained before. There was a natural evaporation/condensation process that watered the earth. That means that there was a canopy of water encompassing the earth. Well...it collapsed! But wait, there's more! Read ahead to Genesis 8:2 (see notes) and notice that there were additional "fountains...of the deep." Water under the earth also surfaced. Add all the water from above to all the water under the earth...well...that's a lot of water. Remember this from Genesis 1:9-13 (see notes): there was originally a single land mass surrounded by water on the earth. That land mass disappeared! And when the water subsides providing dry land over a year later, the topography of the earth has changed. As a matter of fact, I'm convinced that the topography of the earth continued to transition into what it is today over one man's lifetime, Peleg (Genesis 10:25, see notes), after the flood.
The water reached its highest point on day 150. One more interesting note here is to be found in verse 16 where it says, "the LORD shut him in." God himself sealed them into the ark, which may explain why they stayed in the Ark for 87 days beyond the discovery of dry land. They didn't leave until God allowed them to leave. For a chronology of the flood milestones, click here to go to the Genesis 8 commentary.