The focus leaves Adam and Eve, and we see the result of sin on their children. In Genesis 4 we are introduced to their sons, Cain and Abel. It is instructive to note the meaning of their names. Cain sounds very much like the Hebrew word for "acquisitive," implying greed. Abel means a "vanity," or something transitory, implying disappointment.
While we note the symbolism of their names, it does not in the Hebrew mind negate the reality that these were two people. These two were engaged in the necessary tasks of food production; Cain in farming and Abel in sheep herding. In the natural course of events, both brought their appropriate offerings -- a specific type of free will offering, a bloodless donation-in-kind. We have no idea how this offering was tendered, nor how it was actually used the on behalf of God. There is nothing inherently superior or inferior in either offering.
Being forbidden to approach God directly, as had been the case in Eden, didn't mean God was forgotten, just that He was hard to reach. Apparently God had responded to this change in circumstances with some sort of revelation which established a pattern of worship, including the sacrifice of a portion of the food production. The basic requirement for being accepted by God, as symbolized by having one's offering accepted, was honest commitment to getting to know Him and His ways. Cain's was unacceptable because of his unacceptable attitude. He rejected God's direct attempt to educate his immature thinking. This immaturity was amply demonstrated by his murder of his brother out of, apparently, wounded pride and simply envy.
It is further demonstrated by Cain's excuses and whining when God called him to account for the murder. To let Cain stay in the community with such a self-centered attitude would be a threat to everyone. He was sentenced to banishment, away from the relative safety and prosperity of communal life. For a time, at least, this meant "living in Nod," a literary phrase for wandering, living nomadically. Any attempt to return to his farming would be cursed with utter failure. He had polluted the ground with human blood. He would be forced to gather what he could find growing naturally.
Thus, we see that, contrary to the speculation of secular scholarship, the nomadic lifestyle was not the original human condition, but a degradation from the original agrarian communal settlement style of living. It also meant Cain no longer had access to the worship of God, and thus the knowledge of God. We have no evidence of the original human settlements. It's likely that, in pursuit of their basic needs, they would not have needed much of a material culture, such as could be found by archaeological digging. The decentralized community structure and widely spaced settlement pattern precluded a highly organized society. Cain, on the other hand, was the predecessor of a very material and structured culture.
His descendants eventually developed urban living, and the roots of what we today call "civilization." Civilization is defined as the set of cultural habits sufficient to enable living together in close quarters. A dense population allows economic progress, necessary for the development of advanced artistry. There had to be customs or rules of conduct also because the natural pacifying effect of worshipping God was absent. Indeed, Cain is responsible for the rise of all pagan worship, along with the stratification of society into various upper and lower classes. Some, by virtue of their willingness and skill at killing and otherwise oppressing their fellow human beings, were able to rise to a special status, with separate rules of conduct. Human life became cheap, not to mention short, for the most part. This sort of society is the one that has been amply illustrated by the discoveries of archaeology. The Bible refers to this human-oriented society as the "Children of Man."
In the meantime, the original family group continued to exist in its simpler lifestyle centered on the worship of God, as we see in Genesis 4:26. Throughout the rest of this early time, there was a strong divergence between the two types of human society. Those who followed God, called "the Children of God," were known for their tremendous longevity. It is not so far-fetched when we realize that there was still a thick cloud layer over the whole planet, which, among other things, would tend to block cosmic particles and other celestial emissions. One of the biggest catalysts in human aging is the destruction of cell tissue by the constant bombardment of various particles (such as neutrinos) and radiation (such as gamma rays) from the sun and other sources in space. The lifestyle of the Children of God was also presumably healthier, less stressful. We could further posit a direct result of sin -- the loss of immortality -- taking effect slowly, over numerous generations.
The long genealogy table follows customary Semitic form, in that it is not a list of direct lineal descent. Rather, it lists the more famous figures. This, together with the high longevity, makes it virtually impossible to estimate a time span. There is no way of knowing how much time had lapsed between the expulsion from Eden and the building of the first cities. It's currently popular among conservative biblical scholars to suggest something around 10,000-12,000 BC for the first cities of Cain's desecendents.
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Ed Hurst
revised 06 December 2003
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