4:16 from the presence. Cain thus becomes the type of those “that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord” (II Thessalonians 1:8,9).

4:16 Nod. “Nod” means “wandering,” and so may be a figurative expression depicting Cain’s vagabond life-style. Since he built a city, however, it probably was also the name of the specific region in which he led this wandering existence.

4:17 knew his wife. His wife was probably one of Adam’s daughters (see Genesis 5:4), although it could have been a later descendant, since it would easily have been possible for the population to grow to several hundred thousand by the time of Cain’s death.

4:17 Enoch. Cain named his son “Enoch,” meaning “dedication” or “commencement,” probably signifying the beginning of a new manner of life.

4:17 city. Urbanization is usually considered by evolutionary archaeologists to be one of the first indicators of the emergence of true civilization from a hunting-and-gathering culture (so-called stone age culture). It is significant that true civilized cultures, by this definition, have existed since the very first generation following Adam, with no suggestion whatever of a long evolutionary advance from an imaginary stone age. Evidently Cain, unable to survive either as a farmer or by trade, had to develop his own self-sufficient economy, through the patriarchal clan which he established around his son Enoch and the city which Cain built for him.

4:18 Lamech. The possible meaning of these names are: Irad, meaning “Townsman,” Mehujael, meaning “God gives life;” Methusael, meaning “Man of God;” Lamech, meaning “Conqueror.” The similarity of some of the names to those in the Sethitic line, as well as their religious “-el” endings, probably indicates that the two families kept in touch with each other and that the Cainitic line continued to believe in God as long as Adam remained alive to exercise some degree of patriarchal leadership.