Genesis 4:1 And Adam had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. "With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man," she said.

◄ Genesis 4:1 ►

New International Version
Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man.”

New Living Translation
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!”

English Standard Version
Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.”

Berean Standard Bible
And Adam had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man,” she said.

King James Bible
And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.

New King James Version
Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the LORD.”

New American Standard Bible
Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have obtained a male child with the help of the LORD.”

NASB 1995
Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have gotten a manchild with the help of the LORD.”

NASB 1977
Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have gotten a manchild with the help of the LORD.”

Legacy Standard Bible
Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have gotten a man with the help of Yahweh.”

Amplified Bible
Now the man Adam knew Eve as his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have obtained a man (baby boy, son) with the help of the LORD.”

Christian Standard Bible
The man was intimate with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. She said, “I have had a male child with the LORD’s help.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Adam was intimate with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. She said, “I have had a male child with the LORD’s help.”

American Standard Version
And the man knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man with the help of Jehovah.

Contemporary English Version
Adam and Eve had a son. Then Eve said, "I'll name him Cain because I got him with the help of the LORD."

English Revised Version
And the man knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Adam made love to his wife Eve. She became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, "I have gotten the man that the LORD promised."

Good News Translation
Then Adam had intercourse with his wife, and she became pregnant. She bore a son and said, "By the LORD's help I have gotten a son." So she named him Cain.

International Standard Version
Later, Adam had sexual relations with his wife Eve. She became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, "I have given birth to a male child—the LORD."

Majority Standard Bible
And Adam had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man,” she said.

NET Bible
Now the man had marital relations with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. Then she said, "I have created a man just as the LORD did!"

New Heart English Bible
Now Adam had marital relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived, and gave birth to Cain, and said, "I have gotten a man from God."

Webster's Bible Translation
And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bore Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.

World English Bible
The man knew Eve his wife. She conceived, and gave birth to Cain, and said, “I have gotten a man with Yahweh’s help.”

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
And the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceives and bears Cain, and says, “I have acquired a man by YHWH”;

Young's Literal Translation
And the man knew Eve his wife, and she conceiveth and beareth Cain, and saith, 'I have gotten a man by Jehovah;'

Smith's Literal Translation
And Adam knew Life, his wife, and she will conceive and bear Cain, and said, I obtained a man of Jehovah.

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Adam knew Eve his wife: who conceived and brought forth Cain, saying: I have gotten a man through God.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Truly, Adam knew his wife Eve, who conceived and gave birth to Cain, saying, “I have obtained a man through God.”

New American Bible
The man had intercourse with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, saying, “I have produced a male child with the help of the LORD.”

New Revised Standard Version
Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have produced a man with the help of the LORD.”

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
AND Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bore Cain, and said, I have gotten a man for the LORD.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And Adam had sexual intercourse with Eve his wife and she became pregnant and she bore Qayn, and she said, “I have obtained a man for LORD JEHOVAH.”

OT Translations

JPS Tanakh 1917
And the man knew Eve his wife; and she conceived and bore Cain, and said: 'I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.'

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and brought forth Cain and said, I have gained a man through God.

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

Cain and Abel
1And Adam had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man,” she said. 2Later she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the soil.…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

Cross References

Genesis 1:28
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.”

Genesis 3:16
To the woman He said: “I will sharply increase your pain in childbirth; in pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

1 John 3:12
Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain slay him? Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous.

Hebrews 11:4
By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

1 John 3:10-12
By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother. / This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. / Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain slay him? Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous.

1 Corinthians 15:22
For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

Romans 5:12
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned.

1 Timothy 2:13-14
For Adam was formed first, and then Eve. / And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman who was deceived and fell into transgression.

Matthew 23:35
And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

Luke 11:51
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, all of it will be charged to this generation.

Jude 1:11
Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion.

Hebrews 12:24
to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

1 John 3:8
The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil.

1 John 3:9
Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.

1 John 3:15
Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that eternal life does not reside in a murderer.

Treasury of Scripture

And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bore Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.

knew.

