Genesis 4:16-18

Cain went out from Yahweh’s presence, and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Cain knew his wife. She conceived, and gave birth to Enoch. He built a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. To Enoch was born Irad. Irad became the father of Mehujael. Mehujael became the father of Methushael. Methushael became the father of Lamech.

I learned from Ken Ham at Answers in Genesis that one of the most frequently asked questions about Genesis that they get is: “Where did Cain get his wife?” Here we read that Cain had a son with his wife. The Bible has only mentioned four humans so far so where did Cain’s wife come from? That question is an easy one. Just because the Bible doesn’t mention the women born to Eve by name, doesn’t mean that there weren’t any. Because Cain was able to have a wife, we know that Eve must have had at least two female children for at lest two sons.

Some believe this shows a biblical inconsistency because they think that Cain marrying his sister would be biblical incest. This demonstrates a misunderstanding about the Bible. Incest was not defined until God defined it hundreds of years later to Moses. This subject shows us why it is so important to know the times in which you live. God’s requirements of mankind change as he unfolds his purpose in history. Today, we know that incest creates genetic problems in children. We also know that Adam and Eve had new DNA. There hadn’t been years of the curse and genetic errors caused by mutations. Scientifically, it makes sense that God would allow close family marriages at first but not later. This doesn’t show an inconsistency in God. Rather, it shows that he consistently cared about humanity and wanted it first to grow, and then be free of genetic problems.

Economics: Notice that Cain became a builder. He didn’t end up wandering the earth after all. In fact, he ended up building a city and naming it after his own son. God took an old farmer and turned him into a builder. This is a great example of why we shouldn’t view the economy as a pie that everyone gets a slice of. That may have been what Cain thought when he was first cursed, but the future proved that when his hard work was applied to building, he was able to produce a new economy by helping those who were able to grow things.