Life Lessons from the First Murder

Genesis 4

Hello. Welcome to Bible Wisdom Today. My name is Stan Watkins.

Let’s talk about murder.

If you have spent time in the book of Genesis before, you probably know that chapter 3, which we considered in our last episode, tells the story of Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the garden. They ate of the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In the very next chapter, which we will discuss today, Cain murders his brother Abel. This is a shocking escalation of evil in this world. How could this be?

Genesis 1-3 tells the story of never-to-be-repeated beginnings: the creation of light, earth, stars and planets, plant and animal life, and two people living in a garden. They began with an innocence that no human will ever experience again.

In chapters 4-11, however, we have powerful insight into facets of human nature that we see over and over again in history: The formation of a family and the dysfunction of a family, the creation of a civilization and judgement of a civilization, the beginning of nations and disharmony among nations, jealousy, anger, and murder. These are the sorts of things that make up the world as we know it today. 

As we examine this story of the first murder, are there any lessons here for us? Surely, we have no intention of committing fratricide. Well, Cain did not begin with evil intent, either. He began with worship. I promise you, as we detail this story of murder, we will learn how to deal with our own unsightly inclinations and gain insight into the character of God, who really wants to have a deep relationship with us.

Motives matter to God

Our first lesson from this first murder is that motives matter to God.

Let’s read together Genesis 4:1-5.

Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man.” Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. 
 Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
 Genesis 4:1-5

“Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant.” There is nothing particularly remarkable about this statement. In the history of mankind, this sort of thing is very ordinary. Older translations often say Adam “knew” his wife, which is a more literal translation. This is a Hebrew metaphor for sexual knowledge acquired through the senses. 

I mentioned in an earlier episode that one of the ways to describe the writing genre of Genesis is to call it an expanded genealogy. Here is our first example. The author begins what would appear to be a simple genealogy from Adam but then interrupts the genealogy to tell the story of Cain and Abel. In verse 17 he resumes his genealogy with “Cain made love to his wife,” gives us a brief aside about Cain building a city, then resumes the genealogy until he gets to a character Lamech, where he pauses again to expand on Lamech with a short narrative. This is the pattern throughout the book of Genesis. Some of the narratives are many chapters long, so we might lose sight of the genealogical nature of the book, especially since those are the parts that many readers skip!

The name, “Cain,” sounds similar to the Hebrew word for “gain,” but this connection is only based on the sound of the word, not a meaningful connection. If we wanted to preserve the similar sounds in an English translation, we might translate it, “She gave birth to Cain and said: I have gained a man with the LORD’s help.”[1] It is unusual to refer to a baby boy as a man. Eve may have been comparing this birth to her own creation. Like she was brought forth out of man, now a man is brought forth out of her. 

There is no explanation of Abel’s name, perhaps because its meaning was obvious. Abel means “breath” or “vanity,” unwittingly alluding to what was in store for him.

In verses 2-5 we have a chiastic arrangement of the names of the two brothers:

·        First Abel and Cain

·        Then Cain and Abel

·        Finally, Abel and Cain again

We read…

·        First, that Abel kept flocks…Cain worked the soil

·        Then, Cain brought an offering and Abel brought an offering

·        Finally, God looked with favor on Abel’s offering, but not on Cain’s

The expression, “in the course of time,” literally means “days”. It can mean an indefinite period of time, it also can specifically mean a year. We might naturally assume that the brothers brought their offerings at the end of the agricultural year. Notice that each brother brought an offering corresponding to his vocation. Cain brought fruits of the soil and Abel brought the fat portions from the firstborn of his flock.

How did God show his favor on Abel and not Cain? A long history of interpretation suggests that God sent fire from heaven to consume Abel’s offering. That remains speculation, but it is a reasonable suggestion. God did consume by fire the sacrifices of Aaron, Gideon, and Elijah (Lev. 9:24, Jud. 6:21, 1 Kings 18:38).

Why was Abel’s offering acceptable and Cain’s was not? Several reasons have been suggested. One might be that an animal sacrifice was more acceptable than vegetables. God would later instruct his people through Moses in the details of bringing appropriate animal sacrifices. Perhaps he had already given this instruction to Adam and his family or they could have learned this from God’s provision of skin garments. They also might have surmised that offering the fruit of the ground which God had cursed would be an insult to him, but we have no record of any instruction from God yet on this matter. We also should note that both Cain and Abel brought offerings and not sacrifices. People brought freewill offerings out of worship; they brought sacrifices to renew fellowship with God. In fact, the law of Moses even prescribed offerings of grain and flour.

