WHERE DID CAIN GET HIS WIFE?


One  of the most widely accepted ideas concerning  the  early chapters of the
Word of God is the belief that Cain was the first child   born to   Adam  and
Eve.    When   someone   asks   the question..."where did  Cain  get  his
wife  from?",   very   few Christians  are able to give a Biblical answer.
Those of us  who are  able  to answer at all, usually are unable to show from
the Bible WHY we believe the way we do.  I believe that God has indeed given
ample evidences concerning this issue IF we will pay  close attention to his
Word and lay aside our preconceived ideas.


Please  take a few moments to read  Genesis chapter  1:1-2:3.  Notice that
our  attention  is  directed  primarily   on   the "chronology" of events
recorded there.   In fact,  the  days  are actually numbered for us and they
unfold consecutively.

From  Gen  1:1  through 2:3,  God has given us a  very   brief account of
His  entire  work of creation up to and  including  the seventh day: a day in
which He rested from all His work.  Read it again,  if necessary,  and  
follow each day as God gives  us  the account.   Notice that it was on the  
SIXTH  day He created male and female  and gave them the commission to be 
fruitful  and  multiply (1:27-31).  Keep this important point in mind as we 
continue.

Now  lets  read a little further.   From verse 4 of chapter  2, through verse
8,  God is giving us a CLOSER LOOK  at  the  SIXTH day...  "every plant of 
the field was in the earth...there WAS NOT MAN  to till the ground...the Lord 
God formed man out of the  dust of  the  ground and breathed into his 
nostrils the breath of  life and  man became a living soul".   God then says 
that He planted  a garden  eastward  in  Eden and there he put the man  whom  
he  had formed.   From verse 9-14,  God gives us a  closer look  at what the 
garden was actually like.   Beginning with verse 15 we read..."And the Lord 
God took the man,  and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress  it and to 
keep it".   Next,  God gives man the command  to avoid  eating from the fruit 
of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the consequences for 
disobedience are clearly spelled out for him..."thou shalt surely die" (verse 
16,17).

After all this detailed information,   God says... "it is not good  that man
should be alone:   I will make him (future tense) a helpmate his like".
This passage assures us that it is  still  the sixth  day for BOTH of them
were made on that day.

God  then  brings the man all the beasts of the earth and all the fowls of
the air that he might name them  (verse  19,20).   In verses 21 and 22, we
get a CLOSER LOOK at exactly how God made the female.   In verse 23,  after
she was formed,  we find Adam making this  statement..."This is now bone of 
my bones,  and flesh of  my flesh.   She  shall  be called WOMAN BECAUSE she 
was taken out  of man".   This  is  a very pivotal text and is one  which  
can  very easily  be by-passed without too much consideration.    Lets  read 
that  verse again and pay particular note of every word  recorded.  "SHE   
SHALL  BE CALLED WOMAN BECAUSE SHE WAS TAKEN OUT  OF  MAN".  Notice  that  
Adam said she SHALL BE (future tense) CALLED  WOMAN.  Adam  was  precisly  
correct  for she WAS  called  woman for  the remainder of chapter three.  
Also of note is the fact that she was being  called woman for a  specific  
reason...BECAUSE she WAS  taken out of man.  More on this later.

Beginning  with verse 1 of chapter 3,   God has SKIPPED AHEAD in  time to
when the serpent comes on the scene,  but  before  we examine  these events,
a word of explaination may be  in  order.  Although   this portion  of
Genisis  is  recorded  for  us   in chronological  order, we must realize
that NOT ALL  events   that actually  took place are mentioned.   From verse
4 of chapter two through  to our present text, for instance,  no mention has
been made  concern^^ing God's command to the man and woman  to  replenish the 
earth.  Also absent is any mention of the seventh day, the day on  which  the 
Lord rested from His work.  We are  certain  these events  did  take  place 
because they ARE recorded in  chapter  1 verse 28 and chapter 2 verses 2 and 
3.  The answer is simple if we remember  HOW the Lord is giving this record.  
Chapter one was  a GENERAL  STATEMENT of His entire work of creation: 
including  His day  of rest found in 2:1-3.  Chapter 2,  beginning with verse  
4, however,  MORE  DETAIL is given concerning those events which God chose  
to emphasize.     God simply did not see fit  to  RE-RECORD certain  
incidents  and therefore He SKIPPED AHEAD in time to  the Temptation.   Time 
had passed.   We cannot know how much, but some amount of time had definitely 
gone by.   How do we know ?  Because chapter  two ends with the man and the 
woman being united  by  God and chapter three begins with the temptation.   
No seventh day and no command to multiply.

