Descendants of Cain
(the people who turn away from God)
- Cain's Life as a Wanderer
According to the Scriptures, after Cain was cursed and marked by God, Cain left his parents and began a life of wandering:
"So Cain went forth from the presence of God and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden. And Cain was intimate with his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and he named the city after the name of his son, Enoch." (Gen. 4:16-17)
In verse 16 we find that Cain leaves God's presence. By this we are to understand not just that his meeting with God ended and that Cain walked elsewhere, but that Cain decided to continue in his life of sin, cut off from God's presence. His murder of his brother Abel would have been a mortal wound to his relationship with his parents, and he apparently did nothing to try to heal that wound. Cain then dwells in the land of Nod, that is, the land of wandering, the land of nomads. This is in fulfillment of the words of Gen. 4:12 whereby God cursed Cain's agricultural endeavors, making it impossible for Cain live as a farmer as he had up until that time.
Then in verse 17, Cain and his wife -- according to unvarying tradition, one of his sisters -- have a son named Enoch (Heb. Chanok). Cain then builds a city and names it Enoch after his son. In that way, Cain apparently sought to escape from the nomadic consequences of God's curse on his agricultural efforts. By building a city and drawing together a structured community in an urban setting, Cain could settle in one place, no longer a nomad, and others in or near the city would do the farming for him. And so we see the earliest beginnings of urban life and what we might consider to be civilisation. Some have speculated that Cain's city of "Chanok" or Enoch was the ancient Sumerian city of "Unug" or Uruk (called Erech in Gen. 10:10). Wherever Enoch was located, presumably it was there that Cain's family first settled and began to flourish.
The Book of Jubilees relates the events of Gen. 4:16-17 very concisely, saying only, "And Cain took Awan his sister to be his wife and she bare him Enoch at the close of the fourth jubilee. And in the first year of the first week of the fifth jubilee, houses were built on the earth, and Cain built a city, and called its name after the name of his son Enoch" (Jubilees 4:9-10).
The Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan, as usual, is much more expansive in its telling of the story of Cain and the beginnings of Cain's family. It includes a moving account of Adam and Eve's discovery of Abel's murder and his burial:
"When Luluwa heard Cain's words, she wept and went to call her father and mother, and told them how that Cain had killed his brother Abel. Then they all cried aloud and lifted up their voices, and slapped their faces, and threw dust upon their heads, and rent asunder their garments, and went out and came to the place where Abel was killed. And they found him lying on the earth, killed, and beasts around him; while they wept and cried because of this just one. From his body, by reason of its purity, went forth a smell of sweet spices. And Adam carried him, his tears streaming down his face; and went to the Cave of Treasures, where he laid him, and wound him up with sweet spices and myrrh. And Adam and Eve continued by the burial of him in great grief a hundred and forty days. Abel was fifteen and a half years old, and Cain seventeen years and a half. As for Cain, when the mourning for his brother was ended, he took his sister Luluwa and married her, without leave from his father and mother; for they could not keep him from her, by reason of their heavy heart. He then went down to the bottom of the mountain, away from the garden, near to the place where he had killed his brother. And in that place were many fruit trees and forest trees. His sister bare him children, who in their turn began to multiply by degrees until they filled that place." (II Adam and Eve 1:1-8)
This legend apparently identified the land of Nod (wandering) as a location near the place where Cain murdered Abel. However, nothing is said of the building of the city of Enoch. The Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan later describes the Cainites as a wicked, lascivious people with whom the family of Adam's son Seth would have nothing to do:
"After the death of Adam and of Eve, Seth severed his children, and his children's children, from Cain's children. Cain and his seed went down and dwelt westward, below the place where he had killed his brother Abel. But Seth and his children, dwelt northwards upon the mountain of the Cave of Treasures, in order to be near to their father Adam. And Seth the elder, tall and good, with a fine soul, and of a strong mind, stood at the head of his people; and tended them in innocence, penitence, and meekness, and did not allow one of them to go down to Cain's children." (II Adam and Eve 11:1-3)
According to Josephus, God's curse and admonitions were of no avail in bringing Cain to repentance. Instead, as time went on, Cain's covetousness and violent tendencies led him to a life of robbery:
