NOTES for Gen 4:16-26
16 And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. |
17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. |
18 And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech. |
19 And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. |
20 And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. |
21 And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. |
22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah. |
23 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. |
24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold. |
25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. |
26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD. |
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The fact that an entire civilization is built on the line of Cain says that the human race is poisoned from the beginning. The sacred writer shows how the terrible machine of evil gathers speed. The words, "if Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy times seven," mean precisely this. And Lamech's words, "I killed a man for wounding me," mean that the murder was committed in revenge for some evil done to him, Lamech. But in fact, is this not what we see throughout all of human history? As soon as a person gets some new technical achievement into his hands, the forces of evil soon take hold of it. This process is best described by the expression "arms race," which sounded out in the terrible twentieth century: that is the kind of arms race that has run throughout all human history.
But Seth was given in place of Abel: for wicked Cain, revenge, evil, and new deaths; for good Abel, a new birth, a new human being. This fact serves as an answer to superficial judgments that the Old Testament allegedly permits or even glorifies revenge: if that were so, revenge for Abel would have been glorified. But no, the birth of Seth is glorified for Abel.
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