Where did Cain get his Wife

Article from Timing Revelation and More,

By Diane M. Hoffmann, B.Th., M.Th., PhD/Th., Ord./IAOG-Canada

Another article on theological issues provided by Timing Revelation & more...

Where did Cain get his Wife?

I've written this article on “where did Cain get his wife” because a lot of people are asking the question.

First, we have to keep in mind that there were many children born of Adam and Eve besides and between Cain and Abel.

Second, the chronological flow of the Bible is in horizontal chronology, but the historical narrative taking place runs in independent vertical chronology . In other words chapters pick up and continue from previous historical narratives...

...for example we read about Cain and Abel in chapter 4. Then in chapter 5 we read about the generations of Adam, where it picks up back from the 6th day in chapter 1. In here we are told that Adam lived one hundred and thirty years and had a son who was called Seth.

That doesn't mean it took one hundred and thirty years to have more children. Cain and Abel had already been born and other children as well. But Seth came after 130 years. The Bible talks about specific individuals only who form the historical thread of the Bible's history throughout the human generations. In chapter 6, we read about the wickedness of mankind and the flood taking place as the judgment of God upon the whole earth.

Not only a few people

They were not only a few people by then. Estimates run from millions to billions of people. So even if we take the smaller amount of millions, that means that by the time we read chapter 6 there were a lot of people...

...so by chapter 4 there were not only Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel. In chapter 4 which covers the life of Cain and Abel, we have to assume that they were at least in their late teenage years or early adulthood in their responsibilities of keeper of sheep and tiller of ground.

Verse 3 of chapter 4, “And in process of time”... this indicates a long time, as in a year, a couple of years, who knows, five years, or twenty or even thirty... as they were doing their duty to bring “of the fruit of the ground” (Cain), and ”of the firstlings of his flock” (Abel).

There would have been children other than just the two brothers. We cannot assume that during all that time of the growing up of Cain and Abel, that Adam didn't touch his wife. Especially then! I know of families today who grew up from one married couple to 50 kids and grand-kids in the space of less than 30 years – easy. Calculations show that at an average of 20-30 years per generation, it would take about 600 to 1,000 years to reach a population of 5 billion. (See calculation at the end.)

So, now, what would this be in a 100-year span? Well the closest mathematical estimate that I could find was a 500-year span, which gives a total population of 2,097,150, that's 2 million people. What would that break down to for 100 years? I don't know personally, that's over my head, but if you know a mathematician he or she could calculate it for you – if you don't, you can imagine a good number of people anyway...

...the point is that according to the Bible people lived a long time – like hundreds of years. Adam was 130 years old when he 'begat' Seth, and the Bible tells us that ultimately he lived 930 years and 'begat' sons and daughters . (Genesis 5:4-5).

So, during the 130 years of Adam and Eve, people grew up and intermarried within the current existing population. Many of these people would roam the earth going to other lands far and near... and settle there. Cain himself moved to the land of Nod, and this is where he found a wife.

A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth

The Bible tells us what happened to him after he killed his brother Abel.

Genesis 4, verses 9 to 17 says, (KJV)

v.9_”And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?

v.10_“And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.

v.11_”And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;

v.12_”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.

v.13_”And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.

v.14_”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. (Cain was concerned about being among a lot of already existing people here).

v15_”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.

v.16_”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” (v.17)

So there were people already living in the land of Nod. Where was that. The exact location is not really known any more today, but the Bible tells us it was East of Eden. A historical search shows that it may have been at the bottom of the Euphrates River.

The word Nod in Hebrew means “wanderer, exile, or fugitive. This confirms God's word to Cain that he would be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, Genesis 4:12. It also confirms that wanderers, exiles and fugitives existed at that time. This place would have been a place where people would flee to when caught in such situations.

An interesting article from the “GotQuestions.org” web site gives us further details:

“Though God had driven Cain from his home, it was Cain’s choice to live outside the presence of God. Essentially, Cain’s punishment in becoming a wanderer and a fugitive was to lose all sense of belonging and identification with a community. Living in the “land of Nod,” Cain lived without roots in isolation. For his sin, Cain was made a castaway and later became a godless, hollow person “in the land of Nod.” Upon separating himself from God, Cain built a society totally detached from God. The Bible tells us that the children of Cain followed in his path and established a godless civilization (Genesis 4:16-24).

Verse 17... “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.”

For Cain to build a city, there had to be quite a few people to begin with.

So where did Cain get his wife?

I think the Bible is pretty clear. By the time Cain found a wife, she was no longer “a sister” -- she may be a distant cousin or one far removed.

/DMH

Mathematically, how many people will be bred from a couple in 500 years?

(From Quora.com - see link below)

To estimate how many people could be bred from a couple over 500 years, we need to make some assumptions about reproduction rates, generation time, and other factors. Here’s a simple model:

Assumptions:
- Each couple has an average of 2 children (to keep the population stable).
- Each generation takes about 25 years (a common estimate for human generations).
- Each child will also reproduce in a similar manner.
Generations in 500 Years:
Number of generations=500 years25 years/generation=20 generations
Population Growth:
If we start with one couple (2 people), and each couple has 2 children who eventually also reproduce, the number of people can be modeled using the formula for a binary tree, which doubles the population each generation.

The population at the end of each generation can be calculated as:
Population at generation n=2n

For 20 generations:
Population at generation 20=220=1,048,576

Total Number of People:
To find the total number of people ever bred from the original couple over all generations, we sum the populations from each generation:
Total=21+22+23+...+220

This is a geometric series where the sum can be calculated using the formula for the sum of a geometric series:
Sn=a(rn−1)(r−1)
where a is the first term, r is the common ratio, and n is the number of terms.

Here, a=21=2, r=2, and n=20:
S20=2(220−1)(2−1)=2(220−1)=2(1,048,576−1)=2,097,150

Thus, over 500 years, starting from one couple, approximately 2,097,150 people could be bred, assuming ideal conditions and no limiting factors.

https://www.quora.com/Mathematically-how-many-people-will-be-bred-from-a-couple-in-500-years

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