And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord
Either from the place where the Lord was talking with him; or
from the place where his glorious Majesty usually resided, where
was some visible token of his presence, some stream of light and
glory which showed him to be there, and which was at the east of
the garden of Eden; from whence Cain was obliged to go, not being
suffered to appear any more before God, or among his worshippers:
there was a place near Tripoli in Syria, near where Mount Lebanon
ends, called (proswpon tou
yeou) , "the face of God", made mention of by Polybius
{e}, and Strabo F6: and was near those parts where some
place the garden of Eden; and it is possible might have its name
from some tradition that this was the place where the face of God
was seen, or his presence enjoyed by our first parents after
their ejection from Eden, and from whence Cain went forth:
and dwelt in the land of Nod;
so called, not before he went there, but from his wandering up
and down in it; continuing in no one place in it, as well as his
mind was restless and uneasy; Jarchi mentions another reason of
its name, that in every place where he went the earth shook under
him, and men said, Depart from him, this is he that slew his
brother:
on the east of Eden;
further east from the place where his father Adam and his other
children dwelt; not being allowed to continue any longer with
them, or converse with them, after he had been guilty of so
horrid a crime.
F5 Hist. l. 5. p. 260.
F6 Geograph. l. 16. p. 519.