Cain's Wife: Where Did She Come From?

CAIN'S WIFE : WHERE DID SHE COME FROM?

Copyright 1994 - 2008 Endtime Prophecy Net

Last Updated : July 23, 2006

A Case Of Antediluvian Incest?

One of the members of The E.D.G.E. Online Mailing List
recently commented:

"I'd like to add my 2 cents about the incest issue if I may.
In the beginning there was Adam and Eve. We are all agreed on
this right? Good I'll continue. Now remember that Adam and
Eve were the only humans on earth at this time. After Adam
and Eve fall and have kids something happens. What happens is
there are now 4 humans on the earth, Adam, Eve, Able and Cain
(the two boys). Now when Able and Cain get 2 a certain age,
Cain kills his brother; now there's 3 humans on the earth. Now
bear in mind that there's one female (Eve) and two males (Adam
and Cain) on the earth. In Genesis 4:17 (NIV) it reads "Cain
lay with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to
Enoch." Who did Cain "lay" with? His mother Eve. Thus the
first case of incest. Had this not happened there's a good
chance there would not be a human race today. It could've been
confined to just the 3 Adam, Eve and Cain. So in the beginning
it was ok for Cain to sleep with Eve. This is just my two
cents."

----- End Of Quote -----

Undoubtedly, some folks are going to cringe when they read the
above comments. After all, it isn't something you hear in your
weekly church sermon, is it? We all have different ways of
dealng with things which challenge our perspectives of reality
and truth. Some of us just prefer to avoid the issue
altogether. Others will take an offensive position and adopt
an accusatory attitude. And yet others will try to cook up all
kinds of interesting stories and speculations to explain why
it couldn't be so. Instead of adopting any of these attitudes,
the best thing to do is to take a closer look at the
Scriptures to see what they REALLY say about this issue. Did
Cain actually lay with his mother Eve in order to get humanity
off to a start?...Or are we missing something here? I hope
this article will provide some possible alternatives, or at
the very least, expand our current views to consider other
possibilities.

In a chronological sense, from the way the Bible is written,
at least in English, it does appear that originally there were
only two human beings, Adam and Eve. After Adam and Eve were
driven out of the Garden which was East of Eden, we come to
the birth of Adam and Eve's two sons, Cain and Abel.
Concerning the birth of Cain and Abel, the Bible tells us:

"And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain,
and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. And she again
bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but
Cain was a tiller of the ground." (Genesis 4:1-2)

One thing we need to bare in mind is that, as modern readers
of the Scriptures, we tend to organize things one right after
the other to make a little more sense out of them. Because of
this human tendency, sometimes we forget that there are
actually large gaps or time periods between Biblical events.
Knowing when there is and isn't a gap can sometimes be
difficult to do. In the case of the birth of Cain and Abel, it
is difficult to tell. My impression is that Abel may have been
born some time after Cain, at least a year or so later given
that Eve would need to recuperate from having Cain, plus allow
nine months for the gestation period. However, there is the
possibility that they were twins. Unfortunately, there just
isn't enough scriptural evidence to prove it either way. The
only thing we know with any degree of certainty is that both
sons were born before Adam was one hundred and thirty years
old, at which time Eve bore him a third son whom he named
Seth:

"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 4:25)

What is important to us in this discussion is exactly what
happened between the time that Cain slew his brother Abel, and
the time that Seth was born. One thing we need to remember is
that the Old Testament genealogies, and even the Gospels for
that matter, were written from the male dominant view, that
is, according to who was the next in line as the head of the
household. According to Jewish tradition, these were almost
always the first males. One of the reasons for this was to
show the lineage of the children of Israel, but more
importantly, it was to show the lineage of Jesus Christ, the
'son' of David. That is why we see so-and-so begat so-and-so,
etc...and father-son-father-son, etc. This doesn't mean that
woman weren't born, they just aren't mentioned quite as
extensively except in certain cases such as that of the early
Patriarchs. I believe I may have mentioned this more fully in
the 'Sexes In Heaven?' article. So, while it seems that there
were no daughters born to Adam and Eve up until the time that
Cain took a wife, we really can't be too sure, and should not
just eliminate this possibility altogether. Not only that, if
Cain slew Abel and was cursed and driven out by the Lord, do
you REALLY think that Eve would want to have sex with him, or
that Adam would even permit it? I don't think so. Not only
that, throughout the book of Genesis, Eve is referred to
either as 'the woman', or as Adam's wife. In Genesis 2:24 we
read:

