Nazarene Commentary 2000©
21st Century Paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures©
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21st Century Version of the Christian Scriptures©
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GENESIS (1-4)
CHAPTER FOUR:
EARLIEST MANKIND
Genesis 4:1, 2a – The First Children
GE4:1 Now Adam had sexual intercourse with his wife Zoe
who then became pregnant. In the season she gave birth to Cain
and said: “I have produced a male with the help of YHWH.”
| 153 | Zoe: Or, Eve. The Greek is ZOE. The Hebrew CHAWAH [Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance #2332]. See notes on Genesis 3:20. Eve [Zoe]
is not mentioned again throughout the Hebrew Bible. She is mentioned twice in a negative light by Paul. [2 Corinthians 11:3; 1 Timothy 2:13] |
| 154 |
Cain: The Hebrew is QAYIN [Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance #7014, Kenites – “smiths”] and the name means “possessed.” His name is mentioned only in Genesis [18 times] and again three times in the Christian Bible. [Hebrews
11:4; 1 John 3:12; Jude 11] |
GE4:2 Eventually she also gave birth to his brother Abel. | 155 | Abel: The name in Hebrew is HEBEL [Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance #1893, breath]. Other than the name’s 9 occurrences in Genesis a form of the name is used in place names. Jesus mentions Abel. [Matthew 23:35; Luke 11:51] Paul also includes Abel in Hebrews 11:4; 12:24. Abel is the first of righteous men on earth. |
Genesis 4:2b-7 – A Conflict Over Worship
GE4:2b Now Abel became a shepherd,
while Cain became a farmer.
| 156 | Shepherd: Or, feeder of sheep [RHM], keeper of sheep [BAG]. The designation shows the beginning of the command at Genesis 1:28. |
| 157 | Farmer: Or, tiller of the soil [TAN]. The first humans were not “hunter-gatherers.” |
GE4:3 After some days, Cain later brought some fruitage of the land as a sacrificial offering
to YHWH.
| 158 | Sacrificial offering: Or, a present [RHM], offering [NJB], a sacrifice [BAG]. From the account it seems Cain approached first. We
are not told what moved them to do this. We could assume they were directed to do so, or it may have been the result of that divine-seed in the human breast that stands in awe of creation and is then moved to some act of reverence. Either way, YHWH is to show
his approval of one and not the other. |
GE4:4 In contrast Abel brought some of the firstborn of his flock including fatty parts. It was then that YHWH continued looking with favor
upon Abel’s offering,
| 159 | Looking with favor: Or, paid heed [TAN], looked upon [BAG]. Whatever the motivation of the two brothers, both were religious in their
faith. But here each one learns what type of offering God approves. It would then behoove the honest heart to make a correction and do as God willed. Here is an early example of “the tree of the knowing good and bad.” God now declares something
good and something bad, and it is up to His worshippers to correct their course to be in harmony with Him. |
GE4:5 but He was not pleased
with Cain and his offering. At this Cain became violent in his temper
and his face showed his great sadness.
| 160 | Not pleased: Or, regarded not [BAG], paid no heed [TAN], not look with favor [NJB], approved not [RHM]. Cain is not condemned for
this and he could have now made the proper adjustment in his sacrifice. When a person learns that their form of worship is not acceptable to God, then the “reasonable” [Romans 12:1] thing to do is come into harmony with God’s will and not
seek a self-determined course. |
| 161 | Violent in his temper: Or, angered greatly [RHM], very angry [NJB], exceedingly
sorrowful [BAG], distressed [TAN]. The Hebrew is CHARAH [Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance #2734, hot, furious, burn, incensed]. |
| 162 |
Face showed his great sadness: Or, face fell [TAN], countenance feel [BAG], downcast [NJB]. This is Cain’s reaction to God’s direction and approval on Abel’s offerings. Many would suspect jealousy as a motivating attitude. |
GE4:6 So YHWH asked Cain: “Why have you become so violent in your temper? And why does your face show such great sadness?”
GE4:7 Surely there will be great rejoicing if you turn to do what is correct?
However, if you do not now turn around and do what is right – why there is Sin at the door ready to pounce.
And, its inclination is after you,
so you best get the mastery of it.” | 163 | Turn to do what is correct: Or, if you do right [TAN], if you are doing right [NJB]. There is opportunity here for Cain to make a correction and come into line with God’s will. |
| 164 | Sin at the door ready to pounce: Or, at the entrance a sin-bearer is lying [RHM], sin is crouching at the door hungry to get you [NJB], to you shall
be his submission [BAG], sin crouches at the door [TAN]. Sin is personified as a predator in hiding ready to snatch its victim. Some estimate more than 250 figures of speech in the Hebrew language. |
| 165 | Inclination is after you: Or, hungry to get you [NJB], his longing [RHM], his submission [BAG], its urge is toward you. [TAN] |
| 166 | Get the mastery of it: Or, you can still master him [NJB], thou though rule over him [RHM], though shalt rule over him [BAG], yet you can be its master
[TAN]. Compare Nazarene Commentary 2000© on James 1:14, 15. All is not lost for Cain. He can be master over Sin. This becomes Paul’s theme in Romans chapters 6 and 7 – not being a slave to sin. Though Cain was born with defective DNA
– passing sin and condemnation along – God Himself knows Cain can master sin so that he is not a “slave of sin.” [Ecclesiastes 8:13; Ezekiel 18:27] |
Genesis 4:8-16 – Murder and Judgment
GE4:8 Now right after that Cain told his brother Abel: [“Let us go out into the field.”]