The  following is a sequential account (events  unfolding  in the  order of  
their occurrance) of the temptation  and  fall  of mankind...

         CHAPTER 3

         verse  1..."He said to the WOMAN,  yea hath God said  ye
         shall not eat of every tree of the garden ?"

         verse 2,3..."and the WOMAN said unto the serpent, we may
         eat  of the fruit of the trees of the garden but of  the
         fruit  of the tree which is in the midst of the  garden,
         God hath said, ye shall not eat of it lest ye die."

         verse 4..."and the serpent said unto the WOMAN, ye shall
         not surely die."

         verse 5..."for God doth know...your eyes shall be opened
         and ye shall know...good and evil."

         verse 6..."and when the WOMAN saw that the tree was good
         for  food...she did eat and gave also unto  her  husband
         with her and he did eat."

         verse 7..."and the eyes of them both were opened."

         verse  8..."and  they  heard the voice of the  Lord  God
         walking in the garden..."

         verse  9..."and the Lord God called unto Adam  and  said
         where art thou?"

         verse  10..."he  said,  I  heard thy voice...and  I  was
         afraid...and I hid myself."

         verse 11..."hast thou eaten of the tree?"

         verse 12..."and the man said, the WOMAN whom thou gavest
         me, she gave me of the tree and I did eat."

         verse 13..."and the Lord God said unto the  WOMAN,  what
         is this thou hast done?  and the WOMAN said, the serpent
         beguiled me and I did eat."

         verse 14...God curses the serpent...

         verse  15..."I  will  put enmity between  thee  and  the
         WOMAN..."

         verse  16..."unto  the  WOMAN he said,  I  will  greatly
         multiply thy sorrow and they conception:  in sorrow thou
         shalt (future tense) bring forth children."

         verse 17-19...God curses the ground and the man...

         verse 20..."and Adam called his wife's name Eve  because
         she was the mother of all living."

Remember  why  Adam called the female "woman"?   It was BECAUSE she  had been  
(was) taken out of man.  This  account of the temptation has referred to the 
female NINE times.  In every instance she has been called "WOMAN".   In the 
midst of all this,  the  context seems to change abruptly and verse 20 
informs us that Adam changes the  way  he addresses his wife.   All of a 
sudden he  names   her "Eve".   (The  events  are  sequential  remember).   
Why the  sudden change?   No need to be in the dark:  we  have  the reason  
recorded for  us...  "BECAUSE she WAS the mother of all LIVING".   Our only 
problem is, that no birth has been mentioned.

Some will  say that the  word "was" in this passage really means that Eve
"WAS TO  BE" the mother of all living.  This cannot be the case for a number
of reasons.  First and foremost among them is because God did not say it that
way.   He surely could have, had He meant it that way.  He chose rather to 
use a past tense verb, to say EXACTLY what He wanted to say.   Others  argue 
that since no birth was recorded, none could have taken place.  If we  follow  
that line of reasoning then Cain could not have had  a wife  at all,   for 
the birth of his wife is NOT recorded anywhere in the Word of God.   In fact,  
we do not read of the birth of ANY woman  BY  NAME  until Genisis 22:23 !   
If her birth  had  to  be recorded  in order  for her to be born,  then she 
wasn't  born  at all.  But the fact is she WAS born and her birth WAS NOT 
recorded.  This should not present a problem however.  Remember, God chose to 
leave  out certain events before,  didn't He?   Well He  chose  to leave this 
one out too!  How can I make such a statement?  Because it is a biblical fact 
that God, for reasons known only to Himself, does not  record the birth of 
the first female!