"And when Cain had traveled over many countries, he, with his wife, built a city, named Nod, which is a place so called, and there he settled his abode; where also he had children. However, he did not accept of his punishment in order to amendment, but to increase his wickedness; for he only aimed to procure every thing that was for his own bodily pleasure, though it obliged him to be injurious to his neighbours. He augmented his household substance with much wealth, by rapine and violence; he excited his acquaintance to procure pleasures and spoils by robbery, and became a great leader of men into wicked courses. He also introduced a change in that way of simplicity wherein men lived before; and was the author of measures and weights. And whereas they lived innocently and generously while they knew nothing of such arts, he changed the world into cunning craftiness. He first of all set boundaries about lands: he built a city, and fortified it with walls, and he compelled his family to come together to it; and called that city Enoch, after the name of his eldest son Enoch." (Antiquities of the Jews, I, II, 2)
Josephus evidently mistook "Nod" for the name of a city, so that in this account Cain is the builder of two cities, Nod and Enoch, whereas the Scriptures mention only Enoch. Of course, with walled cities there will also be trade and merchandise, along with the allotment of parcels of land among the city residents. Hence, according to Josephus, not only the origin of cities, but also the invention of money and setting boundaries around land, are attributable to wicked Cain. Upon reflection, those traditions appear to be very sensible. If a divine curse prevented Cain from growing crops, he would have to live the nomadic life of a hunter-gatherer. But once the human family began to grow, Cain would be able to obtain food by engaging in barter and trade with other farmers, selling some of his game to them -- a development that would naturally lend itself to the founding of a settlement or "city." Thus, Cain would no longer have to wander the earth.
The medieval Book of Jasher again adds very little to the biblical account:
"And at that time Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, from the place where he was, and he went moving and wandering in the land toward the east of Eden, he and all belonging to him. And Cain knew his wife in those days, and she conceived and bare a son, and he called his name Enoch, saying, In that time the Lord began to give him rest and quiet in the earth. And at that time Cain also began to build a city: and he built the city and he called the name of the city Enoch, according to the name of his son; for in those days the Lord had given him rest upon the earth, and he did not move about and wander as in the beginning." (Jasher 1:33-35)
Cainites Genealogy
(Cain's Seeds)
Starting with the birth of Cain's son Enoch, the Scriptures trace the line of Cain's descendants for five generations, coming down to a patriarch named Lamech:
"And to Enoch [Chanok] was born Irad [Yirad], and Irad begot Mehujael [Mechiyael or Mechuyael], and Mehujael begot Methusael [Methushael], and Methusael begot Lamech [Lemek]" (Gen. 4:18)
The Septuagint's spellings of these names is very close to the Hebrew text, but with two differences: "Henoch," "Gaidad," "Maleleel," "Mathusala," and "Lamech." The form "Gaidad" represents a Hebrew form ofYaidad or Yidad, differing from the Hebrew spelling by just one letter. The Hebrew letters daleth (D) and reysh (R) are very similar in appearance, and confusion between those two letters is common in ancient Hebrew manuscripts. In this case, the Septuagint is in error, since there can be little question that Yirad is the proper form of the name.
The Septuagint's reading of "Maleleel" also seems to be erroneous, because "Maleleel" is the Septuagint's rendering of the Hebrew name Mahalal'el, the name of an antediluvian patriarch of the line of Seth, son of Adam (Gen. 5:12-17), whereas the Hebrew text of Gen. 4:18 shows Mechiyaelor Mechuyael. In contrast to the Septuagint's "Maleleel," the Latin Vulgate shows "Maviahel" ("Mauiael") as the name of Irad's son, which is very close to the Hebrew form of the name of Irad's son. Mechiyael means "God is my life-giver," but Mechuyael means "wiped out by God," a foreshadowing of the ultimate fate of the Cainites, who all drowned in the Flood.
The Septuagint's apparent confusion about the name of Irad's son probably resulted from the remarkable fact that six of the names in Cain's family in Gen. 4 are very similar or identical to six of the names in Seth's family in Gen. 5. In Cain's family, we find the names of Cain (Kayin), Enoch (Chanok), Irad (Yirad), Mehujael (Mechuyael), Methusael (Methushael), and Lamech (Lemek) In Seth's family, we find Cainan (Kenan), Mahalaleel (Mahalal'el), Jared (Yered), Enoch (Chanok), Methuselah (Methushelach), and Lamech (Lemek). Thus, two of the names, Enoch and Lamech, are identical, and the other four names are very similar: Cainan answers to Cain, Jared answers to Irad, Mahalaleel answers to Mehujael, and Methuselah answers to Methusael. Due to these correlations, it is hardly surprising that, whether by carelessness or design, the Septuagint renders both Mahalaleel and Mehujael as "Maleleel," and renders both Methuselah and Methusael as "Mathusala." Further on we shall examine additional indications that in ancient times the Cainite and Sethite lineages were sometimes confused.