So it occurred that while they were out in the field
Cain started to attack
his brother Abel, killing him.
[Matthew 23:35]
| 167 | Let us go out into the field: Some ancient manuscripts add this phrase, others omit it. If it is to be added, then we have here a
statement motivated by a hidden agenda. Abel is trusting and guileless in his character and does not suspect an ulterior motive. |
| 168 |
Started to attack: Or, set upon [TAN], rise up against [BAG]. |
| 169 | Killing him: Jesus the Nazarene alludes
to this at Matthew 23:35. [See Nazarene Commentary 2000© notes on 1 John 3:12 and Jude 11.] The Nazarene also taught that hate was behind murder in the Sermon on the Mount. [See Nazarene Commentary 2000© notes on Matthew 5:21, 22.] The first recorded sin outside Eden is fratricide arising from jealousy. The Nazarene alludes to this also. [John 8:44] |
GE4:9 Afterward YHWH said to Cain: “Where is your brother Abel?”
[Cain] answered: “I have no idea!
Am I my brother’s keeper?”
| 170 | Where is your brother Abel: God knows quite well where Abel is, but He wants Cain to reveal himself. |
| 171 | I have no idea: Or, I do not know [TAN], I know not [BAG]. Is there opportunity for Cain to confess and repent? [Proverbs 28:13] |
| 172 | Brother’s keeper: Or, guardian [NJB]. The Hebrew is SHAMAR [Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance #8104, preserve, observe, protect].
Of course, the answer is, Yes. |
GE4:10 So, [YHWH] responded: “What have you done? The sound of your
brother’s voice screams
from the ground. [Hebrews 12:24]
| 173 | Sound of your brother’s voice screams: Or, cries [TAN], crying out [NJB]. Blood-guilt, particularly of martyrs, cries to heaven
for condemnation. [Revelation 6:9-11] |
GE4:11 And so as a result now you will become cursed
more than the ground that opened its mouth to drink your brother’s blood
that you spilled.
| 174 | Cursed: Directly as was the Serpent. |
| 175 | Blood: This first of about 500 occurrences of the word “blood.” The word occurs most often in Leviticus. |
GE4:12 When you farm the land
it will not return its strength. You will become a wandering fugitive
in the earth”
| 176 | Farm the land: Or, till the soil [TAN]. This is likely an added curse upon Adam and his cultivation of the soil. |
| 177 | Wandering fugitive: Or, ceaseless wanderer [TAN], groaning and trembling [BAG], restless wanderer [NJB]. The curse is similar to the one
Moses uttered upon a disobedient Israel. [Deuteronomy 28:65; Hosea 9:17] |
GE4:13 Then Cain told YHWH: “My penalty
is more than I can bear!
| 178 | My penalty: Or, punishment [TAN], my crime [BAG]. Older interpretations of the word by the LXX and Vulgate have “my sin.”
Thus, the idea is that Cain’s sin was too great to be forgiven. [Lange] |
GE4:14 Now today You are banishing me throughout all the land, and I must continue to hid from Your face. I will
become a wandering fugitive in the earth and surely anyone discovering me will kill me.”
| 179 | Surely anyone discovering me will kill me: Cain must expect to live long into the fast-growing human race and that others will know
of his crime. Thus, this conversation is recorded by someone, or at least the oral tradition is passed along. Now the very sin Cain committed he fears coming upon him from others. |
GE4:15 Then
YHWH told him: “Because of this anyone who kills Cain will be punished seven times as much in revenge.” So now YHWH placed a sign
on Cain so that no one discovering him would strike him.”
| 180 | Sign: And so the proverbial expression, “the mark of Cain.” What this sign, mark, or signal looks like is not revealed. |
GE4:16 Thus, Cain left the face
of YHWH and began to reside in the land of Nod,
east of Eden.| 181 | Face: Or, presence [TAN]. The Greek [LXX] is PROSOPOU TOU THEOU. |
| 182 | Nod: Or, fugitive, wanderer. Some think it China, others a state of an endless nomadic life. Cain and all his offspring [Cainites; Kenites] perished in the Flood. |
Genesis 4:17, 18 – Cain’s Offspring
GE4:17 Following this Cain had sexual relations with his wife
and [his sister] became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch.
