King James Version
Genesis 4
26 verses with commentary
Cain and Abel
And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. Cain: that is, Gotten, or, Acquired
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the...</strong> This passage belongs to the primeval history section (Genesis 1-11) which establishes universal truths about God, humanity, sin, and divine purposes before focusing on Abraham and Israel. These chapters answer fundamental questions about human origins, the spread of wickedness, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
IV.
THE FOUNDING OF THE FAMILY, AND COMMENCEMENT OF THE NON-PARADISIACAL LIFE.
(1) **She . . . bare Cain, and said . . . —**In this chapter we have the history of the founding of the family of Cain, a race godless and wanton, but who, nevertheless, far outstripped the descendants of Seth in the arts of civilisation. To tillage and a pastoral life they added metallurgy and music; and the knowledge ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**17-19. unto Adam he said--**made to gain his livelihood by tilling the ground; but what before his fall he did with ease and pleasure, was not to be accomplished after it without painful and persevering exertion.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 4
Chapter Outline
The birth, employment, and religion of Cain and Abel.(1-7)
Cain murders Abel, The curse of Cain.(8-15)
The conduct of Cain, His family.(16-18)
Lamech and his wives, The skill of Cain's descendants.(19-24)
The birth of another son and grandson of Adam.(25-26)
**Verses 1-7**
When Cain was born, Eve said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. Perha...
Read full commentary →And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. Abel: Heb. Hebel a keeper: Heb. a feeder
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the gr...</strong> This passage belongs to the primeval history section (Genesis 1-11) which establishes universal truths about God, humanity, sin, and divine purposes before focusing on Abraham and Israel. These chapters answer fundamental questions about human origins, the spread of wickedness, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **Abel.**—Of this name Dr. Oppert imagined that it was the Assyrian *Abil, *a son. Really it is *Hebel; *and there is no reason why we should prefer an Assyrian to a Hebrew etymology. An Accadian derivation would have been important, but Assyrian is only a Semitic dialect, and *Abil *is the Hebrew *ben. Hebel *means a thing *unstable, not abiding, *like a breath or vapour. Now, we can scarcely...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20. Adam called his wife's name Eve--**probably in reference to her being a mother of the promised Saviour, as well as of all mankind.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 4
Chapter Outline
The birth, employment, and religion of Cain and Abel.(1-7)
Cain murders Abel, The curse of Cain.(8-15)
The conduct of Cain, His family.(16-18)
Lamech and his wives, The skill of Cain's descendants.(19-24)
The birth of another son and grandson of Adam.(25-26)
**Verses 1-7**
When Cain was born, Eve said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. Perha...
Read full commentary →And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. in process: Heb. at the end of days
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unt...</strong> This passage belongs to the primeval history section (Genesis 1-11) which establishes universal truths about God, humanity, sin, and divine purposes before focusing on Abraham and Israel. These chapters answer fundamental questions about human origins, the spread of wickedness, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3, 4) **In process of time.**—Heb., *at the end of days: *not at the end of a week, or a year, or of harvest-time, but of a long indefinite period, shown by the age of Adam at the birth of Seth to have been something less than 130 years.
**An offering.**—Heb., *a thank-offering, a present. *We must be careful not to introduce here any of the later Levitical ideas about sacrifice. All that we know...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**21. God made coats of skins--**taught them to make these for themselves. This implies the institution of animal sacrifice, which was undoubtedly of divine appointment, and instruction in the only acceptable mode of worship for sinful creatures, through faith in a Redeemer (He 9:22).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 4
Chapter Outline
The birth, employment, and religion of Cain and Abel.(1-7)
Cain murders Abel, The curse of Cain.(8-15)
The conduct of Cain, His family.(16-18)
Lamech and his wives, The skill of Cain's descendants.(19-24)
The birth of another son and grandson of Adam.(25-26)
**Verses 1-7**
When Cain was born, Eve said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. Perha...