What are we to make of these correlations between Cainite names and Sethite names? To many commentators and exegetes, this affinity is evidence that the lineage of Cain and the lineage of Seth are in fact merely different versions of the same basic legends and traditions. On the other hand, the Cainite and Sethite genealogies may both have been accurately handed down, and there is reason to believe that the sacred author presented the genealogies of Genesis 4-5 in such way that he intended his readers to notice both the similarities and the significant differences between the Cainites and the Sethites. In any case, the popularity of and recurrence of names in closely related families is a very, very common phenomenon. The families of Cain and Seth evidently spoke the same language, and were probably aware of each other. In those days, certain names could have been more popular than others, and naming customs in those far-off days could have been such that these cousins would choose similar or identical names for their sons. The resemblance of the one lineage to the other is not of itself sufficient grounds for concluding that one or both of the lineages is imaginary.
Indeed, we may consider that the similar names of the Cainite and Sethite lineages in fact helps to underscore the stark differences between Cain's lineage and Seth's lineage. As we shall explore in greater detail below, in Genesis 4 the story is told of how, in just seven generations, Cain's family achieved worldly success -- city-building (Enoch), animal husbandry (Jabal), metal smelting (Tubal-cain), music (Jubal) -- but mingled those achievements with violence and sexual immorality. In contrast, in ten generations Seth's family produced two saintly men, Enoch and Noah, righteous men who walked with God, unlike Cain who left the Lord's presence.
The great difference between the Cainites and Sethites is especially indicated by the great contrast and differences between the two same-named persons in these genealogies, the two Enochs and the two Lamechs. The Cainite Enoch is known merely as the eponym of the first city ever built, whereas the Sethite Enoch is known for godliness and for being assumed into heaven that he should not see death. The Cainite Enoch is this-worldly, and typifies material and temporal successes and achievements. The Sethite Enoch is other-worldly, is devoted to serving and pleasing God and seeking union with Him -- that is, he typifies receiving grace and blessing from heaven. As for the two Lamechs, we will take a closer look at them below, but for now we can note that it is hardly a coincidence that both Lamechs speak prophecies or predictions -- but how different are their prophecies. The bigamist Cainite announces that he has committed homicide and predicts a fearful vengeance on anyone who kills him, whereas the Sethite predicts that his son Noah will be a harbinger of blessing and better days.
The impression one might get from all of this is that it almost seems like the Cainites and Sethites were engaged in a "naming duel," as if the one family would try to "answer" the other family's person of a given name.
The meaning of Mehujael's name was noted above. Mehujael's father bore a name, Yirad, that may mean "a scion," coming from arada, "to sprout," or it could mean "descent," from yarad. As for the names Methushael and Lemek, they seem to be Babylonian or Sumerian in origin. Methushael probably is the Hebrew equivalent of Mutusha-ilu, "vassal of God," while Lemek could be related to the Sumerian word lamga, "servant" -- in this case, presumably, a servant of God or of some deity. Thus, despite Cain's wickedness, several of the names in his family indicate that they retained some kind of religion and knowledge of God. Indeed, another tell-tale indication of Cainite religion is the presence of "theophoric" names -- that is, names containing a deity's name or title -- in the Cainite lineage.
Interestingly enough, theophoric names appear in both the Cainite and the Sethites lineages in the same generation. The first theophoric name in the Cainite lineage is Mehujael, third in descent from Cain, while the first theophoric name in the Sethite lineage is Mahalaleel, third in descent from Seth. The appearance of theophoric names may be related to Gen. 4:26, where it says that in the days after the birth of Seth's son Enosh, "calling upon the LORD's name" began. Cain's family had some kind of religion, but because of Cain's sinful life we should expect the religion of his descendants to be corrupted in some way.