[Hebrews 11:5] It was then that Cain started to build a town
and he named it after his son Enoch.
| 183 | Wife: Where did Cain get his wife? is an often-asked question. But, it seems obvious that if all humanity came through Eve as mentioned
earlier, then Cain would have to find a wife among his sisters. [Genesis 5:4] We are not told the length of time during this period of Adam and Eve bearing children, but Adam lived almost one thousand years. |
| 184 | Enoch: The name possibly means “initiated”. He is not the same of Genesis 5:21-24. |
| 185 | Build a town: Or, building. The Hebrew suggests an ongoing effort. Surely, this was a tiny village to begin with, and not a “city” until much later. |
GE4:18 Afterward, Enoch bore Irad,
who became the father of Mehujael;
and Mehujael became father to Methushael,
and Methushael became father to Lamech. | 186 | Irad: He is mentioned only here. |
| 187 | Mehujael: Meaning “God-struck”
is the first person whose name incorporates El or God. He is mentioned only here. |
| 188 | Methushael: Meaning
“Man of God” and the second whose name incorporates EL. |
| 189 | Lamech: One of two ancients with this
same name. |
Genesis 4:19-24 – The History of Lamech
GE4:19 Now Lamech took two wives,
the first was called Adah
and the second Zillah.
| 190 | Two wives: The first polygamist. There was no law against such and the practice only speeded up the growth of the human race. Polygamy
was tolerated under the Law of Moses. [Deuteronomy 21:15-17] It was not until the Nazarene that monogamy became the norm among Christians. [1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:5, 6] |
| 191 | Adah: The second woman named in the Bible. Possibly meaning “Ornament” or “Beauty.” Isau marries a wife of the same name. [Genesis 36:2, 4, 10, 12, 16] |
| 192 | Zillah: Possibly meaning “Shade.” [Or, Shadow, Shelter] |
GE4:20 Adah
finally bore Jabal.
This person was the first of the nomadic herdsmen.
| 193 | Jabal: The name only occurs here. |
| 194 | Nomadic herdsmen: Or, dwell in tents and amidst herds [TAN], tent-dwelling herdsmen [NJB], those that dwell in tents, feeding cattle [BAG]. |
GE4:21 Now
his brother’s name was Jubal
and he was the first to make music with the harp and flute.
| 195 | Jubal: Possibly meaning “Ram.” |
| 196 | Harp and flute: Or, harp and pipe [NJB], lyre and pipe [TAN], psaltery and harp [BAG], lyre and flute [RHM]. That is, the stringed and wind instruments. The Greek is PSALTERION. |
GE4:22 Now Zillah also gave birth to Tubalcain,
the first to forge tools made of copper and iron.
His sister was Naamah.
| 197 | Tubalcain: The only person to incorporate the name “Cain” in his own. |
| 198 | Copper and iron: Or, brass [BAG], bronze [RHM]. Recent discovery of the Ice Man has pushed the so-called Bronze Age much further back than previously thought. |
| 199 | Naamah: Possibly meaning “Pleasant” this is the first sister named. The name is used later by others. [Joshua 15:41; 1 Kings
14:21, 31; 2 Chronicles 12:13] |
GE4:23 Because of this Lamech told his wives Adah and Zillah: “Listen to me, wives of Lamech. Hear me well when I speak. I have murdered a man for just
wounding me. Yes, even a youth for just hitting me.
GE4:24 If Cain is revenged seven times, then Lamech
will be seventy times seven.” | 200 |
Lamech: It is possible Lamech creates this poem to explain his act of self-defense and not outright murder as in the case of Cain. The hymn indicates a degree of violence among early humankind. |
| 201 | Seventy times seven: Compare Matthew 18:22. |
Genesis 4:25, 26 – Adam and Eve’s Other Son
GE4:25 Now Adam
had sexual relations
with his wife and so she gave birth to a son she called Seth.
For, she said: “The God
has given me another offspring to replace Abel as Cain murdered him.”
| 202 | Now Adam: The historical account returns to the beginning of humanity. |
| 203 | Sexual relations: Or, intercourse [NJB], knew [TAN]. The Greek is EGNO, and so the word “know” may be expanded to include a certain type of relationship
or an experience. |
| 204 | Seth: The name means “Substitute” or “Replacement.” The account
begins to trace another lineage in human history. All of Cain’s lineage is wiped out at the Flood, but the lineage of Seth survives the Deluge. [Genesis 5:3-8; 1 Chronicles 1:1; Luke 3:28] The very name may point forward to a real “Substitute”
who may trace his ancestry back to Seth. [See Nazarene Commentary 2000© notes on 1 Timothy 2:6.] Eve [Zoe] names this son. |
| 205 |
The God: HO THEOS in the LXX. |
GE4:26 And Seth bore a son and named him Enosh.
It was about this time people began to call on the Name of YHWH. | 206 | Enosh: The name may mean “Mortal Human.” Compare Genesis 5:6-11; 1 Chronicles 1:1; Luke 3:38. |
| 207 | Call on the Name of YHWH: Or, invoke the LORD by name [TAN], the first to invoke the name Yahweh [NJB], call on the name of the Lord God [BAG]. The Jerusalem Targum states, “That was the generation in whose
days they began to err, and to make themselves idols, and surnamed their idols by the name of the Word of the Lord.” |
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Nazarene Commentary 2000©
Mark Heber Miller
©2000 All Rights Reserved
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