A better answer to the question of God’s favoritism is that Abel came with better motives. This is the most common view, and supported by the Author of Hebrews in chapter 11

By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
 Hebrews 11:4

Since this is the first account of offerings in the Old Testament, we might well expect an allusion to this fundamental principle that sacrifices must be costly. David referred to the same idea when he said in Second Samuel 24,

I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”
 2 Samuel 24:24

Notice that Genesis says “the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering.” God’s favor was directed first towards Abel and then to his offering.

The Mosaic law demanded that all first-born belonged to God. First-born sons were not actually sacrificed, however, but were redeemed by the sacrifice of a first-born animal. The fat portion was considered the choice part of the animal and therefore always burned before God. Here Cain, the first-born, offers an ordinary offering, neither the fat nor first. Abel, the second-born, offers the fat portions of his first-born flock. It is with good reason that God favored Abel and disregarded Cain. Abel offered his best.

God didn’t reject Cain because of his sacrifice; He rejected the sacrifice because of Cain. His heart wasn’t right with God. Cain gave because it was customary; Abel gave out of devotion.

This speaks to us about our own attitudes in worship. What is your motivation when you attend church? Is it because you want to worship God with other believers? Do you attend to receive instruction from God’s Word. “Of course,” perhaps you think. “That’s why I go.” But sometimes we have other motivations, to impress other people, to impress God, to alleviate our guilt, to get a good feeling, or simply out of habit. It is too easy to put ourselves on autopilot when we go to church. We know what to expect. We just go through the program, but that’s not worship. That’s just enduring until the end! God is looking for true worshippers.

Jesus spoke of the importance of true worship.

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. (John 4:23)

Do you worship from the heart?

Motives matter to God

Sin is always optional

Our next life lesson from this first murder is that sin is always optional.

Reading from verse 6:

Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it. ”
 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
 Genesis 4:6-8

“Why are you angry?  Why is your face downcast?” God wanted Cain to think about his feelings.  This was the same technique God used with Cain’s father Adam: “Why are you hiding? Who told you that you were naked?” God tried to lead Cain back to the way of faith. It is just like the Lord to give us another opportunity and it is just like stubborn humans to refuse God’s gracious help. Cain’s problem was jealousy, which grew into anger, and gave birth to murder.

How do we deal with our anger? If we carry grudges and harbor bitter feelings it will lead us further in the way of Cain than we ever intended to go.

A man wrote the following letter to his insurance company to explain why he had got into a car accident.

"Whenever I get angry, I close my eyes and count to ten. I was driving along the freeway when I thought of my sister. I started to count to ten and the next thing I knew there was this terrible crash."

Well, the Apostle Paul had a better suggestion in his letter to the Ephesians. “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,  and do not give the devil a foothold (Eph. 4:26-27).” This is good guidance to avoid getting carried away in anger. We would do well to listen.

God gives Cain counsel and challenges him to choose to change. “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?” This does not mean that if we try really hard to please God then everything will be all right. No, God means, “If you come with the right attitude I will accept you too. I am not a respecter of persons.” God always provides a way out.

Again, Paul the apostle speaks to this aspect also.

No temptation has seized you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. (1 Cor. 10:13)

We need to look for the exit.

God now warns Cain of the consequences of a bad choice. “Sin is crouching at the door.” Sin is personified here as a wild animal. Temptation is like a doorway. We can walk through it or not. Once we open the door by harboring evil in our mind, we have no protection from the wild beast waiting outside. God’s warning is simple and terrifying. Don’t open the door! But thank God for that door! Sin is always optional.

Cain did not exercise his power to make a good choice. Instead, he said to his brother, “let’s go out to the field.” This phrase is not included in all Old Testament manuscripts, but it is in some. It is easier to imagine that it was accidentally dropped rather than it was intentionally added. In the Mosaic Law, a crime that was committed out of range of help was proof of premeditation (Deut. 22:25-27). That certainly was the case, here.

While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

The author repeats “his brother…his brother” to emphasize the awfulness of the act.

Cain hated his brother because of his relationship with God, yet he was not willing to become right with God. Part of the reason Cain killed Abel was jealousy. But part of it was also retaliation against God. "If God likes Abel best, I will make sure God pays for his choice. I will hurt the one God loves." And it worked. Abel's blood cried out from the ground and broke God's heart.

