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Genesis 4 (NIV)

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Study Resources

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Genesis 4 (NIV)
Commentary 1 source group
Tyndale Commentary 4 notes
TyndaleStudyNotes

Gen.4.1

4:1 had sexual relations (literally knew): In certain contexts, the Hebrew term meaning “to know” is an idiom for sexual knowledge of another person (4:17; 19:33, 35). It is never used of animals, which mate by instinct. • With the Lord’s help:: Eve fulfilled her God-given role of procreation despite the negative effects of the Fall (see 3:16, 20). • I have...

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4:1 had sexual relations (literally knew): In certain contexts, the Hebrew term meaning “to know” is an idiom for sexual knowledge of another person (4:17; 19:33, 35). It is never used of animals, which mate by instinct. • With the Lord’s help:: Eve fulfilled her God-given role of procreation despite the negative effects of the Fall (see 3:16, 20). • I have produced: Cain (Hebrew qayin) sounds like a Hebrew term (qanah) that can mean “produce” or “acquire.”

Tyndale Open Resources - CC BY-SA 4.0
TyndaleStudyNotes

Gen.4.10

4:10 What have you done? is more an expression of horror and rebuke than a fact-finding question (cp. 3:13). • Abel’s blood is personified as a legal witness that cries out against Cain. • from the ground: See study note on 4:11-12.

Tyndale Open Resources - CC BY-SA 4.0
TyndaleStudyNotes

Gen.4.11-12

4:11-12 As with his father (cp. 3:9-12, 17-19), Cain’s interrogation (4:9-10) was followed by God’s verdict. Adam’s sin had already caused the ground to be cursed. Now Cain was cursed and banished from the land he farmed because he had contaminated it with innocent blood. • homeless wanderer: Cain was condemned to ceaseless roving in a land that would provid...

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4:11-12 As with his father (cp. 3:9-12, 17-19), Cain’s interrogation (4:9-10) was followed by God’s verdict. Adam’s sin had already caused the ground to be cursed. Now Cain was cursed and banished from the land he farmed because he had contaminated it with innocent blood. • homeless wanderer: Cain was condemned to ceaseless roving in a land that would provide neither sustenance nor security. The effects of sin were escalating.

Tyndale Open Resources - CC BY-SA 4.0
TyndaleStudyNotes

Gen.4.13-14

4:13-14 For Cain, eviction from the land—the domain of his vocation as a farmer (see 4:2; cp. 3:23)—amounted to exile from God’s presence. The Israelites were warned that unfaithfulness to the Sinai covenant would similarly result in eviction from the Promised Land and from God’s presence in the Temple (see, e.g., Lev 26:27-32).

Tyndale Open Resources - CC BY-SA 4.0
People & Profiles1 item
TyndalePeople and Profiles

Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve

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Adam and Eve Adam was the first man, the father of the human race. God created the first couple in his image to populate the earth and rule the created order (Gen 1:26-31). God made Adam from the earth and breathed life into him (2:7); he was to cultivate the garden in which God placed him (2:15), name the animals (2:19-20), and follow God’s instructions (1:28; 2:16-17). God created the first woman as a companion and helper for Adam (2:18-22). Eve’s creation from Adam’s rib portrays the unity that God intended for man and woman in marriage (2:23-25). She is honored as “the mother of all who live” (3:20). After the serpent deceived Eve into rejecting God’s rule, Adam also rebelled (3:1-6). Their willful disobedience disrupted their relationship (3:7) and separated them from God. God looked for Adam after his rebellion; he and Eve were hiding among the trees, already aware of the alienation (3:8). When God questioned him, Adam blamed Eve and, by implication, God (3:12). Their rebellion brought pain, strained relationships, hardship in governing the earth, and death—physical and spiritual (3:16-19, 22-24). Nonetheless, God provided animal skins to cover Adam and Eve (3:21), a...

Tyndale Open Resources - CC BY-SA 4.0
Cross Reference8 items
TyndaleCross References

genesis 3:9-12

genesis 3:9-12

TyndaleCross References

genesis 3:9-13

genesis 3:9-13

TyndaleCross References

genesis 3:12-13

genesis 3:12-13

TyndaleCross References

genesis 3:17-19

genesis 3:17-19