Responding to Difficult Questions From The Bible – Part 2

Who Did Cain Marry?

Problem:
The book of Genesis tells us that Adam and Eve had two sons, Cain and Abel. After Cain kills Abel and settles in the land of Nod, we read that “Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch” (Gen 4:17). But where did Cain’s wife come from?

Response:
Two important things have to be made clear:

1. Cain did not marry in Nod
Gen 4:16-17 reads   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 became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch.

The Bible does not say that Cain went to Nod and later found a wife there. Rather, the implication in Scripture is that he already had a wife when he went to Nod. The event that took place in Nod was that he “knew” his wife – had sexual relations with her – and she conceived and gave birth to a son.

2. The narrations of events in Genesis are not necessarily chronological

So, the question then is, if Cain didn’t marry someone living in the land of Nod, where did Cain get his wife? or, whom did Cain marry?” Let’s look at scripture and see if we can get some answers.

From scripture we realise that God created only two people, Adam and Eve, and told them to “be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it” (Gen. 1:28). Scripture mentions only three of Adam and Eve’s children by name (Cain, Abel, and Seth).  However, it is important to acknowledge Genesis 5:4 which makes it clear that they had multiple sons and daughters: “After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.”

Remember I have indicated that the events in Genesis are not necessarily narrated chronologically, though some are. In fact, some ancient Jewish writers who retell the Genesis story mention that Adam and Eve had daughters early on and even gave them names.

What I am seeking to establish here is that Cain might have married after Adam and Eve had given birth to many children and had grown enough and had even given birth to a third generation of children. It was near a perfect era where they lived long and strong. In fact, Jewish tradition states that Adam had 33 sons and 23 daughters! It has been conservatively estimated that 32,000 people could have been alive at the time this event occurred.

Again, it was very possible Cain had married way later when Seth was born which was when Adam was 130 years. Remember, the Bible did not tell us the age of Adam when Cain and Abel were born, and we are also not told the age when Cain married.

Aps. Benedict Eghan

Apostle Benedict Eghan is a Minister of the Gospel with The Church of Pentecost and is currently the Resident Minister of Pentecost International Worship Centre (PIWC), Tesano. He also doubles as the Personal Assistant to the Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Kwabena Nyamekye. Read More…