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.
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.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Adam
The first man created by God, husband to Eve, and father to Cain and Abel. His actions and relationship with God set the stage for humanity's journey.

2. Eve
The first woman, created as a companion to Adam. She is the mother of Cain and Abel and plays a crucial role in the unfolding of human history.

3. Cain
The firstborn son of Adam and Eve. His birth marks the beginning of human procreation and the continuation of the human race.

4. The LORD (Yahweh)
The covenant name of God, indicating His personal and relational nature with humanity. Eve acknowledges God's role in the birth of Cain.

5. Conception and Birth
The event of Cain's birth is significant as it represents the fulfillment of God's command to "be fruitful and multiply" (Genesis 1:28).
Teaching Points
The Role of God in Human Life
Eve acknowledges God's help in the birth of Cain, reminding us of God's sovereignty and involvement in the details of our lives.

The Beginning of Human Procreation
The birth of Cain marks the beginning of human procreation, emphasizing the importance of family and the continuation of God's creation mandate.

The Impact of Sin on Human Experience
The context of Genesis 4:1 follows the Fall, highlighting how sin has affected human relationships and experiences, including childbirth.

Acknowledging God's Provision
Eve's statement reflects a heart of gratitude and recognition of God's provision, encouraging us to acknowledge God's role in our own lives.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Eve's acknowledgment of God's help in Genesis 4:1 reflect her understanding of God's role in her life, and how can we apply this understanding in our daily lives?

2. In what ways does the birth of Cain fulfill God's command in Genesis 1:28, and how does this relate to our responsibility to fulfill God's purposes today?

3. Considering the context of Genesis 3:16, how might Eve's experience of childbirth have been affected by the Fall, and what does this teach us about the consequences of sin?

4. How does the relationship between Cain and Abel, as seen in later verses, illustrate the impact of sin on human relationships, and what lessons can we learn from this for our own relationships?

5. Reflecting on Hebrews 11:4, how can we strive to emulate Abel's faith in our own lives, and what steps can we take to ensure our actions are pleasing to God?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Genesis 1:28
This verse connects to the command given by God to Adam and Eve to "be fruitful and multiply," which is fulfilled in the birth of Cain.

Genesis 3:16
The pain in childbirth mentioned here is a consequence of the Fall, which Eve would have experienced during Cain's birth.

Hebrews 11:4
This verse contrasts the faith of Abel with the actions of Cain, providing insight into the spiritual dynamics within the family of Adam and Eve.
The Kingdom of GodR.A. Redford Genesis 4:1-8
Antiquity of HusbandryBishop Babington.Genesis 4:1-16
Cain and AbelG. R. Leavitt.Genesis 4:1-16
Cain and AbelGenesis 4:1-16
Cain and AbelEssex RemembrancerGenesis 4:1-16
Cain and AbelM. Dods, D. D.Genesis 4:1-16
Cain and AbelI. Williams, B. D.Genesis 4:1-16
Cain and AbelA. Jukes.Genesis 4:1-16
Domestic LifeJ. S. Exell, M. A.Genesis 4:1-16
Formal Worship an Immense CurseHomilistGenesis 4:1-16
Lessons from the History of CainG. Gilfillan.Genesis 4:1-16
Naming of ChildrenBishop Babington.Genesis 4:1-16
The Best OfferingGenesis 4:1-16
The First Age of the ConflictJ. M. Gibson.Genesis 4:1-16
The First Patriarchal Form of the New DispensationR. S. Candlish, D. D.Genesis 4:1-16
The Religion of Nature, and the Religion of the GospelD. Evans.Genesis 4:1-16
The Story of Cain and AbelD. Rhys Jenkins.Genesis 4:1-16
The True and False Worshipper of GodJ. S. Exell, M. A.Genesis 4:1-16
The Two OfferingsH. Bonar, D. D.Genesis 4:1-16
The Two SacrificesF. D. Maurice, M. A.Genesis 4:1-16
Two Kinds of OfferingsBishop Babington.Genesis 4:1-16
People
Abel, Adah, Adam, Cain, Enoch, Enos, Enosh, Eve, Irad, Jabal, Jubal, Lamech, Mehujael, Methusael, Naamah, Seth, Tubal, Tubalcain, Zillah
Places
Tigris-Euphrates Region
Topics
Acquired, Adam, Bare, Beareth, Birth, Bore, Cain, Child, Conceived, Conceiveth, Connection, Eve, Forth, Got, Gotten, Lay, Manchild, Pregnant, Relations, Saying, Wife
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Genesis 4:1

