And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son - Enoch (Genesis 4:17). So the obvious question, where in the world did Cainâs Wife come from? The Catholic faithful cannot welcome that opinion which maintains that either after Adam, there were true men that existed on this earth but they did not take their origin through natural generation from Adam. “This is the book of the generations of Adam. Because the Bible does not always address certain questions or issues … Let us stumble across the bible passage in reference to what we are discussing: Genesis 4:16-17: âSo Cain went out from the LORDâs presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Come to think of it how did Cain find a wife already? And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son—Enoch New King James Version -- The Bible doesn't say. So, Creationism isn't a science with regards to Cain's wife, its an intuition? In Genesis 3:20 we read, “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.” This may have also been what happened with Noah’s family after the flood. I mean what family does the wife belong to?â. God did not forbid inter-family marriage until much later when there were enough people to make intermarriage unnecessary (Leviticus 18:6-18). Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. In any case, one female offspring could later have become Cainâs wife. Christianity thus far has insured that such rules be carried out even in the face of modernity. 5:19-20 and For us Catholics, itâs even part of the âPrecepts of the Churchâ â âNOT to marry within certain degrees of kindredâ The most plausible solution is to propose that Cain married a near relativeâperhaps his sister. Where did Cain get his wife? Observations about population growth If He had made others, these people would not have been able to be saved from their sins, since only descendants of Adam can be saved—that’s why it was so important for Jesus to be Adam’s descendant. Cain, the first-born of Adam and Eve.His name is derived‚Äû according to Gen., iv, 1, from the root kanah, to possess, being given to him in consequence of the words of his mother at his birth: “I have possessed a man by the favor of the Lord”.No very serious objection can be urged against this derivation. * 3 In the course of time Cain brought an offering to the LORD from the fruit of the ground, 4 … Not minding which generation Cain found a wife, someone at some point had to get married to his own sister. After Cain had killed Abel, he departed from the land where he and Abel had lived. Come to think of it how did Cain find a wife already? But it should be taken into account that more recent Church documents who have not commented on the issue, have left the door open to other possibilities based on recent developments in science. Hence, if Adam was the first man (1 Corinthians 15:45) and if Eve was the mother of all, then it is clear that there were no âother peopleâ left for Cain to marry, apart from one of the children of Adam and Eve (his sister). In accordance with the logic of the book of Genesis, Adam and Eve had … Who Was Cain? There he and his wife had a son whom he named Enoch. Cain’s Brothers and Sisters For more on this issue, including why intermarriage among Adam … Remember, however, that incest itself was outlawed ONLY with the coming of the Mosaic covenant (Leviticus 18). While it is true the Bible is not specific on this matter, there is no difficulty in suggesting a reasonable solution that does no violence to Scriptural interpretation. God did not create other people groups from which Cain chose a wife, as we are all made of one blood (Acts 17:26). The Bible does not tell us when Cain found a wife and so it is unknown whether he married a sister, or niece or even a grand-niece. Pastors Bud & Betty Miller on Cain’s Wife Who Was Cain’s Wife, Where Did She Come From. Cain, in the Bible (Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament), firstborn son of Adam and Eve who murdered his brother Abel (Genesis 4:1–16). Cain left and went to live in the land of Nod: What the Bible Says about Cain’s Wife. 1 The man had intercourse with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, saying, “I have produced a male child with the help of the LORD.” * 2 Next she gave birth to his brother Abel. THE UNFAILING NOVENA TO OUR LADY UNDOER OF KNOTS, FOR THE YEAR 2021: DAY 9 â UNDOING THE KNOT OF DESPAIR, THE UNFAILING NOVENA TO OUR LADY UNDOER OF KNOTS, FOR THE YEAR 2021: DAY 8 â UNDOING THE KNOT OF OBSTINACY IN SIN, THE UNFAILING NOVENA TO OUR LADY UNDOER OF KNOTS, FOR THE YEAR 2021: DAY 7 â UNDOING THE KNOTS OF FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES AND POVERTY. 17 Cain made love to his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Original sin is passed on to all human beings from our first parents, Adam and Eve. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Having established all these, I believe you have come to understand how and where Cain, the brother of Abel (son of Adam and Eve) got his wife. Apparently, some other biblical scholars believe there were other humans that existed besides Adam and Eve and that when Cain left Eden, he found other humans not related to him. Chinaka Mbaeri's Reflections Copyright © 2021. There is a theory known as polygenism which argues that there were different groups of humans that existed independently of each other, and not from an original couple. 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. The testimony of the ancient rabbis is that Cain and Abel married their sisters. This also means that Cain’s wife was a descendant of Adam. And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and born Enoch. In addition, as the ancient rabbis attest, Cain would’ve married one of his sisters. Cain was the first child of Adam and Eve recorded in Scripture (Genesis 4:1).He and his brothers, Abel (Genesis 4:2) and Seth (Genesis 4:25), were part of the first generation of children ever born on this earth.Even though these three males are specifically mentioned, Adam and Eve had other children. One of the most often-asked questions about the Bible is that of Cain's wife. Cain and Abel are traditional English renderings of the Hebrew names. There is every indication that by the time Cain was able to take a wife… It was part of God’s initial plan in order to populate the earth. The Bible makes it plain in Genesis 3:20 that Eve was the âmother of all livingâ. The book of Genesis is understood to be symbolic in nature and not scientific, there are varieties of beliefs that can be accepted that do not contradict the spiritual meaning of the text. Cain married his sister, niece, or great niece. With this, God protected His people by later instituting strict laws against incestuous marriages in the eighteenth chapter of Leviticus. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch.â. The first woman. The Bible says Adam and Eve were the first two humans and bore Cain and Abel, after which Cain slew Abel. Far from that, many atheists tend to use this particular verse to dismiss the Genesis account of the origin of humans, rendering the biblical story null and void. The first marriages had to be between brothers and sisters in order to get the race started. But wait a second. None of those details are to be found in the text. Where did the people in the land of Nod come from? Thank you. In that case, according to some Jewish traditions, Adam had 33 sons and 23 daughters. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Cain had intercourse with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. He also built a city which he also named Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch. Since at the time life spans covered multiple centuries, this meant that Adam and Eve had many children and these children grew and spread out and had many children of their own. Hence, the population of the Earth came directly through the lineage of Adam and Eve. RE-TELLING THE STORY Genesis 4:17 And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. Translation notes. –F. That is to assume that Adam and Eve had a great number of children and that Cain married one of them. This question is often sometimes thought to be among the “hard questions” pertaining to the Bible. Where Did Cain’s Wife Come From? Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch.” So the obvious question, where in the world did Cain’s Wife come from? Eve had borne Cain and Abel soon after leaving Eden (Genesis 4:1-2), but she could have had other children between their birth and Abelâs death, and between that murder and the birth of Seth. Since Adam, Eve, and their sons are the only humans the Bible has mentioned so far, the sudden appearance of Cain’s wife has troubled Biblists, Theologians even Readers from ancient times to the present. The fact that I am asked about Cain’s wife so often by Christians and non-Christians, tells me three things: First, the church, by and large, either has not given, or cannot give the answer to his question; Second, this question is obviously a problem to many Christians, and the fact that they cannot answer it, causes many, I believe, to doubt that they can defend the book of Genesis. However, Genesis 5:4 makes us to realize that that Adam was the father of âother sons and daughtersâ. Now my question is HOW??? She could not have come from another “race” of people and must be one of Adam’s descendants. It was after many generations, and especially after the Noahic Flood (Genesis 6-9), solar and cosmic radiation, chemical and viral mutagens, and DNA replication errors, that led to the multiplication of genetic disorders. Some may link up harmful genetic traits with this kind of marriage (since it involves close