God is just, but he loves to show mercy

Verse 9:

Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” 
 “I don’t know, ” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
 The LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth. ”
 Genesis 4:9-12

The next lesson we learn from this tragic story is that God is just, but he loves to show mercy.

First God confronts Cain. “Where is your brother Abel?” This parallels God’s question to his father, Adam, “Where are you?” It was a rhetorical question, since surely God knew, just as he had known where Adam had hidden. Many of the key words in the Eden story reappear throughout this story, “know, guard, cursed, land, drive out.” When God challenged Adam after his sin, Adam told the truth, even if it wasn’t the whole truth. Cain, on the other hand, answered with a bold-faced lie, “I don’t know,” then followed it up with insolence, “Am I my brother’s keeper.”

Again, the double reference to “brother” emphasizes the fraternal relationship that was now dismembered forever

The word “keeper” means “shepherd.” “Am I the shepherd’s shepherd?” Perhaps Cain is overstating his responsibility to his brother so he can deny it completely. Cain's insolent, arrogant response to God's question is a sign of his guilt, which he has not acknowledged. This is always the way with guilt—to shun all responsibility.

God replies, “Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.” This was a desperate cry to God. This word is used multiple times in the Old Testament, and a brief survey will show the desperation of this cry.

·        It is the call of hungry people desperate for food. “When all Egypt began to feel the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food” (Genesis 41:55).

·        It is the wail of the desperate nation trapped between the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army. “The Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD (Exodus 14:10)

·        It was plea of the disobedient nation oppressed by their enemies. “Because he…had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the LORD for help” (Judges 4:3).

·        It is the supplication of the victims of injustice. “Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry” (Exodus 22:22-23).

·        It is the scream for help of a woman being raped. “Though the… woman screamed, there was no one to rescue her” (Deut. 22:27).

God hears the desperate cries from his people, just like he heard the cries of Abel’s blood from the ground. In response God curses Cain by driving him from the cultivatable land. The ground, which had drunk in his brother’s blood would no longer yield its fruit to him. Earlier in the garden, God had cursed the ground and the serpent, but not Adam and Eve. Now he curses Cain. This is a significant development. He took away his livelihood and damned him to a life a wandering. Adam was expelled from the Garden, but he still was able to work the soil; Cain now became a vagabond, banished from farming area into the uncultivated wild lands. The curse fits the crime. There was no greater punishment for a farmer like Cain.

God did not simply curse Cain to a Bedouin lifestyle. It is more extreme than that. Cain is exiled from his family entirely. His relationship with his family was completely broken.

Genesis 4:13-16:

Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” 
 But the LORD said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. So Cain went out from the LORD’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
 Genesis 4:13-16

Cain did not repent of his sin; he only regretted it. “My punishment is more than I can bear,” he said, not “My guilt is more than I can bear.” 

“Today you are driving me from the land,” Cain said, “and I will be hidden from your presence.” But God had not said anything about distancing himself from Cain. His parents had hidden in the garden, but God was not hiding Cain from his presence. He still wanted Cain to repent and come back into fellowship with him, but Cain knew that he didn’t deserve to stand in God’s presence. And he had no intention to repent. “Whoever finds me will kill me.” This was the heart of Cain’s complaint. He feared retribution. As Abel’s brother, he should have been his avenger. Cain now was afraid that he might meet another relative of Abel who would avenge his death. This is another clear indication in the Bible that there were other human inhabitants besides Adam’s household.

Now, we see the unique mercy of God. God is just, but he longs to show mercy. God put a mark on Cain to protect him so that no one who found him would kill him. We don’t know what kind of mark it was or how others would recognize it as God’s protective seal, but what ever it was, it worked. God’s mark was a constant reminder to Cain of his sin, as well as a reminder of God’s protection, and a reminder of his isolation from others. This was the same function as the clothing God had given Adam and Eve. It was God’s way of saying, “Hands off! This man is still my property.” He even included a promise, “Anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” This is a poetic expression for complete retribution.

The story that began with two brothers attempting to draw near to God, ends with Cain moving even farther away from the garden of Eden and the presence of God. He ended up in the land of Nod, which means wandering. Like the story of the garden, the story of Cain and Abel underscores the truth that sin separates mankind from God, and that God will carry out his judgment.

Why would God let this murderer go free? Perhaps God still wished to give Cain time to repent. This was pure mercy. The Apostle Peter meditated on this same aspect of God’s character in his second letter,

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Thank God for his mercy! Where would any of us be if we received exactly what we deserve?