Read full commentary →And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: flock: Heb. sheep, or, goats
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had re...</strong> This passage belongs to the primeval history section (Genesis 1-11) which establishes universal truths about God, humanity, sin, and divine purposes before focusing on Abraham and Israel. These chapters answer fundamental questions about human origins, the spread of wickedness, ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**22. And God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us--**not spoken in irony as is generally supposed, but in deep compassion. The words should be rendered, "Behold, what has become [by sin] of the man who was as one of us"! Formed, at first, in our image to know good and evil--how sad his condition now.
**and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life--**This tree b...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 4
Chapter Outline
The birth, employment, and religion of Cain and Abel.(1-7)
Cain murders Abel, The curse of Cain.(8-15)
The conduct of Cain, His family.(16-18)
Lamech and his wives, The skill of Cain's descendants.(19-24)
The birth of another son and grandson of Adam.(25-26)
**Verses 1-7**
When Cain was born, Eve said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. Perha...
Read full commentary →But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance f...</strong> This passage belongs to the primeval history section (Genesis 1-11) which establishes universal truths about God, humanity, sin, and divine purposes before focusing on Abraham and Israel. These chapters answer fundamental questions about human origins, the spread of wickedness, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **Cain was very wroth.**—Heb., *it burned to Cain exceedingly: *that is, his heart was full of hot indignant feelings, because of the preference shown to his younger brother.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 4
Chapter Outline
The birth, employment, and religion of Cain and Abel.(1-7)
Cain murders Abel, The curse of Cain.(8-15)
The conduct of Cain, His family.(16-18)
Lamech and his wives, The skill of Cain's descendants.(19-24)
The birth of another son and grandson of Adam.(25-26)
**Verses 1-7**
When Cain was born, Eve said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. Perha...
Read full commentary →And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?...</strong> This passage belongs to the primeval history section (Genesis 1-11) which establishes universal truths about God, humanity, sin, and divine purposes before focusing on Abraham and Israel. These chapters answer fundamental questions about human origins, the spread of wickedness, God's judgment, a...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**24. placed ... cherbim--**The passage should be rendered thus: "And he dwelt between the cherubim at the East of the Garden of Eden and a fierce fire, or Shekinah, unfolding itself to preserve the way of the tree of life." This was the mode of worship now established to show God's anger at sin and teach the mediation of a promised Saviour as the way of life, as well as of access to God. They wer...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 4
Chapter Outline
The birth, employment, and religion of Cain and Abel.(1-7)
Cain murders Abel, The curse of Cain.(8-15)
The conduct of Cain, His family.(16-18)
Lamech and his wives, The skill of Cain's descendants.(19-24)
The birth of another son and grandson of Adam.(25-26)
**Verses 1-7**
When Cain was born, Eve said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. Perha...
Read full commentary →If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. be accepted: or, have the excellency unto: or, subject unto thee
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. A...</strong> This passage belongs to the primeval history section (Genesis 1-11) which establishes universal truths about God, humanity, sin, and divine purposes before focusing on Abraham and Israel. These chapters answer fundamental questions about human origins, the spread of wickedness, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **If thou doest well.**—This most difficult verse is capable of a satisfactory interpretation, provided that we refuse to admit into this ancient narrative the ideas of a subsequent age. Literally, the words mean, *If thou doest well, is there not lifting up? *It had just been said that his countenance fell; and this *lifting up *is often elsewhere applied to the countenance. (Comp. Job 10:15;...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 4
Chapter Outline
The birth, employment, and religion of Cain and Abel.(1-7)
Cain murders Abel, The curse of Cain.(8-15)
The conduct of Cain, His family.(16-18)
Lamech and his wives, The skill of Cain's descendants.(19-24)
The birth of another son and grandson of Adam.(25-26)
**Verses 1-7**
When Cain was born, Eve said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. Perha...
