Genesis 4 Study – “Cain & Abel”
Cain Murders Abel
4 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore [a]Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.” 2 Then she bore again, this time his brother [b]Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And [c]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 [d]for you, but you should rule over it.”
8 Now Cain [e]talked with Abel his [f]brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
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 [g]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, [h]“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.
The Family of Cain
16 Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of [i]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 [j]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 [k]killed a man for wounding me, Even a young man [l]for hurting me. 24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”
A New Son
25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him [m]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 [n]Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the Lord.
Notes Genesis 4 Study – (vv. 1-26)
4:1-2: Cain and Abel came into existence through God and through Adam and Eve … Each came into existence now of conception – (She conceived) and was born nine months later … God brings every human being into existence in the womb of the mother now of conception … His creative activity is simultaneous with conception …
4:3-4: Both Cain and Abel worshipped the Lord and brought sacrifices to Him … The Lord accepted Abel and his gifts because Abel had a good and discerning heart … He discerned through faith the Lord’s coming Incarnation and His sacrifice as a lamb for the salvation of the world … (see – also Matthew 23:35; Luke 11:51; Hebrews 11:4; and Hebrews 12:24) …
Matthew 23:35
35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
Luke 11:51
51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.
ZECHARIAH: Some of the Father’s early Saints teach this was the prophet at the time of Joash the king – (2Chronicles 24:20-22), while others say it refers to the father of St. John the Baptist, who, according to tradition, was also murdered in the temple …
Hebrews 11:4
4 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.
Hebrews 12:24
24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.
4:5: The Lord rejected Cain and gifts … Why??? The inward state of his heart was not right with God … As 1John 3:12 says of him, “who was of the wicked one …” His passions are described in Jude 11 as “the way of Cain …”
4:6: Cain’s way was charactered by his sinful passions that dominated him … One of these was extreme sorrow, made manifest in his fallen countenance … Cain was arrogant and so his worship was rejected, and he fell into the opposite condition of extreme sorrow … It’s godly sorrow that leads one to humility and repentance, and extreme sorrow nullifies both … “Arrogance is the one thing that can harden a heart quickly and sometimes leads most away from God, and never to return back to Him for repentance: beware of extreme arrogance …”
4:7: Because the Lord loved Cain, He sought to bring him repentance – (did you not sin) … He commended him for having the right worship – (brought it rightly), but reproved him for not having a right heart – (did not divide it rightly) … He commanded him to still his heart – (be still) through repentance, for it was filled with turbulence because of the passions … He also commanded him to be his brother’s keeper, as this is what is meant by the word’s recourse and rule … As the eldest, he was responsible for Abel’s welfare … As Cain’s parents looked out for his welfare, he too should show the same love to his younger brother …
4:8: However, Cain refused to deal with his passions through repentance, and his anger led to hate and murder …
4:9: Cain rejected the notion that he was his brother’s keeper and thus responsible for his welfare …
4:13: Cain used his guilt as an excuse to avoid repentance, for he did not believe in the grace of God … He willfully allowed his passions to blind his heart …
4:16: The name Nod means – “one who wanders away from God … “Such was Cain’s state …
4:25: The name Seth signifies that God compensated Adam and Eve by raising up Seth in the place of Abel – out of death comes life … As such, Seth is a type of Christ’s Resurrection, which overcomes the way of Cain and compensates the faithful for the ills they have undergone … Christ’s genealogy is traced through Seth to Adam, showing that the true God became incarnate as true Man to compensate all who call upon His name – (Luke 3:38) …
Luke 3:38
38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
4:26: In contrast to Cain’s offspring, Seth’s offspring, Enosh, hoped in the Lord and called on His name … For this is the way of salvation … “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved “– (Joel 2:32; and Romans 10:13) …
Joel 2:32
32 And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be [a]saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be [b]deliverance, As the Lord has said, Among the remnant whom the Lord calls.
Romans 10:13
13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
שֵׁת Shêth, shayth; from H7896; put, i.e. substituted; Sheth, third son of
Adam:—Seth, Sheth.
Seth = "compensation"
the 3rd son of Adam by Eve
also 'Sheth'
קַיִןQayin, kah'-yin; the same as H7013 (with a play upon the affinity to H7069); Kajin, the name of the first child, also of a place in Palestine, and of an Oriental tribe:—Cain, Kenite(-s).
Cain = "possession"
eldest son of Adam and Eve and the first murderer having murdered his brother Abel proper gentilic noun
Kenite = "smiths"
the tribe from which the father-in-law of Moses was a member and which lived in the area between southern Palestine and the mountains of Sinai
אָדַםʼâdam, aw-dam'; from H119; ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species, mankind, etc.):—× another, hypocrite, common sort, × low, man (mean, of low degree), person.
man, mankind
man, human being
man, mankind (much more frequently intended sense in OT)
Adam, first man
city in Jordan valley
חַוָּהChavvâh, khav-vaw'; causatively from H2331; life-giver; Chavvah (or Eve), the first woman:—Eve.
Eve = "life" or "living"
the first woman, wife of Adam
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