Lamech the Cainite and his Family
After the enumeration of the bare list of names in the Cainite pedigree, the story reaches the birth of a patriarch named Lamech, whose family history appears in Scripture as follows:
"
Lamech took two wives for himself. The name of the first was Adah, and the name of the other was Zillah. Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and raise cattle. His brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all of those who play the harp and the recorder. As for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-cain, a smith who forged instruments of both bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah." (Gen. 4:19-22)
With Lamech we see the first recorded appearance of bigamy or polygamy. Before Lamech's time, only two marriages are mentioned in Scripture, both of them monogamous: Adam and his wife Eve, and Cain and Cain's wife. Lamech, however, takes two wives, presumably the first time anyone had made such a dramatic change to the institution of marriage. It is significant that Scripture first mentions polygamy among the family of Cain, who had left the Lord's presence. The Scriptures would go on to tell the stories of the grievous marital and family strife that polygamy caused among the families of Abraham, Jacob, David, and Solomon, until at last the Messiah restored marriage to its original glory, reminding God's People that "from the beginning it was not so."
Lamech's sons are presented as significant and influential figures in human history. The first, Jabal, is the originator of a new way of life: large-scale animal husbandry by tent-dwelling tribes or clans. The second, Jubal, is a musician, the inventor of primitive stringed and wind instruments. The third, Tubal-cain, introduces the all-important technological advance of metal-smelting and blacksmithing (and many have noticed the fascinating resemblance to the similarly-named divine blacksmith "Vulcan"). By all appearances, Lamech's family is talented, prosperous, and prominent, aiding greatly the early development of human civilisation. But Lamech's bigamy suggests that their success is darkened by the shadow of sexual lust and immorality.
Lamech's daughter Naamah presents something of a puzzle. The Scriptures say nothing of her besides her name and the fact that she was Tubal-cain's sister, daughter of Lamech and Zillah. As younger sister of three influential men, one might expect the sacred author to provide additional details about Naamah, but if the sacred author knew anything about her, he apparently saw no need to tell his readers. Presumably he had found her in one of his sources, and it is likely that she had been remembered because she was a character in some oral or written story about Lamech's family. Perhaps the original audience of Genesis knew who Naamah was and did not need any explanations or additional details. Inevitably, several legends about Naamah would later be recorded, as we shall see.
As mentioned above, neither the Book of Jubilees nor the books of Adam and Eve trace the genealogy of the Cainites. However, as we have seen, The Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan does mention the Cainites several times, portraying them as a wicked and lascivious people who were shunned by the righteous family of Seth, who lived on a mountain apart from the sinful Cainites. "Among the children of Cain, there was much robbery, murder, and sin" (II Adam and Eve 13:2) Although Conflict does not include the Cainite genealogy, a brief episode involving Lamech the Cainite does appear, and commences with these words:
"But by the time Enos was eight hundred and twenty years old, Cain had a large progeny; for they married frequently, being given to animal lusts, until the land below the mountain was filled with them. In those days lived Lamech the blind, who was of the sons of Cain. . . ." (II Adam and Eve 12:16; 13:1)
This depiction of the Cainites as "marrying frequently, being given to animal lusts," is probably based on the story of Lamech's bigamy in Gen. 4:19, but Conflict does not say anything about Lamech's bigamy. Similarly, just as Conflict omits the Cainite genealogy, so it says nothing of the four children of Lamech named in Gen. 4:20-22. Rather, in a very important story that we shall examine later, these legends mention an otherwise unknown son of Lamech named Atun, whose wife was named Hazina. Conflict also provides a glimpse of the immoral customs and manners of the Cainites. This account of Cainite manners appears in the story of Satan's temptation of the Sethite patriarch Jared. According to that story, Satan and some demons impersonated Jared's ancestors, with Satan pretending to be Adam. Through that stratagem, they tricked Jared, whose name in Hebrew means "descent," into agreeing to "descend" to the foot of the mountain, where they visited the Cainites:
"And they came down from the mountain, and Jared with them; and they stayed by a fountain of water, near the houses of the children of Cain . . . . Then they gathered around them both men and women. Then the elder [i.e. Satan pretending to be Adam] said to them, 'We are strangers in your land. Bring us some good food and drink, you and your women, to refresh ourselves with you.' When those men heard these words of the elder, every one of Cain's sons brought his wife, and another brought his daughter, and so, many women came to them; every one addressing Jared either for himself or for his wife; all alike. But when Jared saw what they did, his very soul wrenched itself from them; neither would he taste of their food or of their drink. The elder saw him as he wrenched himself from them, and said to him, 'Be not sad; I am the great elder. As thou shalt see me do, do thyself in like manner.' Then he spread his hands and took one of the women, and five of his companions did the same before Jared, that he should do as they did. But when Jared saw them working infamy he wept, and said in his mind, 'My fathers never did the like.' He then spread his hands and prayed with a fervent heart, and with much weeping, and entreated God to deliver him from their hands. No sooner did Jared begin to pray than the elder fled with his companions; for they could not abide in a place of prayer. Then Jared turned round but could not see them, but found himself standing in the midst of the children of Cain. He then wept and said, 'O God, destroy me not with this race, concerning which my fathers have warned me . . . .'" (II Adam and Eve 17:32, 36-46)