Read full commentary →And 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 slew him.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain r...</strong> This passage belongs to the primeval history section (Genesis 1-11) which establishes universal truths about God, humanity, sin, and divine purposes before focusing on Abraham and Israel. These chapters answer fundamental questions about human origins, the spread of wickedness, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **And Cain talked with Abel his brother.**—Heb., *And Cain said unto Abel his brother. *To this the Samaritan Pentateuch, the LXX., the Syriac, and the Vulg. add, *“*Let us go out into the field;” but neither the Targum of Onkelos nor any Hebrew MS. or authority, except the Jerusalem Targum, give this addition any support. The authority of the versions is, however, very great: first, because H...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
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, va...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-15**
Malice in the heart ends in murder by the hands. Cain slew Abel, his own brother, his own mother's son, whom he ought to have loved; his younger brother, whom he ought to have protected; a good brother, who had never done him any wrong. What fatal effects were these of our first parents' sin, and how must their hearts have been filled with anguish! Observe the pride, unbelief, ...
Read full commentary →And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's k...</strong> This passage belongs to the primeval history section (Genesis 1-11) which establishes universal truths about God, humanity, sin, and divine purposes before focusing on Abraham and Israel. These chapters answer fundamental questions about human origins, the spread of wickedness, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother?**—It is the beauty of these early narratives that the dealings of the Deity with mankind are all clothed in an anthropomorphic form, for the reasons of which see Note on Genesis 2:7. It seems, then, that Cain at first went away, scarcely conscious of the greatness of his crime. He had asserted his rights, had suppressed the usurpation o...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**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.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-15**
Malice in the heart ends in murder by the hands. Cain slew Abel, his own brother, his own mother's son, whom he ought to have loved; his younger brother, whom he ought to have protected; a good brother, who had never done him any wrong. What fatal effects were these of our first parents' sin, and how must their hearts have been filled with anguish! Observe the pride, unbelief, ...
Read full commentary →And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. blood: Heb. bloods
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground....</strong> This passage belongs to the primeval history section (Genesis 1-11) which establishes universal truths about God, humanity, sin, and divine purposes before focusing on Abraham and Israel. These chapters answer fundamental questions about human origins, the spread of wickedness, Go...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **Thy brother’s blood crieth unto me.**—The sight he has seen of death cleaves to him, and grows into a terror; and from above the voice of Jehovah tells him that the blood he has shed calls aloud for vengeance. Thus with the first shedding of human blood that ominous thought sprang up, divinely bestowed, that the earth will grant no peace to the wretch who has stained her fair face with the ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**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 th...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-15**
Malice in the heart ends in murder by the hands. Cain slew Abel, his own brother, his own mother's son, whom he ought to have loved; his younger brother, whom he ought to have protected; a good brother, who had never done him any wrong. What fatal effects were these of our first parents' sin, and how must their hearts have been filled with anguish! Observe the pride, unbelief, ...
Read full commentary →And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood f...</strong> This passage belongs to the primeval history section (Genesis 1-11) which establishes universal truths about God, humanity, sin, and divine purposes before focusing on Abraham and Israel. These chapters answer fundamental questions about human origins, the spread of wickedness, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11, 12) **And now (because of thy crime) art thou cursed from the earth.**—Heb., *from the adâmâh, o*r cultivated ground. Cain was the first human being on whom a curse was inflicted, and it was to rise up from the ground, the portion of the earth won and subdued by man, to punish him. He had polluted man’s habitation, and now, when he tilled the soil, it would resist him as an enemy, by refusing...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**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).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-15**
Malice in the heart ends in murder by the hands. Cain slew Abel, his own brother, his own mother's son, whom he ought to have loved; his younger brother, whom he ought to have protected; a good brother, who had never done him any wrong. What fatal effects were these of our first parents' sin, and how must their hearts have been filled with anguish! Observe the pride, unbelief, ...
Read full commentary →When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a...</strong> This passage belongs to the primeval history section (Genesis 1-11) which establishes universal truths about God, humanity, sin, and divine purposes before focusing on Abraham and Israel. These chapters answer fundamental questions about human origins, the spread of wickedness, ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-15**
Malice in the heart ends in murder by the hands. Cain slew Abel, his own brother, his own mother's son, whom he ought to have loved; his younger brother, whom he ought to have protected; a good brother, who had never done him any wrong. What fatal effects were these of our first parents' sin, and how must their hearts have been filled with anguish! Observe the pride, unbelief, ...
