Genesis 4

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 4:9

‘And Yahweh said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s shepherd (guardian).” ’ The question parallels the ‘where are you?’ of Genesis 3:9. Again God is giving the man an opportunity to express his repentance. Cain’s reply demonstrates how far he has fallen. Unlike Adam and Eve he does not run to hide. He tries to brazen it out. ‘I do not know. Am I my brother’s guardian?’ There is little remorse and something surly and unfeeling in what he says... read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 4:10

‘And Yahweh said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s bloods (literally) is crying to me from the ground.” ’ “What have you done?” compare Genesis 3:13. These parallels suggest that the story of the Garden of Eden was known to the original author in some form. The plural for blood is intensive, referring to shed blood. It may also vividly suggest the different rivulets of blood that are staining the ground, sown by the ‘worker of the ground’. It is not said to be the dead body... read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 4:11

‘And now you are cursed from the ground which has opened its mouth to receive the blood of your brother from your hand.’ What dreadful seed Cain has sown, and what dreadful consequences it will bring. Cain will no longer be able even to ‘work the ground’, that pitiful alternative to the fruit of the garden. He will be driven out into the desert to survive as he can. So as man’s sin grows, so do the benefits he receives from God decrease. Note that it is Cain who is cursed directly in contrast... read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 4:12

‘When you work the ground it will no longer yield to you its fruit, you will be a fugitive and wanderer on the earth.’ He is to be banished to a place where the ground is totally unfruitful, driven as a consequence of his own sin. There will be nowhere for him to go, for his blood will be sought by the whole family of men. The only safe place will be the ‘land of wandering (nod)’, the desert where nothing can be grown and a man must be constantly on the move in order to find food and water.... read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 4:13

‘And Cain said to Yahweh, “My punishment is beyond bearing.” ’ Cain can only think of the consequences for himself of his sin. There is no repentance, only regret over what he has lost. How can he cope with a life of loneliness and wandering, ever afraid of every kinsman he meets? Living in terror that he will be hunted down in vengeance. read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 4:14

“See, this day you have driven me away from the face of the ground, and from your face I will be hidden, and I will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth and whoever finds me will kill me.” He has lost his two most treasured possessions. The ‘face of the ground’ on which he has laboured, which has been his interest and has mainly looked kindly on him, and the face of God which has meant protection. Now his food has gone and his protection has gone. God will not look when men seek him out... read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 4:15

Genesis 4:15 a ‘Then Yahweh said to him, “It shall not be so. If anyone slays Cain vengeance will be exacted on him sevenfold”.’ Note that these words are in the form of a pronouncement. Cain is mentioned in the third person and not as ‘you’. This is God’s covenant, a unilateral covenant given in a theophany, that protects Cain and is the reason why the story was so vividly remembered and so carefully passed down. This is no promise made to Cain alone, but a public statement of Yahweh’s... read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 4:16

‘And Cain went away from the place of Yahweh, and dwelt in the land of Nod, east of Eden.’ The land of Nod (nod = ‘wandering’) refers to the desert, the ‘land of wandering’. Man moves ever onward, eastwards from Eden, driven by sin, getting further and further away from Paradise. Leaving ‘the place of Yahweh’ suggests that the writer has in mind that Cain has now lost even that place where food could be obtained, the place that Yahweh had allowed man (the ‘face of the ground’? - v.14). Now he... read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 4:17

Genesis 4:17-24 . The Line of Cain. The following account was probably originally a second covenant record. It is built around the covenant recognised between Lamech and Yahweh, but in view of its reference back to Yahweh’s covenant with Cain it may well have been conjoined with the previous record immediately. It is, however interesting to note that neither God nor Yahweh is directly mentioned in this section. Genesis 4:17 ‘And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch (Chanokh),... read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 4:18

The line of Cain is then outlined. In accordance with ancient genealogies only important descendants would be listed and the length of time to Lamech may have been considerable. The similarity to names in the line of Seth need not surprise us. They came of the same family roots and similarity of names is to be expected over time. The only name which is the same in both cases is Lamech, and the Lamechs are clearly distinguished. Besides we have here only the Hebrew forms of the names. Originally... read more

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 4:9

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 4:10

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 4:11

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 4:12

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 4:13

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 4:14

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 4:15

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 4:16

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 4:17

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 4:18

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