     5729   one flesh
     5733   pregnancy

Genesis 4:1-2

     2233   Son of Man
     5081   Adam, life of
     5093   Eve

Genesis 4:1-8

     6155   fall, of Adam and Eve

Library
What Crouches at the Door
'If thou doest not well, sin croucheth at the door: and unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.'--GENESIS iv. 7 (R. V.). These early narratives clothe great moral and spiritual truths in picturesque forms, through which it is difficult for us to pierce. In the world's childhood God spoke to men as to children, because there were no words then framed which would express what we call abstract conceptions. They had to be shown by pictures. But these early men, simple and childlike
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Parental Duties Considered and Urged.
"And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the Spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed." Some general observations on the importance of education, especially parental education, were made in the preceding discourse. We are now to consider the ways and means by which parents, are to seek a godly seed. Only general directions can here be given. Much will be left to the discretion of those concerned. Some of the principal parental duties are, Dedication of their children
Andrew Lee et al—Sermons on Various Important Subjects

The Blessings of Noah Upon Shem and Japheth. (Gen. Ix. 18-27. )
Ver. 20. "And Noah began and became an husbandman, and planted vineyards."--This does not imply that Noah was the first who began to till the ground, and, more especially, to cultivate the vine; for Cain, too, was a tiller of the ground, Gen. iv. 2. The sense rather is, that Noah, after the flood, again took up this calling. Moreover, the remark has not an independent import; it serves only to prepare the way for the communication of the subsequent account of Noah's drunkenness. By this remark,
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Cain and Abel. Gen 4:3-8
CAIN and ABEL. Gen 4:3-8 When Adam fell he quickly lost God's image, which he once possessed: See All our nature since could boast In Cain, his first-born Son, expressed! The sacrifice the Lord ordained In type of the Redeemer's blood, Self-righteous reas'ning Cain disdained, And thought his own first-fruits as good. Yet rage and envy filled his mind, When, with a fallen, downcast look, He saw his brother favor find, Who GOD's appointed method took. By Cain's own hand, good Abel died, Because
John Newton—Olney Hymns

Letter xxiv (Circa A. D. 1126) to Oger, Regular Canon
To Oger, Regular Canon [34] Bernard blames him for his resignation of his pastoral charge, although made from the love of a calm and pious life. None the less, he instructs him how, after becoming a private person, he ought to live in community. To Brother Oger, the Canon, Brother Bernard, monk but sinner, wishes that he may walk worthily of God even to the end, and embraces him with the fullest affection. 1. If I seem to have been too slow in replying to your letter, ascribe it to my not having
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Letter xxxv. From Pope Damasus.
Damasus addresses five questions to Jerome with a request for information concerning them. They are: 1. What is the meaning of the words "Whosoever slayeth Cain vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold"? (Gen. iv. 5.) 2. If God has made all things good, how comes it that He gives charge to Noah concerning unclean animals, and says to Peter, "What God hath cleansed that call not thou common"? (Acts x. 15.) 3. How is Gen. xv. 16, "in the fourth generation they shall come hither again," to be reconciled
St. Jerome—The Principal Works of St. Jerome

