Gen 4:1-24 | TNotes | STEP | 4:1 had sexual relations (literally knew ): In certain contexts, the Hebrew term meaning “to know” is an idiom for sexual knowledge of another person (4:17 ; 19:33 , 35 ). It is never used of animals, which mate by instinct. • With the Lord ’s help: : Eve fulfilled her God-given role of procreation despite the negative effects of the Fall (see 3:16 , 20 ). • I have produced: Cain (Hebrew qayin ) sounds like a Hebrew term ( qanah ) that can mean “produce” or “acquire.”

4:1 ^a had sexual relations (literally knew): In certain contexts, the Hebrew term meaning “to know” is an idiom for sexual knowledge of another person (4:17 ^b; 19:33 ^c, 35 ^d). It is never used of animals, which mate by instinct.

• With the Lord’s help:: Eve fulfilled her God-given role of procreation despite the negative effects of the Fall (see 3:16 ^e, 20 ^f).

• I have produced: Cain (Hebrew qayin) sounds like a Hebrew term (qanah) that can mean “produce” or “acquire.”
4:2 ^g his brother ... Abel: The name (Hebrew habel) means “breath,” “vapor,” or “meaningless,” anticipating his tragically brief life (cp. Eccl 1:2 ^h).
4:3 ⁱ There was nothing wrong with offering grain to the Lord (Lev 2:14 ^j; Deut 26:2-4 ^k), but Cain brought only a token gift (some of his crops), whereas God requires the first and best (Exod 23:16 ^l, 19 ^m; 34:22 ⁿ, 26 ^o). Cain’s heart attitude made his offering inferior to Abel’s (cp. Heb 11:4 ^p).
Summary for Gen 4:4-5: 4:4-5 ^q the best portions of the firstborn lambs: Or the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions. Abel was giving God the best animals and the richest parts. Abel’s offering, in contrast to Cain’s, was the best he had to offer. True worship is a costly privilege.
4:7 ^r Sin is crouching at the door ... you must subdue it: Sin is pictured as a vicious animal lying in wait to pounce on Cain (cp. study note on 3:16). Either sin will dominate Cain, or Cain will resist the temptation to sin. There is no neutral ground in that conflict.
4:8 ^s The effects of the Fall on human relationships are tragically expressed in the first murder.

• The word brother is used seven times in 4:2-11 ^t, highlighting Cain’s fratricide in the face of familial responsibility.
4:9 ^u Where is your brother? The questions God asked Cain (4:6 ^v, 9 ^w, 10 ^x) recall those that God asked Cain’s parents (3:9-13 ^y). In both cases, humans put up evasive answers (cp. 3:12-13 ^z). Cain’s answer is shockingly defiant—another clue that the problem with his token offering was the attitude that lay behind it.
4:10 ^aa What have you done? is more an expression of horror and rebuke than a fact-finding question (cp. 3:13 ^ab).

• Abel’s blood is personified as a legal witness that cries out against Cain.

• from the ground: See study note on 4:11-12.
Summary for Gen 4:11-12: 4:11-12 ^ac As with his father (cp. 3:9-12 ^ad, 17-19 ^ae), Cain’s interrogation (4:9-10 ^af) was followed by God’s verdict. Adam’s sin had already caused the ground to be cursed. Now Cain was cursed and banished from the land he farmed because he had contaminated it with innocent blood.

• homeless wanderer: Cain was condemned to ceaseless roving in a land that would provide neither sustenance nor security. The effects of sin were escalating.
Summary for Gen 4:13-14: 4:13-14 ^ag For Cain, eviction from the land—the domain of his vocation as a farmer (see 4:2 ^ah; cp. 3:23 ^ai)—amounted to exile from God’s presence. The Israelites were warned that unfaithfulness to the Sinai covenant would similarly result in eviction from the Promised Land and from God’s presence in the Temple (see, e.g., Lev 26:27-32 ^aj).
4:15 ^ak Sevenfold punishment was the full weight of justice. Cain complained that his punishment was too great, but the full sentence that would fall on anyone who committed Cain’s crime against him shows how gracious the Lord was to Cain. Cain deserved death (see 9:5-6 ^al).

• The mark graciously provided protection following Cain’s judgment (cp. 3:21 ^am).
4:16 ^an The name Nod speaks more of Cain’s fate (see 4:12 ^ao, 14 ^ap) than of a specific geographical area (the location is unknown). Cain’s sin denied him rest and a sense of belonging.

• Cain’s exile east of Eden is another point of connection with Adam’s story (cp. 3:24 ^aq). Cain did not learn from his father’s mistake, so he also suffered estrangement from the ground and exile to the east (see study note on 3:24).
Summary for Gen 4:17-5:32: 4:17–5:32 ^ar These back-to-back genealogies do more than list names for the record. They contrast the ways that human culture spread, some in rebellion against God (Cain, 4:17-24 ^as) and some in obedience to God (Seth, 4:25–5:32 ^at). In Genesis, the history of the rejected branch is generally explained before carrying forward the line that led to Israel. Two points of contrast are especially worth noting: (1) Lamech, the seventh from Adam through the lineage of Cain, is the main focus of the first genealogy. Like his ancestor, Lamech took human life and had to live in constant fear of death as a consequence (4:23-24 ^au). By contrast, Enoch, the seventh from Adam through the lineage of Seth (see 4:25–5:32 ^av), lived in a way that pleased God and avoided death altogether (5:24 ^aw). (2) Advances in human culture and technology came through Cain’s line (the first city, livestock, shelter, metallurgy, music), but the effects of sin still dominated. No technological advances are mentioned in Seth’s line; instead, people began “to worship the Lord” (4:26 ^ax) and to find “favor with the Lord” (see 6:8 ^ay). 4:17 ^az Cain’s wife was probably one of his sisters (5:4 ^ba). Cain’s marriage to his sister would not have caused genetic problems so early in the development of the human gene pool.

• Cain was condemned to be a wanderer. Perhaps he founded a city in rebellion against that verdict, seeking to defend himself by enclosing it in walls. Naming it after his son reflects a tendency among those who rebel against God to idolize humanity and its achievements.
4:18 ^bb the father of: Or the ancestor of, and so throughout the verse. Hebrew genealogies do not necessarily list every single generation.
4:19 ^bc Marrying two women was contrary to God’s ideal pattern for marriage (2:24 ^bd) and might be another manifestation of the arrogance and rebellion of Cain’s descendants.
Summary for Gen 4:20-22: 4:20-22 ^be Technological advancement masks increasing self-assertion and distance from God (see study note on 4:17–5:32).
Summary for Gen 4:23-24: 4:23-24 ^bf Lamech’s chilling taunt shows the further escalation of sin’s effects on humanity. Cain’s line had reached a crescendo of violence with Lamech’s contempt for life. In his arrogance, he put his deed into poetic verse.

• punished seventy-seven times! God warned that anyone who tried to kill Cain would experience the full weight of justice (4:15 ^bg). Lamech’s declaration that anyone who harmed him would receive an even more severe penalty is a claim to be accountable to no one, including God.