Genesis 4:15

4:15 But the Lord said to him, “All right then, ¹  if anyone kills Cain, Cain will be avenged seven times as much.” ²  Then the Lord put a special mark ³  on Cain so that no one who found him would strike him down. ⁴ 

Genesis 9:12

9:12 And God said, “This is the guarantee ⁵  of the covenant I am making ⁶  with you ⁷  and every living creature with you, a covenant ⁸  for all subsequent ⁹  generations:

Genesis 9:17

9:17 So God said to Noah, “This is the guarantee of the covenant that I am confirming between me and all living things ¹⁰  that are on the earth.”

[4:15]  ¹ tn The Hebrew term לָכֵן (lakhen, “therefore”) in this context carries the sense of “Okay,” or “in that case then I will do this.”

[4:15]  ² sn The symbolic number seven is used here to emphasize that the offender will receive severe punishment. For other rhetorical and hyperbolic uses of the expression “seven times over,” see Pss 12:6; 79:12; Prov 6:31; Isa 30:26.

[4:15]  ³ tn Heb “sign”; “reminder.” The term “sign” is not used in the translation because it might imply to an English reader that God hung a sign on Cain. The text does not identify what the “sign” was. It must have been some outward, visual reminder of Cain’s special protected status.

[4:15]  ⁴ sn God becomes Cain’s protector. Here is common grace – Cain and his community will live on under God’s care, but without salvation.

[9:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “sign.”

[9:12]  ⁶ sn On the making of covenants in Genesis, see W. F. Albright, “The Hebrew Expression for ‘Making a Covenant’ in Pre-Israelite Documents,” BASOR 121 (1951): 21-22.

[9:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “between me and between you.”

[9:12]  ⁸ tn The words “a covenant” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:12]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew term עוֹלָם (’olam) means “ever, forever, lasting, perpetual.” The covenant would extend to subsequent generations.

[9:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “all flesh.”