Genesis 4

—the Lord had respect &c.] It is probable that God testified His acceptance of Abel’s sacrifice by fire coming from heaven; traces of which we meet with in Gen. xv. 17, and very many examples of it, in after-times; when Moses offered the first great burnt-offerings according to the law, Lev. ix. 24; when Gideon offered upon the rock, Judg. vi. 21; when David stayed the plague, 1 Chron. xvi. 26; and Solomon consecrated the temple, 2 Chron. vii. 1; and when Elijah contended with the worshippers of Baal, 1 Kings xviii. 38, &c. Whence the Israelites, wishing all prosperity to their king, pray that God would “accept” (in the Hebrew, turn into ashes) “his burnt sacrifice,” Psalm xx. 3. Bp. Patrick. Hereby it was declared, that the innocent was taken for the guilty; and the sacrifice sustained the vengeance, that must otherwise have been inflicted on the sinner. Bp. Horne.

Chap. V. ver. 1. This is the book of the generations of Adam.] That is, here follows a catalogue of the posterity of Adam. So the word “Book” signifies in Matt. i. 1, an account of those, from whom Christ the “second Adam” came; as here an account of those who came from the “first Adam.” Yet not of all; but of the principal persons, by whom, in a right line, the succession was continued down to Noah, and Abraham the father of the faithful, and so to the Messiah. As for the collateral lines, which, no doubt, were very many, by the other sons and daughters of the persons here mentioned, they are omitted: because no more was pertinent to Moses’s purpose. Bp. Patrick.

— in the likeness of God] This is again mentioned, to remind men how highly God had honoured them, and how shamefully they had requited him. Bp. Patrick.

Genesis 4:2

2.—she again bare his brother Abel.] But gives no reason of his name, which signifies comity. Nor is it said who gave him his name; whether his parents at his birth, or others after he was murdered. It seems, however, that his parents made no account of him, in comparison with the first-born; because they did not place in him their hope of the promised Seed; as they did in Cain. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells.

2. — called their name Adam.] Or, Man. The common name to both sexes; like Homo in Latin, &c. Bp. Patrick.

Genesis 4:3

3.—in process of time] That is, at the return of some set and solemn time of Divine worship. Bp. Kidder.

3. And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years.] For the more speedy propagation of mankind, for the quicker increase of arts and sciences, and that the knowledge of religion might with the greater certainty be established and conveyed down to posterity, it pleased the Divine Providence to prolong the lives of men before the flood to a much greater age than they have ever since been. Pyle.

— in his own likeness, after his image;] Not so perfect as himself, when he was created; but with those imperfections which impaired him, after he had eaten the forbidden fruit; that is, inclined to sin, and subject to death. For “his own likeness and image,” wherein this son was begotten, seems to be opposed to the likeness and image of God, wherein Adam was made; and which, though not quite lost, was lamentably defaced. Bp. Patrick.

Genesis 4:4

4.—Abel,—brought of the firstlings &c.] Thereby instructing us, as the law afterwards did the children of Israel, that we ought not to appear before the Lord “empty,” or to offer to Him of that “which cost us nothing.” The prime of our years, the flower of our strength, the best of our substance, the first fruits of our increase, should be dedicated and devoted to Him, who makes us all we are, and gives us all we have. So shall the benedictions of Heaven descend upon all things around us, and upon ourselves in the use of them. Bp. Horne.

—And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering.] First to his person, (his faith and purity of mind,) and then to his external service. Bp. Wilson.

Why had Almighty God respect to Abel’s offering, and not to Cain’s? To me the reason seems plainly this, that Cain offered only of the fruit of the ground, which had no respect to Christ, but only to God as the Creator of the world; whereas Abel offered the firstlings of his flock, and the fat thereof, which was a bloody sacrifice, typifying the death of Christ, “the Lamb slain from the beginning of the world;” and so exercised his faith in the promised Messiah. And therefore the Apostle saith, “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain,” Heb. xi. 4. By faith; that is, by believing the promise, which God had made to mankind in Christ; and manifested his faith by offering such a sacrifice, as represented the death of Christ; by whom therefore his sacrifice was well pleasing and acceptable to God. Bp. Beveridge.

In this particular the righteous Abel is a constant and useful monitor to every Christian, who comes into the presence of his heavenly Father, to come with the commemoration, as he did with the prefiguration, of the body and blood of Christ his Saviour. And let the one stir up at least as lively a faith in those who live since the manifestation of the Messiah in the flesh, as the other did in those who lived before it. Bp. Horne.

