Chuck Larsen

Lamech’s two wives gave him four children. There were probably more, but only four of them are mentioned in the Bible. After we learn about Jabal, Jubal, Naamah, and Tubal-Cain, Genesis 4:23 tells us, “Lamech said to his wives, Adah and Zillah, ‘hear my voice; you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say: I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me.’” There is a lot of attention paid to Lamech’s taking two wives. He does seem to be a slave to the lusts of the flesh. But there is more than just that. He is also a murderer like Cain. Then he brags about it to his two wives. I’ve always been suspicious of the connection between his lust for the 2^nd wife and the murder afterward. I’ve suspected that they were connected. According to one website, the four main motives for murder are love, lust, loathing, and loot.[1] Love and lust deal with sex, and here we see Lamech trapped in what appears to be a love triangle. Was the “young man” that Lamech murdered a rival for one of his wives? Indeed, this is just speculation, but doesn’t it seem possible?

Another piece of speculation concerns how many men Lamech killed. It’s been suggested by many ancient commentators that there were two men. Basil, as far back as the 4^th century A.D., “…interprets Lamech’s words to mean that he had committed two murders and deserved a much more severe punishment than Cain.”^[2] The first man that Lamech killed might have been Cain. According to the early legend of Lamech, he had poor eyesight and accidentally shot an arrow at movement in the bushes, and it ended up being Cain. This tradition continued well into the 12^th century, as we see in this photo. The second man Lamech killed, “The young man,” has been identified as Tubal Cain. This legend finds support from the book of Jashar. The book of Jashar is quoted in both Joshua and Samuel. It has been lost for centuries but then showed up again in the 18^th Century, which is mainly considered a forgery. One writer says, “While I do not consider the book of Jashar an authoritative book, I do believe that it sheds more light to understanding reasons why some things happened in the Bible. Having read it twice, I don’t see anything contradictory to the Bible.”

Barker defends Lamech! He argues that Lamech’s killing was in self-defense. He writes, “Lamech appealed to the fact that he killed a man ‘for wounding’ and ‘for injuring’ him. He did not ‘hate his neighbor, lie in wait for him, rise up against him, and kill him’ (cf. Dt 19:11), as Cain had done, but rather based his appeal on a plea of self-defense.” Barker suggests we get a glimpse at the kind of society that Cain had built. He writes, “The point is not that Lamech’s sense of justice was correct or even exemplary, but that Cain’s city and descendants had a system of law and justice representative of an ordered society.”^[3] This seems to miss the overall theme of the moral deterioration that leads to the flood. What cannot be missed and must not be ignored was the increased focus on sex and violence in a society destined for destruction. Can we learn anything from this?

[1] https://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/sites/crimeandjustice.org.uk/files/09627250608553401.pdf

^[2] Smith. 1882. “La′mech.” In Cyclopædia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, 5:209. New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers.

^[3] Barker, Kenneth L., and John R. Kohlenberger III. 1994. Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition: Old Testament). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

Lamech’s wife Adah bore him two children. His second wife also bore two children: a boy and a girl. Genesis 4:22 says, “Zillah also bore Tubal-Cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.” God has given us the ability to do and accomplish much in this world. Jubal’s music can be something praised or condemned by God. It depends on the intent of the wielder. This is true of all human technology. Paul Johnson explains this well. He writes, “These cultural skills (the production of food, the arts, and technology) should be and can be devoted to the highest interests of human life, and to the glory of God. However, civilization’s advances apart from God have untold potential for evil. Nuclear technology, for example, is a double-edged sword. Today thousands of lives are being saved by diagnostic procedures only possible through nuclear medicine. What a boon it has been and will become. The potential for good is staggering. However, in a flash an H-bomb could kill more people than nuclear medicine could save in a generation—and maim generations to follow. Oppenheimer’s quotation of the Bhagavad Gita at Alamogordo as he watched the initial explosion of the neutron bomb comes to mind: ‘the radiance of a thousand suns … I am become as death, the destroyer of the worlds.’ A microchip can be used to help you find your dog or to guide a smart bomb through your bedroom window.”^[1]