Let's  pick up our account where we left off and we will  see that the entire
context continues to unfold in sequence...

              verse 21...God made them coats of skins

              verse  22...God  said "man has become like  one  of
              us..."

              verse 23...The Lord sent him forth from the  garden
              to  till the ground from whence he was taken...

              verse 24..."So He drove the man out..."

Chapter  three closes with that final passage;  chapter  four opens  with
this one..."And Adam knew his wife Eve and  she  bare Cain".   Everyone
agrees that this is the precise point  in  time when  Cain  was born.   And
why shouldn't we?   God  is  unfolding events  chronologically  for  us  and
thus  far,  the  only  birth recorded  is that of Cain.   But if we pay close
attention to  the words of that text,  we will discover that the female was
ALREADY called EVE when Adam "knew" her!   It does  not  say,  Adam knew the
"woman"  and she bare Cain.   Those who believe that Cain was  the firstborn
child   of Adam and his wife have a real  dilemma  here.  Nine  times she was
referred to as "woman" in the detailed account of  the temptation and fall,
but NOT ONCE after Adam  called  her Eve.

Incidentally, the word "Eve" in Hebrew is the word "Chavvah", pronounced
"khav-vaw",  and  means "life-giver".   Those who  are familiar with the
contents of scripture, probably are aware of how the  names  of children are
usually selected in  the  Bible.   The births of the twelve sons of Jacob are
a perfect example.  Each of those  children were named in memory of a
specific situation  that existed  AT THE TIME OF THEIR BIRTH (see Gen  
29:32-30:24).   This was   a  standard  initiated  with  the  creation  of  
the   first female,"...she shall be called woman BECAUSE...",  "...Adam 
called his  wife's  name Eve BECAUSE...".    According  to  the  inspired 
record  God has given us,  the female was ALREADY CALLED EVE  when Adam knew 
her  and  when she gave birth to her son Cain.

One  of the notions that lends itself to the idea that  Cain was  the first
child born,  is our conception of time.   It  would seem   to us that the
record of events are not only  chronological but  that they also occurred in
RAPID SUCCESSION.   This simply is not  the  case.   We  have already
observed  that  certain  events between the sixth day and the episode in the
garden were  Divinely omitted:  a fact that may not have been previously 
noticed.  Maybe certain  events between the fall of man and the birth of Cain 
were also left out.   Granted,  it SEEMS to us that as soon as the  man 
transgressed, God was on the scene to pronounce the curse and cast them  out.  
If all this happened on the same day,  then the  woman would have had no time 
to give birth to a child.

Could  she have had a child BEFORE the fall  into  sin?   No, because  of
what  the  bible  teaches  elsewhere,   "...ALL  have sinned...",  and "...in
Adam ALL DIE...".   And besides,  when the curses were being pronounced,  she
was still being called "woman".

No, if there was one, a child had to have been born somewhere between  verse
19 and verse 20 of chapter three.   But what  about the time element?   Most 
of us think along these lines  concerning the fall of man...the woman 
transgressed, she caused the man to do likewise,  God  was immediately 
present to curse and cast them out of  the  garden..."lest  they eat of the 
tree  of  life  and  live forever".   He  then hurriedly assigned a guardian 
to the entrance of  the garden to keep the man from entering again.   After  
this, Adam knew his wife Eve and she bore Cain - the first child.

Time, and our apprehension of it, can be extremely misleading when  reading
ancient Biblical  history.   Occasionally  we  find references  that  inform
us in a  general  way about  these  things.  Chapter 4, verse 3 is a good 
example..."and in the  process of time it  came  to  pass...";  In this text 
there is no way  of  knowing exactly how much time has elapsed.   In other 
places we are  given precise   information  concerning the passage of  
time..."And  Adam lived   one  hundred  and  thirty  years  and begat  a  son  
in  his likeness..."(5:3).  We are not always so fortunate, however.  Most 
often,  an  accurate  perception of time can only be  obtained  by carefully 
analysing both the larger and the immediate contexts.  I believe this to be 
the circumstance dictated by Genisis 3:7  - 4:1 and  following.   I do not 
believe that this portion of  scripture was  meant  to convey the idea that 
it all took place on the  same day.   We  must  not allow any  false notions  
of  time  to guide  our understanding of God's Word, so let's lay that " 
feeling " aside for a moment and look closely at the recorded events...