So far, in our study of this chapter, we have learned first that motives matter to God. Secondly we discovered that sin is always optional. In addition, we saw that God is just, but he loves to show mercy.

We now come to our fourth life lesson from the first murder. That is, life may be filled, without being fulfilling.

Life may be filled, without being fulfilling

I will read again, beginning at Genesis 4:17.

Cain made love to his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch. To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.
 Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments and pipes. Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah.
 Lamech said to his wives,
 “Adah and Zillah, listen to me;
 wives of Lamech, hear my words.
 I have killed a man for wounding me,
 a young man for injuring me.
 If Cain is avenged seven times, 
 then Lamech seventy-seven times. ”
 Genesis 4:17-24

Cain left the presence of the Lord and lived in the land of Nod. Nod means “restlessness.” Though Cain’s life is restless, it is not without value. The author resumes his genealogy again with Cain then immediately interrupts again to tell us a little bit about Cain’s new restless life. The first thing he does is build a city. What? God had decreed that he would be a restless wanderer. Was Cain deliberately trying to break God’s curse?

As we read further in this genealogy, we notice several digressions, but the extra comments cluster around Cain’s son Enoch and his later descendant Lamech. These two names also reappear in the genealogy of Cain’s younger brother, Seth, which appears in the next chapter. Perhaps the author includes more detail about these two descendants of Cain in order to distinguish them from the descendants of Seth with the same names.

We read that Cain’s wife gave birth to Enoch. “Cain was then building a city and he named it after his son Enoch.” In the Hebrew it is a bit hard to understand who was actually building the city, Cain or Enoch. Most translations, like the New International Version which I just read, make Cain the city-builder, but an equally viable translation is this: “Then Cain knew his wife. She conceived and gave birth to Enoch. He was building a city and Enoch called the city after his son's name.”[2] In this case, Enoch is the builder. This makes a bit more sense, since Cain was just sentenced to a wandering life-style, and the name of Enoch’s son is Irad, which sounds quite similar to the ancient city Eridu, which was founded between 5400 and 5300 B.C. According to the Sumerian King List, Eridu was the first city where "kingship descended from heaven". Additionally, Enoch may mean “to dedicate,” an appropriate name for someone who founded a city, especially a city containing the oldest temple in Mesopotamia.

In addition to city-building, Cain and his descendants made significant contributions to the development of human civilization. At the end of this genealogy, we find three brothers. Segmenting a linear genealogy into three sons is a common literary pattern in Genesis at the end of a historic period. For example, Noah had three sons, which inaugurated the period after the flood and Terah had three sons, one of whom was Abraham, the father of the Israelite nation. The names of these bothers were Jabal, Jubal, and Tubal-Cain. All three names seem to have been derived from the same Hebrew word, “produce,” probably alluding to their inventiveness. It is unclear what the precise differences are in the meaning of their names. 

“Jabal was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock,” In other words, he established the Bedouin lifestyle. He did not simply continue Abel’s pastoral profession. Abel kept flocks, undoubtedly sheep and goats, but Jabal raised livestock, which encompass sheep, goats, cattle, donkeys, and camels. Further, he did not simply live off his animals, but he could use them for trade. This was significant advancement. “

The interests of his brother, Jubal, took him in an entirely different direction. He was the father of all who play stringed instruments and pipes,” Stringed lyres and pan pipes were the earliest and simplest musical instruments. Jubal’s name sounds like the name for the ram’s horn used to announce the year of Jubilee. The brotherhood of Jabal the nomad and Jubal the musician is similar to the association in classical Greek mythology, where the shepherd god Pan invented the pipe.

The last of this trio of ancient heroes is Tubal-Cain. He was a metal worker. His name probably means “smith,” and the “Cain” suffix may have been added to distinguish this Tubal from another Tubal who was the son of Japheth, Noah’s son. We also read about his sister, Naamah. It is unclear why this one woman is mentioned, but her name means “pleasant” and some Jewish traditions associate this with her singing ability and identify her as Noah’s wife.[3] Stories of ancient heroes who founded the arts of civilization are also found in other ancient writings of Mesopotamia.

The author of Genesis reserves the majority of his comments, however, for the father of these three creatives, Lamech. Lamech composes a song, the oldest poem in the Bible, and its subject is revenge. Apparently, a young man had wounded him, and Lamech killed him. Why would Lamech kill this young man simply for a wound? This was overkill, but Lamech boasts of it, even justifies it. Here we have the first clear instance of a pattern of human behavior that is repeated a thousand times over in human history -- justifying violence on the ground of protection of my rights.