Unfortunately, when we look closely at Tubal-Cain’s situation, we see the danger. Matthews writes, “Tubal-Cain’s metallurgy probably included weapons as well as agricultural tools. Bearing his ancestor’s name, ‘Cain,’ and his descent from murderous Lamech suggest that his craft could be used for ill. With the appendage of ‘Cain,’ the grim side of his craft comes to mind first. Cain’s family is a microcosm: its pattern of technical prowess and moral failure is that of humanity.”^[2]

As far as Naamah is concerned, there are numerous ancient myths about her. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, “The cabalists have as a third queen of the demons… ‘Na‘amah,’ the sister of Tubal Cain.”^[3] Since her three brothers were all credited as the “father” of various crafts, she was not left out. One source says, “Naamah is affirmed by them to have invented the spinning of wool and making of cloth. In the Targum of pseudo-Jonathan, Naamah is commemorated as the “mistress of lamenters and singers;” and in the Samaritan Version, her name is given as Zalkipha. According to others she was distinguished merely by her beauty”^[4], But the most interesting and most frequent story about her is that she became Noah’s wife. One web article refers to an ancient Jewish midrash that suggested this. It says, “According to the midrash known as Genesis Rabbah (c. 300–500 C.E.), a collection of ancient rabbinical interpretations of Genesis, she was Naamah, the daughter of Lamech and sister of Tubal-Cain (Genesis 4:22).”[5] Carasik gives us a much more thorough understanding of what Genesis Rabbah says. He writes, “Why was she called Naamah? Because everything she did was sweet and pleasant. (Which the name means). The point of this midrash is that she was well known in her time as a righteous woman who produced righteous children; this is why the text mentions her. If that is so, then Cain does have some slight remnant on earth. Certainly, if she was not the woman who bore Noah’s three sons there would be no obvious reason to mention her.”^[6] Utley found a list of 103 suggestions for the identity of Noah’s wife, so it is not wise to take any of them too seriously. Pilch looks at current attempts to fill in unknown facts not mentioned in the Bible with human speculations. He calls it “pious imagination.” He adds, “The popularity of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ and Ron Howard’s translation to film of Dan Brown’s novel The Da Vinci Code attest to the unfailing fertility of pious imagination to flesh out sketchy, high context information, whether in the Bible or in other sources.”^[7]

^[1] Hughes, R. Kent. 2004. Genesis: Beginning and Blessing. Preaching the Word. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

^[2] Mathews, K. A. 1996. Genesis 1-11:26. Vol. 1A. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

^[3] Singer, Isidore, ed. 1901–1906. In The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day, 12 Volumes, 4:518. New York; London: Funk & Wagnalls.

^[4] M’Clintock, John, and James Strong. 1894. “Na’ämah.” In Cyclopædia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, 6:815. New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers.

[5] https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/bible-interpretation/who-was-noahs-wife/

^[6] Carasik, Michael, ed. 2018. Genesis: Introduction and Commentary. Translated by Michael Carasik. The Commentators’ Bible. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society.

^[7] Pilch, John J. 2012. A Cultural Handbook to the Bible. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company: Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.

The last part of Genesis chapter four tells us all about the children of Cain but focuses attention on the line of Lamech. Mays summarizes what is coming in the rest of this chapter by saying, “Among Cain’s descendants are Jabal the ancestor of pastoral nomads, Jubal the ancestor of musicians, and Tubal-Cain, the originator of metallurgy. Over against these descendants of Cain is set Lamech, who boasts of his vengeful reign of terror. This dark story of violence ends with a genealogy that moves from murderer to murderer; the framing of a genealogy by two acts that bring death stands in contradiction to the genealogical record of the continued life of a family. In sharp contrast to the surrounding darkness is the light that dawns in the announcement of the birth of Seth, who fathers Enosh and a family of those who calls upon Yahweh’s name, a family that will include Abram, who will call upon that same God.”^[1]

