The Mark of Cain

Genesis 4: 15-16 But the LORD said to him, “Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he 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. (NIV)

One of the most mysterious questions in the Bible is, “What was the Mark of Cain?” Anyone who says they know is simply creating a work of fiction. We haven’t a clue. There are hundreds of fictitious myths and lots of bad theology about this particular question. Some of the worst is the idea that the mark was dark skin. Many white supremacy groups and some just plain crackpots, spout this idea as if it is somehow Biblical truth. There is absolutely no way for anyone to know what the mark was, but we can use good common sense to say what it was not. Let’s look at the idea of dark skin to see how well it holds up.

First, if the Mark of Cain was dark skin, how did this genealogic trait make its way to the modern world? After all, if God wiped out all of mankind except Noah and his sons, and according to the genealogies, (Genesis 5:1-32) Noah and his sons who came with him on the ark were of the pure line of Seth with no bloodliine from Cain; all traces of the dark skin would have vanished with the flood. Some of the most whacky theories explain the reemergence of dark skin by claiming that the wife that Noah brought onboard the Ark was Naamah, who was descendant of Cain.

For the full text of this article, vistit http://thewitnesschronicles.com/Mark_of_Cain.htm

Also read all my essays on Genesis at http://thewitnesschronicles.com or write to me directly at ken@thewitnesscchronicles.com.