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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0; maximum-scale=1.0; user-scalable=0;"/><title>Genesis 4:1 Commentaries: Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, "I have gotten a manchild with the help of the LORD."</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/newcom.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader.js'></script></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../vmenus/genesis/4-1.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="/bmcom/genesis/4-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="http://biblehub.com/commentaries/">Commentaries</a> > Genesis 4:1</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../genesis/3-24.htm" title="Genesis 3:24">◄</a> Genesis 4:1 <a href="../genesis/4-2.htm" title="Genesis 4:2">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="topverse">And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.</div><div id="jump">Jump to: <a href="/commentaries/barnes/genesis/4.htm" title="Barnes' Notes">Barnes</a> • <a href="/commentaries/benson/genesis/4.htm" title="Benson Commentary">Benson</a> • <a href="/commentaries/illustrator/genesis/4.htm" title="Biblical Illustrator">BI</a> • <a href="/commentaries/calvin/genesis/4.htm" title="Calvin's Commentaries">Calvin</a> • <a href="/commentaries/cambridge/genesis/4.htm" title="Cambridge Bible">Cambridge</a> • <a href="/commentaries/clarke/genesis/4.htm" title="Clarke's Commentary">Clarke</a> • <a href="/commentaries/darby/genesis/4.htm" title="Darby's Bible Synopsis">Darby</a> • <a href="/commentaries/ellicott/genesis/4.htm" title="Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers">Ellicott</a> • <a href="/commentaries/expositors/genesis/4.htm" title="Expositor's Bible">Expositor's</a> • <a href="/commentaries/edt/genesis/4.htm" title="Expositor's Dictionary">Exp Dct</a> • <a href="/commentaries/gaebelein/genesis/4.htm" title="Gaebelein's Annotated Bible">Gaebelein</a> • <a href="/commentaries/gsb/genesis/4.htm" title="Geneva Study Bible">GSB</a> • <a href="/commentaries/gill/genesis/4.htm" title="Gill's Bible Exposition">Gill</a> • <a href="/commentaries/gray/genesis/4.htm" title="Gray's Concise">Gray</a> • <a href="/commentaries/guzik/genesis/4.htm" title="Guzik Bible Commentary">Guzik</a> • <a href="/commentaries/haydock/genesis/4.htm" title="Haydock Catholic Bible Commentary">Haydock</a> • <a href="/commentaries/hastings/genesis/3-24.htm" title="Hastings Great Texts">Hastings</a> • <a href="/commentaries/homiletics/genesis/4.htm" title="Pulpit Homiletics">Homiletics</a> • <a href="/commentaries/jfb/genesis/4.htm" title="Jamieson-Fausset-Brown">JFB</a> • <a href="/commentaries/kad/genesis/4.htm" title="Keil and Delitzsch OT">KD</a> • <a href="/commentaries/king-en/genesis/4.htm" title="Kingcomments Bible Studies">King</a> • <a href="/commentaries/lange/genesis/4.htm" title="Lange Commentary">Lange</a> • <a href="/commentaries/maclaren/genesis/4.htm" title="MacLaren Expositions">MacLaren</a> • <a href="/commentaries/mhc/genesis/4.htm" title="Matthew Henry Concise">MHC</a> • <a href="/commentaries/mhcw/genesis/4.htm" title="Matthew Henry Full">MHCW</a> • <a href="/commentaries/parker/genesis/4.htm" title="The People's Bible by Joseph Parker">Parker</a> • <a href="/commentaries/poole/genesis/4.htm" title="Matthew Poole">Poole</a> • <a href="/commentaries/pulpit/genesis/4.htm" title="Pulpit Commentary">Pulpit</a> • <a href="/commentaries/sermon/genesis/4.htm" title="Sermon Bible">Sermon</a> • <a href="/commentaries/sco/genesis/4.htm" title="Scofield Reference Notes">SCO</a> • <a href="/commentaries/ttb/genesis/4.htm" title="Through The Bible">TTB</a> • <a href="/commentaries/wes/genesis/4.htm" title="Wesley's Notes">WES</a> • <a href="#tsk" title="Treasury of Scripture Knowledge">TSK</a></div><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="comtype">EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)</div><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/genesis/4.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>IV.<p>THE FOUNDING OF THE FAMILY, AND COMMENCEMENT OF THE NON-PARADISIACAL LIFE.</span><p>(1) <span class= "bld">She . . . bare Cain, and said . . . —</span>In this chapter we have the history of the founding of the family of Cain, a race godless and wanton, but who, nevertheless, far outstripped the descendants of Seth in the arts of civilisation. To tillage and a pastoral life they added metallurgy and music; and the knowledge not only of copper and its uses, but even of iron (<a href="/genesis/4-22.htm" title="And Zillah, she also bore Tubalcain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.">Genesis 4:22</a>), must have given them a command over the resources of nature so great as to have vastly diminished the curse of labour, and made their lives easy and luxurious.<p><span class= "bld">I have gotten a man from the Lord.