Read full commentary →And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. My: or, Mine iniquity is greater than that it may be forgiven
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear....</strong> This passage belongs to the primeval history section (Genesis 1-11) which establishes universal truths about God, humanity, sin, and divine purposes before focusing on Abraham and Israel. These chapters answer fundamental questions about human origins, the spread of wickedness, God's judgment, and the preser...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13, 14) **My punishment (or *my iniquity**) is greater than I can bear.*—Literally, *than can be borne, *or *“*forgiven.” It is in accordance with the manner of the Hebrew language to have only one word for an act and its result. Thus *work *and *wages *are expressed by the same word in Isaiah 62:11. The full meaning, therefore, is, “My sin is past forgiveness, and its result is an intolerable pu...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-15**
Malice in the heart ends in murder by the hands. Cain slew Abel, his own brother, his own mother's son, whom he ought to have loved; his younger brother, whom he ought to have protected; a good brother, who had never done him any wrong. What fatal effects were these of our first parents' sin, and how must their hearts have been filled with anguish! Observe the pride, unbelief, ...
Read full commentary →Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hi...</strong> This passage belongs to the primeval history section (Genesis 1-11) which establishes universal truths about God, humanity, sin, and divine purposes before focusing on Abraham and Israel. These chapters answer fundamental questions about human origins, the spread of wickedness, ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**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; He 9:28). The purport o...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-15**
Malice in the heart ends in murder by the hands. Cain slew Abel, his own brother, his own mother's son, whom he ought to have loved; his younger brother, whom he ought to have protected; a good brother, who had never done him any wrong. What fatal effects were these of our first parents' sin, and how must their hearts have been filled with anguish! Observe the pride, unbelief, ...
Read full commentary →And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenf...</strong> This passage belongs to the primeval history section (Genesis 1-11) which establishes universal truths about God, humanity, sin, and divine purposes before focusing on Abraham and Israel. These chapters answer fundamental questions about human origins, the spread of wickedness, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **The Lord said unto him, Therefore.**—Most of the versions have *Not *so, which requires only a slight and probable change of the Hebrew text.
**Sevenfold.**—Cain’s punishment was severe, because his crime was the result of bad and violent passions, but his life was not taken because the act was not premeditated. Murder was more than he had meant. But as any one killing him would mean murder...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**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).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-15**
Malice in the heart ends in murder by the hands. Cain slew Abel, his own brother, his own mother's son, whom he ought to have loved; his younger brother, whom he ought to have protected; a good brother, who had never done him any wrong. What fatal effects were these of our first parents' sin, and how must their hearts have been filled with anguish! Observe the pride, unbelief, ...
Read full commentary →And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden....</strong> This passage belongs to the primeval history section (Genesis 1-11) which establishes universal truths about God, humanity, sin, and divine purposes before focusing on Abraham and Israel. These chapters answer fundamental questions about human origins, the spread of wickedness, G...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **Cain went out from the presence of the Lord.**—See Note on Genesis 3:8. Adam and his family probably worshipped with their faces towards the Paradise, and Cain, on migrating from the whole land of Eden, regarded himself as beyond the range of the vision of God. (See Note on Genesis 4:14.)
**The land of Nod.**—i.e., of wandering. Knobel supposes it was China, but this is too remote. Read wit...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9. I know not--**a falsehood. One sin leads to another.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-18**
Cain cast off all fear of God, and attended no more on God's ordinances. Hypocritical professors, who dissemble and trifle with God, are justly left to themselves to do something grossly scandalous. So they throw off that form of godliness to which they have been a reproach, and of which they deny the power. Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and we never find that h...
Read full commentary →The Line of Cain
And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. Enoch: Heb. Chanoch
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the nam...</strong> This passage belongs to the primeval history section (Genesis 1-11) which establishes universal truths about God, humanity, sin, and divine purposes before focusing on Abraham and Israel. These chapters answer fundamental questions about human origins, the spread of wickedness, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
CAIN AND HIS DESCENDANTS.
