- Many skeptics have used this question to challenge the Christian’s confidence in the biblical testimony that all of humanity descended from Adam and Eve. The basic claim is that if Cain found a wife in the land of Nod (Genesis 4:16-17) there must have been other populations on earth not descended from Adam and Eve. This challenge can be easily refuted.
- In Genesis chapter 4 we are told that Adam and Eve conceived 3 sons (Cain, Abel, and Seth). However, in Genesis 5:4 it is further revealed that the original pair “had other sons and daughters.”
- Given the fact that Adam lived to be 930 years old, it is very likely that Adam and Eve conceived many other sons and daughters. Most of their stories are not told in Scripture, but we see the evidence of their presence. For example, in Genesis 4:14 Cain fears that he will be killed in revenge for murdering Abel. Obviously the most likely to want revenge would be the blood relatives of Abel, the “other sons and daughters”.
- So, who did Cain marry? Cain would have married one of his sisters. This is consistent with the biblical testimony that, “From one man he (God) made all the nations” (Acts 17:26). This was God’s plan for populating the earth (Genesis 1:28).
- Modern day fears of biological deformities caused by the marriage of close relatives wouldn’t have been an issue in the early days of the human race. Prior to the full effects of the Fall, the early ancestors of Adam and Eve would have had very few abnormalities in their genetic code.
- God’s laws prohibiting marriage between close relatives did not come into effect until the time of Moses (Leviticus 18-20), some 2,500 years later. Prior to that time, marriage between close relatives was permitted and of no concern. Even Abraham was married to his half-sister, Sarah (Genesis 20:12).
For more information on God’s plan of creation please check out Dr. Carlson’s DVD lecture entitled, Evolution vs. Creation available in our online store.