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">who is Jehovah. </span>It is inconceivable that <span class= "ital">eth </span>should have here a different meaning from that which it has in <a href="/genesis/1-1.htm" title="In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.">Genesis 1:1</a>. It there gives emphasis to the object of the verb: “God created <span class= "ital">eth </span>the heaven and <span class= "ital">eth </span>the earth,” that is, <span class= "ital">even the heaven and even the earth. </span>So also here, “I have gotten a man <span class= "ital">eth </span>Jehovah.” <span class= "ital">even Jehovah. </span>The objection that this implies too advanced a knowledge of Messianic ideas is unfounded. It is we who read backward, and put our ideas into the words of the narrative. These words were intended to lead on to those ideas, but they were at present only as the germ, or as the filament in the acorn which contains the oak-tree. If there is one thing certain, it is that religious knowledge was given gradually, and that the significance of the name Jehovah was revealed by slow degrees. (See on <a href="/genesis/4-26.htm" title="And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call on the name of the LORD.">Genesis 4:26</a>.) Eve attached no notion of divinity to the name; still less did she foresee that by the superstition of the Jews the title Lord would be substituted for it. We distinctly know that Jehovah was not even the patriarchal name of the Deity (<a href="/exodus/6-3.htm" title="And I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.">Exodus 6:3</a>), and still less could it have been God’s title in Paradise. But Eve had received the promise that her seed should crush the head of her enemy, and to this promise her words referred, and the title in her mouth meant probably no more than “the coming One.” Apparently, too, it was out of Eve’s words that this most significant title of the covenant God arose. (See <span class= "ital">Excursus </span>on names <span class= "ital">Elohim </span>and <span class= "ital">Jehovah-Elohim, </span>at end of this book.)<p>Further, Eve calls Cain “a man,” Heb., <span class= "ital">ish, </span>a being. (See on <a href="/genesis/2-23.htm" title="And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.">Genesis 2:23</a>.) As Cain was the first infant, no word as yet existed for child. But in calling him “a being, even the future one,” a lower sense, often attached to these words, is not to be altogether excluded. It has been said that Eve, in the birth of this child, saw the remedy for death. Death might slay the individual, but the existence of the race was secured. Her words therefore might be paraphrased: “I have gained a man, who is the pledge of future existence.” Mankind is thus that which shall exist. Now, it is one of the properties of Holy Scripture that words spoken in a lower and ordinary sense are often prophetic: so that even supposing that Eve meant no more than this, it would not exclude the higher interpretation. It is evident, however, from the fact of these words having been so treasured up, that they were regarded by Adam and his posterity as having no commonplace meaning; and this interpretation has a suspiciously modern look about it. Finally, in Christ alone man does exist and endure. He is the perfect man—man’s highest level; so that even thus there would be a presage of immortality for man in the saying, “I have gained a man, even he that shall become.” Grant that it was then but an indefinite yearning: it was one, nevertheless, which all future inspiration was to make distinct and clear; and now, under the guidance of the Spirit, it has become the especial title of the Second Person in the Holy Trinity.<p><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/benson/genesis/4.htm">Benson Commentary</a></div><span class="bld"><a href="/context/genesis/4-1.htm" title="And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bore Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD....">Genesis 4:1-2</a>. </span>Adam and Eve had many <span class="ital">sons and daughters, </span><a href="/genesis/5-4.htm" title="And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:">Genesis 5:4</a> : but Cain and Abel seem to have been the two eldest. Cain signifies <span class="ital">possession; </span>for Eve, when she bare him, said, with joy, and thankfulness, and expectation, “I have gotten a man from the Lord.” Abel signifies <span class="ital">vanity. </span>The name given to this son is put upon the whole race, <a href="/psalms/39-5.htm" title="Behold, you have made my days as an handbreadth; and my age is as nothing before you: truly every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.">Psalm 39:5</a>, “Every man is, at his best estate, <span class="ital">Abel, </span>vanity.” <span class="ital">Abel was a keeper of sheep — </span>He chose that employment which did most befriend contemplation and devotion, for that hath been looked upon as the advantage of a pastoral life. Moses and David kept sheep, and in their solitudes conversed with God.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="mhc" id="mhc"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/mhc/genesis/4.htm">Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary</a></div>4:1-7 When Cain was born, Eve said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. Perhaps she thought that this was the promised seed. If so, she was wofully disappointed. Abel signifies vanity: when she thought she had the promised seed in Cain, whose name signifies possession, she was so taken up with him that another son was as vanity to her. Observe, each son had a calling. It is the will of God for every one to have something to do in this world. Parents ought to bring up their children to work. Give them a Bible and a calling, said good Mr. Dod, and God be with them. We may believe that God commanded Adam, after the fall, to shed the blood of innocent animals, and after their death to burn part or the whole of their bodies by fire. Thus that punishment which sinners deserve, even the death of the body, and the wrath of God, of which fire is a well-known emblem, and also the sufferings of Christ, were prefigured. Observe that the religious worship of God is no new