The  text  immediately following the Fall  of mankind is  the place to begin:
chapter 3,  verse 7..."And the eyes of them  both were opened,  and they knew
that they were naked.   And they sewed fig-leaves  together  and  made
themselves aprons."  This  act  of gathering  leaves,   and   of  fashioning
instruments  to  sew  them together  had  to  have  taken  at  least  some   
little   time   to accomplish.  Time which could have been  used far  more 
profitably by rushing  to the tree of life to eat of it also and live forever 
-  if   that  had  been their immediate craving.    But  their  most pressing  
desire was not to sin again.   In fact the opposite  was true.   They wanted 
to  hide  the evil they had already done!    And the  Lord  patiently waited 
for them to  accomplish  their  feeble efforts.    Notice  also the serene,  
almost casual nature of  the next  passage..."And  they heard the voice of 
the Lord walking  in the  garden in the cool of the day."  (whether we
understand  this verse  to  mean..."they heard the voice of the Lord  (as
He   was) walking  in the garden..." or..."they heard the voice of the  Lord
(as   they   were) walking in the garden..." has no bearing  on  the issue
in  question.)  This line seems to be oozing with calm  and tranquility.   To
this point in the narrative,  there  isn't  the slightest  hint  of urgency
to cast out the sinful man.  I  should think that  if  God was anxious to
expel the man and to prevent  him from feasting upon the tree of life, He
would have done so as soon as  there  eyes were opened!   But no,  neither
God  nor   man  were immediately  concerned with that tree.  Furthermore,
this unhurried atmosphere  continues,  as God calls to the man and questions
him concerning  his act of disobedience.   The woman also was querried and
each  of  them,   (including  the  serpent),  were  addressed personally
during the horrible anathema (v 9-19).

I  believe that the content of that ominous malediction was  a sufficient
detterent   to  keep the man and the  woman   long   from displeasing the 
Almighty a second time.   Long enough,  I suggest, for  Adam  to have "known" 
the  woman  and for her to  have  brought forth   at  least  one female child
- the  future  Mrs.  Cain?   Who knows.  His wife may have been born much
later; but we are certain of  this  much...it is at this very  place that
Adam  decides  to change  his wife's title from " woman " to " Eve " and the
Bible  says it was  because  she  was  the mother of all  living .

It   is   true  that  man,   now  full  of  sinful  tendencies, eventually
would  have "stretched forth his hand and  taken  also from  the tree of
life",  so the Lord clothed them with  coats  of skin and sent them forth
from the garden.   There are,  of course, objections  to  these conclusions 
and it is necessary  to  examine them in the light of "what saith the Lord".

1.  Some will say that every verse of Scripture from Genesis 2:15-4:1 belongs
    exactly where it is  except  verse 20 of chapter  3.  Keep  this in mind
    as we consider this argument...If we agree that solid  Biblical evidences
    are needed  before we cast  aside  long respected and widely accepted
    views that  men  teach,  what kind  of proof  should  we require before
    we are so bold to say  that   God means something other than  exactly
    what He is saying...or that  He shouldn't have made that statement  when
    He did  because it  didn't happen in quite that order?  (While it is true
    that many places in God's  Word  are not chronologically sequential,
    they always  are self-evident  and easily discovered).  If we are going
    to say that all  of the account in question is in it's  proper  place
    except where the woman is named Eve in 3:20, my question is...where then
    does  it belong?   Surely,  we can't eliminate the verse entirely.  All
    agree on that.   The verse cannot belong in chapter 2 anywhere because
    in  chapter  3 the female is continually  addressed  and referred to as
    "woman".   Also,  we have to consider the fact that the fall into sin
    didn't happen until Gen 3:6:  If Adam named  her "Eve"    before  the
    fall,  and she really  was  named for the reason God  says,  that  would
    mean that she gave birth to at least  one daughter  who was without sin !

