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27,299 commentary entries
The Pulpit Commentary
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 4:1
Exiled from Eden, o'er, canopied by grace, animated by hope, assured of the Divine forgiveness, and filled with a sweet peace, the first pair enter on their life experience of labor and sorrow, and the human race begins…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 4:1-15
The first brothers. I. THE BROTHERS AT HOME. 1. The first home. Of Divine appointment, and among the choicest blessings that have survived the fall, homes are designed for— 2. A pious home. Its locality, though outside…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 4:1-8
The kingdom of God. Another "genesis" is now described, that of sinful society, which prepares the way for the description of the rising kingdom of God. I. THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORAL EVIL IS CONTEMPORANEOUS WITH HUMAN SOC…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 4:2
And she again bare (literally, added to bear, a Hebraism adopted in the New Testament; vide Luke 20:11) his brother Abel. Habel (vanity), supposed to hint either that a mother's eager hopes had already begun to be disap…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 4:3
And in process of time. Literally, at the end of the days, i.e.— 1. Of the year (Aben Ezra, Dathe, De Wette, Rosenmüller, Bohlen), at which season the feast of the ingathering was afterwards kept—Exodus 23:16 (Bush). Ar…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 4:4
And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock. Either the firstborn, which God afterwards demanded (Exodus 13:12), or the choicest and best (Job 18:13; Jeremiah 31:19; Hebrews 12:23). And the fat thereof. Lit…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 4:5
But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. Because of the absence of those qualities which distinguished Abel and his offering; not because the heart of Cain was "no more pure," but "imbued with a criminal pr…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 4:8
And Cain talked with (literally, said to) his brother. διε ì λθωμεν εἰ ς τοÌ πεδιì ον (LXX.); egrediamur foras (Vulgate). The Samaritan and Syriac versions interpolate to the same effect. The Jerusalem Targum explains—…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 4:9
And the Lord said unto Cain. "Probably soon after the event, at the next time of sacrifice, and at the usual place of offering" (Bonar). Where is Abel thy brother? "A question fitted to go straight to the murderer's con…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 4:9
Am I my brother's keeper? I. The world says, No! 1. Every man's brother ought to keep himself. 2. If a men's brother cannot keep himself, he deserves to perish. 3. No man's brother will be at the trouble to keep him. 4.…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 4:9
Care for our brethren. How terrible this question to the murderer! He thought, perhaps, his act was hidden, and strove to put it out of mind. Perhaps did not anticipate effect of his stroke; but now brought face to face…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 4:9-15
The condemnation and judgment of the first murderer. Notice— I. The Divine APPEAL TO CONSCIENCE, affording opportunity to repentance and confession, and therefore to the exercise of mercy. II. THE BLINDING EFFECT OF A G…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 4:10
Satisfied that the guilty fratricide is resolved to make no acknowledgment of his deed, the omniscient Judge proceeds to charge him with his sin. And he—i.e. Jehovah—said, What hast thou done? Thus intimating his perfec…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 4:15
The condemned fratricide's apprehensions were allayed by a special act of grace. And the Lord said unto him, Therefore (the LXX; Symm; Theodotion, Vulgate, Syriac, Dathius, translate Not so— οὐ χ οὐ ì τως, nequaquam,…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 4:16
And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord. Not simply ended his interview and prepared to emigrate from the abode of his youth (Kalisch); but, more especially, withdrew from the neighborhood of the cherubim (vide…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 4:16-24
The kingdom of God contrasted with the kingdom of this world. Society without the Lord. The banished Cain and his descendants. I. MULTIPLICATION apart from Divine order is no blessing. II. CIVILIZATION without religion…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 4:17-26
The progress of the race. I. ITS INCREASE IN POPULATION. Starting from a single pair in Eden, in the course of seven generations the human family must have attained to very considerable dimensions. At the birth of Seth,…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 4:17-26
EXPOSITION
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 4:17
Domiciled in Nod, whither, impelled by woman's love, his wife had accompanied him, the unhappy fugitive began to seek, if not to find, relief from the gnawing agonies of remorse in the endearments of conjugal felicity a…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 4:18
Years passed away, the family of Cain grew to manhood, and, in imitation of their parents, founded homes for themselves. And unto Enoch (whose wife probably would also be his sister, few caring at this early stage to in…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 4:19
And Lamech took unto him two wives. Being the first polygamist of whom mention is made, the first by whom "the ethical aspect of marriage, as ordained by God, was turned into the lust of the eye and lust of the flesh" (…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 4:20
And Adah bare Jabal. Either the Traveler or the Producer, from yabhal, to flow; poetically, to go to walk; hiphil, to produce; descriptive, in the one case, of his nomadic life, in the other of his occupation or his wea…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 4:21
And his brother's name was Jubal. Player on an instrument, the musician. Cf. jobel, an onomatopoetic word signifying jubilum, a joyful sound. Cf. Greek, ὀ λολυ ì ζειν ἀ λαλαì ζειν; Latin, ululare; Swedish, iolen; Dutc…
The Pulpit Commentary on Genesis 4:22
And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain. Worker in brass or iron;related to Persian, tupal, iron dross (Gesenius, Rodiger, Delitzsch). Keil and Furst think this Persian root cannot be regarded as the proper explanation of…