invention. It was from the beginning; it is the good old way, Jer 6:16. The offerings of Cain and Abel were different. Cain showed a proud, unbelieving heart. Therefore he and his offering were rejected. Abel came as a sinner, and according to God's appointment, by his sacrifice expressing humility, sincerity, and believing obedience. Thus, seeking the benefit of the new covenant of mercy, through the promised Seed, his sacrifice had a token that God accepted it. Abel offered in faith, and Cain did not, Heb 11:4. In all ages there have been two sorts of worshippers, such as Cain and Abel; namely, proud, hardened despisers of the gospel method of salvation, who attempt to please God in ways of their own devising; and humble believers, who draw near to him in the way he has revealed. Cain indulged malignant anger against Abel. He harboured an evil spirit of discontent and rebellion against God. God notices all our sinful passions and discontents. There is not an angry, envious, or fretful look, that escapes his observing eye. The Lord reasoned with this rebellious man; if he came in the right way, he should be accepted. Some understand this as an intimation of mercy. If thou doest not well, sin, that is, the sin-offering, lies at the door, and thou mayest take the benefit of it. The same word signifies sin, and a sacrifice for sin. Though thou hast not done well, yet do not despair; the remedy is at hand. Christ, the great sin-offering, is said to stand at the door, Re 3:20. And those well deserve to perish in their sins, that will not go to the door to ask for the benefit of this sin-offering. God's acceptance of Abel's offering did not change the birthright, and make it his; why then should Cain be so angry? Sinful heats and disquiets vanish before a strict and fair inquiry into the cause.<a name="bar" id="bar"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/barnes/genesis/4.htm">Barnes' Notes on the Bible</a></div> - Section IV - The Family of Adam<p> - Cain and Abel<p>1. קין qayı̂n, Qain (Cain), "spear-shaft," and קנה qānah, "set up, establish, gain, buy," contain the biliteral root קן qan, "set up, erect, gain." The relations of root words are not confined to the narrow rules of our common etymology, but really extend to such instinctive usages as the unlettered speaker will invent or employ. A full examination of the Hebrew tongue leads to the conclusion that a biliteral root lies at the base of many of those triliterals that consist of two firm consonants and a third weaker one varying in itself and its position. Thus, יטב yāṭab and טיב ṭôb. So קין qayı̂n and קנה qānah grow from one root.<p>2. הבל hebel, Habel (Abel), "breath, vapor."<p>3. מנחה mı̂nchâh, "gift, offering, tribute." In contrast with זבח zebach, it means a "bloodless offering".<p>7. חטאת chaṭā't, "sin, sin-penalty, sin-offering." רבץ rābats, "lie, couch as an animal."<p>16. נוד nôd, Nod, "flight, exile; related: flee."<p>This chapter is a continuation of the second document. Yet it is distinguished from the previous part of it by the use of the name Yahweh alone, and, in one instance, אלהים 'ĕlohı̂ym alone, to designate the Supreme Being. This is sufficient to show that distinct pieces of composition are included within these documents. In the creation week and in the judgment, God has proved himself an originator of being and a keeper of his word, and, therefore, the significant personal name Yahweh is ready on the lips of Eve and from the pen of the writer. The history of fallen man now proceeds. The first family comes under our notice.<p><a href="/genesis/4-1.htm">Genesis 4:1</a><p>In this verse the first husband and wife become father and mother. This new relation must be deeply interesting to both, but at first especially so to the mother. Now was begun the fulfillment of all the intimations she had received concerning her seed. She was to have conception and sorrow multiplied. But she was to be the mother of all living. And her seed was to bruise the serpent's head. All these recollections added much to the intrinsic interest of becoming a mother. Her feelings are manifested in the name given to her son and the reason assigned for it. She "bare Cain and said, I have gained a man from Yahweh." Cain occurs only once as a common noun, and is rendered by the Septuagint δόρυ doru, "spear-shaft." The primitive meaning of the root is to set up, or to erect, as a cane, a word which comes from the root; then it means to create, make one's own, and is applied to the Creator <a href="/genesis/14-19.htm">Genesis 14:19</a> or the parent <a href="/deuteronomy/32-6.htm">Deuteronomy 32:6</a>. Hence, the word here seems to denote a thing gained or achieved, a figurative expression for a child born. The gaining or bearing of the child is therefore evidently the prominent thought in Eve's mind, as she takes the child's name from this. This serves to explain the sentence assigning the reason for the name. If the meaning had been, "I have gained a man, namely, Yahweh," then the child would have been called Yahweh. If Jehovah had even been the emphatic word, the name would have been a compound of Yahweh, and either אישׁ 'ı̂ysh, "man," or קנה qı̂nâh, "qain," such as Ishiah or Coniah. But the name Cain proves קניתי qānı̂ytı̂y, "I have gained" to be the emphatic word, and therefore the sentence is to be rendered "I have gained (borne) a man (with the assistance) of Yahweh."