"If Cain and Abel were the first
children of the first family, why did God put a mark on Cain so that others
would not harm him?"
Adam was nearly 130 years old when Cain slew Abel, for that was his
age when he begat Seth. He begat sons and daughters (Gen. 5:4). Our
version seems to imply that Adam had no other children. It also reads as
if Seth were Adam's firstborn (Gen.5:3,4). Neither is true. It is a
general statement without reference to time. The fact that Cain found a
wife among his sisters and built a city (Gen.4:17) is all the
evidence needed to show that Adam had many children, possibly more than
a hundred, before the murder of Abel. These, in turn, may have had
families, so that, by the time Cain killed Abel, there were many others,
who would wish to avenge his death.
The objection, that it is unlawful for Cain to marry his sister, and
other close relatives to wed each other, is without foundation. When the
law was given later, such inbreeding was dangerous, as it is today. Men
have become so abnormal that it is necessary to mix diverse blood to
keep from exaggerating a bad strain. Then, the blood of the race was
much purer. Indeed, if mankind originated from a single pair, how else
could it be done? It was absolutely necessary that the first marriage
should be made by brothers and sisters.
There is therefore no real difficulty in regard to Cain's wife or his
enemies. A little knowledge of the circumstances shows that the supposed
objections are really incidental proofs of the genuineness of the
account, as we have it in Genesis.