"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and
shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."
(Genesis 2:24)

From reading this verse, it isn't clear if Adam is saying
this, or if Moses, the presumed writer of the book, is saying
it. Whichever the case, Jesus echoed this same sentiment in
Matthew 19:5, as did Paul in his letter to the Ephesians in
Ephesians 5:31. This is a clear indication that for a man to
acquire a wife, he must first leave his father and mother,
implying, of course, that his wife cannot possibly be his
mother. Well, Cain certainly was forced to leave his father
and mother, although it wasn't under ideal conditions. Let's
take a really close look at what the Lord actually said right
after He had exposed Cain for his heinous crime:

"And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her
mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; When thou
tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee
her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the
earth. And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater
than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from
the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I
shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall
come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain,
vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a
mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. And Cain
went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land
of Nod, on the east of Eden." (Genesis 4:11-16)

From the above verses, we can gather some important
information. First of all, it appears that Cain was physically
removed from where Adam and Eve were located. If this is
indeed the case as it appears to be, then there would have
been no physical opportunity for Cain to have had sex with his
mother Eve. Thus, this adds weight to the previous thought
that from the very beginning, the Lord seems to have supported
one-on-one relationships...and if Adam is the one who said the
words, then moreso he would not have allowed Cain to make love
to his wife Eve. Let's be honest here for a minute...except
for swingers, hippie communes (do they still exist? <g>),
sex-related cults, etc., how many men do you know who would be
willing to share their wives with other men, especially their
own sons? I don't doubt that Adam had the same feelings and
protective instincts for his wife as men do today. While in
some societies it is permissible for a man to have multiple
wives, how many of those men are willing to share those wives
with other men?

We also know that Eve was subject unto Adam as is born out in
the following verse in which the Lord is spelling out their
punishment for having disobeyed in the Garden:

"Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow
and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children;
and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over
thee." (Genesis 3:16)

Now, if Adam ruled over his wife, if Eve was subject to him,
does it seem likely that Adam would tell his wife to go have
sex with her son who had killed Abel? I seriously doubt it.
Thus, we have two solid reasons which seem to shoot holes in
the idea of Cain's wife being Eve. As to the actual event of
Cain taking a wife, we are only told in Genesis 4:16-17:

"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."

That's not a very long verse, but it still helps to fill in a
few more gaps and present some interesting possibilities. What
we see here is that, already removed from where ever Adam and
Eve are, Cain takes a wife, has a son named Enoch, and then he
builds a city in honor of his son. HUH??? Cain
single-handedly built a city? Hmmm...well, maybe it means he
started a family which was the beginnings of what would
EVENTUALLY become a city...or maybe it means that Cain had
some help! Oh dear! Now this is really beginning to get a bit
complicated! First we have Cain taking a wife who we have idea
where she came from, and now we have him building a city. What
gives here? It looks like someone has a bit of explaining to
do. Hey, I never said this was going to be easy. As a matter
of fact, when I started this article, as in many other cases,
I really wasn't sure where this was going to lead to. Well, we
are going to have to look at a few more verses and make a few
assumptions and speculations. After I have made them, then you
can decide what you have the faith to believe.