<p>The word "man" probably intimates that Eve fully expected her son to grow to the stature and maturity of her husband. If she had daughters before, and saw them growing up to maturity, this would explain her expectation, and at the same time give a new significance and emphasis to her exclamation, "I have gained a man (heretofore only women) from Yahweh." It would heighten her ecstasy still more if she expected this to be the very seed that should bruise the serpent's head.<p>Eve is under the influence of pious feelings. She has faith in God, and acknowledges him to be the author of the precious gift she has received. Prompted by her grateful emotion, she confesses her faith, She also employs a new and near name to designate her maker. In the dialogue with the tempter she had used the word God אלהים 'ĕlohı̂ym. But now she adopts Yahweh. In this one word she hides a treasure of comfort. "He is true to his promise. He has not forgotten me. He is with me now again. He will never leave me nor forsake me. He will give me the victory." And who can blame her if she verily expected that this would be the promised deliverer who should bruise the serpent's head?<a name="jfb" id="jfb"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/jfb/genesis/4.htm">Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary</a></div>CHAPTER 4<p>Ge 4:1-26. Birth of Cain and Abel.<p>1. Eve said, I have gotten a man from the Lord—that is, "by the help of the Lord"—an expression of pious gratitude—and she called him Cain, that is, "a possession," as if valued above everything else; while the arrival of another son reminding Eve of the misery she had entailed on her offspring, led to the name Abel, that is, either weakness, vanity (Ps 39:5), or grief, lamentation. Cain and Abel were probably twins; and it is thought that, at this early period, children were born in pairs (Ge 5:4) [Calvin].The birth of Cain and Abel, and their employment, <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/context/genesis/4-1.htm" title="And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bore Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD....">Genesis 4:1-2</a></span>. Cain’s offering, <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/genesis/4-3.htm" title="And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to the LORD.">Genesis 4:3</a></span>. Abel’s sacrifice, and God’s acceptance, <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/genesis/4-4.htm" title="And Abel, he also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect to Abel and to his offering:">Genesis 4:4</a></span>. Cain’s rejected; his discontent, <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/genesis/4-5.htm" title="But to Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.">Genesis 4:5</a></span>. God expostulates it with him, <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/context/genesis/4-6.htm" title="And the LORD said to Cain, Why are you wroth? and why is your countenance fallen?...">Genesis 4:6-7</a></span>. He murders Abel, <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/genesis/4-8.htm" title="And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.">Genesis 4:8</a></span>. God makes inquiry after Abel, <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/genesis/4-9.htm" title="And the LORD said to Cain, Where is Abel your brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?">Genesis 4:9</a></span>. The cry of his blood, <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/genesis/4-10.htm" title="And he said, What have you done? the voice of your brother's blood cries to me from the ground.">Genesis 4:10</a></span>. God’s curse upon Cain, <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/context/genesis/4-11.htm" title="And now are you cursed from the earth, which has opened her mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand;...">Genesis 4:11-12</a></span>. His complaint, <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/context/genesis/4-13.htm" title="And Cain said to the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear....">Genesis 4:13-14</a></span>. God mitigates it, <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/genesis/4-15.htm" title="And the LORD said to him, Therefore whoever slays Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark on Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.">Genesis 4:15</a></span>. Its execution, <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/genesis/4-16.htm" title="And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelled in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.">Genesis 4:16</a></span>. Cain’s posterity, <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/context/genesis/4-17.htm" title="And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bore Enoch: and he built a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch....">Genesis 4:17-18</a></span>. Lamech’s two wives, <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/genesis/4-19.htm" title="And Lamech took to him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.">Genesis 4:19</a></span>. They bear unto him sons, who dwell in tents, <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/genesis/4-20.htm" title="And Adah bore Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle.">Genesis 4:20</a></span>; invent musical instruments, <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/genesis/4-21.htm" title="And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.">Genesis 4:21</a></span>; have skill in brass and iron, <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/genesis/4-22.htm" title="And Zillah, she also bore Tubalcain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.">Genesis 4:22</a></span>. His boasting, <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/context/genesis/4-23.htm" title="And Lamech said to his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; you wives of Lamech, listen to my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt....">Genesis 4:23-24</a></span>. The birth of Seth, <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/genesis/4-25.htm" title="And Adam knew his wife again; and she bore a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, has appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.">Genesis 4:25</a></span>. His son; the revival of religion, <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/genesis/4-26.htm" title="And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call on the name of the LORD.">Genesis 4:26</a></span>. