4:1 _Eve's reference to the Lord's HELP when CAIN is born conveys a sense of optimism. The serpent may yet be overthrown by the offspring of the woman.
4:2__5 _Although Cain and Abel have contrasting occupations and present different types of offerings to God, the present episode is not designed to elevate herdsmen over farmers, or animal offerings over plant offerings. One way to explain why God HAD REGARD FOR ABEL AND HIS OFFERING. but not for Cain, is to posit that Abel's offering, being of the FIRSTBORN OF HIS FLOCK, is a more costly offering, expressing greater devotion. Another way to explain the difference is first to observe that both offerings are recognizable parts of the later Levitical system: for Cain's offering of THE FRUIT OF THE GROUND (VERSE 3), Deuteronomy 26:2 (an offering expressing consecration), and for Abel's offering of the firstborn of his flock, Deuteronomy 15:19__23 (a kind of peace offering, a meal in God's presence).
4:2__5 _But at no point does the Bible suggest that offerings work automatically, as if the worshiper's faith and contrition did not matter; and Cain's fundamentally bad heart can be seen in his resentment toward his brother and in his uncooperative answers to God in the rest of the passage. Several NT texts derive legitimate inferences from this narrative. namely, that Cain demonstrated an evil heart by his evil deeds, while Abel demonstrated a pious heart by his righteous deeds (1 JOHN 3:12); and that Abel offered his sacrifice by faith and was commended as righteous for that reason (HEBREWS 11:4).
4:6__7 _The Lord's words challenge Cain to do better. He still has the possibility of turning, evidently with God's help, to please God. To succeed in doing this, however, he must overcome the domination of SIN, presented here as a wild beast seeking to devour Cain (Verse 3:16)
4:8 _The brevity of the report of Abel's murder underlines the coldness of Cain's action. Jealousy, probably coupled with anger at God, causes him to slay his own brother without pity. The heinousness of this spiteful murder reveals that sin has mastered Cain.
4:9 _AM I MY BROTHER'S KEEPER? When the Lord confronts Cain with his crime, his coldhearted nature causes him to deny any knowledge about his brother. Cain shows no sign of remorse.
4:10:__12 _Cain's punishment is linked to his crime. He will no longer be able to cultivare the soil (verses 11__12) because his brother's blood cries out to God FROM THE GROUND (verse 10). Cain's sentence adds to the alinenation between man and the ground that has already been introduced in 3:17__18. Underlying these punishment is a principle that recurs throughout Scripture human sin has a bearing on the fertility of the earth. Whereas God intended humanity to enjoy the earth's bounty, sin distances people not only from God himself but also from nature (See 3:17__19). Genesis 4:10 is the likely background for the NT's use the phrase "the blood of Abel" as the paradigm for an innocent victim crying for justice (MATTHEW 23:25; LUKE 11:51; HEBREW 12:24).
4:13__16 _Cain is immediately conscious of the severity of his punishment. He is to be alienated from both the ground and God. While this may seem like a very leniet sentence, it meant that Cain would become A FIGITIVE AND A WANDERER ON THE EARTH (verse 14). Alienated from the rest of human society, Cain fears the others will have such a dread of him that anyone finding him WILL KILL him (verse 14). The leader is not told who those others might be. By way of reassuring Cain, the Lord states that SEVENFOLD vengeance will come on anyone who kills him (verse 15). THE LORD PUT A MARK ON CAIN. In spite of much scholarly speclation, the precise nature of the mark is uncertain. It must have been something visible, but that is all that can be said. Like his parents, who were sent out of the garden, Cain is forced to move away FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD (and Moses seems to be implying that this is true of Cain's offspring as well, since verses 17__24 lack any mention of God). Presumably Cain moves father to the EAST OF EDEN (verse 16). Cain settles in a region that is appropriately known as NOD (location unknown), which in Hebrew means "wandering."
4:17__24 _These verses provide selective information about Cain's descendants, concluding with a description of Lamech (verse 19), who boasts of having taken revenge "seventy-sevenfold" by killing a man who wounded him. Seven generations on from Cain, Lamech resembles his ancestor, but seems to be worse.
4:17 _CAIN KNEW HIS WIFE. No explanation is given as to the origin of Cain's wife. As is often the case in Genesis, the limited and selective nature of the account leaves the reader with unanswered questions. Presumably, Cain married his sister__a reasonable assumption, since the whole human race descends from Adam and Eve (and the laws later forbidding this practice, such as in Leviticus 18:9, would not have been relevant at this stage; Genesis 5:4). HE BUILT A CITY. The precise identity of the city-builder is open to debate. While Cain would appear to be the builder (on the basis that it is named after HIS SON, ENOCH), the Hebrew text could also be taken as indicating that Enoch was the builder. Although the opening two chapters make no specific mention of a "city," the early readers of Genesis would have automatically assumed that the instruction to fill the earth implies that humanity would establish a city or cities around, and then spreading out from, Eden. While this was part of God's design for the earth, Genesis observes that some people engage in city building without any reference to God (See 11:1__9).
4:18__22 _Seven generations after Cain, LAMECH is born (verse 18). His immediate descendants are associated with animal breeding, music, and metalwork, all of which are noteworthy cultural and techological developments (verses 20__22). Whereas Abel islinked to sheep (verse 2), the herds of JABAL also include cattle, donkeys, and possibly camels (verse 20). (Pre-flood genealogies are well attested in the ancient Near East, in particular, in Mesopotamian texts. The Sumerian king List records lists of monarchs who ruled the land before the "Great Deluge." The founding of cities was one of the primary industries of these pre-flood rulers. Such parallels confirm the historicity of the biblical pre-flood account.)
4:23__24 _The new developments of Verses 20__22 are overshadowed by Lamech's boast of having KILLED A MAN for WOUNDING or STRIKING him (Verse 23). Lamech's response is out of proportion to the injury, showing his inordinate vengefulness. This, like bigamy (verse 19), reveals his depravity. His behavior reveals that the line of Cain is dominated by those who have no regard for the lives of others or respect for the principle of monogamy that 2:23__24 endorses. Later laws in the Pentateuch insist on proportional punishment: in the case of murder, a maximun of life for life (EXODUS 21:23). SEVENFOLD . . . SEVENTY-SEVENFOLD. Lamech is boasting that his vengeful passion makes him safer than Cain (GENESIS 4:15), who had protection only from God. "Seventy-sevenfold" is a picturesque statement for extravagant excess; (MATTHEW 18:22).
4:25__26 _The final verses of this section suddenly jump back to Adam and Eve in order to report the birth of their third son, SETH. Eve's remark, GOD HAS APPOINTED FOR ME ANOTHER OFFSPRING INSTEAD OF ABEL, is clearly an allusion back to the offspring of the woman in 3:15. The potential of Seth's birth is immediately underlined by the observation, AT THAT TIME PEOPLE BEGAN TO CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD, to seek him in (public) worship. Details are not given, but the implication may be that this calling on the Lord's name began in Adam's own family circle.
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