blood â just as our biological knowledge would point out), however, it should be understood that there was no harmful genetic traits emerged at that point. The Bible indicates that Adam and Eve's first son, Cain, slew his younger brother Abel because of jealousy over the acceptance of his brother's offering over his own. The Bible says that after he killed his brother Abel, Cain married a wife. Clearly if there were only one man and woman created by God, then their children … Am I supposed to intuitively know that God made Cain's wife? This would have served as evidence - or even proof - to the ancients that Jehovah was a merciful god. Having established the possibility of the source of Cainâs wife, I believe many people would immediately see a problem with this kind of marriage, rendering it incestuous in nature. Some commentators have opined that Cain could have married someone else not of Adam and Eveâs familyâviz., a woman of other people whom God had created. Cain and Abel. A better explanation is that the Hebrews were henotheistic, meaning that although they worshipped only one deity (the one who created Eden and years later came to lead them out of Egypt), they believed in the existence of others, who would have created other lands of other … 5:12; cf. Cain had intercourse with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Origins Etymology. After that, marrying close relatives was forbidden … CHAPTER 4. And Cain knew his wife and she conceived and bore Enoch. Would love your thoughts, please comment. In light of Scripture, this is not a possibility. Where did Cains wife come from? This is a fairly common question. The famous biblical story of Cain, history’s first murderer, includes this old Bible head-scratcher about who his wife could have been. Genesis 4 Cain Murders Abel 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. Cain feared that in his exile he could be … According to (Genesis 5:5) Adam lived for nine hundred and thirty years; before he died. Needless to say, more genetic disorders have erupted in the world population since the time of Moses, and thus it is even more important to avoid marrying a close relative. Website by Ananse Online. After that [when God put a mark on Cain], Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, to the east of Eden. Cain and Abel were Adam and Eve’s first two children but they had many, many more children. In the day when God created man, He made him in the … 3.) Q: I recently ran into a question and wanted to get the Catholic teaching and answer, please. The Church believes that the Bible contains everything we need for salvation, so the inspired authors necessarily omitted details for reasons that have to do with the last intention the text was written for. This paraphrased account of Scripture highlights a very common misconception related to where Cain got his wife. Cain, a farmer, became enraged when the Lord accepted the offering of his brother, a shepherd, in preference to his own.He murdered Abel and was banished by the Lord from the settled country. The fact that Genesis 3:20 says, “Then the man—Adam—named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all who live,” is proof enough she was ultimately the one responsible for Cain’s wife as well as for Cain himself. The answer is simple: Cain married either his sister or a niece. But where did Cain’s wife come from?” – Anthony (Karonga Diocese – MALAWI) RESPONSE. Genesis 4 tells of Cain’s … (Genesis 4:17) states that Cain got to know his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. Where did Cain's wife come from in Genesis 4:17 if Adam and Eve only had three children? In conclusion, it is justifiable to affirm that even though by the time the Genesis story reaches chapter 4:17 where there is the mention of Cain’s wife, only four individuals have been mentioned in the story, the sacred author presupposes that other human beings were living at the time. If Cain was the firstborn of Adam and Abel the second, then how could Cain have found a wife and built a city? Where did this woman come from? Genesis 4:16-17: “So Cain went out from the LORD’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Where did Cain’s wife come from in Genesis 4? Lastly, as it happens with plenty of this kind of stories, we don’t really know who exactly Cain married. Cain likewise was shown mercy, and his bloodline was preserved. This may sound awkward; however, it is the most realistic option. Some might replay that such would be wrong, because it would be incest. Abel became a herder of flocks, and Cain a tiller of the ground. It then says Cain went to live among the people in the land of Nod. Rom. Who was Cain's wife? Answer: The Bible does not list all of Adam and Eve’s children. None of those details were found in the Bible. This is also logically inferred from the Church’s doctrine on original