It is not improbable (and it seems to be suggested in the history itself) that there was a main difference in this; namely, that Cain offered the vile and refuse, and Abel the most precious, part of his treasures. Thus it is said of the one, that he “brought (barely) of the

of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

Genesis 4:5

5.—And Cain was very wroth.] He was highly incensed against Abel; instead of making severe reflexions on himself, and considering what had provoked God to slight his sacrifice; that so he might amend it and procure his favour. Bp. Patrick.

—his countenance fell.] Became not only dejected through grief, but lowering and cloudy, as of one meditating revenge. Bp. Patrick.

Genesis 4:6

6. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? &c.] The judgments of God are intended by Him to lead us to repentance. In the very midst of judgment He thinketh upon mercy; and the punishments which are inflicted in this life, are graciously intended for our advantage in another. Happy would it have been for Cain, had he made a proper use of his misfortunes. But it seems a mad passion blinded him. He went on to add sin to sin, and to cut off the very possibility of repentance. And yet numerous as his offences had been, and great as the present provocation was, the Divine mercy was still the greater. God was pleased to condescend so far, as to expostulate the matter with him: “Why,” said He, “art thou wroth?” &c. One might have imagined, this would have corrected his extravagance. So gracious a representation of the case must

Before CHRIST 4001. a Hebr. 11. 4. The murder of Abel. Cain is cursed. Before CHRIST 4003. Or, how the excellency? Or, subject unto thee. about 3875. b Wisdom 10. 3. Matt. 23. 35.

Genesis 4:7

7. If thou doest well, &c.] We may consider these words, either as setting forth the true reason of Cain’s misfortunes; or else as directing him what use and improvement be ought to make of them. In the former view, they represent the unreasonableness of his present anger against his brother. All the disappointments he met with are here charged home upon himself. “If thou doest” thy duty, “shalt thou not be accepted!” and receive the same marks of approbation which have been vouchsafed unto thy brother? But, “if thou doest not well, sin” (that is, the punishment of sin) will constantly attend thee.—In the other view, they are a direction how he ought to behave for the future; and a kind of promise, that his past sins should be forgiven him on his repentance. To what purpose is it to disquiet thyself; and by thy impatience to aggravate the evils, which thou endurest? Rather consider, that they are the punishments of thy crimes; and know, that as sin hath been the occasion of thy calamities, so repentance must be their cure. If thou reformest, “shalt thou not be accepted!” But if thou persistent in the same course of provocations, expect to suffer a greater train of evils. Bp. Conybeare.

— sin lieth at the door.] Thy punishment is not far off. “Your sin will find you out,” Numb. xxxii. 53. “Sin,” is sometimes put for its reward or punishment, as well as for the sacrifice, by which it is stoned. Numb. xii. 11; 2 Cor. v. 21; Levit. iv. 24. And it may be said to “lie at the door,” when it is near at hand, Matt. xxiv. 33; Jum. v. 9. Bp. Kidder. The word rendered “sin” may be rendered “a sin-offering.” The sense then is, “If thou doest not well,” or, “if thou didst not well,” “a sin-offering lieth (that is, croucheth) at the door,” in readiness to be sacrificed, as an atonement for thy offence. Dr. Kennicott, Dr. Hales.

— unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.] He is still thy younger brother, and shall be subject to thee, (see chap. iii. 16,) and thou shalt be his superior, and retain the privilege of thy birth-right. Bp. Patrick.

These words are connected with the clause, “If thou doest well,” and not with the words which immediately go before. See an example to the same purpose, chap. x. 12. Bp. Kidder.

That which aggravated Cain’s guilt was, that God Himself was pleased to argue with him before he committed the horrid fact, in order to deter him from it. And is not this the very case of all sinners? Does not God, by His ministers and by His word, warn them and set before them the danger and dreadful consequences of sin? And yet it makes no impression upon a heart set upon wickedness, as Cain’s was. Bp. Wilson.

Genesis 4:8

8.—Cain—slew him.] Thus his impiety at length ended in murder. One sin draws on another; a disregard to God naturally shows itself in hatred to man.

Genesis 4:9

9. And the Lord said unto Cain, &c.] See note on chap. iii. 9.

— And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? ] I can give no account of him. Was he committed like a little child to my care; to look after him, and see that he took no harm? Bp. Patrick.

Thus adding both falsehood and insolence to all his other crimes; and in a manner, defying the Deity in his own more immediate presence. Bp. Conybeare.

For this complication of crimes, envy, which led him to murder his brother, and then to attempt to hide it by a lie, and by an insolent rebellious answer to God, Cain is styled in the New Testament, a child “of that wicked one,” 1 John iii. 12, as imitating his works, who through envy seduced our first parents, and was a “liar” and a “murderer” from the beginning. Dr. Hales.

