Who Was Cain's Wife?
Hello Ben,
The Bible says that God created only two people, Adam and Eve, and told them to have lots of children—“Fill the earth!” Scripture mentions only three of Adam and Eve’s children by name (Cain, Abel, and Seth). Given this, where did Cain get his wife? What was the name of Cain's wife? How did she come to be? Thanks for your answer.
Your friend,
Manohar
Hello Manohar,
I will certainly take some time to respond to your question. Thank you for your patience with me as I cope with my busy schedule. Here is my short answer.
Scripture records the story of Cain’s murder of his brother Abel in the book of Genesis, the fourth chapter. The story is followed by an account of Cain’s generations after he fled from the presence of the Lord (vs. 16). Interestingly, as you have noted, the wife of Cain is never specifically mentioned by name. And that has seemed strange to some people, especially to skeptics. But is this really a problem? Let's think about it...
Is Seth’s wife, ever mentioned by name? How about Abel’s wife? (If he ever had one...) In fact, when you think about it, none of the wives of Seth’s generations, or anyone else's, are ever expressly named. The same holds true for Noah’s wife too, as well as the wives of his son’s, and most of the wives of their children. Most notably, we find this to be true in the case of Cain’s lineage. The only exception to this rule is Lamach, the son of Methushael, who was the first to practice polygamy. (see Gen 4:19) Therefore, we have no good reason to expect that the compiler of the Genesis narrative would need to include the names of the women which the sons of Eve took to themselves.
Moving on to the second part of your question therefore, I think that it is reasonable to conclude that Cain and Seth would have married children born from Eve, since the scriptures name her as the mother of all the living. (Gen 3:20) Obviously this would mean that humans are all of one race, as modern science in fact now confirms. The recent discovery, for example, of Mitochondrial Eve furnishes powerful proof that humans are of one descent and origin. Therefore, it would be unreasonable to cite this point as a grounds for doubt since science expressly confirms what the scriptures teach. Even in the face of the Bible’s later censure of the practice of a man marrying his sister should pose no serious grounds for misgivings. (see Lev 20:17) All that it would mean is that God later set up a limitation to marital arrangements, perhaps for the purpose of protecting against harmful genetic mutations which would develop.
Hence, in the final analysis, men always, in a sense, marry their sisters, since we are all descended from one blood. (see Acts 17:26) Therefore, the question of the precise parentage of Cain’s wife should pose no grounds for doubt for the inquiring Christian. Neither should the skeptic be suspicious that the book of Genesis never expressly names her, since it never mentions the names of the wives in most of its genealogies.
So thanks for your question Manohar. I hope that helps with what you're looking for. And God bless!
Keep the faith man,
Ben Fischer <><