Genesis 4:1

1 Now Adam had sexual relations with his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When she gave birth to Cain, she said, “With the LORD ’s help, I have produced a man!”

Genesis 4:1 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 4:1

And Adam knew Eve his wife
An euphemism, or modest expression of the act of coition. Jarchi interprets it, "had known", even before he sinned, and was drove out of the garden; and so other Jewish writers, who think he otherwise would not have observed the command, "be fruitful and multiply": but if Adam had begotten children in a state of innocence, they would have been free from sin, and not tainted with the corruption of nature after contracted; but others more probably think it was some considerable time after; according to Mer Thudiusi, or Theodosius ^F20, it was thirty years after he was driven out of paradise:

and she conceived and bare Cain;
in the ordinary way and manner, as women ever since have usually done, going the same time with her burden. Whether this name was given to her first born by her, or by her husband, or both, is not said: it seems to have been given by her, from the reason of it after assigned. His name, in Philo Byblius ^F21, is Genos, which no doubt was Cain, in Sanchoniatho, whom he translated; and his wife, or the twin born with him, is said to be Genea, that is, (hnyq) , "Cainah": the Arabs call her Climiah ^F22 and the Jewish writers Kalmenah ^F23; who are generally of opinion, that with Cain and Abel were born twin sisters, which became their wives.

And said,
that is, Eve said upon the birth of her firstborn,

I have gotten a man from the Lord;
as a gift and blessing from him, as children are; or by him, by his favour and good will; and through his blessing upon her, causing her to conceive and bear and bring forth a son: some render it, "I have gotten a man, the Lord" ^F24; that promised seed that should break the serpents head; by which it would appear, that she took that seed to be a divine person, the true God, even Jehovah, that should become man; though she must have been ignorant of the mystery of his incarnation, or of his taking flesh of a virgin, since she conceived and bare Cain through her husband's knowledge of her: however, having imbibed this notion, it is no wonder she should call him Cain, a possession or inheritance; since had this been the case, she had got a goodly one indeed: but in this she was sadly mistaken, he proved not only to be a mere man, but to be a very bad man: the Targum of Jonathan favours this sense, rendering the words,

``I have gotten a man, the angel of the Lord.''

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FOOTNOTES:

F20 Apud Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. p. 6.
F21 Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 1. c. 10. p. 34.
F22 Abulpharag. ib.
F23 Shalshaleth Hakabala, fol. 74. 2.
F24 (hwhy ta vya) "virum Dominum", Fagius, Helvicus, Forster, Schindler, Luther, Pellican, Cocceius; "virum qui Jehovah est", Schmidt.

Genesis 4:1 In-Context

1 Now Adam had sexual relations with his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When she gave birth to Cain, she said, “With the LORD ’s help, I have produced a man!”

2 Later she gave birth to his brother and named him Abel. When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground.

3 When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the LORD .

4 Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The LORD accepted Abel and his gift,

5 but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or the man; also in 4:25 .
• [b]. Or I have acquired. Cain sounds like a Hebrew term that can mean “produce” or “acquire.”