Genesis 4

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 4:7

(7) If thou doest well.—This most difficult verse is capable of a satisfactory interpretation, provided that we refuse to admit into this ancient narrative the ideas of a subsequent age. Literally, the words mean, If thou doest well, is there not lifting up? It had just been said that his countenance fell; and this lifting up is often elsewhere applied to the countenance. (Comp. Job 10:15; Job 11:15.) “Instead, then, of thy present gloomy despondent mood, in which thou goest about with downcast... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 4:8

(8) And Cain talked with Abel his brother.—Heb., And Cain said unto Abel his brother. To this the Samaritan Pentateuch, the LXX., the Syriac, and the Vulg. add, “Let us go out into the field;” but neither the Targum of Onkelos nor any Hebrew MS. or authority, except the Jerusalem Targum, give this addition any support. The authority of the versions is, however, very great: first, because Hebrew MSS. are all comparatively modern; and secondly, because all at present known represent only the... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 4:9

(9) And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother?—It is the beauty of these early narratives that the dealings of the Deity with mankind are all clothed in an anthropomorphic form, for the reasons of which see Note on Genesis 2:7. It seems, then, that Cain at first went away, scarcely conscious of the greatness of his crime. He had asserted his rights, had suppressed the usurpation of his privileges by the younger son, and if he had used force it was his brother’s fault for resisting... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 4:10

(10) Thy brother’s blood crieth unto me.—The sight he has seen of death cleaves to him, and grows into a terror; and from above the voice of Jehovah tells him that the blood he has shed calls aloud for vengeance. Thus with the first shedding of human blood that ominous thought sprang up, divinely bestowed, that the earth will grant no peace to the wretch who has stained her fair face with the life stream of man. But “the blood of Jesus speaketh better things than that of Abel” (Hebrews 12:24).... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 4:11-12

(11, 12) And now (because of thy crime) art thou cursed from the earth.—Heb., from the adâmâh, or cultivated ground. Cain was the first human being on whom a curse was inflicted, and it was to rise up from the ground, the portion of the earth won and subdued by man, to punish him. He had polluted man’s habitation, and now, when he tilled the soil, it would resist him as an enemy, by refusing “to yield unto him her strength.” He had been an unsuccessful man before, and outstripped in the race of... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 4:13-14

(13, 14) My punishment (or my iniquity) is greater than I can bear.—Literally, than can be borne, or “forgiven.” It is in accordance with the manner of the Hebrew language to have only one word for an act and its result. Thus work and wages are expressed by the same word in Isaiah 62:11. The full meaning, therefore, is, “My sin is past forgiveness, and its result is an intolerable punishment.” This latter idea seems foremost in Cain’s mind, and is dwelt upon in Genesis 4:14. He there complains... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 4:15

(15) The Lord said unto him, Therefore.—Most of the versions have Not so, which requires only a slight and probable change of the Hebrew text.Sevenfold.—Cain’s punishment was severe, because his crime was the result of bad and violent passions, but his life was not taken because the act was not premeditated. Murder was more than he had meant. But as any one killing him would mean murder, therefore the vengeance would be sevenfold: that is, complete, seven being the number of perfection. Others,... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 4:16

(16) Cain went out from the presence of the Lord.—See Note on Genesis 3:8. Adam and his family probably worshipped with their faces towards the Paradise, and Cain, on migrating from the whole land of Eden, regarded himself as beyond the range of the vision of God. (See Note on Genesis 4:14.)The land of Nod.—i.e., of wandering. Knobel supposes it was China, but this is too remote. Read without vowels, the word becomes India. All that is certain is that Cain emigrated into Eastern Asia, and as... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 4:17

CAIN AND HIS DESCENDANTS.(17) Cain knew his wife.—As Jehovah had told Eve that He would “greatly multiply her conception” (Genesis 3:16), we cannot doubt but that a numerous offspring had grown up in the 130 years that intervened between the birth of Cain and that of Seth, the substitute for Abel. As a rule, only the eldest son is mentioned in the genealogies, and Abel’s birth is chronicled chiefly because of his tragical end, leading to the enactment of the merciful law which followed and to... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 4:18

(18) Unto Enoch was born Irad.—Cain was building a city, ‘Ir, and it was this probably which suggested the name ‘Irad. It has little in common with Jared, as it begins with a harsh guttural, usually omitted in English because unpronounceable, but which appears as g in Gomorrah. Possibly ‘Irad means citizen; but these names have been so corrupted by transcribers that we cannot feel sure of them. Thus, here the LXX. calls ‘Irad Gaïdad, and the Syriac ‘Idor. In the list that follows, the names... read more

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 4:7

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 4:8

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 4:9

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 4:10

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 4:11-12

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 4:13-14

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 4:15

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 4:16

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 4:17

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 4:18

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