Genesis 4:10

10. And he said, What hast thou done? &c.] Though there should be no living witness of thy guilt, beside thyself, yet thine own conscience cannot but accuse thee, and the Almighty Judge of heaven and earth is Himself a spectator of thy crimes. In vain is it to hope for impunity. The innocent blood, which thou hast shed, crieth aloud for vengeance, and hath entered into the ears of the Lord of Hosts.

Though God doth not, in the present age of the world, discover Himself in so astonishing a manner as formerly, still He is not unconcerned in human affairs. Those crimes of men, which are committed with the utmost secrecy, are generally brought to light by the conduct of Providence. Sin will either discover itself, or be discovered. The blood of an Abel will cry aloud from the earth: and almighty vengeance will pursue the murderer. Bp. Conybeare.

Genesis 4:11

11. And now art thou cursed from the earth, &c.] I pass a sentence upon thee of perpetual banishment from this conery, which hath drunk in the blood of thy brother. Hitherto Adam and his children had lived together: but now Cain was banished into a region, far off from his father, who dwelt in the neighbourhood of Paradise. Bp. Patrick.

The punishment of Cain. Enoch the first city. Before CHRIST about 3875. mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;

Genesis 4:12

12. — her strength:] That is, her fruit or increase, which speaks the strength of the earth, Joel ii. 22. Bp. Kidder. — a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.] In that strange country thou shalt have no rest; but wander up and down unquietly, and not know where to settle. Bp. Patrick.

Genesis 4:13

13. — My punishment is greater than I can bear.] This is too heavy a punishment; for I sink under the weight of it. Others interpret it, as appears by the margin of our Bible, “My sin is unpardonable; or too great to be forgiven.” Thus he, who at first was not so sensible of his sin as to confess it, now thinks it to no purpose to beg for mercy. Bp. Patrick. Cain, when he had slain his righteous brother, and God had laid a judgment upon him for it, complained of the burden of it, as if the Lord had dealt hardly with him, in laying more upon him than he was able to bear. Solomon noteth it as a fault common among men, when by their own sinful folly they have pulled misery upon themselves, then to murmur against God, and complain of His providence. “The foolishness of man perverteth his way, and his heart fretteth against the Lord,” Prov. xix. 3. Bp. Sanderson.

Genesis 4:14

14. — driven me — from the face of the earth:] Banished me from my own native country, ver. 11. Bp. Patrick. From the land, where he then was; not the earth, in the largest sense, for in this he was to be a fugitive and a vagabond. Bp. Kidder. — and from thy face shall I be hid:] And more than that, I am banished from Thy blessed presence, ver. 16, and shall not have the liberty to come before Thy glorious majesty. Bp. Patrick. — every one that findeth me shall slay me.] By the usual progress of guilt, Cain adds to his former sins, that of despair, for he does not attempt to supplicate mercy from God; and terror, lest he should find no mercy from man. Dr. Hales. He was not only burdened with the sense of present evil, but suspicious of what was farther yet to come. Every crime naturally suggests to us some punishment attending it: but the horror of blood, shed unjustly, will make men suspect the danger even of their own lives. And in truth it is no wonder that the common enemies of mankind should expect to be treated as enemies; and imagine, that the rest of the world will be apt to purchase their own security at their expense. A life, forfeited in this manner, must, according to the common course of things, be in continual danger: and fears, thus grounded, will supply the room of that punishment which is feared. Bp. Conybeare.

Genesis 4:15

15. — Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, &c.] Or, as the word we translate “therefore” may be rendered, “not so;” it shall not be as thou suspectest. Or the word may signify “surely:” so that the sense will be, Take it for a certain truth, that if any man slay Cain, &c. Bp. Patrick. — sevenfold.] The number seven is an indication of an indeterminate, but great number; signifying as much as, he shall endure many punishments. God intended that the life of Cain should be prolonged in a miserable state, as an example of His vengeance; to deter others from committing the like sin. Bp. Patrick. — And the Lord set a mark upon Cain.] What this mark was is not agreed by interpreters. Probably it might be such an one as at once answered the purposes of punishment, and secured him from human vengeance. We may therefore fairly suppose, that it consisted in a certain horreur of countenance, occasioned by the inward horreur of his mind, which proved, at the same time, the sign and punishment of his guilt. This must affect every spectator with a very lively concern: it must deter men from the commission of the like sin; and make the wretched Cain a living warning to the world. Bp. Conybeare. “Set a mark;” or, as the Seventy say, “God set a sign or wonder to Cain;” that is, he wrought a miracle to convince him, or satisfy him, that whoever met him should not kill him. The murder of Abel was not long before the birth of Seth, (see ver. 25.) which was about the year of the world 130. So that at that time the earth was greatly peopled. Bp. Wilson.

