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NASB | Ephesians 5:25 ¶ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Ephesians 5:25 ¶ Husbands, love your wives [seek the highest good for her and surround her with a caring, unselfish love], just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, |
Subject: Did Cain marry one of his sisters? |
Bible Note: First, the idea that Adam and Eve had additional children prior to Seth is simply not Biblical. Read what is written. I have reviewed the text in many different translations of Genesis 5:4, and *every single one of them* is consistent in saying that AFTER Seth was born, Adam lived for 800 years and fathered many children. Not a single translation that I have read puts Adam fathering additional children prior to the birth of Seth. Even though the specific dates are not mentioned, the order of events is as significant in Biblical writings as specifying dates. As such, the order of reporting of events is, in fact, providing us with the order of events. So the question does remain, where did those other people come from? Since, as described above, they were not from Adam and Eve (and if anyone can identify SCRIPTURALLY how they were actual descendents of Adam and Eve, I will happily concede this whole idea), it really leaves only one option: They were created by God. In fact, the Hebrew word used in Genesis 1:26-27 does not mean a specific man, but rather mankind or humankind, according to the Brown, Driver, Briggs and Gesenius’ "The Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon". If we look at the Bible as directions for living for Him and ending up in eternity with Him, it stands to reason that everything we need to reach Him is written in the Word. The corollary to this is that there are facts and ideas that are true but are not included because they are not germane to our goal of reaching Him and ultimately serving Him in eternity, just as a road map showing the route from Los Angeles to New York would give us the pertinent information for our journey, but wouldn’t mention anything about Japan. Even so, we may be able to infer that Japan exists, perhaps by the mention of a Japanese Embassy, or perhaps an advertisement on the map for a Toyota. By the same token, we can infer things that are not mentioned specifically in the Word by some key phrases in other parts of the Word. The specific example here is that Cain did marry someone and he did build cities for someone. Other people *did* exist. So using this logic, doesn’t the possibility exist that God did in fact create the other people that are mentioned in the Bible, but because their creation is not germane to us seeking, finding, and following Him, they are not clearly identified? Mark, you said, “Since your argument is from the silence of Scriptures, one could assert with Equal Validity that Cain was concerned about the Little People, who had travelled back in time from Middle Earth, or whatever else you want.” I submit that my assertion and yours are not of equal validity as you claim. As you can see from what is written above, I am basing my assertion on logic using what *is* written in The Word as well as acknowledging what is being excluded. I doubt you could say the same for your suggestion of the Little People. Your tone, quite frankly, is one of disrespect and ridicule. I would appreciate a tone that is more suited for discussion and learning rather than derision. WOS, you asked, “So you imply that adding to the Word is wrong but still do it? Where does God tell us there were others before Adam and Eve?” I am not taking away from, nor adding to, God’s Word here. Other people did exist, a Biblical fact, with no explanation directly provided for their origin. The explanation I’m providing is in line with the Hebrew word used in Gen 1:26-27 (see above). Again, the lack of specificity means that in the grand scheme of things, whether He created other people in addition to Adam and Eve is truly not important to becoming a follower of Him. You also asked, “Does it say ‘created man’ or ‘re-created man’?” If God *did* create mankind, then created Adam as I’m suggesting, is that a “re-creation” or “creating a new being”? If God created man in Genesis 1:26-27, is it not possible that He created mankind, then created a separate people starting with Adam and Eve to be the ancestors of His Son and His Chosen People? Between much prayer and study and discussion, this is what I came up with. Seeing that Cain could not have married a sister that had not yet been born. Seeing that there were enough people for Cain to build a city. Seeing that the Hebrew wording is one of mankind, not just one man. And recognizing that in other places in the Scriptures, Adam is identified as first man *relative to Eve’s creation* in 1 Timothy 2:13, and as the bringer of sin in Romans 5:12 – “just as sin entered the world through one man”, which simply defines Adam as the man through whom sin entered the world, as he was the first to be given a command, then subsequently break that command. Adam was made especially by God as the first of the line that would become His Chosen People, the Jews, and the ones who would beget His only Son. |