And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. Genesis 4:1
Adam knew her. I wonder if someday the Newest Translation Bible will say it how it is. Adam had sex with his wife. Is it so abhorrent a thing? Well, maybe. See the part where eating a fruit makes your genitals something to be ashamed of.
3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
Ok, I've been trying to wrap my head around this, but I can't. Apparently Cain brought God some fruit he grew. And Abel brought God some stock he had raised. God praised Abel, and not Cain. Why? Poor Cain did his best with what he had. Tsk. And it's not like God was a meat eater and didn't like pears. This was, according to the Bible, about "respect." He didn't respect Cain like he did Abel. For some reason. No reason is given. It seems arbitrary - unless there was a plan....
7If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
8And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. Genesis 4:7-8
Cain killed his bro because God had more repsect for livestock than he had for fruit. Weird that that's what God gave Adam and Eve to eat in the first place. I guess the whole fruit thing grew old.
9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?
10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. Genesis 4:9-10
What do you mean "Where is he?" your omnisciecne. Don't YOU know? I stuck a knife in him because you favored him over me for absolutley no good reason. Come on, Dad. You really can't be that ignorant. I appreciate the beauty of the whole creation thing, but please - you're embarassing yourself here.
11And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;
12When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
And of course, responded to in the typical overreactive way. One sin = screwed for life. Ok, murder is a pretty big deal, and I don't mean to make light of it, but I find corporal punishment far more humanitarian than eternal suffering. I dunno. Maybe it's just me. Just kiill the guy. Don't torture him.
But then get this twist.
13 And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
15 And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
So Cain was sorry. "WAAH" sayeth the LORD. You screwed up, dude, and now it's pay time!
And Cain said "Listen Holy guy - all the people (which at this time equals Adam, Eve, and heathen savages *thaks LW* , are going to have my ass over this.
And God said "Oh no they won't. Only *I* can have your ass over this, and I will, but everyone else - if they mess with you, they're mine!" As if somehow they weren't already.
16And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
And that's the end of that.
Most of the rest of chapter 4 is a series of begats which is cool, because it gives a sense of history. But I did find one passage very interesting.
23 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.
His wives "plural"? This guy had more than one wife. Good for you, I guess, dude. You're a braver man than I am, but isn't that sort of thing frowned upon?
And what of the rest of it? There's no mention of who he slew. Someone explain this passage to me...I'm curious who got the pointed stick in the neck and why.
25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.
26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.
Adam ought to know her pretty well by now. He's been knowing her, probably every day, since he ate that fruit and realized he had a penis. I guess they got over the ashamed of their genitals thing.
There's quite a jump ahead here. After Adam and Eve had Seth, we proceed right to the fact that Seth had Enos. Again - I'm not sure with whom. Not Eve, his Mom, obviously. A heathen savage, maybe? There's no way to know this. Whatever the case, Enos must have done something either really good or really bad if that's when it began that men called upon the name of the LORD.
Chapter 5 is totally a begat chapter, so we're gona skip that one. Chapter 6 is a whole new deal. I'll be back with it in a few days.