CAIN’S WIFE (Scripture reference: Genesis 4:1–18)

One of the first questions scoffers are likely to ask young Christians is, “Where did Cain get his wife?” The answer is in Genesis 5:3: “After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.” Cain married one of his sisters. This troubles some, as marriage between brothers and sisters is forbidden in Moses’ law (Lev. 18:9). But that law was millenniums away. And the period following creation was certainly unique.

For one thing, the human gene pool was pure. After the Fall, genes began to mutate. While the mutation has been gradual, medical science today traces many of the diseases that distress humankind to flaws in the genetic code. Marriage between brothers and sisters can lead to serious problems for their offspring, as any flaws in the family genetic code would be magnified. History has many examples of the dangers of intra-family marriages.

The Caesars had a genetic propensity for epilepsy, the Hapsburgs for hemophilia. Adam and Eve’s children were copies of the original, and the purity of God’s creation protected the first humans from the damage intermarriage would cause later on. Continue Reading Here