20 And Adah H5711 bare H3205 Jabal: H2989 he was the father H1 of such as dwell H3427 in tents, H168 and of such as have cattle. H4735
And she again H3254 bare H3205 his brother H251 Abel. H1893 And Abel H1893 was a keeper H7462 of sheep, H6629 but Cain H7014 was a tiller H5647 of the ground. H127
These were the sons H1121 of Caleb H3612 the son H1121 of Hur, H2354 the firstborn H1060 of Ephratah; H672 Shobal H7732 the father H1 of Kirjathjearim, H7157 Salma H8007 the father H1 of Bethlehem, H1035 Hareph H2780 the father H1 of Bethgader. H1013 And Shobal H7732 the father H1 of Kirjathjearim H7157 had sons; H1121 Haroeh, H7204 and half H2677 of the Manahethites. H2679
And Penuel H6439 the father H1 of Gedor, H1446 and Ezer H5829 the father H1 of Hushah. H2364 These are the sons H1121 of Hur, H2354 the firstborn H1060 of Ephratah, H672 the father H1 of Bethlehem. H1035 And Ashur H806 the father H1 of Tekoa H8620 had two H8147 wives, H802 Helah H2458 and Naarah. H5292
Ye G5210 are G2075 of G1537 your father G3962 the devil, G1228 and G2532 the lusts G1939 of your G5216 father G3962 ye will G2309 do. G4160 He G1565 was G2258 a murderer G443 from G575 the beginning, G746 and G2532 abode G2476 not G3756 in G1722 the truth, G225 because G3754 there is G2076 no G3756 truth G225 in G1722 him. G846 When G3752 he speaketh G2980 a lie, G5579 he speaketh G2980 of G1537 his own: G2398 for G3754 he is G2076 a liar, G5583 and G2532 the father G3962 of it. G846
And G2532 he received G2983 the sign G4592 of circumcision, G4061 a seal G4973 of the righteousness G1343 of the faith G4102 which G3588 he had yet being G1722 uncircumcised: G203 that G1519 he G846 might be G1511 the father G3962 of all G3956 them that believe, G4100 though G1223 they be not circumcised; G203 that G1519 righteousness G1343 might be imputed G3049 unto them G846 also: G2532 And G2532 the father G3962 of circumcision G4061 to them who are not G3756 of G1537 the circumcision G4061 only, G3440 but G235 who also G2532 walk G4748 in the steps G2487 of that faith G4102 of our G2257 father G3962 Abraham, G11 which he had being G1722 yet uncircumcised. G203
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Genesis 4
Commentary on Genesis 4 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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, vanity (Ps 39:5), or grief, lamentation. Cain and Abel were probably twins; and it is thought that, at this early period, children were born in pairs (Ge 5:4) [Calvin].
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.
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 the other should bring "of the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof" [Ge 4:4].
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).
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; Heb 9:28). The purport of the divine rebuke to Cain was this, "Why art thou angry, as if unjustly treated? If thou doest well (that is, wert innocent and sinless) a thank offering would have been accepted as a token of thy dependence as a creature. But as thou doest not well (that is, art a sinner), a sin offering is necessary, by bringing which thou wouldest have met with acceptance and retained the honors of thy birthright." This language implies that previous instructions had been given as to the mode of worship; Abel offered through faith (Heb 11:4).
unto thee shall be his desire—The high distinction conferred by priority of birth is described (Ge 27:29); and it was Cain's conviction, that this honor had been withdrawn from him, by the rejection of his sacrifice, and conferred on his younger brother—hence the secret flame of jealousy, which kindled into a settled hatred and fell revenge.
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).
9. I know not—a falsehood. One sin leads to another.
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.
11, 12. now art thou cursed from the earth—a curse superadded to the general one denounced on the ground for Adam's sin.
12. a fugitive—condemned to perpetual exile; a degraded outcast; the miserable victim of an accusing conscience.
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.
14. every one that findeth me shall slay me—This shows that the population of the world was now considerably increased.
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 universal horror and avoidance.
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 sterility on his account.
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.
19. Lamech took unto him two wives—This is the first transgression of the law of marriage on record, and the practice of polygamy, like all other breaches of God's institutions, has been a fruitful source of corruption and misery.
23, 24. Lamech said unto his wives—This speech is in a poetical form, probably the fragment of an old poem, transmitted to the time of Moses. It seems to indicate that Lamech had slain a man in self-defense, and its drift is to assure his wives, by the preservation of Cain, that an unintentional homicide, as he was, could be in no danger.
26. men began to call upon the name of the Lord—rather, by the name of the Lord. God's people, a name probably applied to them in contempt by the world.