Genesis 4:1

The Story of Cain and Abel

4:1 Now¹ the man had marital relations with² his wife Eve, and she became pregnant³ and gave birth to Cain. Then she said, “I have created⁴ a man just as the Lord did!”⁵

Genesis 4:17

The Beginning of Civilization

4:17 Cain had marital relations⁶ with his wife, and she became pregnant⁷ and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was building a city, and he named the city after⁸ his son Enoch.

Genesis 12:11

12:11 As he approached⁹ Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look,¹⁰ I know that you are a beautiful woman.¹¹

Genesis 19:16

19:16 When Lot¹² hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them.¹³ They led them away and placed them¹⁴ outside the city.

Genesis 20:2

20:2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.

Genesis 20:14

20:14 So Abimelech gave¹⁵ sheep, cattle, and male and female servants to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him.

Genesis 23:19

23:19 After this Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah next to Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.

Genesis 39:19

39:19 When his master heard his wife say,¹⁶ “This is the way¹⁷ your slave treated me,”¹⁸ he became furious.¹⁹

¹tn The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) introduces a new episode in the ongoing narrative.

²tn Heb “the man knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.

³tn Or “she conceived.”

⁴tn Here is another sound play (paronomasia) on a name. The sound of the verb קָנִיתִי (qaniti, “I have created”) reflects the sound of the name Cain in Hebrew (קַיִן, qayin) and gives meaning to it. The saying uses the Qal perfect of קָנָה (qanah). There are two homonymic verbs with this spelling, one meaning “obtain, acquire” and the other meaning “create” (see Gen 14:19, 22; Deut 32:6; Ps 139:13; Prov 8:22). The latter fits this context very well. Eve has created a man.

⁵tn Heb “with the Lord.” The particle אֶת־ (’et) is not the accusative/object sign, but the preposition “with” as the ancient versions attest. Some take the preposition in the sense of “with the help of” (see BDB 85 s.v. אֵת; cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV), while others prefer “along with” in the sense of “like, equally with, in common with” (see Lev 26:39; Isa 45:9; Jer 23:28). Either works well in this context; the latter is reflected in the present translation. Some understand אֶת־ as the accusative/object sign and translate, “I have acquired a man – the Lord.” They suggest that the woman thought (mistakenly) that she had given birth to the incarnate Lord, the Messiah who would bruise the Serpent’s head. This fanciful suggestion is based on a questionable allegorical interpretation of Gen 3:15 (see the note there on the word “heel”).

⁶tn Heb “knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.

⁷tn Or “she conceived.”

⁸tn Heb “according to the name of.”

¹¹tn Heb “drew near to enter.”

¹²tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) is deictic here; it draws attention to the following fact.

¹³tn Heb “a woman beautiful of appearance are you.”

¹⁶tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁷tn Heb “in the compassion of the Lord to them.”

¹⁸tn Heb “brought him out and placed him.” The third masculine singular suffixes refer specifically to Lot, though his wife and daughters accompanied him (see v. 17). For stylistic reasons these have been translated as plural pronouns (“them”).

²¹tn Heb “took and gave.”

²⁶tn Heb “and when his master heard the words of his wife which she spoke to him, saying.”

²⁷tn Heb “according to these words.”

²⁸tn Heb “did to me.”

²⁹tn Heb “his anger burned.”