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span> This modest expression is used both in Scripture and other authors, to signify the conjugal act or carnal knowledge. So <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/genesis/19-8.htm" title="Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out to you, and do you to them as is good in your eyes: only to these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.">Genesis 19:8</a>, <a href="/genesis/24-16.htm" title="And the damsel was very fair to look on, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.">Genesis 24:16</a>, <a href="/numbers/31-17.htm" title="Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that has known man by lying with him.">Numbers 31:17</a> <a href="/matthew/1-25.htm" title="And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.">Matthew 1:25</a> <a href="/luke/1-34.htm" title="Then said Mary to the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?">Luke 1:34</a></span>. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="bld">Cain, </span> whose name signifies a <span class="ital">possession.</span> <span class="bld">A man, </span> a male child, as <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/genesis/7-2.htm" title="Of every clean beast you shall take to you by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.">Genesis 7:2</a></span>, which was most welcome. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="bld">From the Lord; </span> or, <span class="ital">by</span> or <span class="ital">with the Lord, </span> i.e. by virtue of his first blessing, <span class="bldvs"> <a href="/genesis/1-28.htm" title="And God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.">Genesis 1:28</a></span>, and special favour. Or, <span class="ital">a man the Lord, </span> as the words properly signify: q.d. God-man, or the Messias, hoping that this was the promised Seed. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="gil" id="gil"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/gill/genesis/4.htm">Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible</a></div>And Adam knew Eve his wife,.... An euphemism, or modest expression of the act of coition. Jarchi interprets it, "had known", even before he sinned, and was drove out of the garden; and so other Jewish writers, who think he otherwise would not have observed the command, "be fruitful and multiply": but if Adam had begotten children in a state of innocence, they would have been free from sin, and not tainted with the corruption of nature after contracted; but others more probably think it was some considerable time after; according to Mer Thudiusi, or Theodosius (t), it was thirty years after he was driven out of paradise: <p>and she conceived and bare Cain; in the ordinary way and manner, as women ever since have usually done, going the same time with her burden. Whether this name was given to her first born by her, or by her husband, or both, is not said: it seems to have been given by her, from the reason of it after assigned. His name, in Philo Byblius (u), is Genos, which no doubt was Cain, in Sanchoniatho, whom he translated; and his wife, or the twin born with him, is said to be Genea, that is, "Cainah": the Arabs call her Climiah (v) and the Jewish writers Kalmenah (w); who are generally of opinion, that with Cain and Abel were born twin sisters, which became their wives. <p>And said, that is, Eve said upon the birth of her firstborn: <p>I have gotten a man from the Lord; as a gift and blessing from him, as children are; or by him, by his favour and good will; and through his blessing upon her, causing her to conceive and bear and bring forth a son: some render it, "I have gotten a man, the Lord" (x); that promised seed that should break the serpents head; by which it would appear, that she took that seed to be a divine person, the true God, even Jehovah, that should become man; though she must have been ignorant of the mystery of his incarnation, or of his taking flesh of a virgin, since she conceived and bare Cain through her husband's knowledge of her: however, having imbibed this notion, it is no wonder she should call him Cain, a possession or inheritance; since had this been the case, she had got a goodly one indeed: but in this she was sadly mistaken, he proved not only to be a mere man, but to be a very bad man: the Targum of Jonathan favours this sense, rendering the words,"I have gotten a man, the angel of the Lord.'' <p>(t) Apud Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. p. 6. (u) Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 1. c. 10. p. 34. (v) Abulpharag. ib. (w) Shalshaleth Hakabala, fol. 74. 2.