And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.
What does Genesis 4:25 mean?
Our first parents were comforted in their affliction by the birth of a son, whom they called Seth, that is, set,' settled,' or placed;' in his seed mankind should continue to the end of time, and from him the Messiah should descend.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside Genesis 4:25-26 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Genesis 4:25
- XX. Sheth 25. shet, Sheth, "placed, put." 26. 'enosh, Enosh, "man, sickly." qero' beshem means, first, to call an object by its name Isaiah 40:26 ; Isaiah 43:1 ; Isaiah 45:3-4 ; second, to call an object by the name of another, who is the parent, leader, husband, owner Numbers 32:42 ; Judges 18:29 ; Psalm 49:12 ; Isaiah 43:7 ; Isaiah 44:5 ; Isaiah 48:1 ; Isaiah 65:1 ; third, to proclaim the name of Exodus 33:19 ; Exodus 35:5-6 ; fourth, to call upon the name of God, to address him by his proper name with an audible voice in the form of prayer. This is the most common meaning of the phrase.
Key words
- again
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And Adam knew his wife again,.
- Seth
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The Targum of Jonathan adds, at the end of a hundred and thirty years after Abel was killed, see Genesis 5:3 but, according to Bishop Usher, Seth was born the same year, which is most probable.
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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