This was prompted by this response in a different thread.
But is this really true that Cain traveled a great distance and found his soul mate??
Just a couple things I noticed from the text of Genesis where this account is taken. Please note the following exhibits.
A) The passage never says Cain found a wife in Nod.
B) The passage never says Cain actually knew his wife
in Nod.
Read for yourself.
Gen. 4:16 Then 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 bore Enoch. And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his sonEnoch.
(NKJV)
You'll notice there's nothing there about Cain finding a wife in Nod. In fact, there's nothing about him actually having relations with her
in Nod. It merely says he knew his wife, and while context may suggest this took place in Nod, it's not definite. Take a look at how the NIV separates the paragraphs.
16 So Cain went out from the LORDS presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
Gen. 4:17 Cain 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.
(NIV)
Now in addition to that, exhibit C) Seth is said to be Abel's replacement
Gen. 4:25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.
and exhibit D) he was born when Adam was 130 years old.
Gen. 5:3 And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.
That would seem to indicate that Cain and Abel must have been quite old at the time of Abel's death, assuming they were born early in Adam's life. If that's true, both men may have been well over a century old at the time of Abel's killing.
Thus, it would follow Cain was already likely Married with children as was Abel. For are we really to assume that both men lived the equivalent of 2 modern lifespans and didn't take wives?
Now the genealogy this is taken from records that Adam and Eve had other children, both sons and daughters. Jewish tradition says they had 56 children. Maybe that's true and maybe it isn't, but for certain God commanded them to multiply. I would say 3 children in 130 years is quite unlikely.
Now all of this suggest to me that Cain was already married with children at the time he killed Abel, and that when he was banished he took his wife with him. I would also surmise that at that time, thousands of people were already on the earth from all the children Adam and Eve had. In fact, there were likely multiple generations from each of Adam's many sons. This would explain Cain's fear of retribution.
Now this is speculation, but it's based on the text. But then I came across what Josephus had to say on the matter. He was a jewish historian with much better historical sources than we have today. He was not inspired, but his historical accounts have proved very accurate and helpful.
According to his sources, after Cain and slew Abel, the following took place. (this blew me away)
God therefore did not inflict the punishment [of death] upon him, on account of his offering sacrifice, and thereby making supplication to him not to be extreme in his wrath to him; but he made him accursed, and threatened his posterity in the seventh generation. He also cast him, together with his wife, out of that land. And when he was afraid, that in wandering about he should fall among wild beasts, and by that means perish, God bid him not to entertain such a melancholy suspicion, and to go over all the earth without fear of what mischief he might suffer from wild beasts; and setting a mark upon him that he might be known, he commanded him to depart.
And when Cain had travelled over many countries, he, with his wife, built a city, named Nod, which is a place so called, and there he settled his abode; where also he had children. However, he did not accept of his punishment, in order to amendment, but to increase his wickedness; for he only aimed to procure everything that was for his own bodily pleasure, though it obliged him to be injurious to his neighbors. Antiq. 1:58-60
It appears that the ancients came to the same conclusions I did. Cain already had a wife! Josephus continued.
He first of all set boundaries about lands; he built a city, and fortified it with walls, and he compelled his family to come together to it; and called that city Enoch, after the name of his eldest son Enoch.Antiq. 1:62
The ancients also believed that Cain already had a family, and that he later compelled them to join him in the city he built. Thus, they believed, and I suspect, that Enoch his first born was not procreated in Nod, but was compelled to come later to live in the city.
Now I'm not saying this is inspired history, but it does seem to be very reliable history and very compatible with the Genesis account, fitting nicely with many implications Genesis makes. For the Genesis account strongly implies Cain was somewhere just short of 129 years old at the time he killed Abel, given Seth's date of birth.
I found this all to be a blessing. This issue is probably one of the biggest stumbling blocks for skeptics and christians alike. A little careful reading, though, and everything seems to fall right into place.