((x) "virum Dominum", Fagius, Helvicus, Forster, Schindler, Luther, Pellican, Cocceius; "virum qui Jehovah est", Schmidt. <a name="gsb" id="gsb"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/gsb/genesis/4.htm">Geneva Study Bible</a></div><span class="cverse2">And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she <span class="cverse3">{a}</span> conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man <span class="cverse3">{b}</span> from the LORD.</span><p>(a) Man's nature, the estate of marriage, and God's blessing were not utterly abolished through sin, but the quality or condition of it was changed.<p>(b) That is, according to the Lord's promise, as some read Ge 3:15, To the Lord rejoicing for the son she had born, whom she would offer to the Lord as the first fruits of her birth.</div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><div class="comtype">EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)</div><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/cambridge/genesis/4.htm">Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges</a></div><span class="bld">1</span>. <span class="ital">Cain … gotten</span>] Heb. <span class="ital">ḳanah</span>, to get. The word “Cain” does not mean “gotten”; but Eve’s joyful utterance gives a popular etymology, which derived the proper name from the verb whose pronunciation it resembled. The word “Cain” (<span class="ital">Ḳayin</span>) means in Hebrew “a lance”; and by some the name is interpreted to mean “a smith.” Its relation to Tubal-Cain “the artificer” is doubtful (see <span class="ital"><a href="/genesis/4-24.htm" title="If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.">Genesis 4:24</a></span>). That the name is to be identified with that of the nomad tribe of the “Kenites” (cf. <a href="/numbers/24-22.htm" title="Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted, until Asshur shall carry you away captive.">Numbers 24:22</a>, <a href="/judges/4-11.htm" title="Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent to the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh.">Jdg 4:11</a>) is a view which has been strongly maintained by some scholars. But the evidence seems to be very slight. The Kenites were not traditionally hostile to Israel, and did not play any important part in the history of the people so far as is known. The fact that the name appears in another form, “Kenan,” in the genealogy (chap. <a href="/context/genesis/5-9.htm" title="And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan:...">Genesis 5:9-14</a>) should warn us against hasty identifications. Pronunciation notoriously suffers through transmission, and spelling of proper names is wont to be adapted to the sound of more familiar words.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>Eve gives her child its name as in <span class="ital"><a href="/genesis/4-24.htm" title="If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.">Genesis 4:24</a></span>. It has been pointed out that elsewhere, where the mother is mentioned in J and E, she gives the name, cf. <a href="/context/genesis/29-32.htm" title="And Leah conceived, and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD has looked on my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me....">Genesis 29:32-35</a>, <a href="/context/genesis/30-1.htm" title="And when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said to Jacob, Give me children, or else I die....">Genesis 30:1-24</a> (but see <a href="/genesis/4-26.htm" title="And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call on the name of the LORD.">Genesis 4:26</a>, <a href="/genesis/5-29.htm" title="And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed.">Genesis 5:29</a>, <a href="/genesis/25-25.htm" title="And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.">Genesis 25:25</a>); whereas, in P, the father gives the name, cf. <a href="/genesis/21-3.htm" title="And Abraham called the name of his son that was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.">Genesis 21:3</a>. That the mother should name the child, has been considered to be a survival of a primitive “matriarchal” phase of society: see note on <a href="/genesis/2-24.htm" title="Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall join to his wife: and they shall be one flesh.">Genesis 2:24</a>. But the inference is very doubtful.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">I have gotten a man with</span> the help of <span class="ital">the Lord</span>] Literally, “I acquired (or, have acquired) man, even Jahveh.” Eve’s four words in the Hebrew (<span class="ital">ḳânîthi îsh eth-Yahveh</span>) are as obscure as any oracle.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>(i) The difficulty was felt at a very early time, and is reflected in the versions LXX <span class="greekheb">διὰ τοῦ θεοῦ</span>, Lat. <span class="ital">per Deum</span>, in which, as R.V., the particle <span class="ital">êth</span> is rendered as a preposition in the sense of “in conjunction with,” and so “with the help of,” “by the means of.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>König, who holds an eminent position both as a commentator and as a Hebrew grammarian and lexicographer, has recently strongly defended the rendering of <span class="ital">êth</span> as a preposition meaning “with,” in the sense here given by the English version “with the help of” (see <span class="ital">Z.A.T.W.</span> 1912, Pt i, pp. 22 ff.). The words will then express the thanksgiving of Eve on her safe deliverance of a child. It is a pledge of Divine favour. Child-birth has been “with the help of the Lord.