Question from a WordTruth.Com friend:

>>I would be grateful if you would kindly answer the following doubt.

1. In Genesis 4:14 Cain, the first son of Adam and Eve, said, “… it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me.” Would you clarify the origin of the people Cain is afraid of. The Bible does not give, by this time, the details of any one other than Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel. It is very much clear that the third son Seth was born to Adam (4: 25) only after the above incident.

2. In Genesis 4:17 we read, “And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch.” Would you clarify the origin of this wife? Is she the sister of Cain born to Adam and Eve?
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WordTruth.Com Response:

1. Who were Cain's enemies?

This is a common question. As you read through the Bible, you will find a number of situations where the narrative does not provide all the details in a strict chronological fashion.

When God inspired the writing of a particular book in the Bible, He had specific truth to share. The text is without error, whether it is historical narrative or doctrinal instruction. However, the text does not necessarily give every detail we "want" to know but provides the information we "need" to know.

If you read in chapter 5 of Genesis, you will find that Adam and Eve had many sons and daughters (Genesis 5:4) besides Cain, Abel and Seth. The text does not say when Adam and Eve had these children. Certainly in 130 years before Seth, they could have had a number of children. And they had many after Seth was born as well following God's command to "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it" (Genesis 1:28, NIV).

2. Where did Cain get his wife?

In order to begin and propagate the human race, brothers and sisters would have had to marry, then cousins, nephews and nieces, etc. Given this was at the beginning of creation, the problem of people marrying close relatives and the potential for birth defects was not an issue. So Cain took his wife from among the potentially long list of sisters, cousins, and nieces that had been born up to that point in time.

The Bible is clear that there is only one race of people on the Earth - the human race. Every human being on the planet is "related" by virtue of being a descendant of Adam and Eve. Acts 17:26 says of God that "He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings" (NKJV). And in Romans 5:12 we read: "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned" (NIV).

May the God bless you with His wisdom and the courage to follow Jesus!

Rev. Randy Lariscy :-)
Director - WordTruth Ministries
 

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