Tony Campbell added a new photo to the album: The Most Frequently Asked Bible Questions:.

The Most Frequently Asked Bible Questions:WHERE DID CAIN’S WIFE COME FROM?

One of the most common “gotcha” questions skeptics ask about the Bible is this:

“If Adam and Eve were the first humans… where did Cain get his wife?”

On the surface it sounds like a problem. But when you actually read the text carefully, it isn’t mysterious at all.

Genesis tells us that Cain was the first human ever born (Genesis 4:1). His younger brother Abel followed soon after. Most people know the story. Cain murders Abel out of jealousy because God accepted Abel’s sacrifice but rejected Cain’s.

God then judges Cain.

The ground he farms is cursed. He becomes a wanderer. And God places a mark on him so others won’t kill him.

Then Genesis 4:16–17 says something that makes people pause.

Cain goes to the land of Nod, and suddenly the text says:

“Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch.”

Wait a minute.

Where did this wife come from?

Critics sometimes claim this means there must have been another race of humans already on the earth. Some suggest a pre-Adamic civilization or a different species of people living outside Eden.

But that idea actually creates more problems than it solves.

The Bible is clear that all humanity comes from Adam.

Acts 17:26 says God “made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth.”

Genesis itself gives the explanation many people miss.

Genesis 5:4 says Adam:

“had other sons and daughters.”

The Bible simply does not list every child Adam and Eve had. It only records the key figures needed to tell the redemptive story.

Adam lived 930 years (Genesis 5:5). Eve likely lived centuries as well. Over that time they would have had many children. Those children would have had children of their own.

The early human population could have grown rapidly.

That means Cain’s wife was almost certainly a sister, niece, or close relative descended from Adam and Eve.

Yes. Early humanity married within the family.

That sounds strange to modern ears, but remember something important.

The command against close-relative marriage does not appear until much later in the Law of Moses (Leviticus 18). At the beginning of human history it was necessary in order for the human race to grow.

There was also another factor.

Genetic corruption from sin had not yet accumulated the way it has today. Early human DNA would have been far less damaged, making close-family marriage far less dangerous genetically than it is now.

Interestingly, one ancient Jewish tradition actually gives Cain’s wife a name.

The Book of Jubilees (an ancient Jewish writing outside the Bible) says Cain married his sister Awan. She later bore his son Enoch.

Now Jubilees is not Scripture, but it does show how ancient Jewish interpreters understood the story.

They didn’t assume another race of people.

They assumed exactly what Genesis implies.

Humanity began with one family.

From that family came every tribe, nation, and people on earth.

Which leads to a powerful theological point many people miss.

The Bible’s message is not that humanity comes from different races.

The Bible says we are one blood.

One creation. One fall. And one Savior.

That Savior is Jesus Christ, the “last Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:45), who came to redeem the human race that began in Genesis.

So the next time someone asks, “Where did Cain get his wife?”

The answer isn’t mysterious at all.

He married someone from the same family every human being ultimately came from.

• @[61583539981347:2048:More Joy Ministries]

#MoreJoyMinistriesWHERE DID CAIN’S WIFE COME FROM? One of the most common “gotcha” questions skeptics ask about the Bible is this: “If Adam and Eve were the first humans… where did Cain get his wife?” On the surface it sounds like a problem. But when you actually read the text carefully, it isn’t mysterious at all. Genesis tells us that Cain was the first human ever born (Genesis 4:1). His younger brother Abel followed soon after. Most people know the story. Cain murders Abel out of jealousy because God accepted Abel’s sacrifice but rejected Cain’s. God then judges Cain. The ground he farms is cursed. He becomes a wanderer. And God places a mark on him so others won’t kill him. Then Genesis 4:16–17 says something that makes people pause. Cain goes to the land of Nod, and suddenly the text says: “Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch.” Wait a minute. Where did this wife come from? Critics sometimes claim this means there must have been another race of humans already on the earth. Some suggest a pre-Adamic civilization or a different species of people living outside Eden. But that idea actually creates more problems than it solves. The Bible is clear that all humanity comes from Adam. Acts 17:26 says God “made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth.” Genesis itself gives the explanation many people miss. Genesis 5:4 says Adam: “had other sons and daug