If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.
What does Genesis 4:24 mean?
One of Cain's wicked race is the first recorded, as having broken the law of marriage. Hitherto, one man had but one wife at a time; but Lamech took two.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside Genesis 4:23-24 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Genesis 4:24
If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold. Which if understood of him as confessing and lamenting his sin of murder, the sense is, if Cain was so severely punished for killing one man, of how much sorer punishment am I deserving, and shall have, who have killed two persons, and that after I had seen the punishment of Cain, and yet took no warning by it?
Key words
- avenged
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If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.
- sevenfold
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If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.
- truly
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If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.
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.
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A collection of passages on hope under pressure, future inheritance, resurrection expectation, and confidence in God’s final faithfulness.