Bible Strands
Genesis 4:1
And Adam had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man,” she said.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Eve speaks after conceiving and giving birth to Cain, marking the first recorded birth following the events of Genesis 3. The narrative presents her declaration without identifying a specific human audience.
The words — The Hebrew verb יָדַע (ya.Da') literally means "he knew," describing Adam's union with Eve prior to conception. Eve's declaration employs the root קָנָה (qanah), meaning "to acquire," to state she has brought forth a man.
The thread — This birth establishes the sibling pair whose relationship is immediately detailed in Genesis 4:2 and later referenced in 1 John 3:12. The pattern of claiming divine partnership in childbirth parallels Eve's later naming of Seth in Genesis 4:25 and connects to the seed conflict outlined in Genesis 3:15.
Why it lands — The text records the factual origin of Cain before any moral evaluation, establishing the baseline for the sibling rivalry that follows. It requires the reader to observe how human claims of divine partnership precede the narrative's unfolding conflict.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.
Cross-references
- 1 John 3:12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain slay him? Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous.
- Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
- Genesis 4:25 And Adam again had relations with his wife, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another seed in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”
- Genesis 5:29 And he named him Noah, saying, “May this one comfort us in the labor and toil of our hands caused by the ground that the LORD has cursed.”
- Numbers 31:17 So now, kill all the boys, as well as every woman who has had relations with a man,