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>(ii) The Targum of Onkelos reads <span class="ital">mê-êth</span> = “from” (instead of <span class="ital">êth</span> = “with”), and so gets rid of the difficulty: “I have gotten a man from Jehovah,” i.e. as a gift from the Lord. But this is so easy an alteration that it looks like a correction, and can scarcely be regarded as the original text. <span class="ital">Praestat lectio difficilior</span>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>(iii) According to the traditional Patristic and mediaeval interpretation, the sentence admitted of a literal rendering in a Messianic sense: “I have gotten a man, even Jehovah,” i.e. “In the birth of a child I have gotten one in whom I foresee the Incarnation of the Lord.” But, apart from the inadmissibility of this N.T. thought, it is surely impossible that the Messianic hope should thus be associated with the name of Cain. The Targum of Palestine, however, has “I have acquired a man, the Angel of the Lord.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>(iv) Another direction of thought is given by the proposed alternative rendering: “I obtained as a husband (i.e. in my husband) Jehovah,” in other words, I discern that in marriage is a Divine Gift. Perhaps the Targum of Palestine meant this, “I obtained as a husband the Angel of the Lord”: my husband is the expression to me of the Divine good-will which I have received. The objection, however, to this interpretation is that it is the reverse of simple and natural. It makes Eve’s words go back to marriage relations, instead of to the birth of her child.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>(v) Conjectural emendations have been numerous, and ingenious. Thus, at one time, Gunkel conjectured <span class="ital">ethavveh</span> for <span class="ital">eth-Yahveh</span>, i.e. “I have gotten a son that I longed for”; the unusual word <span class="ital">ethavveh</span> accounted, in his opinion, for the easier reading <span class="ital">eth-Yahveh</span>. But in his last edition (1908) the conjecture does not appear.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="pul" id="pul"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/genesis/4.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 1.</span> - Exiled from Eden, o'er, canopied by grace, animated by hope, assured of the Divine forgiveness, and filled with a sweet peace, the first pair enter on their life experience of labor and sorrow, and the human race begins its onward course of development in sight of the mystic cherubim and flaming sword. <span class="cmt_word">And Adam knew Eve, his wife</span>. <span class="accented">I.e.</span> "recognized her nature and uses" (Alford; cf. <a href="/numbers/31-17.htm">Numbers 31:17</a>). The act here mentioned is recorded not to indicate that paradise was "non nuptiis, sed virginitate destinatum" (Jerome), but to show that while Adam was formed from the soil, and Eve from a rib taken from his side, the other members of the race were to be produced "neque ex terra neque quovis alio mode, sed ex conjunctione maris et foeminse" (Rungius). <span class="cmt_word">And she conceived</span>. The Divine blessing (<a href="/genesis/1-28.htm">Genesis 1:28</a>), which in its operation had been suspended during the period of innocence, while yet it was undetermined whether the race should develop as a holy or a fallen seed, now begins to take effect (cf. <a href="/genesis/18-14.htm">Genesis 18:14</a>; <a href="/ruth/4-13.htm">Ruth 4:13</a>; <a href="/hebrews/11-11.htm">Hebrews 11:11</a>). <span class="cmt_word">And bare Cain</span>. <span class="accented">Acquisition</span> or <span class="accented">Possession</span>, <span class="accented">from kanah</span>, to acquire (Gesenius). Cf. Eve's exclamation. Kalisch, connecting it with <span class="accented">kun</span> or <span class="accented">kin</span>, to strike, sees an allusion to his character and subsequent history as a murderer, and supposes it was not given to him at birth, but at a later period. Tayler Lewis falls back upon the primitive idea of the root, to create, to procreate, generate, of which he cites as examples <a href="/genesis/14-19.htm">Genesis 14:19, 22</a>; <a href="/deuteronomy/32-6.htm">Deuteronomy 32:6</a>, and takes the derivative to signify the <span class="accented">seed</span>, explaining Eve's exclamation <span class="accented">kanithi kain as</span> equivalent to <span class="greek">τετοκα</span> <span class="greek">τοκον</span>, <span class="accented">genui genitum</span> or <span class="accented">generationem</span>. <span class="accented"><span class="cmt_word"></span>And said, I have gotten a man from the Lord</span>. The popular interpretation, regarding <span class="accented">kani-thi</span> as the emphatic word in the sentence, understands Eve to say that her child was a thing achieved, an acquisition gained, either from the Lord (Onkelos, Calvin) or by means of, with the help of, the Lord (LXX., Vulgate, Jerome, Dathe, Keil), or for the Lord (Syriac). If, however, the emphatic term is Jehovah, then <span class="accented">eth</span> with Makkeph following will be the sign of the accusative, and the sense will be, "I have gotten a man - Jehovah" (Jonathon, Luther, Baumgarten, Lewis); to which, perhaps, the chief objections are <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="note_emph">(1)</span> that it appears to anticipate the development of the Messianic idea, and credits Eve with too mature Christological conceptions (Lange), though if Enoch in the seventh generation recognized Jehovah as the coming One, why might not Eve have done so in the first? (Bonar), <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="note_emph">(2)</span> that if the thoughts of Eve had