Jared then prays that God would send an angel to rescue him, and the angel carries him back to the mountain dwelling of the Sethites. It would appear that this depiction of the Cainites was based in part on verses such as Gen. 4:19, where the Cainite practice of bigamy is mentioned. The author of these legends probably made the inference from the biblical testimony that the Cainites were sexually dissolute. Similarly, this description of Satan and the demons taking on human forms and engaging in sexual relations with Cainite women is no doubt based on Gen. 6:1-2. According to the Book of Enoch and other ancient sources, the "sons of God" mentioned in Gen. 6:1 were fallen angels. That interpretation is even found in certain Greek Septuagint copies, which show a reading of "angels of God" instead of "sons of God." We have previously noted that the author of The Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan relied on the Septuagint, or at least relied on a Hebrew text of the sort on which the Septuagint was based, so this would be another example of that reliance.
Turning to Josephus, we find that his account of Lamech and the Cainites has much in common with the legends in Conflict, and again shows a point of agreement with the Septuagint:
"Now Jared was the son of Enoch; whose son was Malaleel; whose son was Mathusela; whose son was Lamech; who had seventy-seven children by two wives, Silla and Ada. Of those children by Ada, one was Jabal; he erected tents, and loved the life of a shepherd. But Jubal, who was born of the same mother with him, exercised himself in music; and invented the psaltery and the harp. But Tubal, one of his children by the other wife, exceeded all men in strength, and was very expert and famous in martial performances. He procured what tended to the pleasures of the body by that method; and first of all invented the art of making brass. Lamech was also the father of a daughter, whose name was Naamah. . . . Nay, even while Adam was alive, it came to pass that the posterity of Cain became exceedingly wicked, every one successively dying, one after another, more wicked than the former. They were intolerable in war, and vehement in robberies; and if any one were slow to murder people, yet was he bold in his profligate behaviour, in acting unjustly, and doing injury for gain." (Antiquities of the Jews, I, II, 2)
Josephus' list of the children of Lamech shows agreement with the Septuagint in the name of Lamech's son Tubal. In the Masoretic text, that son is named "Tubal-cain," but the Septuagint calls him "Thobel" (Tubal). However, that is no warrant to identify him, as some have, with Tubal, son of Japheth, in Gen. 10:2. Josephus also agrees with the Septuagint's rendering of Gen. 4:21, in which Jubal is said to have "invented the psaltery and harp." We also see that in Josephus' account, Tubal-cain is not merely a smith, skilled in metal-working, but is a mighty warrior. Thus, it would appear that Tubal-cain's metal-working has been interpreted as an indication that he was making weapons as well as tools. Overall, we find that Josephus has depicted the Cainites in the same way that the author of The Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan depicted them: wicked, greedy, lustful, sexually dissolute, and violent.
But perhaps one of the most noteworthy extrabiblical traditions about Lamech the Cainite that we find in Josephus' account is the statement that Lamech had 77 children by his two wives. Following the scriptural testimony, Josephus mentions only four of Lamech's children and says nothing about the other 73 children Lamech reputedly had. This tradition of 77 children of Lamech is especially remarkable in light of the fact that the Scriptures associate the Cainites, and the name of Lamech, with the number seven. As we have noted, God announced a sevenfold vengeance on anyone who killed Cain, and Lamech the Cainite is the seventh generation starting with Adam. In addition, as we shall see, in Gen. 4:24 Lamech will pronounce a seventy-sevenfold vengeance on anyone who kills him. And now we see a tradition that Lamech had 77 children. In this context, it cannot be forgotten that the Masoretic text in Gen. 5:32, along with Josephus, says that Lamech the Sethite died at the age of 777. Thus, both the Cainite and the Sethite Lamech are associated with the number seven and multiples of seven. Some scholars see that as evidence that the two Lamechs are originally one and the same legendary ancestor. However, it should be noted that the Septuagint says Lamech the Sethite died at the age of 753, while the Samaritan Pentateuch says Lamech the Sethite died at the age of 653. Probably both the Septuagint and the Samaritan Pentateuch are older than the Masoretic text, so they may be more reliable on the age of Lamech the Sethite than the Masoretic text is. It is possible that confusion between the two Lamechs, only one of which should properly be associated with multiples of seven, helped contribute to the alteration of Lamech the Sethite's age in Gen. 5:32 from "753" to "777."
