Genesis 4:24 - Printer Friendly

ESV: If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold.”

NIV: If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times.'

NASB: If Cain is avenged seven times, Then Lamech seventy-seven times!'

CSB: If Cain is to be avenged seven times over, then for Lamech it will be seventy-seven times!

NLT: If someone who kills Cain is punished seven times, then the one who kills me will be punished seventy-seven times!'

KJV: If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.

NKJV: If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”

The previous verse describes Lamech's bold and seemingly arrogant announcement to his wives that he had killed a young man for striking and/or wounding him. We don't know the whole story, but it sounds as if Lamech's response was out of proportion to what was done to him. Lamech uses the same Hebrew word to describe his action as Genesis 4:8 and Exodus 2:14, both referring to murderous acts.

Lamech apparently knew Cain's story well, including the part about how God had marked Cain with a sign. This was meant to back up God's promise to deliver vengeance seven-fold on anyone who killed Cain for killing Abel. Lamech claims the same protection for himself, but without God's apparent endorsement. Or perhaps he is declaring that he and his people will deliver the vengeance themselves without God's help. It's hard to know.

If Lamech is claiming God's protection, it shows that he still carries an awareness of God as protector. But that would also imply a deeply corrupt understanding of God, believing that God's power and protection could be presumed upon. Another possibility is that Lamech is being defiant and arrogant—"spitting in the face of God," so to speak—and celebrating his own evil.

Statements like this are key to understanding the context of the flood, where mankind is described as being deeply, perversely depraved (Genesis 6:5).

Genesis 4:17–26 describes Cain's family line after his murder of Abel. While the details are limited, Scripture does mention a few points of concern. Lamech, Cain's great-great-great-grandson not only took two wives, he also bragged about murdering a younger man. This attitude of blatant defiance sets the stage for God's judgment of a depraved earth in the story of the flood in Genesis chapter 6. This passage also describes Adam and Eve's son Seth, born after Cain, who becomes the ancestor of Noah.

The consequences of sin become apparent in chapter 4: envy, arrogance, rebellion, murder, punishment, separation from family, and separation from God. Adam and Eve's firstborn son, Cain, jealously murders his brother Abel and loses everything. Adam and Eve lose them both. Cain's descendants amplify his sinfulness. Still, God provides help for Eve in childbirth and even provides protection for Cain in his wandering. Eve remains a woman of faith, even in her loss. And the sons of Seth, born after the murder of Abel, become a people who proclaim the name of the Lord.

The first three chapters of Genesis explain the creation and loss of paradise, as Adam and Eve are separated from God both physically and spiritually. Their relationship with Him does not end, however. Eve recognizes His help in bearing her son Cain and later Seth. Cain and Abel both worship God until Cain kills Abel. God provides protection for Cain, whose descendants become innovative, artful, arrogant, and violent. The descendants of Seth, however, begin to call on the Lord's name. This chapter bridges the story of Genesis from our ultimate origins to the story of Noah, introduced in the next chapter.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.