sin. But what comes from the narrative of the book is that since Adam and Eve were the first parents of all humanity, then Cain may have married a relative. One important thing we should remember is that in the book of Genesis, humans lived much longer than they do now. Let us always keep in mind that in Genesis chapters 1 to 11, we are dealing with primeval history … As St. Paul says, “[S]in came into the world through one man” (Rom. I have only seen only one reasonable explanation which does not require bending the biblical text. Not a Neanderthal that was nearly human but had no soul. By Betty Miller. He moved to Nod, a land east of Eden. Josephus, the Jewish historian who lived around the time of Christ, claimed they had thirty-three sons and twenty-three daughters. Genetically, many biblical scholars agree that Adam and Eve were without defect (asides from original sin), and so the marriage between the two successive generations would not have produced genetically defective children. In accordance with the logic of the book of Genesis, Adam and Eve had to conceive children in order to “be fruitful and multiply,” as the Bible indicated, otherwise the human race would simply not exist. According to (Genesis 4:16), after Cain murdered his brother Abel, he went away from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, east of Eden. … But what follows from the narrative of the book is that if Adam and Eve were the first parents of all humanity, then Cain must have married a relative. Please I need clarification on something about the bible. Cain killed Abel, was exiled by God, and then in Genesis 4:17, we read that Cain had relations with his wife. WHERE AND HOW DID CAIN GET HIS WIFE IN GENESIS? Many Christians tend to cast their scepticism on the fact that Cain married a woman after killing his brother Abel; bearing in mind that Adam & Eve (their parents) were the first man and woman on earth. Learn how your comment data is processed. Where Cain's wife came from was never factored into the equation because it didn't help prove the point of … Immediately after being banished to the east in the land of Nod, Cain found a wife and raised a family and founded a "city" called Enoch. God created Adam and Eve, and then they gave birth to Cane who killed his brother Abel, and went to the land of wandering then found a wife. Who did Cain marry? Many Questions We are told in specific terms that Adam and Eve had three sonsâCain, Abel, and sometime later, Seth. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. After Cain murders his brother Abel, “Cain went away from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, east of Eden” (Genesis … In Genesis 5:4 we see that Adam had other sons and daughters. Hence, there was no need for strict laws on marriage partners in the early Patriarchal Epoch. The Bible does not in any way tell us how Cain found a wife and so it is non-known if he married a sister, or niece or even a grand-niece. In the Bible, all the people on earth at that time were directly descended from Adam and Eve. Only one conclusion is possible. Where did this woman come from? 18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech. But where did Cain’s wife come from? According to (Genesis 5:5) Adam lived for nine hundred and thirty years; before he died. Some of these had apparently moved away and settled east of Eden, in Nod, where Cain and his wife moved to. It has been proposed that the etymology of their names may be a direct pun on the roles they take in the … The Bible record is found in Gen. 4:16,17. Someone posted on my timeline yesterday, and her question goes thus: âGood day! Also, the Law of Moses was not in effect at this point in salvation history, and so sexual relationship between close relations was not only not forbidden but moreover necessary for God’s plan to unfold. Then he became the builder of a city and he called the name of the city like his son's name, Enoch. Since Adam and Eve were the first (and only) human beings, their children would have no other choice than to intermarry. Cain’s wife (Genesis 4:17) was a daughter or granddaughter of Adam and Eve. And later in the land of Nod, Cain took a wife and she gave birth to a son who was named Enoch. Where, then, did Cain find his wife? I guess the Bible writers just forgot to mention all of that, or that Cain and his wife were related. This question even came up in the Scopes trial in 1925: Clarence Darrow asked his opponent, William Jennings Bryan, “Did you ever discover where Cain got his wife… One important thing we should remember is that in the book of Genesis, humans lived much longer than they do now. Since Adam, Eve, and their sons are the only humans the Bible has mentioned so far, the sudden appearance of Cain’s wife has troubled readers from ancient times to the present. 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