Where Did Cain Get His Wife?

One day long ago, I was handling the burial of a parishioner's brother. Her brother did not attend church and hadn't made a public confession of Christ as his Lord until his final days on the earth. During the funeral arrangements, his sister told me that he had made his peace with God just before he died. That ancient phrase, "He made his peace with God," accurately depicts carnal man's condition before God.

Romans Chapter 8, Verse 7:

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

Webster defines enmity: "The quality of being an enemy; the opposite of friendship; ill will; hatred; unfriendly disposition; malevolence."

James 4:4:

Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Unregenerated man is at war with God. Being at war with God is a matter of kinship. It all began with our original parents, Adam and Eve. They sold themselves and all their progeny to Satan. Man was born dead in trespasses and sins—which is the antithesis of life and obedience in Christ Jesus. Man is at war with God and making peace requires total surrender to God and His Word.

The ability to accomplish such an impossible feat requires the miraculous transformation of the born-again experience, which is blood redemption through the Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus. There is no other way. All rebellion against the truth must cease and the peace that passes understanding will become your portion.

GOD SAID, Genesis 4:3-17:

3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.

4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

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.

9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?

10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.

11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;

12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

13 And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.

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.

15 And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

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.

Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and dwelt with his wife in the land of Nod.

MAN SAID: Where did Cain get his wife if Adam and Eve were the world's first couple? This is just another example of the unreliability of the Bible and that it was obviously written by fallible men. Some, on the other hand, erroneously use the above passage to create what's known as the Pre-Adamic Age doctrine which alleges there was life on earth long before Adam. This doctrine has no Biblical support and comfortably houses the Devil's doctrine of evolution as well as platforms for pure bigotry against the black man and the Jewish people.

Now THE RECORD: In regard to the Pre-Adamic Age teaching, the Word of God is abundantly clear. The Word of God says in Exodus Chapter 20, Verse 11:

For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

And then in Genesis Chapter 3, Verse 20:

And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

All things including mankind were created in six days and what was created on each day was clearly defined. Man was not created until the sixth day and the Bible states that Eve is the mother of all living humans. That means no Pre-Adamic Age. Now concerning the people who ask where Cain got his wife, it is obvious they've overlooked Genesis Chapter 5, Verse 4:

And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:

Cain, of course, married his sister, a daughter of Adam and Eve. In the ancient histories of the famed Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, he cites Jewish antiquities and states, "The number of Adam's children, as says in the old tradition, was thirty-three sons and twenty-three daughters." As an aside, the marrying of near kin was not forbidden until God's commandment to Moses. Because of the purity of the gene pool, the deformities associated with marrying near of kin would not have been a problem. It should also be noted that the average lifespan of man before the flood of Noah was 911 years. Also, the average age of siring a child up and to the days of Noah was 116 years old. Assuming that was the approximate time of their marriage as well, Cain's sisters would have had plenty of time to mature.

Another point of note is that Cain established the precedent of older men marrying younger women. Today, 90% of American females will become widows during their lifetimes.

It is clear that Cain married his sister.

GOD SAID that Cain went out from his presence and dwelt with his wife in the land of Nod.

MAN SAID this is just another example of the unreliable Bible or promoting the erroneous concept of the Pre-Adamic Age.

NOW YOU HAVE THE RECORD.

 

References:

King James Bible

Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary

Josephus Complete Works, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Ham, K., "Cain's Wife: It Really Does Matter!" Back to Genesis, Nov. 1993, Institute for Creation Research.

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