As we might expect, the medieval Book of Jasher is in general agreement with the legends regarding the family of Lamech the Cainite that are found in Josephus and The Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan. However, the legend of Lamech the Cainite takes on a unique form in the Book of Jasher:
"And these are the names of the children of Cainan; the name of the first born Mahalaleel, the second Enan, and the third Mered, and their sisters were Adah and Zillah; these are the five children of Cainan that were born to him. And Lamech, the son of Methusael, became related to Cainan by marriage, and he took his two daughters for his wives, and Adah conceived and bare a son to Lamech, and she called his name Jabal. And she again conceived and bare a son, and called his name Jubal; and Zillah, her sister, was barren in those days and had no offspring. For in those days the sons of men began to trespass against God, and to transgress the commandments which he had commanded to Adam, to be fruitful and multiply in the earth. And some of the sons of men caused their wives to drink a draught that would render them barren, in order that they might retain their figures and whereby their beautiful appearance might not fade. And when the sons of men caused some of their wives to drink, Zillah drank with them. And the child-bearing women appeared abominable in the sight of their husbands, as widows whilst their husbands lived, for to the barren ones only they were attached. And in the end of days and years, when Zillah became old, the Lord opened her womb. And she conceived and bare a son and she called his name Tubal-cain, saying, After I had withered away have I obtained him from the Almighty God. And she conceived again and bare a daughter, and she called her name Naamah, for she said, After I had withered away have I obtained pleasure and delight." (Jasher 2:16-25)
The first of the unique features of this account is the claim that Lamech's wives, Adah and Zillah, were both daughters of Cainan the Sethite. In contrast, The Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan emphasises that the Sethites shunned the Cainites until the time of Cainan's grandson Jared, supposedly the first Sethite to visit the Cainites. But the Book of Jasher's reference to Cainan's daughters calls to mind Josephus' obscure statement, "Jared was the son of Malaleel, who, with many of his sisters, were the children of Cainan, the son of Enos" (Antiquities of the Jews I, III, 2). Josephus does not mention any other sisters or daughters of the Sethites, but he apparently knew of a tradition that drew attention to Cainan's daughters for some reason. The Book of Jasher's tradition about Adah and Zillah could have been derived in part from a similar tradition.
Unlike other rabbinic sources, the Book of Jasher mentions the bigamous marriages of Lamech without comment or condemnation, nor does it express any judgment on the fact that a Cainite had married two Sethite women. In comparison, the Christian historian Julius Africanus, writing in the early 200s A.D., interpreted Gen. 6:1-2 as intermarriage of the holy seed of Seth with the unholy seed of Cain that led to the moral downfall of the Sethites and the spread of sin on the earth. But while the Book of Jasher does not single out Lamech's bigamy for criticism, and does not depict the Cainites as notable for sexual immorality, it does introduce a criticism of contraception into the story of Lamech's family. In old Jewish rabbinic tradition, contraception is regarded as sinful. In this regard, at least, the Book of Jasher agreed with the ancient tradition that the Cainites were sexually immoral, even though Jasher ascribes the practice of contraception to an unspecified number of "sons of men" without singling out the Cainite family (and in this legend, Zillah herself is a Sethite by birth, not a Cainite).