Numbers 31:17
Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.

Cain.

I have.

Genesis 4:25
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.

Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Genesis 5:29
And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.

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Genesis 4

1. The birth, occupation, and offerings of Cain and Abel.
8. Cain murders his brother Abel.
11. The curse of Cain.
17. Has a son called Enoch, and builds a city, which he calls after his name.
18. His descendants, with Lamech and his two wives.
25. The birth of Seth,
26. and Enos.

Berean Study Bible

And Adam had relations with his wife Eve
The phrase "had relations" is a euphemistic translation of the Hebrew word "yada," which means "to know." This term is used in the Hebrew Bible to describe intimate knowledge, often in the context of marital relations. The use of "yada" emphasizes the deep, covenantal bond between Adam and Eve, reflecting the sanctity of marriage as ordained by God. This union is the first recorded instance of human procreation, highlighting the divine blessing of fertility and the continuation of humanity.

and she conceived and gave birth to Cain
The act of conception and birth is a fulfillment of God's command to "be fruitful and multiply" (Genesis 1:28). The name "Cain" is derived from the Hebrew "Qayin," which is related to the verb "qanah," meaning "to acquire" or "to possess." This etymology reflects Eve's acknowledgment of God's provision and the acquisition of a new life. Cain's birth marks the beginning of human history outside the Garden of Eden, setting the stage for the unfolding narrative of sin and redemption.

'With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man,' she said
Eve's declaration, "With the help of the LORD," underscores her recognition of God's sovereignty and assistance in the process of childbirth. The Hebrew word for "LORD" is "Yahweh," the personal name of God, indicating a close, covenantal relationship. Eve's statement is an expression of faith and gratitude, acknowledging that life is a divine gift. The phrase "brought forth a man" signifies the miraculous nature of creation, as Eve participates in God's creative work by bringing forth new life. This moment foreshadows the ongoing struggle between human sinfulness and divine grace, as Cain's life will soon reveal the complexities of human nature and the need for redemption.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

IV.

THE FOUNDING OF THE FAMILY, AND COMMENCEMENT OF THE NON-PARADISIACAL LIFE.

(1) She . . . bare Cain, and said . . . --In this chapter we have the history of the founding of the family of Cain, a race godless and wanton, but who, nevertheless, far outstripped the descendants of Seth in the arts of civilisation. To tillage and a pastoral life they added metallurgy and music; and the knowledge not only of copper and its uses, but even of iron (Genesis 4:22), must have given them a command over the resources of nature so great as to have vastly diminished the curse of labour, and made their lives easy and luxurious.

I have gotten a man from the Lord.--Rather, who is Jehovah. It is inconceivable that eth should have here a different meaning from that which it has in Genesis 1:1. It there gives emphasis to the object of the verb: "God created eth the heaven and eth the earth," that is, even the heaven and even the earth. So also here, "I have gotten a man eth Jehovah." even Jehovah. The objection that this implies too advanced a knowledge of Messianic ideas is unfounded. It is we who read backward, and put our ideas into the words of the narrative. These words were intended to lead on to those ideas, but they were at present only as the germ, or as the filament in the acorn which contains the oak-tree. If there is one thing certain, it is that religious knowledge was given gradually, and that the significance of the name Jehovah was revealed by slow degrees. (See on Genesis 4:26.) Eve attached no notion of divinity to the name; still less did she foresee that by the superstition of the Jews the title Lord would be substituted for it. We distinctly know that Jehovah was not even the patriarchal name of the Deity (Exodus 6:3), and still less could it have been God's title in Paradise. But Eve had received the promise that her seed should crush the head of her enemy, and to this promise her words referred, and the title in her mouth meant probably no more than "the coming One." Apparently, too, it was out of Eve's words that this most significant title of the covenant God arose. (See Excursus on names Elohim and Jehovah-Elohim, at end of this book.) . . .