    No one wants to make that assertion.  Besides, the people who want to
    move this verse somewhere else,   need  to put it  somewhere after   Cain
    was born so their "idea"  about Cain being  the  first child  born  would
    not have to be altered.   But the problem  with trying to re-position the
    text to someplace  after  Cain's birth  is the fact that we would have to
    change the  language  used in verse 1 of chapter 4,..."Adam knew  Eve "
    to "Adam knew the  woman ".    If we dare  go  this  far  we  would  be
    guilty  of   not  one  but   two offences...moving  the text  and
    changing the  language:  all  this just  to support something we have
    been "taught".   Anyone who  is willing  to engage in such Biblical
    "gymnastics" is just not being honest and doesn't care about scriptural
    accuracy at all and  this study  is not intended for that person.   For
    those who don't want to tamper with the language  or  the position of Gen
    3:20, but still insist that Cain was the first offspring,  the answer
    must lie  in another place...

2.  There  are those who say that Gen 3:20  belongs  exactly where  it is,
    but it doesn't mean that Eve was the mother of  all living   persons .
    It means rather that she was the mother of  all living  " creatures " and
    " beasts ",  therefore her title was changed to Eve.

    Well,  we  know  for sure she wasn't the  physical   mother  of these 
    creatures because they were made (and even named)  before  she was  
    created (see 2:19,20).   The law of nature established by God concerning  
    the  reproduction  of  living  organisms  would   also eliminate such a 
    possibility...all things shall bring forth " after their kind " is the 
    Divine Decree of Genisis 1.  The "living beast" advocates  are left then,  
    with a mere  hypothetical  application of Gen  3:20.   Let's  examine 
    that theory in the light  of  Biblical reasoning.

    Picture  their scenario...the Lord Almighty has just made the man in His
    own Image and given him dominion over all the works  of His  hands.   He
    gathers all of the lesser creatures together  and brings  them  to Adam
    to see what he would call  them.   Next,  He creates  the  female to be a
    companion and helpmate for  the  man.  Adam  calls her "woman" because 
    she was taken from his  own  body.  God  blesses  them and gives them the 
    commission to  multiply  and fill the earth and subdue it.   The Lord 
    rests on the seventh day.  Eventually,   the  serpent  slithers  his  
    evil  path  toward  the unsuspecting  woman and beguiles her.   She,  in 
    turn,  causes her husband  to follow.   One cool day,  God is heard 
    walking  in  the garden  and  the man and his wife hide from the  Lord's  
    presence.  After  calling them out and giving each of them an opportunity  
    to confess their mutinous act,  He proceeds to pronounce the terrible 
    curses  upon  the serpent,  the woman,  and upon Adam and all  his 
    descendents.  At this most solemn and portentious of moments, Adam 
    decides  to call his wife's name Eve  because  she was the mother of all 
    living... beasts  ?   If Adam thought of his wife as the  mother of all 
    living creatures and beasts - even hypothetically - why not call  her 
    that from the beginning ?   Why wait until such a  place and  time to 
    make so "frivolous" a statement ?   Surely we  cannot believe  that  "all 
    of a sudden" it was revealed to Adam that  his wife was - hypothetically 
    - the mother of all living creatures.  I think  some honest consideration 
    of these arguments  will  quickly eliminate the "living beast" opinion.


3.  "Eve was the mother of the  spiritually living " is the claim  from
    another school of thought.   "The seed of  the  woman (Christ) would
    someday bruise the head of the serpent (Gen  3:15), and  all  who  would
    believe and follow that  Great  Redeemer  of mankind would become
    spiritually re-born - "living",  if you will.  It  is  in such a sense
    that Eve was called  "the  mother  of  all living".   A good point,  to
    be sure,  but not entirely true!  The fact  that  Eve was the original
    female progenator of  the  Christ child  is  beyond dispute but this was
    hardly the reason her  name was changed when it was.   We must keep in
    mind that she was   also the  original female progenator of the  entire
    human race - both of the spiritually alive   and   the spiritually dead.

