In Genesis 4:16-17, we read: “Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden. And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch.”  Who was this woman?  Where did she come from?  These questions have been fuel for Bible skeptics for years, but the answers are really quite simple.  In Genesis 5:4, we read: “After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons and daughters.”  It is thus apparent that Cain’s wife was one of Adam and Eve’s daughters, his sister.

This seems strange to us today as people don’t marry close relatives, however, in the beginning, such was necessary for mankind to fulfill their directive to “be fruitful and multiply” and “fill the earth and subdue it.” (Gen. 1:28)  Now you might say “Hold on a minute, doesn’t the Bible condemn marrying a close relative?”  Yes, it does; however, such a command was not given until the time of Moses and the giving of the Old Law (Lev. 18:6-18; 20:11-21; Deut. 27:20-23).  Sarah, Abraham’s wife, was his half-sister and such was approved by God (Gen. 20:12).

The genes of Adam and Eve would have been without flaw.  God described his creation as “very good” in Genesis 1:31.  After the curse (Gen. 3) though, imperfections slowly appeared in the human race.  Initially, these would have been small and infrequent making marriages between close relatives a non-issue.  God eventually gave a law prohibiting such unions, however, because as imperfections multiplied with each new generation, there became a greater likelihood that such a union would result in offspring who would be deformed or have other serious physical problems.

The truth of the matter is that all of us, even today, marry relatives because we are all related!  We all are of “one blood.” (Acts. 17:26)  If you don’t marry a relative, you have an entirely different problem!  We don’t marry close relatives today because of the reasons previously discussed, but for Cain, such was not an issue.

Those who claim that Cain’s wife was from another “race” of human beings that God had created are incorrect.  The Bible clearly states that Adam was the first man (1 Cor. 15:45).  You recall that in Genesis 2 when Adam was naming all of the creatures God had made, “there was not found a helper comparable to him.” (vs. 20)  Likewise, the Bible also makes plain that Eve was the first woman.  Genesis 3:20 tells us that “Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.”