Lux Domini
When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

What does Genesis 4:12 mean?

Malice in the heart ends in murder by the hands.

Key themes

HopeCreationFallCovenant

Read with

Keep this verse inside Genesis 4:9-12 and alongside a few nearby related passages.

Commentary on Genesis 4:12

When thou tillest the ground,.... Which was the business he was brought up in and followed, Genesis 4:2 .

Key words

groaning and trembling

groaning and trembling. (t) Patricides, apud Hottinger. Smegma Oriental. l. 1. c. 8. p. 223. When thou tillest the ground,.

groaning and trembling

groaning and trembling. (t) Patricides, apud Hottinger. Smegma Oriental. l. 1. c. 8. p. 223.

Context in Genesis 4

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Genesis 4 belongs to the early movement of the book, especially the section often described as primeval history from creation to Babel. Genesis opens the whole Bible with creation, fall, flood, Babel, and the long patriarchal story that carries the reader from Eden to Egypt. Read this chapter with the wider themes of creation, fall, and covenant in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.

creationfallcovenantpromise

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Bible verses about hope

A collection of passages on hope under pressure, future inheritance, resurrection expectation, and confidence in God’s final faithfulness.