been running so closely on the identity of the coming Deliverer with Jehovah, the child would have been called Jehovah, or at least some compound of Jehovah, such as Ishiah - <span class="hebrew">אישׁ</span> and <span class="hebrew">יהוה</span> - or Coniah - <span class="hebrew">קין</span> and <span class="hebrew">יהוה</span> (Murphy); <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="note_emph">(3)</span> si scivit Messiam esse debet Jovam, quomodo existimare potuit Cainam ease Messiam, quem sciebat esse ab Adamo genitum? (Dathe); and <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="note_emph">(4)</span> that, while it might not be difficult to account for the mistake of a joyful mother in supposing that the fruit of her womb was the promised seed, though, "if she did believe so, it is a caution to interpreters of prophecy" (Inglis), it is not so easy to explain her belief that the promised seed was to be Jehovah, since no such announcement was made in the Prot-evangel. But whichever view be adopted of the construction of the language, it is obvious that Eve's utterance was the dictate of faith. In Cain's birth she recognized the earnest and guarantee of the promised seed, and in token of her faith gave her child a name (cf. <a href="/genesis/3-20.htm">Genesis 3:20</a>), which may also explain her use of the Divine name <span class="accented">Jehovah</span> instead of <span class="accented">Elohim</span>, which she employed when conversing with the serpent. That Eve denominates her infant a man has been thought to indicate that she had previously borne daughters who had grown to womanhood, and that she expected her young and tender babe to reach maturity. Murphy thinks this opinion probable; but the impression conveyed, by the narrative is that Cain was the first-born of the human family. Genesis 4:1<a name="kad" id="kad"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/kad/genesis/4.htm">Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament</a></div>The propagation of the human race did not commence till after the expulsion from paradise. Generation in man is an act of personal free-will, not a blind impulse of nature, and rests upon a moral self-determination. It flows from the divine institution of marriage, and is therefore knowing (ידע) the wife. - At the birth of the first son Eve exclaimed with joy, "I have gotten (קניתי) a man with Jehovah;" wherefore the child received the name Cain (קין from קוּן equals קנה, κτᾶσθαι). So far as the grammar is concerned, the expression את־יהוה might be rendered, as in apposition to אישׁ, "a man, the Lord" (Luther), but the sense would not allow it. For even if we could suppose the faith of Eve in the promised conqueror of the serpent to have been sufficiently alive for this, the promise of God had not given her the slightest reason to expect that the promised seed would be of divine nature, and might be Jehovah, so as to lead her to believe that she had given birth to Jehovah now. את is a preposition in the sense of helpful association, as in <a href="/genesis/21-20.htm">Genesis 21:20</a>; <a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/39-2.htm">Genesis 39:2</a>, <a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/39-21.htm">Genesis 39:21</a>, etc. That she sees in the birth of this son the commencement of the fulfilment of the promise, and thankfully acknowledges the divine help in this display of mercy, is evident from the name Jehovah, the God of salvation. The use of this name is significant. Although it cannot be supposed that Eve herself knew and uttered this name, since it was not till a later period that it was made known to man, and it really belongs to the Hebrew, which was not formed till after the division of tongues, yet it expresses the feeling of Eve on receiving this proof of the gracious help of God.<div class="vheading2">Links</div><a href="/interlinear/genesis/4-1.htm">Genesis 4:1 Interlinear</a><br /><a href="/texts/genesis/4-1.htm">Genesis 4:1 Parallel Texts</a><br /><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/niv/genesis/4-1.htm">Genesis 4:1 NIV</a><br /><a href="/nlt/genesis/4-1.htm">Genesis 4:1 NLT</a><br /><a href="/esv/genesis/4-1.htm">Genesis 4:1 ESV</a><br /><a href="/nasb/genesis/4-1.htm">Genesis 4:1 NASB</a><br /><a href="/kjv/genesis/4-1.htm">Genesis 4:1 KJV</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="http://bibleapps.com/genesis/4-1.htm">Genesis 4:1 Bible Apps</a><br /><a href="/genesis/4-1.htm">Genesis 4:1 Parallel</a><br /><a href="http://bibliaparalela.com/genesis/4-1.htm">Genesis 4:1 Biblia Paralela</a><br /><a href="http://holybible.com.cn/genesis/4-1.htm">Genesis 4:1 Chinese Bible</a><br /><a href="http://saintebible.com/genesis/4-1.htm">Genesis 4:1 French Bible</a><br /><a href="http://bibeltext.com/genesis/4-1.htm">Genesis 4:1 German Bible</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/">Bible Hub</a><br /></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td align="center"><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <script type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script><br /><br /> </div> <div id="left"><a href="../genesis/3-24.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Genesis 3:24"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Genesis 3:24" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../genesis/4-2.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Genesis 4:2"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Genesis 4:2" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div> <div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>