This is also the first example of true Hebrew poetry in the Bible.One of the primary characteristics of Hebrew poetry, which is well-illustrated here, is the practice of parallelism, where related words and phrases are placed next to one another, either as synonyms or opposites. Notice those parallels here:

·        “Adah and Zilla” is parallel with “wives of Lamech,” and

·        “Listen” parallels “hear”

Giving the lines:

Adah and Zillah, listen to me;
 wives of Lamech, hear my words.

As we go further, we see that

·        “A man” is parallel with “young man” and

·        “Wounding” relates to “injuring”

Producing these two lines

I have killed a man for wounding me,
 a young man for injuring me.

You can hear similar parallels in these last two lines:

If Cain is avenged seven times, 
 then Lamech seventy-seven times.”

The artistry highlights the barbarity.

Lamech’s bloodlust contrasts with the more measured Mosaic law of limited retribution that we find in Exodus 21:23-25. There we read that when two people fight, “if there is serious injury , you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.” Retribution was limited to the harm. The last two elements in that list, wound and bruise, are the same words Lamech uses for wounding and injury.

The story of Lamech brings the Cainite genealogy to a dramatic close. Lamech’s barbarity suggests that all Cain’s descendants are under judgment and hints at the necessity of the flood to come.

Not everything was well in the city that Cain built. They were rich in food production, rich in culture and industry, but also rich in violence. They had everything but God.

Link to the Genealogy of Seth

It is quite common in Genesis for the end of one section to introduce the subject of the next section. This may be a pattern that was first established when writing on clay tablets. At the end of a tablet, scribes would write a catch phrase, separated from the main text, which was often the first line of the following tablet. This would help keep the tablets in order in a library. Anyone who has ever watched a trailer of the coming sequel at the end of a movie has seen this literary style that goes back millennia.

Let’s listen to the connecting link here at the end of chapter 4.

Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.” Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. 
 At that time people began to call on the name of the LORD.
 Genesis 4:25-26

This is the first occurrence of Adam without a preceding “the,” as in “the man.” From here on, “Adam” is used as a proper name. His wife says, “God has granted me another child.” God had promised Eve offspring who would defeat the serpent. All her hopes for Cain and Abel had been dashed, but now her hope was renewed. In this sentence she mentions all her three children. Eve could never forget the child who was murdered, or his murderer. With the start of this new genealogical line, “people began to call on the name of the LORD.” This was the beginning of regular worship. Abel and Cain had brought personal sacrifices, but this verse describes the beginning of public worship. This is another link in the chain of significant beginnings in this chapter: cities, herding, music, metallurgy, and now, public worship.

Today, we have learned four lessons from the story of the first murder. Which lesson most speaks to you? Do you find yourself worshipping God with motives that are impure? Remember—Motives matter to God. Do you seem to struggle repeatedly with temptation? Remember—Sin is always optional. Do you judge yourself unworthy to come to God? Remember, God is just, but he loves to show mercy. Finally, is your schedule over-busy but under-satisfying? Remember, Life may be filled, without being fulfilling. 

A number of years ago a friend was telling me about her life. She had grown up in a home where she felt like she really needed to move out as soon as possible. She married a man who was responsible and respectable, but there was no true love between them. They had five children, but she and her husband lived essentially separate lives. Her life was very busy. She taught piano lessons to more than 60 students, another job as a choir accompanist at a nearby college and additional volunteer work accompanying her church choir. She said to me, “I may not have the love I would like in life, but my life has been very fulfilled.” After a short pause she added, “Well, filled anyway.” Oh! Her pain shot through my heart! How many people are like that?

For all those filled but unfulfilled lives, Jesus promised, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John. 10:10). To have a full life is a term which essentially means living life in deep relationship with God. That has been God’s desire all along, for Adam, for Cain and his family, and for you and me.

Closing Comments

Today, we have seen the quick escalation of evil in this world, from disobedience in the garden of delight to murder and bloodthirst in the land of restlessness. We also saw a hint of hope in the new son born to Adam and Eve and the promise of a new line of descendants who began to call on the name of the LORD. We will examine the fascinating genealogy of Seth in our next episode.

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[1] Wenham, G. J. (1987). Genesis 1-15. Zondervan.
[2] Wenham
[3] Wenham