(17) **Cain knew his wife.**—As Jehovah had told Eve that He would “greatly multiply her conception” (Genesis 3:16), we cannot doubt but that a numerous offspring had grown up in the 130 years that intervened between the birth of Cain and that of Seth, the *substitute *for Abel. As a rule, only the eldest son is mentioned in the genealogies, and Abel’s birth is chronicled...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**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.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-18**
Cain cast off all fear of God, and attended no more on God's ordinances. Hypocritical professors, who dissemble and trifle with God, are justly left to themselves to do something grossly scandalous. So they throw off that form of godliness to which they have been a reproach, and of which they deny the power. Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and we never find that h...
Read full commentary →And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech. Lamech: Heb. Lemech
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael b...</strong> This passage belongs to the primeval history section (Genesis 1-11) which establishes universal truths about God, humanity, sin, and divine purposes before focusing on Abraham and Israel. These chapters answer fundamental questions about human origins, the spread of wickedness, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **Unto Enoch was born Irad.**—Cain was building a city, *‘Ir, *and it was this probably which suggested the name *‘Irad. *It has little in common with Jared, as it begins with a harsh guttural, usually omitted in English because unpronounceable, but which appears as *g *in Gomorrah. Possibly ‘Irad means *citizen; *but these names have been so corrupted by transcribers that we cannot feel sure...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11-12. now art thou cursed from the earth--**a curse superadded to the general one denounced on the ground for Adam's sin.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-18**
Cain cast off all fear of God, and attended no more on God's ordinances. Hypocritical professors, who dissemble and trifle with God, are justly left to themselves to do something grossly scandalous. So they throw off that form of godliness to which they have been a reproach, and of which they deny the power. Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and we never find that h...
Read full commentary →And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah....</strong> This passage belongs to the primeval history section (Genesis 1-11) which establishes universal truths about God, humanity, sin, and divine purposes before focusing on Abraham and Israel. These chapters answer fundamental questions about human origins, the spread of wickedness, G...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19-22) **Lamech took unto him two wives.**—Whether polygamy began with Lamech is uncertain, but it is in keeping with the insolent character of the man. The names of his wives bear testimony to the existence, even at this early date, of considerable refinement; for I can scarcely believe that we need go to the Assyrian dialect for the meaning of two words for which Hebrew suffices. They are expla...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11-12. now art thou cursed from the earth--**a curse superadded to the general one denounced on the ground for Adam's sin.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-24**
One of Cain's wicked race is the first recorded, as having broken the law of marriage. Hitherto, one man had but one wife at a time; but Lamech took two. Wordly things, are the only things that carnal, wicked people set their hearts upon, and are most clever and industrious about. So it was with this race of Cain. Here was a father of shepherds, and a father of musicians, but ...
Read full commentary →And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle....</strong> This passage belongs to the primeval history section (Genesis 1-11) which establishes universal truths about God, humanity, sin, and divine purposes before focusing on Abraham and Israel. These chapters answer fundamental questions about human origins, the spread of wickedness, God's j...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**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.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-24**
One of Cain's wicked race is the first recorded, as having broken the law of marriage. Hitherto, one man had but one wife at a time; but Lamech took two. Wordly things, are the only things that carnal, wicked people set their hearts upon, and are most clever and industrious about. So it was with this race of Cain. Here was a father of shepherds, and a father of musicians, but ...
Read full commentary →And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ....</strong> This passage belongs to the primeval history section (Genesis 1-11) which establishes universal truths about God, humanity, sin, and divine purposes before focusing on Abraham and Israel. These chapters answer fundamental questions about human origins, the spread of wickedness, God's j...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**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.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-24**
One of Cain's wicked race is the first recorded, as having broken the law of marriage. Hitherto, one man had but one wife at a time; but Lamech took two. Wordly things, are the only things that carnal, wicked people set their hearts upon, and are most clever and industrious about. So it was with this race of Cain. Here was a father of shepherds, and a father of musicians, but ...
Read full commentary →And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah. instructer: Heb. whetter
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the si...</strong> This passage belongs to the primeval history section (Genesis 1-11) which establishes universal truths about God, humanity, sin, and divine purposes before focusing on Abraham and Israel. These chapters answer fundamental questions about human origins, the spread of wickedness, ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**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 unive...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-24**
One of Cain's wicked race is the first recorded, as having broken the law of marriage. Hitherto, one man had but one wife at a time; but Lamech took two. Wordly things, are the only things that carnal, wicked people set their hearts upon, and are most clever and industrious about. So it was with this race of Cain. Here was a father of shepherds, and a father of musicians, but ...
