The Children of Cain
The Bible tells us of the children of Cain up to the eighth generation. However, unlike the genealogy of Noah, it does not give us any ages of either Cain or any of his sons. The Book of Jubilees does give this account of Cain’s death however:
Jubilees 3:29-33 …And at the close of the nineteenth jubilee, in the seventh week in the sixth year thereof, Adam died, and all his sons buried him in the land of his creation, and he was the first to be buried in the earth. And he lacked seventy years of one thousand years; for one thousand years are as one day in the testimony of the heavens and therefore was it written concerning the tree of knowledge: ‘On the day that ye eat thereof ye shall die.’ For this reason he did not complete the years of this day; for he died during it. At the close of this jubilee Cain was killed after him in the same year; for his house fell upon him and he died in the midst of his house, and he was killed by its stones; for with a stone he had killed Abel, and by a stone was he killed in righteous judgment. For this reason it was ordained on the heavenly tablets: With the instrument with which a man kills his neighbor with the same shall he be killed; after the manner that he wounded him, in like manner shall they deal with him.
Other than this however, we know little about Cain’s life or his children except for what the Bible tells us, which is not much more than what Jubilees tells us. We must remember however, Jubilees is not considered a canonical text by either the Jewish or Christian faiths, as it was not written until around 125 B.C. and has many historical and geographical errors in it. But it does tell us something about what many Jews believed and taught to their children in regards to the pre-flood world.
The most unique aspect of the story of Cain’s family, is that it does give us a snippet of insight into one son called Lemech. Now in some versions of the Bible, this name is spelled Lamech, just like the father of Noah, but in others it is spelled Lemech. I have chosen to use the Lemech spelling to refer to Cain’s descendent and Lamech in reference to Noah’s father so as be clear as to whom I am talking about in each case.
The story of Lemech is very short, yet quite remarkable. Lemech was the seventh generation from Adam, just as Enoch, the patriarch in Noah’s line who was taken by God, but did not die.
Genesis 5:24 Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him way. (NIV)
I don’t believe that there is any real significance to that coincidence, but it is an interesting fact. However, without comparative ages for Cain’s family line, it not possible to know whether or not Lemech and Enoch were contemporaries. Nonetheless, out of all of Cain’s progeny, only Lemech gets special mention. This is what the Bible has to say about the line of Cain.
Genesis 4: 17-23 17Cain lay with 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. 18 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 Lemech. 19 Lemech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute. 22 Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah. (NIV)
Then in verse 23, the story takes a twist. It tells us:
Genesis 4:23-24 Lemech said to his wives, Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lemech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lemech seventy-seven times. (NIV)
There are some subtle differences in the story in different translations. For instance the King James says:
Genesis 4:23 …I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man in my hurt. (KJV)
In the KJV, it appears that Lemech killed two men, not just one. It is impossible to tell from this passage if Lemech was being boastful, if he was being a bully, or if he also had been given some special protection by God. Although, since there is no specific mention in this statement that God had marked him for protection as He had Cain, that scenario is highly unlikely. It is possible that these killings were the first wrathful murders since Cain slew Able, so Lemech felt that if God had protected Cain for killing out of anger, He would also do the same for him. This is however, the last we hear of Lemech or the line of Cain in the Bible.
Some other notes of interest in the line of Cain is the mention of Lemech’s wives by name, Adah and Zillah. There are only 4 women mentioned in all the pre-food text, Eve, Adah, Zillah and Naamah. Not even Noah’s wife or the wives of Shem, Japheth or Ham are mentioned by name. The text here also mentions each of their sons; Adah had Jabal and Jubal, and Zillah had Tubal-Cain. Also Mentioned is Tubal Cain’s sister Naamah. Her name has led to a great deal of folklore and bad theology over the centuries. (See The Mark of Cain, http://thewitnesschronicles.com/Mark_of_Cain.htm) The text also tells us that Jabal was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock, his brother Jubal was the father of all who play the harp and flute, and their half-brother Tubal-Cain forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. This seems to be the beginning of organized civilization in the world before the flood. Prior to this, there is no mention whatsoever of how people lived or what kinds of trade or skills they possessed. It is necessary to mention here however, that the term “Father of” as mentioned in the text, may simply be a reference to their position over the Sheppards, Farmers, Metal Workers, and Musicians. It does not necessarily mean they were the first. Sometime when translating from Hebrew/Chaldee to English, some of the exact meaning gets distorted. Since all of these individuals were 8th generation and likely born hundreds of years after the development of cities and agricultural pursuits, this is probably one of those cases.
Now according the charts I’ve put together from the line of Seth (see Children of Seth, http://thewitnesschronicles.com/Children_of_Seth.htm), seventh/eighth generation would have been established around 600-700 years after creation of Adam. Therefore, from this point on, mankind would have begun a 1000 year slide downhill from this point to the place where God found it necessary to destroy them because they had become so violent. This timing would have also correlated with the ancient mythology of the Watchers, i.e., the Sons of God, taking the Daughters of Men as wives an creating the race known as the Nephilim. (see Sons of God and Daughters of Men, http://thewitnesschronicles.com/Sons_of_God.htm)
If you would like to read more of my essays on Genesis or learn more about my fiction series, The Witness Chronicles, based on the stories in Genesis, please visit my website at http://thewitnesschornicles.com or feel free to write to me directly at ken@thewitnesschronicles.com.