Genesis 4:16

16. — from the presence of the Lord.] It is the opinion of many commentators that there was a Divine Glory, called by the Jews the SCHECHINAM, which appeared from the beginning; the sight of which Cain never after this time enjoyed, but was banished from it. And God withdrawing His gracious presence from him, he was also forsaken by God, and put out of His special protection. Bp. Patrick. In the persons of these two brothers, whose history is recorded as an example “for our admonition,” are characterized the two opposite spirits, that have ever since divided the world between them, and will continue to do so, till the consummation of all things; that is to say, the humble, obedient, and suffering spirit of faith; and the haughty, rebellious, and persecuting spirit of infidelity. He who would be remembered with the children of God, must copy the example of Abel: he who chooses to have his portion with the seed of the evil one, may go “in the way of Cain.” Bp. Horne. — the land of Nod.] Or of smile, to which Cain re- Lamech and his two wives. The birth of Seth and Enos. Before CHRIST about 3873. Lamech. Mehujael begat Methusae: and Methusae begat † Lamech.

Genesis 4:19

19. And Lamech took unto him two wives: ] Polygamy was a deviation from the first institution of marriage, Gen. ii. 24. It was brought into use by Cain’s offspring; though it was afterwards allowed to the Israelites, as was divorce also in some cases, “for the hardness of their hearts.” Bp. Kidder.

It is likely that Lamech was the first who ventured to transgress the original institution, which was observed even by the Cainites till this time. Dr. Allis.

Genesis 4:20

20. — he was the father ] The Hebrews call him the “Father” of any thing, who was the first inventor of it; or a most excellent master of that art. Bp. Patrick.

It demonstrates the superintendence of the great Creator and Conservator of the world, that things of great and absolutely necessary use have soon and easily occurred to the invention of man; but things of little use, or of very dangerous use, are rarely and slowly discovered, or still utterly undiscovered. We have, as early as the Mosaick history, an account of the inventions of the more usual crafts and occupations: thus, Gen. iii. 23, Adam was sent “forth from the garden of Eden” by God Himself “to till the ground.” And in the next chapter his two sons, Cain and Abel; the one was of the same occupation, “a tiller of the ground,” the other “a keeper of sheep.” And the posterity of these are in the latter end of Gen. iv. recorded; Jabal, to have been “the father of such as dwell in tents;” that is, he was the inventor of tents, and of pitching those moveable houses in the fields, for looking after and depasturing their cattle in the deserts and uncultivated world. Tubal-Cain was “an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron;” or the first that found out the art of melting and malleating metals, and making them useful for tools and other necessary implements. And his sister Naamah, whose name is only mentioned, is by some thought to have been the inventor of spinning and clothing. Yes, the very art of musick is thus early ascribed to Jabal: so indulgent was the Creator, to find means to divert melancholy, to cheer the spirits, and to entertain and please mankind. Dr. Derham.

Genesis 4:22

22. — And Enoch walked with God] That is, was a religious man: he pleased God, and had therefore a true faith in Him, (Heb. xi. 5, 6,) and a firm belief of future rewards, Jude ver. 14, 15. Bp. Kidder. Enoch “walked with God” in the way of His commandments and ordinances: such was the effect and evidence of his faith, which “saw Him,” who is otherwise “invi-

Genesis 4:23

23. And Lamech said unto his wives, &c. ] The occasion of this speech of Lamech’s not being revealed, it cannot be reasonably expected that any man should positively determine the full sense of it. Thus much seems plain, that they are vaunting words, intimating his expectation of God’s extraordinary regard to him, though he had killed, or should kill, a man, as Cain Vol. I.

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.

Genesis 4:25

25. — called his name Seth: ] The word signifies appointed, or substituted. Eve gave this son the name of Seth, because she looked on him as appointed by God to be what Cain, she thought, should have been, till God rejected his sacrifice, and he slew Abel. In whose room she believed God had substituted this son to be the seed, from whom the Redeemer of the world should come. Dr. Allis.

Genesis 4:26

26. — he called his name Enos: ] Signifying the weak and miserable condition of mankind, which he seemed, by giving him this name, to deplore. Bp. Patrick.

— then began men to call upon the name of the Lord. ] This does not import, that men did not “call upon the Lord,” which includes all his worship and service, before this time; but that now they were awakened to be more serious and frequent in religious offices: or rather, they began to hold more publick assemblies; for families being now multiplied, to which religion was before confined, they joined together and met in larger societies and communion, for the solemn worship of God by sacrifices and other religious services.

But it being scarce credible, that publick assemblies were not held long before this, some men of note follow our marginal translation, “then began men (that is, the children of Seth) to call themselves by the

C The genealogy, age, and death of the patriarchs, Before CHRIST 4004. # CHAP. V.