Read full commentary →And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. I have: or, I would slay a man in my wound, etc to my hurt: or, in my hurt
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my ...</strong> This passage belongs to the primeval history section (Genesis 1-11) which establishes universal truths about God, humanity, sin, and divine purposes before focusing on Abraham and Israel. These chapters answer fundamental questions about human origins, the spread of wickedness, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23, 24) **Lamech said . . . —**Following quickly upon music, we have poetry, but it is in praise of ferocity, and gives utterance to the pride of one who, by means of the weapons forged by his son, had taken violent revenge for an attack made upon him. Many commentators, however, regard the poem as hypothetical. “Were any one to wound me, I would with these weapons slay him.” It would thus be a s...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**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 sterilit...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-24**
One of Cain's wicked race is the first recorded, as having broken the law of marriage. Hitherto, one man had but one wife at a time; but Lamech took two. Wordly things, are the only things that carnal, wicked people set their hearts upon, and are most clever and industrious about. So it was with this race of Cain. Here was a father of shepherds, and a father of musicians, but ...
Read full commentary →If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold....</strong> This passage belongs to the primeval history section (Genesis 1-11) which establishes universal truths about God, humanity, sin, and divine purposes before focusing on Abraham and Israel. These chapters answer fundamental questions about human origins, the spread of wickedness, God's judgment, and the prese...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**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.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-24**
One of Cain's wicked race is the first recorded, as having broken the law of marriage. Hitherto, one man had but one wife at a time; but Lamech took two. Wordly things, are the only things that carnal, wicked people set their hearts upon, and are most clever and industrious about. So it was with this race of Cain. Here was a father of shepherds, and a father of musicians, but ...
Read full commentary →Seth and Enosh
And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. Seth: Heb. Sheth: that is Appointed, or, Put
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath ...</strong> This passage belongs to the primeval history section (Genesis 1-11) which establishes universal truths about God, humanity, sin, and divine purposes before focusing on Abraham and Israel. These chapters answer fundamental questions about human origins, the spread of wickedness, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
SUBSTITUTION OF SETH FOR ABEL.
(25) **Another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.**—Cain, the firstborn, and Abel, who had outstripped him in prosperity, were both lost to Adam. But instead of the third son succeeding to the place of the firstborn, it is given to one specially marked out, probably by prophecy, just as Solomon took the rights of primogeniture over the head of Adonijah.
**Seth.**—...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**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.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 25-26**
Our first parents were comforted in their affliction by the birth of a son, whom they called Seth, that is, set,' settled,' or placed;' in his seed mankind should continue to the end of time, and from him the Messiah should descend. While Cain, the head of the apostacy, is made a wanderer, Seth, from whom the true church was to come, is one fixed. In Christ and his church is t...
Read full commentary →And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD. Enos: Heb. Enosh to call: or, to call themselves by the name of the Lord
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call u...</strong> This passage belongs to the primeval history section (Genesis 1-11) which establishes universal truths about God, humanity, sin, and divine purposes before focusing on Abraham and Israel. These chapters answer fundamental questions about human origins, the spread of wickedness, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **He called his name Enos.**—Heb., *Enosh, *that is, *man. *We thus find language growing. Up to this time there had been two names for *man: *Adam, which also in Assyrian—another Semitic dialect—has the same meaning, as Sir H. Rawlinson has shown: and Ish, a *being. *(See on Genesis 2:23.) We have now Enosh, which, according to Fürst and others, signifies *mortal; *but of this there is no pr...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**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.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 25-26**
Our first parents were comforted in their affliction by the birth of a son, whom they called Seth, that is, set,' settled,' or placed;' in his seed mankind should continue to the end of time, and from him the Messiah should descend. While Cain, the head of the apostacy, is made a wanderer, Seth, from whom the true church was to come, is one fixed. In Christ and his church is t...
Read full commentary →