Stupid Bible question?

Question

Hi. I was just wondering.....

In the Bible it tells us that Adam and Eve were the first people on earth....making Cain and Abel the 3rd and 4th, right?

Why, then, after Cain killed Abel was he saying to God that if he had to be a vagrant all over the world (because God was banishing him from the land) that whoever he came upon might kill him? (paraphrased from Genisis Chapter 4) I thought at that time there were only the four of them.

Thanks so much for your thoughtful answers.

My kids (teenagers) asked me and I would like to know how to explain it.

Answer 1

Don't forget that Cain was banished to the land of Nod, where he found his wife. Who was she and where did she come from?

Just be honest with you kids. It's a mythological story that may have allegorical meaning for Christians, but it cannot be taken literally on its face. It's intended to convey a meaning, not historical fact.

Answer 2

Okay, you said you don't know much about the Bible so I will be happy to help you get the story straight. The Bible does say that God created a man - Adam. From Adam came Eve and they had many children. Cain was the first born, Abel the second, and then Seth. From there it says that Adam lived 800 years after Seth was born and had many daughters and sons. Okay, it is established that God made one man in the beginning so the only logical explanation is that Abel and his wife were sister and brother and his sister/wife went with him when he was banished. Yep, ewwwww!! In our society we are filled with disgust over the idea of incest. However, back then that was not the case. It was not until the time of Moses that God's law made incest a sin. Moses was born in 1391 BC and was around 80 years old when God first talked to him from the burning bush. That means close family marriages were completely normal for a very long time. Once the law was made, it was probably more weird for them to not date their sister or 1st cousins than to do it. Obviously many years have passed since incest became a sin so we are well adjusted to the gross factor of it. Now for the land of Nod, who said there was a whole town? It said it was a "land" not a town. The same passage says that Cain built a city. Cain was banished to an area of existance away from his home and he built a city there. It is unreasonable to think every single person that ever lived back in those days is recorded in the Bible. Much like today, every life lived will not be accounted for in history books.

Answer 3

There is no reason to believe that Cain and Abel were the only children of Adam and Eve. Cain, having murdered, now feared being murdered. Sin breeds suspicion and fear.

Answer 4

The only honest answer is that we don't know. Perhaps he married a sister (whole other issue there), perhaps God created other people, or perhaps Adam and Eve are representatives of the whole ancient human race at the time they gained a consciousness above that of animals. "Adam" means man or mankind, by the way. We don't know and we don't have to know everything. Have you looked on Web sites for what Jewish scholars teach? They would be the experts. Best to you and your intelligent children.

Answer 5

The answer lies in Genesis 5:4, "And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years; and he begat sons and daughters." Yes, Cain married a sister. There was not a law forbidding that until Moses time. Also, the gene pool had not been corrupted so genetic problems would not have spawned.

Answer 6

Besides Cain and Abel, Adam and Eve also had other children whose names are not recorded. They had probably come of age and moved to other places and settled.

Answer 7

MANKIND ADHAM

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Most have read when Cain talked with Abel and in the field murdered him.
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Gen.4:8 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.

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God then cursed and drove Cain out, and Cain said.
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Gen.4:14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.

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Whom is Cain worried about, every one that finds me shall slay me?
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Gen.4:17 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.

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Where did Cain find a wife?
The answers are in the Hebrew text of (Gen.1:26 and Gen.2:7).
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__Mankind__

Gen.1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

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The word “man” (Gen.1:26) in the Hebrew text looks like this ( אדם ).
With no article means “Mankind”, transliterated is (adam).
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__Adham__

Gen.2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

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The word “man” (Gen.2:7) in the Hebrew text looks like this ( את־האדם ).
With the article and particle means “The man Adham”, transliterated is (eth-Ha adham).
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__The Answers__

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On the sixth day, God created or made “Mankind”.
On the eighth day, God formed “the man Adham”.
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Gen.3:20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

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So why is it written in (Gen.3:20) that Eve was the mother of all living?
Because it was God’s plan, umbilical cord to umbilical cord would be born Jesus Christ.
Please share this study arrangement with others.
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Answer 8

Genesis 5:4.....Adam and Eve had many sons and daughters after those 2. The geneology is tracked through their 3rd son Seth.

Debbie

Answer 9

This may be due to the fact that the Bible is not big on saying the names of females. No doubt that there were many other children that married and moved out into the world.

Answer 10

Adam and Eve lived several hundreds of years, they could have produced thousands of children before this happened.