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Genesis 4:15-17
New Catholic Bible
Genesis 4:15-17
New Catholic Bible
15 But the Lord told him, “Not so! Whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold vengeance.” The Lord placed a mark[a] upon Cain, so that no one who might meet him would strike him.
16 Descendants of the Murderer.[b] Cain left the presence of the Lord and lived in the land of Nod,[c] which lies to the east of Eden.
17 Cain was intimate with his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. He became the founder of a city, which he named after his son, Enoch.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 4:15 The mark is not a sign of disgrace but a sign of belonging to a clan and of the protection this ensures.
- Genesis 4:16 A very ancient tribal document. The tribe of Cain is connected with the origin of an inhabited area and with the legendary first practitioners of three trades associated with nomads. Moreover, Lamech, their father, is supposed to have begun the practice of polygamy and to have been noted for his savage and unbridled vendettas. In the eyes of the sacred writer, the passage shows that the progress of civilization cannot prevent a frightening moral regression.
- Genesis 4:16 Land of Nod or region of foreigners; Nôd, nad, is the fugitive and foreigner. Its geographical location has not been determined.
