Some skeptic's claim that for Cain to find a wife there must have been other races of people on earth at that time who were not descendants of Adam and Eve. Were there other races? Just who was Cain's wife? Was she a descendant of another race or a descendant of Adam and Eve?
For many people these questions become a stumbling block to the Genesis creation account. Skeptics have used and will continue to use Cain's wife in an effort to discredit the Book of Genesis. Genesis is called the "seed plot" of the Bible because most doctrines throughout the Bible have their origin in the Book of Genesis and without an understanding of Genesis many of these doctrines cannot be explained, or will be explained in an erroneous manner.
The question of Cain's wife was asked at the Scopes trial and received no answer. Many Christians are unable to explain where Cain's wife was from. Most churches have very little instruction in apologetics and lack instruction in the Old Testament including the Book of Genesis. This is a failing of our churches today and gives the world the idea that Christians have no answer to this simple question. However, as Christians we have been instructed to "be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear (1 Peter 3:15)."
Let's look first at those who teach that Cain's wife was from a different race than Adam and Eve, that there were other races in existence that did not descend from Adam and Eve. Most all of us are aware of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden which occurred shortly after the creation. Then God gave Satan, Adam, and Eve the consequences of their actions and we have the statement in Genesis 3:20 that "Adam called his wife's name Eve because she was the mother of all living." This statement would appear to prove the Bible does not permit or teach a belief in descendants other than Adam and Eve.
Neither does the Bible allow one to say that Eve was the mother of all living at that time but later there were other races. How many blood lines could there have been? The Bible teaches only one, that of Adam and Eve. This is again confirmed in the New Testament so there can be no doubt the Bible teaches one bloodline, one race. Acts 17:26 speaking of God states, "And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation."
Since there is only one race, Cain's wife must have come from the one race, the descendants of Adam and Eve. The first children of Adam and Eve recorded in the Bible was Cain and Abel then Seth. This does not mean that these were the first children of Adam and Eve, the Bible doesn't say, it is only the first children the Bible recorded. One should also note that the birth of women is seldom mentioned in the Bible and there could have been many from the time of the fall to the time of the birth of Cain.
After Cain had killed Abel we are told in 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." Then in Genesis 5:3 we are told that Adam knew his wife and had another son when he was 130 years old. "And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image and called his name Seth:"
During that 130 years there could have been several children born to Adam and Eve but the Bible does not say. The Bible does say that Adam and Eve had other children after Seth. Genesis 5:4, "And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:" So there is the possibility that Cain's wife could have been a sister, a niece, or a cousin. But the Bible clearly states that children were born to Adam and Eve after Cain slew Abel.
Cain's wife could have been from the descendants of Adam that were living at the time he slew Abel or from children that were born after that time, the Bible doesn't say. Let's assume that Cain was born when Adam was 30 years old. Then Cain and Abel could have been nearly 100 years old since Seth was born right after Abel was slain and the Bible tells us Adam was 130 years old when Seth was born. From the birth of Cain to the murder of Abel there could have been numerous births.
We must remember that God gave man a command to multiply and there would be no reason for Adam and Eve to wait 130 years to obey that command. Genesis 1:28, "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."
The objection now comes that it is against God's law to marry one's sister or brother and that incest is prohibited. In today's world this is true but we must take ourselves out of today's world and back to the beginning of creation. In the time of Cain and Abel the biblical prohibition of marrying a close descendant was not in force. The biblical prohibition came approximately 2,500 years later in the time of Moses.
When Adam and Eve were created there were no mistakes in their genes. Genetic errors began after the fall when sin entered the human race. The first generations of mankind would have accumulated few genetic errors. Therefore, there is no biblical prohibition of marrying one's close relatives until about 2,500 years later in the time of Moses. At that time the population had grown so that there was no need for close marriages and until the time of Moses there would not have been enough mistakes transmitted in the genes to cause deformities. The prohibitions can be seen in Leviticus 18 through 20.
Some claim that when Cain slew Abel he went to Nod to get a wife. Using this reasoning they conclude there was another race of people on earth at that time. We have shown above that there has been only one race since the beginning of time. But let's look at this statement that Cain went to Nod to get a wife. Is that what the Bible says?
And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. And Cain knew his wife and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch (Genesis 4:16-17.)
Those who use the Bible to say that Cain went to Nod to get a wife are wrong. The Bible doesn't say that. It simply says that Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and dwelt in the land of Nod and that Cain knew his wife and she conceived. The biblical implication is that Cain was already married before he left for Nod and that in the land of Nod he "knew" his wife and she gave birth to a son. The conclusion that Cain went to the land of Nod to get a wife isn't even implied in the Bible. Rather than drawing a conclusion that Cain's wife was from Nod the Bible implies that Cain was already married before he left for Nod and that in the land of Nod he "knew" his wife and she gave birth to a son.
Another idea some use is that Cain built a city in the land of Nod so there must have been a lot of people there. The Bible doesn't tell us when the city was built but with time Cain built a city and named it after his son. A city at that time isn't as a city we would think of today but would be more like a fort, a walled place built for protection of those inside. In time there were many descendants of Cain and he built a city and named it after his first son.
A walled city was built for protection and agrees with Cain's earlier fears that someone would kill him. Although some skeptics claim that Cain's fear was because there were other races on earth at the time that would kill him, this isn't true. We have already seen there were and never have been other races of mankind living on earth, so what initiated Cain's fear? Cain would not have feared strangers because they would have no reason to bother him. Now Cain would certainly fear close relatives because they would also be victims. Governments at this time had not been established so the only ones with reason to kill Cain were the close relatives of the victim. Thus indicating there were many other descendants of Adam in existence at the time Cain slew Abel and also the reason for a walled city.
As we have seen, there is only one race and that descended from Adam. We can say then that Adam is the head of the human race. When Adam fell he died spiritually and began dying physically. His access to the tree of life was blocked so that he could not live forever in a fallen sinful state. He now had a fallen sinful nature and this is all he could pass on to his descendants. Without this divine nature, the new spirit we receive at belief, we would be separated from God in a sinful state forever.
The good news is that God has made a way for us to receive a new spirit and have forgiveness of sins and eternal life in an incorruptible body. To have this, let's call it salvation, the penalty of sin must be paid. The penalty for sin requires a sinless man to pay the price of sin – the judgment of death.
Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous (Romans 5:18-19).
The sinless man who paid the price of death for our sins is Jesus Christ, the last Adam. God gave His son to deliver mankind from his sinful state. The Son took on human nature and became the perfect God-Man, Jesus Christ. Through the descendants of Adam, Jesus was human and being a descendant of God the Holy Spirit, He was divine.
Jesus is called the last Adam because he took the place of the first Adam and became the new head of the human race to all who would receive Him. Those that receive Him are given a new spirit to replace the dead spirit inherited from Adam and will one day receive an incorruptible body and eternal life in fellowship with God. Thus we can see that only the descendants of the first Adam can be saved.
And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul the last Adam was made a quickening spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45).
For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive (1 Corinthians 15:21-22). The Bible can only be understood on the basis that all mankind that has ever been upon earth were descendants of Adam and Eve, the first Adam. Without this clear teaching many biblical doctrines cannot be explained.
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