Although these ancient legends include added material on Lamech's family, they are just as silent about Lamech's daughter Naamah as the Scriptures are. However, in subsequent rabbinic tradition, two very opposite legends about Naamah appear. The majority of rabbinic sources interpreted her name, which means "pleasant," as an indication that she worshipped idols and sang pleasant songs in worship of them. In that tradition, Naamah is the inventor of divinisation and witchcraft. Those legends are in accordance with the general depiction of the Cainites as a wicked people. In some sources, however, Naamah's name was interpreted to mean that her conduct was pleasing to God. In that tradition, Naamah is identified as the wife of Noah. However, the earliest Jewish legend regarding Noah's wife is that found in the Book of Jubilees, where Noah's wife is said to be his first cousin Emzara, daughter of Rakeel, brother of Noah's father Lamech (Jubilees 4:33). Interestingly enough, the Book of Jasher claims that Noah's wife was named Naamah, but identifies her as a different Naamah, a purported daughter of the holy patriarch Enoch, Noah's own great-grandfather (Jasher 5:13-16). Presumably the author of Jasher was aware of the tradition that Noah married Naamah the Cainite, but perhaps he found it inappropriate for the holy seed of Seth to mix with the unholy seed of Cain, and therefore created a Sethite Naamah to marry Noah. More recently, some have speculated that Lamech's daughter Naamah was the wife of Noah's son Ham, but such a tradition is unknown to ancient and medieval Jewish and Christian legend.
Lamech's act of Homicide
After the account of Lamech's family, the Scriptures record some very important words that Lamech said to his wives. From those words we learn that the first known bigamist in world history has become the second known person to have taken someone's life:
"And Lamech said to his wives, 'Adah and Zillah, hear my voice. You wives of Lamech, listen to my speech. For I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my injury. If Cain is avenged sevenfold, surely Lamech seventy-seven fold." (Gen. 4:23-24)
Lamech's words are dreadful and ominous, announcing death and threatening vengeance. The increase from "sevenfold" to "seventy-sevenfold" testifies to the way in which violence begets more violence. The deadly seed planted by Cain had yielded a harvest of bloodshed, and in due time the whole earth would be filled with violence (Gen. 6:11).
The exact circumstances of Lamech's act of homicide have not been included in the Scriptures. The Hebrew text and the ancient translations, such as the Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate, indicate Lamech's awareness that what he has done will bring a curse upon him. However, the Hebrew text of Gen. 4:23 can also be translated as, "I have slain a man for wounding me, and a young man for injuring me." In that scenario, Lamech was either acting in self-defense or was retaliating for something that had been done to him. The poetic parallelism of Lamech's words could indicate that "man" and "young man" refer to the same person, a single victim, but it is also possible that Lamech took two lives, that of a man and that of a young man.
If should be noted that in the Septuagint, Lamech threatens not only a "seventy-sevenfold" vengeance, but "seventy times seven." That cannot but call to mind the words of Jesus on forgiveness that He spoke when St. Peter inquired how many times a person should forgive a brother who sins against him:
"Then Peter came to Him and said, 'Lord, how many times shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Until seven times?' Jesus said to him, 'I do not say to you, "Until seven times," but, "Until seventy times seven."'" (Matt. 18:21-22)
The words of Jesus help to underscore the way in which the Old Testament's call for vengeance and justice is answered by the New Testament's gift of mercy and pardon. In biblical parlance, "seven" signifies perfection, completion, wholeness. Therefore St. Peter was suggesting the rule that we should forgive our brothers perfectly and completely. But Jesus said that kind of forgiveness is inadequate. Jesus calls for, and offers, superabundant forgiveness -- not just sevenfold, but seventy times sevenfold.
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Descendants of Seth
(Adam's descendants to Noah)
This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created. When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. The days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years; and he had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.
When Seth had lived 105 years, he fathered Enosh. Seth lived after he fathered Enosh 807 years and had other sons and daughters.Thus all the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died.
When Enosh had lived 90 years, he fathered Kenan. Enosh lived after he fathered Kenan 815 years and had other sons and daughters.Thus all the days of Enosh were 905 years, and he died.
When Kenan had lived 70 years, he fathered Mahalalel. Kenan lived after he fathered Mahalalel 840 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Kenan were 910 years, and he died.
When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he fathered Jared. Mahalalel lived after he fathered Jared 830 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Mahalalel were 895 years, and he died.
When Jared had lived 162 years, he fathered Enoch. Jared lived after he fathered Enoch 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died.
When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.
When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he fathered Lamech. Methuselah lived after he fathered Lamech 782 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died.
When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son and called his name Noah, saying, “Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.” Lamech lived after he fathered Noah 595 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Lamech were 777 years, and he died.
After Noah was 500 years old, Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.