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 1. - Exiled from Eden, o'er, canopied by grace, animated by hope, assured of the Divine forgiveness, and filled with a sweet peace, the first pair enter on their life experience of labor and sorrow, and the human race begins its onward course of development in sight of the mystic cherubim and flaming sword. And Adam knew Eve, his wife. I.e. "recognized her nature and uses" (Alford; cf. Numbers 31:17). The act here mentioned is recorded not to indicate that paradise was "non nuptiis, sed virginitate destinatum" (Jerome), but to show that while Adam was formed from the soil, and Eve from a rib taken from his side, the other members of the race were to be produced "neque ex terra neque quovis alio mode, sed ex conjunctione maris et foeminse" (Rungius). And she conceived. The Divine blessing (Genesis 1:28), which in its operation had been suspended during the period of innocence, while yet it was undetermined whether the race should develop as a holy or a fallen seed, now begins to take effect (cf. Genesis 18:14; Ruth 4:13; Hebrews 11:11). And bare Cain. Acquisition or Possession, from kanah, to acquire (Gesenius). Cf. Eve's exclamation. Kalisch, connecting it with kun or kin, to strike, sees an allusion to his character and subsequent history as a murderer, and supposes it was not given to him at birth, but at a later period. Tayler Lewis falls back upon the primitive idea of the root, to create, to procreate, generate, of which he cites as examples Genesis 14:19, 22; Deuteronomy 32:6, and takes the derivative to signify the seed, explaining Eve's exclamation kanithi kain as equivalent to τετοκα τοκον, genui genitum or generationem. And said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. The popular interpretation, regarding kani-thi as the emphatic word in the sentence, understands Eve to say that her child was a thing achieved, an acquisition gained, either from the Lord (Onkelos, Calvin) or by means of, with the help of, the Lord (LXX., Vulgate, Jerome, Dathe, Keil), or for the Lord (Syriac). If, however, the emphatic term is Jehovah, then eth with Makkeph following will be the sign of the accusative, and the sense will be, "I have gotten a man - Jehovah" (Jonathon, Luther, Baumgarten, Lewis); to which, perhaps, the chief objections are

(1) that it appears to anticipate the development of the Messianic idea, and credits Eve with too mature Christological conceptions (Lange), though if Enoch in the seventh generation recognized Jehovah as the coming One, why might not Eve have done so in the first? (Bonar),

(2) that if the thoughts of Eve had been running so closely on the identity of the coming Deliverer with Jehovah, the child would have been called Jehovah, or at least some compound of Jehovah, such as Ishiah - אישׁ and יהוה - or Coniah - קין and יהוה (Murphy);

(3) si scivit Messiam esse debet Jovam, quomodo existimare potuit Cainam ease Messiam, quem sciebat esse ab Adamo genitum? (Dathe); and . . .

Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

And Adam
וְהָ֣אָדָ֔ם (wə·hā·’ā·ḏām)
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 120: Ruddy, a human being

had relations with
יָדַ֖ע (yā·ḏa‘)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3045: To know

his wife
אִשְׁתּ֑וֹ (’iš·tōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 802: Woman, wife, female

Eve,
חַוָּ֣ה (ḥaw·wāh)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 2332: Eve -- 'life', the first woman

and she conceived
וַתַּ֙הַר֙ (wat·ta·har)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 2029: To conceive, become pregnant

and gave birth to
וַתֵּ֣לֶד (wat·tê·leḏ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 3205: To bear young, to beget, medically, to act as midwife, to show lineage

Cain.
קַ֔יִן (qa·yin)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 7014: Cain -- a city in southern Judah

“With the help of
אֶת־ (’eṯ-)
Preposition
Strong's 854: Nearness, near, with, by, at, among

the LORD
יְהוָֽה׃ (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

I have brought forth
קָנִ֥יתִי (qā·nî·ṯî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 7069: To erect, create, to procure, by purchase, to own

a man,”
אִ֖ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

she said.
וַתֹּ֕אמֶר (wat·tō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

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OT Law: Genesis 4:1 The man knew Eve his wife (Gen. Ge Gn)