08.23.23
Cain’s Wife?
After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were 800 years, and he begat sons and daughters. (Genesis 5:4)
We have completed looking at each Book of the Bible over the past year or so. What comes next? I’ll have to confess that I have had a bit of ‘writers’ block.’
However, what I plan to do, at least for the foreseeable future, is to answer questions about the Bible. But I could use your help. You can assist by sending me your questions. I can be contacted by means of the church email address which is found at the end of this article. If you happen to know my cell phone, you could call or text me. Snail mail also works.
I’ll begin today by striving to answer the age-old question, “Where did Cain get his wife?” It’s a good question, and it even came up at the Scopes Trial almost 100 years ago.
We are told in Genesis 4:16-18 that Cain had a wife and through her several children were born. But there seemingly being only three people on earth after Cain slew Abel, from where did his wife come?
God created only one man, Adam, who only had one wife, Eve, made from his rib. All of us are descended from them. So the answer has to be that Cain married a sister, or possibly a niece. If close relatives did not marry at first, there wouldn’t have been any other generations.
The world at that time, prior to the Great Flood, was covered by a canopy, which filtered the sun’s rays, and kept the world from experiencing some of the harm the sun would eventually cause.
The bodies of Adam and Eve, before they sinned, were perfect. Their children were just a step away from this. Furthermore, the world before man fell into sin was perfect, so the diseases we experience were unknown.
For these, and other reasons, it was not harmful for people to marry close relatives at first. So, even in the days of Abraham, close to 2000 years later, he was able to marry his half-sister.
However, by the time of Moses, 400 years after the time of Abraham, people had interbred for almost 2500 years. By this point, it was harmful to continue to do so. Therefore in the Mosaic Law [Leviticus 18-20], there are guidelines given whereby close relatives cannot marry. The closer we are in relationship, the more chance that our gene pools will contain similar mistakes, and mixing them will create deformities. God knows what is best for us, and these laws of Moses are for our protection.
Some would like us to think that Cain got his wife from another race of people in the land of Nod. But this can’t be so, because the Bible is very clear that all of us are children of Adam. Adam sinned and through him we are all sinners (Romans 5:8). The Second Adam, Jesus Christ, the Perfect Man, took our sin upon Himself so that we might have the forgiveness of sins.
If Cain’s wife were not also a relative of Adam (a daughter or a granddaughter), then the genetic lines would be blurred, and the promise of salvation through Christ would be suspect.
Thankfully, because the Bible is true, consistent and dependable, the promise of salvation is secure in Christ. “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22)