The question above is an age old question. Sadly, there are many Christians who cannot
adequately answer it. However, there is an answer! At the Scopes trial in Tennessee in
1925, ACLU lawyer Clarence Darrow asked the religious William Jennings Bryan the
question about Cain’s wife. Bryan couldn’t give an answer. How tragic! Beloved, learn
how to answer this and other questions posed by those who despise the wonderful word
of God.
To get a clear understanding of the proper answer to the question, we should first
understand what is NOT the answer to the question. For example, some contend that God
had created another group of people in the same manner as He created Adam. There are
several biblical reasons why this cannot be so. For example, in Genesis 2:19-25 we learn
that God brought forth to Adam every animal created. “But for Adam there was not
found a helper comparable to him” (Vs. 20b). God then created Eve from a rib from
Adam’s side. Why would God do this? If there was another group of people, why could
Adam not find a partner suitable for him from them? Furthermore, “Adam called his
wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living” (Gen. 3:20). This very fact
refutes the possibility of another created group of people. Eve was the mother of ALL
living! Also, Paul made it clear that God made every nation of men from ONE blood
(Acts 17:26). There was no other group of people. All people living today came from
Adam and Eve!
So, where DID Cain get his wife? Simple, he either married his sister or another
close relative. The Bible doesn’t tell us how old Cain and Abel were when Cain killed
Able. The statement “in the process of time” (Gen. 4:3) seems to indicate a considerable
amount of time. Add to this the facts that Adam and Eve were commanded to be fruitful
and multiply, and Adam lived to be 930 years old! During this time, he had sons AND
daughters (Gen. 5:4,5). Since there could not have been another group of people created
by God, and since Adam and Eve did have daughters, it is very practical to conclude that
Cain married his sister or another close relative.
But, doesn’t the Bible condemn incest? Yes it does, but not during the time of
Adam and Eve. Remember, Abraham was married to his half-sister (Gen. 20:12), and
God blessed that union by giving them a child who would produce a nation chosen to be
God’s own special people. It was 400 years after Abraham before God first condemned
incest (Lev. 18-20). But what about deformities? Laws of our land prohibit
intermarriages between those too closely related because of the possibility of their children
being deformed. These deformities are the result of mistakes in the gene pool. However,
these mistakes take time to develop. When God created Adam and Eve, their genes were
perfect. God created no mistakes. Obviously, because of the curse brought on by sin,
genes began to digress. However, It would take many generations before the threat of
deformities would develop from close relations intermarrying. Evidently, this had occured
by the time of Moses, hence the prohibition. But Adam and Eve’s direct children would
not have horribly erroneous genes; therefore, they could intermarry for several
generations without the threat of deformed children.
It is not only reasonable, but it is biblical to conclude that Cain married a close
relative. Possibly even his sister!
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