Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”

     But the LORD said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over. ” Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. So Cain went out from the LORD’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

     Cain made love to his wife, and she gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch. To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.

     Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments and pipes. Zillah also had a son, Tubal Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah.

     ...Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.” Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh.

     At that time people began to call on the name of the LORD. -Genesis 4:13-22, 25, 26

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     Did Cain acknowledge that what he did was wrong?

     Not at first, but eventually he did. According to the Septuagint- the earliest translation of the Old Testament into Greek- Cain said: "My crime is too great for me to be forgiven." -Genesis 4:13

     Also, in the Douay-Rheims Bible: "My iniquity is greater than that I may deserve pardon."

     Possibly for that reason, God showed mercy to Cain. Unfortunately, so much of this account is lacking in details.

 

     What unwarranted assumptions does Cain make after hearing his sentence from God?

     "Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your face; and I will become a wanderer and a fugitive on the earth, and anyone who finds me will certainly kill me." -Genesis 4:14

     Two of those things were going to happen. But the other two were not mentioned by God. Cain merely assumed they would happen.

     Notice what God actually said:

     "Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.” -Genesis 4:11, 12

     God says nothing about Cain being hidden from his face. Nor does he say that Cain will be killed by anyone who finds him. Cain was wrong about both of those things.

 

     Why did Cain think someone would kill him?

     It was only reasonable to believe God would punish Cain according to his sin, as he had done with Cain's parents, Adam and Eve. It is, after all, a pattern of God's justice to turn a person's sin back upon himself. We see it happen time and again in the prophecies of Isaiah. However, in this case, God shows mercy- yet he doesn't withhold judgment from Cain completely. Remember, Cain was a cultivator of the soil. But now nothing would grow for him anymore.

 

     Which brings up the question of how Cain survived. Obviously, he couldn't cultivate the soil any longer. What else did Cain know how to do?

     This is pure speculation, but what if Cain took up Abel’s line of work? In time, he might have come to appreciate the concerns of his brother by caring for and looking after sheep. Whatever other means of sustenance Cain might have found, we can only guess. But this idea would at least be consistent with the compassion God showed to Cain.

 

     What did God do so that no one would kill Cain?

     But the LORD said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over. ” Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. -Genesis 4:15

 

     What does it mean to suffer vengeance seven times over?

     The number seven usually represents completion in the scriptures. In this case, it could mean suffering vengeance to the maximum degree. At Leviticus, chapter 26, starting at verse 14, we find a scriptural example of manifold judgment. It lists the punishment of disobedience for Israel, showing various other means that God may use to punish wrongdoers:

     "But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands, and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant, then I will do this to you: I will bring on you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and sap your strength. You will plant seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it. I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you." -Leviticus 26:14-17

     By way of contrast, there are rewards for obedience:

     "If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit. Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land.

     "I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you. You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new. I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people." -Leviticus 26:3-5; 9-12

 

     There are six generations of Cain listed in Genesis: Enoch, Irad, Mehujael, Methushael, Lamech, and Lamech's children (Jabal, Jubal, Tubal-cain, and Naamah)

     None of Lamech’s sons are cultivators of the soil. Jabal was the founder of those who dwell in tents and have livestock, Jubal was the founder of those who play the harp and pipe, and Tubal-cain forged tools out of bronze and iron.

 

     Is there a reason why Lamech's daughter, Naamah, is named at Genesis 4:22, and nowhere else in the Bible?

     She is the first daughter named in the Bible. Perhaps she was remarkable in some way that is unknown to us. Cain’s descendants are not listed after Naamah. However, after the Flood, there was a city called Naamah. And Job's contemporary, Zophar, was called a Naamathite. Was he, therefore, possibly a descendant of Naamah? Since the Flood presumably wiped out humanity, perhaps Naamah was related to Noah’s wife, or one of his sons’ wives. Again, this is speculation. But Noah's lifespan may have overlapped with those of Lamech's children.

 

     Genesis 4:25 says that Adam had another son with Eve, and she gave him the name Seth. Eve sheds some light upon Seth's name:

     “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”

     The name Seth means: 'Granted' or 'Set,' like setting a gemstone in a ring. God once again looked upon Eve to give her a son in place of the one she lost. This was long after Abel died. But rest assured, God does not forget his purposes. Seth would become an ancestor of both Noah and Jesus Christ.