Where Did Cain Get His Wife
| By: Rev. Sam Harris; ©2000 |
| Genesis 4:16-17 refers to Cain’s “wife.” If Adam and Eve were the first humans, and Cain was their son, where did he find a wife? Rev. Harris explains. |
Where Did Cain Get His Wife?
Question:
In Genesis 4:16 & 17, we read: “Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. And Cain had relations with this wife and she conceived, and gave birth to Enoch. . . .” Where did Cain get his wife?
Answer:
This is a question that is almost impossible to answer, as there is not a lot of internal evidence in Scripture. Hebrew tradition suggests that Cain married his sister. The internal evidence is found in Genesis 3:20 which reads “Now man (Adam) called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.” The Hebrew word for “Eve” is “Chavvah” which comes from the root word “chavah” meaning “to live.” “Chavvah” is translated “life-giver” or “Eve.” Therefore, as in 3:20—Eve is the “lifegiver of all.”
Halley, in his commentary, which is quoted in several others, suggests that Adam and Eve had 33 sons and 28 daughters! Certainly Scripture does support that there were more children; Genesis 5:4 reads: “Then the days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he had other sons and daughters.” Obviously there was time for more children!