Letter xxxvi. To Pope Damasus.
Jerome's reply to the foregoing. For the second and fourth questions he refers Damasus to the writings of Tertullian, Novatian, and Origen. The remaining three he deals with in detail. Gen. iv. 15, he understands to mean "the slayer of Cain shall complete the sevenfold vengeance which is to be wreaked upon him." Exodus xiii. 18, he proposes to reconcile with Gen. xv. 16, by supposing that in the one place the tribe of Levi is referred to, in the other the tribe of Judah. He suggests, however, that
St. Jerome—The Principal Works of St. Jerome

How the Kindly-Disposed and the Envious are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 11.) Differently to be admonished are the kindly-disposed and the envious. For the kindly-disposed are to be admonished so to rejoice in what is good in others as to desire to have the like as their own; so to praise with affection the deeds of their neighbours as also to multiply them by imitation, lest in this stadium of the present life they assist at the contest of others as eager backers, but inert spectators, and remain without a prize after the contest, in that they toiled not
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Epistle cxxii. To Rechared, King of the visigoths .
To Rechared, King of the Visigoths [82] . Gregory to Rechared, &c. I cannot express in words, most excellent son, how much I am delighted with thy work and thy life. For on hearing of the power of a new miracle in our days, to wit that the whole nation of the Goths has through thy Excellency been brought over from the error of Arian heresy to the firmness of a right faith, one is disposed to exclaim with the prophet, This is the change wrought by the right hand of the Most High (Ps. lxxvi. 11 [83]
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

The Growth of the Old Testament Prophetic Histories
[Sidenote: Analogies between the influences that produced the two Testaments] Very similar influences were at work in producing and shaping both the Old and the New Testaments; only in the history of the older Scriptures still other forces can be distinguished. Moreover, the Old Testament contains a much greater variety of literature. It is also significant that, while some of the New Testament books began to be canonized less than a century after they were written, there is clear evidence that
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament

Second Sunday after Trinity Exhortation to Brotherly Love.
Text: 1 John 3, 13-18. 13 Marvel not, brethren, if the world hateth you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not abideth in death. 15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. 16 Hereby know we love, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoso hath the world's goods, and beholdeth his brother in need, and shutteth
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

Extracts No. vii.
[In this number the objector gives the whole ground of his objections, and the reasons for his doubts: which he states as follows, viz. "1. Mankind, in all ages of the world, have been, and still are prone to superstition. "2. It cannot be denied, but that a part of mankind at least, have believed, and still are believing in miracles and revelation, which are spurious. "3. The facts on which religion is predicated are unlike every thing of which we have any positive knowledge." Under the first
Hosea Ballou—A Series of Letters In Defence of Divine Revelation

The Faith of Abraham.
"By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out unto a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he became a sojourner in the land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he looked for the city which hath the foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God. By faith even Sarah herself received power to conceive seed when she was past age, since she
Thomas Charles Edwards—The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Hebrews

The Earliest Chapters in Divine Revelation
[Sidenote: The nature of inspiration] Since the days of the Greek philosophers the subject of inspiration and revelation has been fertile theme for discussion and dispute among scholars and theologians. Many different theories have been advanced, and ultimately abandoned as untenable. In its simplest meaning and use, inspiration describes the personal influence of one individual upon the mind and spirit of another. Thus we often say, "That man inspired me." What we are or do under the influence
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament

And thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, too little to be among the thousands of Judah
"And thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, too little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall come forth unto Me (one) [Pg 480] to be Ruler in Israel; and His goings forth are the times of old, the days of eternity." The close connection of this verse with what immediately precedes (Caspari is wrong in considering iv. 9-14 as an episode) is evident, not only from the [Hebrew: v] copulative, and from the analogy of the near relation of the announcement of salvation to the prophecy of disaster
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

The Sixth Commandment
Thou shalt not kill.' Exod 20: 13. In this commandment is a sin forbidden, which is murder, Thou shalt not kill,' and a duty implied, which is, to preserve our own life, and the life of others. The sin forbidden is murder: Thou shalt not kill.' Here two things are to be understood, the not injuring another, nor ourselves. I. The not injuring another. [1] We must not injure another in his name. A good name is a precious balsam.' It is a great cruelty to murder a man in his name. We injure others in
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