The first thing we need to do is to destroy the popular myth
that Adam and Eve only had three children, that is, Cain and
Abel, and then Seth. This is similar to the Virgin Mary myth
that Jesus was her only child. (Please see my 'Family Life Of
Jesus' article). Taking a closer look at Genesis chapter five,
we read the following:

"And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight
hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:" (Genesis 5:4)

As can be seen, Adam and Eve obviously begat more children.
Notice again how it only refers to Adam with no mention of
Eve. This is just the way things were done for the reasons
previously stated. From this verse, I am going to take a leap
of faith and say that this verse is not necessarily saying
that Adam and Eve only had more children AFTER they had Seth.
I am going to make two more assumptions: First, perhaps it is
possible that Adam and Eve had other sons BEFORE Seth, but
they are not mentioned because it was through Seth that the
righteous line of Noah would be born, the man God would use to
repopulate the world. Now, if that is too much for you to
accept, then perhaps we can speculate that maybe Adam and Eve
didn't have any male children between Cain and Abel, and Seth.
Remember, we really don't know at what age they had Cain and
Abel. All we know for sure is that they had Seth when Adam was
one hundred and thirty 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:" (Genesis 5:3)

Now notice, I said maybe they didn't have any male children.
If they had any female children before Seth, would we even
know about it? Given the way genealogies were recorded in the
Bible, probably not. So then, I submit that one possibility is
that Cain took one of his sisters to wife, a sister who
followed him to Nod. Can I prove it? No...but this might be a
little easier to accept by more sensative Christians.
Furthermore, if we consider the rest of the book of Genesis,
this possibility becomes even more probable. For an in-depth
look at the lives of the early patriarchs, and the hanky-panky
that went on, please refer to my article, 'The Children Of God
And Politics' under the 'Government & Politics' articles group
at The E.D.G.E. Online web site.

So far I have only presented one of the two assumptions I was
going to make. Much to the disapproval of those who take the
book of Genesis in a strictly literal sense, there are those
who have theorized that the term 'Adam' was actually meant to
be taken in the plural, such as in Genesis 5:2

"Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called
their name Adam, in the day when they were created."

You will notice that it says 'and called THEIR name Adam.' Is
this word 'their' just a translational error? Or is this word
'their' just a reference to Adam and Eve?...Or is this a hint
that the terms 'Adam' and 'Eve' designated something much
greater than most of us have been willing to accept? Could
'Adam' be referring not to just one man, but to a race of men,
and in like manner, could 'Eve' be referring to their female
counterparts? As radical and unorthodox a thought this might
seem to some, it certainly would tie up a lot of the loose
ends. For example, if we go back and look at the verses where
the Lord condemns Cain, again we read:

"When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield
unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou
be in the earth." (Genesis 4:12)

Who is Cain going to be a fugitive from? From his parents
only? If they were the only three alive following the murder
of Abel, this would make sense, but look at the conversation
between the Lord and Cain in verses fourteen and fifteen:

"Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the
earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a
fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to
pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. And the
LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain,
vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a
mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him."
(Genesis 4:14-15)

Interesting indeed! Who is this 'everyone' Cain is referring
to if the only ones alive are he and his parents? In like
manner, who is this 'whosoever' and 'any' the Lord is
referring to? Adam and Eve know who their son Cain is. This
mark, whatever it was, is clearly meant to protect Cain from
other people. What other people? Is this referring to other
people yet to be born? Or do they already exist? All we know
for certain is that Cain had children who took themselves
wives, just as the righteous line of Seth also took wives. All
of these women had to come from somewhere. There are only two
possibilities here: either Adam and Eve had lots of female
children, not mentioned in the Bible, who later married their
brothers, cousins, etc....or else the terms 'Adam' and 'Eve'
do not represent just one man and one woman. Personally, I do
not know the answer at this present time. Perhaps after I have
studied more of the Apocryphal writings, I might be able to
present more evidence. However, for the time being, you will
have to decide for yourself based on the evidence I have
presented. God bless you as He enlightens you to the Truth
found in His Word. Do I dare tell you what some people
theorize regarding the true nature of the serpent in the
Garden?