Who did Cain marry?

A childhood friend from Perry, Harris McIntyre, called to pose a question. Harris asked, “Billy, I know you have studied the Bible for many years. I have a question concerning the first humans on earth. According to Genesis 4, Adam and Eve had two sons, Cain and Abel. Since Cain slew Abel, how could Cain find a woman to marry in the land of Nod?” A similar question was directed to William Jennings Bryan by ACLU lawyer Clarence Darrow in the famous Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925 held in Dayton, Tennessee.

Genesis 4:16 informs that the Land of Nod was east of Eden. Genesis 2:10-14 names four rivers which surrounded Eden: Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates. Based on this, the Garden of Eden, including the land of Nod, was located in the territory of modern-day Iraq.

Genesis chapters 1 and 2 reveal that God created the heavens, the earth, and all human and animal life. Genesis 4 states that Adam and Eve had two sons, Cain and Abel. Since Cain murdered Abel, many wonder how the first civilization increased. The answer is found in Genesis 5:1-3. It reveals that Adam and Eve had a third son named Seth, who was born when Adam was 130 years old. A key passage is Gen 5:4. It reveals that Adam had other unnamed “sons and daughters.” Additionally, the writings of first-century historian, Flavius Josephus, inform us that, “Adam and Eve had 33 sons and 23 daughters.”

Important to our understanding of Genesis are its ancient genealogies. Biblical history was written during a male-dominated society in which family genealogies usually reflected the names of males, restricting themselves to the first-born son. A case in point is Genesis 5. It lists the genealogies of Adam by providing the father’s name, his age when he “begot” a son, the number of years the father lived after his son’s birth, and the father’s total lifespan. For example, Genesis 5:3-5 states: “When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son and named him Seth. After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 additional years and had other sons and daughters. Adam lived a total of 930 years.” Confirming these genealogies is the ancient “Book of Jubilees,” which is called the “Lesser Genesis.”

The Genesis creation story tells us that the human race began with two humans: Adam and Eve. Then came their sons: Cain and Abel. According to Genesis 5:4, Adam and Eve gave birth to a third son named Seth. It adds that Adam and Eve gave birth to “other sons and daughters,” all of who are unnamed. Therefore, any second generation marriages stemming from Adam and Eve would require that brothers marry sisters or nieces. Early Jewish sources assert that Cain married Adam’s oldest daughter named ‘Aclima.’

Sixteen hundred (1600) years after creation, wickedness was running amok on earth. So, God sent a flood to destroy all humanity. Because of Noah’s faithfulness, God spared the lives of Noah and his family (Genesis, chs 6-8). Twenty-four hundred (2400) years after the Great Flood, God sent His Son, Jesus, to die on Calvary’s cross for the collective sins of the human race—past, present, and future genearations. “In Him was life, and His life was the light of men” (John 1:4).

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