Third Sunday Before Lent
Text: First Corinthians 9, 24-27; 10, 1-5. 24 Know ye not that they that run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? Even so run; that ye may attain. 25 And every man that striveth in the games exerciseth self-control in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26 I therefore so run, as not uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating the air: 27 but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others,
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

Li. Dining with a Pharisee, Jesus Denounces that Sect.
^C Luke XI. 37-54. ^c 37 Now as he spake, a Pharisee asketh him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat. [The repast to which Jesus was invited was a morning meal, usually eaten between ten and eleven o'clock. The principal meal of the day was eaten in the evening. Jesus dined with all classes, with publicans and Pharisees, with friends and enemies.] 38 And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first bathed himself before dinner. [The Pharisee marveled at this because
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Epistle xxxix. To Eulogius, Patriarch of Alexandria.
To Eulogius, Patriarch of Alexandria. Gregory to Eulogius, &c. As cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country (Prov. xxv. 25). But what can be good news to me, so far as concerns the behoof of holy Church, but to hear of the health and safety of your to me most sweet Holiness, who, from your perception of the light of truth, both illuminate the same Church with the word of preaching, and mould it to a better way by the example of your manners? As often, too, as I recall in
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Adam's Sin
Q-15: WHAT WAS THE SIN WHEREBY OUR FIRST PARENTS FELL FROM THE ESTATE WHEREIN THEY WERE CREATED? A: That sin was eating the forbidden fruit. 'She took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also to her husband.' Gen 3:3. Here is implied, 1. That our first parents fell from their estate of innocence. 2. The sin by which they fell, was eating the forbidden fruit. I. Our first parents fell from their glorious state of innocence. God made man upright, but they have sought out many inventions.' Eccl
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Blessed are they that Mourn
Blessed are they that mourn. Matthew 5:4 Here are eight steps leading to true blessedness. They may be compared to Jacob's Ladder, the top whereof reached to heaven. We have already gone over one step, and now let us proceed to the second: Blessed are they that mourn'. We must go through the valley of tears to paradise. Mourning were a sad and unpleasant subject to treat on, were it not that it has blessedness going before, and comfort coming after. Mourning is put here for repentance. It implies
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

The Unity of God
Q-5: ARE THERE MORE GODS THAN ONE? A: There is but one only, the living and true God. That there is a God has been proved; and those that will not believe the verity of his essence, shall feel the severity of his wrath. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.' Deut 6:6. He is the only God.' Deut 4:49. Know therefore this day, and consider it in thy heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath, there is none else.' A just God and a Saviour; there is none beside
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Tiglath-Pileser iii. And the Organisation of the Assyrian Empire from 745 to 722 B. C.
TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ORGANISATION OF THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE FROM 745 to 722 B.C. FAILURE OF URARTU AND RE-CONQUEST Of SYRIA--EGYPT AGAIN UNITED UNDER ETHIOPIAN AUSPICES--PIONKHI--THE DOWNFALL OF DAMASCUS, OF BABYLON, AND OF ISRAEL. Assyria and its neighbours at the accession of Tiglath-pileser III.: progress of the Aramaeans in the basin of the Middle Tigris--Urartu and its expansion into the north of Syria--Damascus and Israel--Vengeance of Israel on Damascus--Jeroboam II.--Civilisation
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 7

Genesis
The Old Testament opens very impressively. In measured and dignified language it introduces the story of Israel's origin and settlement upon the land of Canaan (Gen.--Josh.) by the story of creation, i.-ii. 4a, and thus suggests, at the very beginning, the far-reaching purpose and the world-wide significance of the people and religion of Israel. The narrative has not travelled far till it becomes apparent that its dominant interests are to be religious and moral; for, after a pictorial sketch of
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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