    It  could  be deduced that Eve was the mother of  the  future Messiah,
    by virtue of the fact that all mankind ultimately sprang from her, but we
    cannot conclude that she was named "Eve" for that rather obscure reason.
    The birth of the Lord Jesus Christ was yet some 4000 years in the future
    and we again have the problem of the language of Gen 3:20..."because she
    was ...".  Everyone agrees that there  is a difinative difference between
    the word "was"  and  the term "was to be".  They simply do not mean the
    same thing.

    Either  Adam named her for something that  already happened  to her  or
    because of something that he knew would  eventually  happen to her.   We
    know he called her "woman" because of something  that had already
    occurred; i.e. "she  was  taken from man".  If he called her  Eve because
    of something that  eventually  would happen to her, why  not call her Eve
    back on the  sixth day  when they  were  given the  commission to be
    fruitful and multiply ?   Adam knew at  that time she would bring forth 
    children.  Why continue to refer to her as  "woman" ?   Why does the Lord 
    God Himself,  who uses words  so precisely,  continue  to call her 
    "woman" ?   It would be far more Biblically consistant to change her name 
    then.

    The   fact   is,  that she was called "woman" because  she   was taken
    from man and she was called "Eve" because she  was  the mother of all
    living.  Thats the account we are given in His Word.

    A note of interest is found in the statement Eve makes at the time of
    Cain's birth.   She seems to be surprised because she  had gotten  " a
    man ~ from the Lord:  the implication being,  this birth was  unusual
    because  of the  gender  of  the  infant.   Could  her astonishment  be
    because she had previously  brought  forth  only female   offspring ?
    This brings us to the final and,  by far, the most widespread reason for
    rejecting the exact words of God...


A   contextual  outline of our subject material  as it is  found in the
Sacred Word of God is offered in closing...

          Gen  1:1  - 2:3 ...An overview of God's  entire  creative
         work

          Gen  2:4-8 ...An in depth review of the sixth day,  which
         includes the creation of man.

          Gen  2:9-14 ...Details  concerning  the  Garden  God  has
         prepared.

          Gen  2:15-22 ...God puts man in that Garden to  till  it.
         He warns of the forbidden fruit.  The animals brought to
         Adam and he names them - the female is created.

          Gen 2:23 ...Adam calls the female "woman" because she was
         taken from man.

          Gen  2:24,25 ...The  two said to be husband and wife  and
         they were not ashamed of their nakedness.

          Gen 3:1-6 ...Choosing  not  to record a second  time,  both
         the  commission to the man and woman to multiply and the
         day  on  which  He rested,  God moves us  ahead  in  His
         narrative  to when the serpent tempts  the  woman.   She
         yields to that temptation and her husband follows.

          Gen 3:7 ...The eyes of them both were opened.

          Gen 3:8-19 ...God confronts them in the Garden concerning
         their  rebellion  and   the  curses  are  formally   and
         emphatically announced.

          Gen 3:20 ...The woman has become the mother of all living
         and  Adam  changes  her name to Eve  for  that  specific
         reason.

          Gen  3:21 ...God  prepares  for them coats  of  skin  and
         readies them for expulsion from their haven in Eden.

          Gen  3:22-24 ...The man is finally driven from the Garden
         to till the ground from which he was taken.

          Gen 4:1 ...Adam knew his wife, Eve; and she conceived and
         bore Cain.  She exclaims, I have gotten "a man" from the
         Lord.

          Gen 4:2 ...She further bore Abel.

          Gen 4:3-7 ...The offerings of Cain and Abel to God.

          Gen  4:8-10 ...Cain  slays  his  brother,  Abel,  and  is
         questioned by Jehovah.

          Gen  4:11-16 ...A curse is pronounced upon Cain and he is
         banished from the presence of the Lord.

          Gen 4:17 ...Settling in the land of Nod,  Cain "knows his
         wife" and she bare him Enoch.

Whether you decide that Cain married his younger or his older sister is of
little  practical  value in your service as Christians.  What   is
imperative,  however,  is the  principle  I hope  to  have established ...
God's  Word is  entirely trustworthy  and our  beliefs can  be and   must  be
the  result  of  dilligent,  personal,  and prayerful meditation upon that
Book!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