Genesis 4:20 tells us that Lamech’s first wife had a son. We don’t know a lot about the sons of Lamech, but the text does give us a little information. It says, “Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock.” Freeman suggests, “…the term father is used to denote the author or beginner of something. It is frequently used this way throughout the Bible. Undoubtedly, Jabal was the first to dwell in tents and had cattle; therefore, he is called the father of all those who dwell in tents and have cattle. In other words, he was the progenitor of tent dwellers and herdsmen, and probably was a nomad and lived a wandering life.”^[2] Based upon one noun from Ezekiel chapter 8 that also appears in this verse, Carasik tells us that “…the midrash interprets this verse to mean that he built temples for idolatry.” This maintains the idea of the degenerating nature of the line of Cain, but it seems a little far-fetched for me. Carasik also adds that Jabal’s “…brother Jubal is similarly understood to be playing ‘the lyre and the pipe’ (v. 21) as part of idolatrous worship.”^[3] I could not find anything in the language or in the ancient or modern commentaries that suggested what Jabal did was idolatry. However, the idea has some merit when we consider the direction Cain’s line takes.

Most Christian commentators see Jabal as the first nomad. Abel raised sheep, but Jabal tended to “herds.” Wenham says, “…that term covers all animals that are herded—sheep, goats, cattle, asses, or camels. Whereas Abel merely lived off his flocks, Jabal could trade with his beasts of burden, and this represents a cultural advance.”^[4] It’s more sophisticated than what might first meet the eye. Walton says that “Raising livestock is the first stage in animal domestication, which involves human control of breeding, food supply, and territory. Sheep and goats were the first livestock to be domesticated, with the evidence extending back to the ninth-millennium BC. Larger cattle came later, and evidence for pig domestication began in the seventh millennium.”^[5] Interestingly, Cain taught his sons and grandsons how to raise animals like their uncle Abel had done. Most likely, this was the result of the ground not producing for Cain and his descendants according to God’s curse on them. Lamech’s sons improved civilization in their respective fields. But it appears that the improvements were at the expense of a relationship with God and healthy relationships with each other. Many, even today, will fill their lives with accomplishments at the neglect of more important things. Jesus asked, “What will it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his own soul?”

^[1] Mays, James Luther, ed. 1988. Harper’s Bible Commentary. San Francisco: Harper & Row.

^[2] Freeman, James M., and Harold J. Chadwick. 1998. Manners & Customs of the Bible. North Brunswick, NJ: Bridge-Logos Publishers.

^[3] Carasik, Michael, ed. 2018. Genesis: Introduction and Commentary. Translated by Michael Carasik. The Commentators’ Bible. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society.

^[4] Wenham, Gordon J. 1987. Genesis 1–15. Vol. 1. Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas: Word, Incorporated.

^[5] Walton, John H. 2001. Genesis. The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Not a lot is said about Cain’s sons, but we get some details every once in a while. When the generations brought us to Lamech in Genesis 4:19, we read, “Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.” Lamech “took” two wives. This is the first mention of bigamy in the bible and is accompanied by violence. The progression and increase of violence in the world will eventually lead to the flood and the destruction of all humanity. Philo suggested that the deterioration of society can be seen in the names of Cain’s other sons that came before Lamech, but Hughes argues that this is the first sign of the decline. He writes, “Here we see in the initial growth of civilization the first sign of degeneration (civilization’s demise in its rise) with the tragic institution of polygamy. God’s will had been given to Adam and Eve as part of creation: ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh (Genesis 2:24). Polygamous departures from the divine norm came to dominate both Cainite and Sethite cultures, as the rest of Genesis records. And its disastrous effects are often seen in Genesis. So, note well that as civilization advanced, rebellion against God’s word advanced.”^[1]

Midrash is an ancient Jewish commentary on the Hebrew scriptures, often attached to the biblical text. We have copies of it that date back as far as the 2^nd century of the current era, but the content of its teachings is considered to be much older. One Midrash claims that each of Lamech’s wives served a different purpose. Adah was to bear his children. Zillah was to satisfy Lamech’s unbridled sexual urges. One blogger said, “She drank a contraceptive elixir so that unwanted pregnancy did not ruin her appeal. She adorned herself like a harlot.” Some claim that her name, Zillah, actually means “seductress.” The writer of this web sermon said, “A late Midrashic work notes that Esau took multiple wives, Adah for procreation and Oholibamah for gratification (Genesis Rabbati Vaylishlach 160). In both Lamech’s (4:20) and Esau’s (36:4) cases, respectively, the wife named Adah is recorded as the first wife to give birth, implying that that was her purpose.” The second wife was to fulfill the lust of the flesh. This is what brought King David down. He “saw” lusted and then took Bathsheba. His many wives marred Solomon’s reign!

