Genesis 4

Genesis 4

And Adam knew Eve his wife. And she conceived and bore Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. And she bore again, his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

And in the end of days, it happened, Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground. And Abel also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat of it. And the LORD had respect to Abel and to his offering, but He did not have respect to Cain and to his offering. And Cain glowed with anger, and his face fell.

So God loves meat and does not respect the humble farmer who toils for months. The LORD is kind of a prick. I think Cain was actually justified in his anger.

And the LORD said to Cain, Why have you angrily glowed? And why did your face fall? If you do well, shall you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin crouches at the door; and its desire is for you, and you shall rule over it.

Okay, I really don’t get this one, at all. Why ask why he is angry? You are the one who pissed Cain off.

And Cain talked with his brother Abel. And it happened when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is your brother Abel? And he said, I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper? And He said, What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries to Me from the ground. And now you are cursed more than the ground which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it will not again give its strength to you. And you shall be a vagabond and a fugitive in the earth.

The first murder. I always liked the phrase “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Why does the LORD not know what happened? Another point against an omnipresent god. Cain got screwed over.

And Cain said to the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold! You have driven me out from the face of the earth today, and I shall be hidden from Your face. And I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth, and it shall be that anyone who finds me shall kill me. And the LORD said to him, Therefore whoever kills Cain shall be avenged seven times. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain so that anyone who found him should not kill him.

And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and lived in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. 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 son, Enoch. And Irad was born to Enoch. And Irad fathered Mehujael. And Mehujael fathered Methusael. And Methusael fathered Lamech.

Couple of things here. Where did Cain’s wife come from? I take it back, Cain was not screwed over at all. He was able to get married, have kids, and even build a freaking city AND no one can lay a hand on him. Sweet deal for a murderer. Being a vagabond is awesome in the Bible.

And Lamech took two wives to himself. The name of the first one was Adah, and the name of the other was Zillah. And Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents, and with cattle. And his brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those playing the harp and the organ. And Zillah also bore Tubalcain, the hammerer of every engraving tool of bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.

Polygamy for the first time, just 4 chapters in. No idea where these women came from. The Bible only follows the paternal line of genealogy. This paragraph is seems to mirror polytheistic ideas of gods. In Greek mythology, Hephaestus was the god of the forge (Vulcan), Apollo was the god of music, Hermes was the god of travel and trade. Interesting.  

I just realized, this a major anachronism.  This passage supposedly happened before the great flood, over 2000 BCE.  Did you see the reference to iron engraving tools?  The iron age didn’t begin in that region of the world until over 1000 years later, around 1050 BCE.  This is very clear evidence that the Bible stories were written AFTER 1050 BCE.

And Lamech said to his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice, wives of Lamech, listen to my speech. For I have killed a man because of my wound, and a young man because of my hurt. For Cain is avenged seven times, and Lamech seventy-seven times.

I really don’t understand how you can suffer for the wrongdoings of your parents. This trend continues throughout the bible. Jesus proactive and retroactively died for our sins, even though he didn’t commit them. I don’t know why you would pay for something you did not do yourself, or have any control over. It is not fair, in the least. You did the crime, you pay the time. Lamech did not kill anyone, but he is paying for his father’s crime, 77 times over.

And Adam knew his wife again. And she bore a son, and called his name Seth. For she said, God has appointed me another seed instead of Abel, because Cain killed him. And there was also a son born to Seth, and he called his name Enos. Then men began to call upon the name of the LORD.

Seth was the Greek name for the Egyptian god, Set. God of storms, the desert, chaos, and war. He was one of the first gods in Egypt, and I don’t think this is a coincidence. I am not a Bible scholar, but I do like Egyptian mythology.

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