The web article I’ve been referring to adds this to the discussion: “Generations of readers of Scripture, Jew and gentile alike, have looked upon Lamech with a jaundiced eye. If ever there were a religious figure likely to reread the Lamech pericope with a benevolent hermeneutic, it would have been Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism. He was a staunch believer in, and practitioner of, plural marriage. Yet even Smith wrote of his lecherous predecessor: “For Lamech having entered into a covenant with Satan, after the manner of Cain, wherein he became Master Mahan, master of that great secret which was administered unto Cain by Satan (Book of Moses 5:49).”[2] One of Satan’s tools is the “lust of the flesh.” He uses it to destroy politicians, religious leaders, kings, and presidents. Courson leaves the readers of his commentary with a warning. He writes, “If you’re toying with an affair, an infatuation, a fantasy, a pictorial excursion on the Internet, understand this: the degree to which anyone else becomes attractive to you is the degree to which your spouse will become increasingly unattractive. No man can serve two masters. That’s just the way the human soul is made.”^[3]

^[1] Hughes, R. Kent. 2004. Genesis: Beginning and Blessing. Preaching the Word. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

[2] https://anshesholomnewrochelle.org/sermons/lamech-and-his-wives/

^[3] Courson, Jon. 2005. Jon Courson’s Application Commentary: Volume One: Genesis–Job. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.

In Genesis 4:17 Cain is said to have built a city that he named after his son Enoch. Cain was banished from the presence of God to spend his life wandering in the land of Nod. The Hebrew word for Nod is very close to the one for “Toss, tossed, or tossing.” Probably the earliest allegorical interpreters of the Scriptures, Philo of Alexandria, makes this relevant to his readers and those in every generation since. He suggests that Cain and those who follow from him are “…of wavering and unsettled impulses.”  They are “…subject to tossing and tumult, like the sea lashed by contrary winds when a storm is raging, and  has never even in fancy had experience of quietness and calm. And as at a time when a ship is tossing at the mercy of the sea, it is capable neither of sailing nor of riding at anchor, but pitched about this way and that it rolls in turn to either side and moves uncertainly swaying to and fro; even so the worthless man, with a mind reeling and storm-driven, powerless to direct his course with any steadiness, is always tossing, ready to make shipwreck of his life.”[1]

The city that Enoch built has all the elements of a city. It has walls, buildings, inhabitants and an organized system of laws. It was constructed of walls of deceit, false notions, myths that were all designed to fortify his own alienation from God. Philo says, “Cain’s buildings are demonstrative arguments. With these, as though fighting from a city-wall, he repels the assaults of his adversaries, by forging plausible inventions contrary to the truth.  His inhabitants are the wise in their own conceit, devotees of impiety, self-love, arrogance, false opinion: men ignorant of real wisdom, who have reduced to an organized system ignorance, lack of learning and of culture, and other pestilential things.  His laws are various forms of lawlessness and injustice, unfairness, licentiousness, audacity, senselessness, self-will, immoderate indulgence in pleasures … Of such a city every impious man is found to be an architect in his own miserable soul, until such time as God takes counsel (Gen. 11:6), and brings upon their sophistic devices a great and complete confusion.”

Although Philo doesn’t say so, it seems the chief characteristic of the city built by Enoch is one described well by James 1:6-8. James says that “…the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” There are many citizens of that same city today. It’s named after themselves and consists of all the walls and buildings that build up arguments against God and his benevolent reign in our world. The fool has said in his heart, “there is no God.”

[1] https://catholicgnosis.wordpress.com/2018/04/27/cain-city-descendants/