Did Adam And Eve Have Children While In The Garden OF Eden?

[Andylusion]

What I want to know, if Adam and Eve only had two sons, Where did Caine and Able find their wives.

Genesis 5:4

After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.

 

[Andylusion]

... or were Cain and Abel their first, after getting thrown out? There seems to be some who think they had lots of children while in the Garden, and lots after they were tossed out, and those who think they didn't have any until they were tossed out. I've only read a little on this but it seems Genesis is vague enough to allow for believing they did have children before the exile.

They had lots of children, yes. But not in the garden of Eden. They were kicked out of the garden directly after they committed sin. It was after that, that Adam made love with his wife, and started popping out kids.

1. Seth was born after Cain killed Able. Since this was specifically mentioned, it is unlikely Eve had many kids before Seth. It is unlikely they had a bunch of girls that were unmentioned.

2. We know Seth had to have been born outside the garden, because Cain committed sin, and the Garden was off limits from the moment sin entered the world.

3. While theoretically possible that Cain and Able were born in the garden, it is unlikely since the Bible does not mention G-d forcing any other people out of the garden. Had any others been alive at that time, we would think likely that the Bible would have mentioned everyone else being evicted.

The rest would be speculation.

Cain married his twin sister.

He could have been banging Lilith. Adams first wife.

Myth and urban legend. There was no Lilith.

 

[Andylusion]

If they had multiple children while in Eden, it could explain how the people of Nod came to exist.

The original children Eve had in Eden were spoiled brats. God was annoyed. He sent Satan, as a snake, to tempt Eve in an effort to get rid of the humans. Once Adam & Eve and their brood were gone, God closed the portal to Eden. Adam & Eve were so pissed they kicked the brats out of their house and they had to go east and settle the Land of Nod.

What people of Nod?

Genesis 4:16 "And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden."

Cain took a wife there and she bore him children.

... or were Cain and Abel their first, after getting thrown out? There seems to be some who think they had lots of children while in the Garden, and lots after they were tossed out, and those who think they didn't have any until they were tossed out. I've only read a little on this but it seems Genesis is vague enough to allow for believing they did have children before the exile.

They had lots of children, yes. But not in the garden of Eden. They were kicked out of the garden directly after they committed sin. It was after that, that Adam made love with his wife, and started popping out kids.

1. Seth was born after Cain killed Able. Since this was specifically mentioned, it is unlikely Eve had many kids before Seth. It is unlikely they had a bunch of girls that were unmentioned.

2. We know Seth had to have been born outside the garden, because Cain committed sin, and the Garden was off limits from the moment sin entered the world.

3. While theoretically possible that Cain and Able were born in the garden, it is unlikely since the Bible does not mention G-d forcing any other people out of the garden. Had any others been alive at that time, we would think likely that the Bible would have mentioned everyone else being evicted.

The rest would be speculation.

Cain married his twin sister.

No, according to the Bible Cain took a wife in the land of Nod, and she bore him a son he named Enoch.

You said "people of Nod"...where are they mentioned,
based on what?

Be specific.

Genesis 4
"16 And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.

17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.
16 And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.

17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch."


Unless there were people in the land east of Eden, who did Cain marry?

There is nothing to indicate a time line. And that's typical of a Jewish genealogy. This happened, and this happened. But there could be 100 years between (this) and (this).

Now I'm about to blow apart some conventional wisdom here.... If you read the Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, and other theologians, contrary to the typical portrayal of Cain and Able, by many opinions Cain and Able were likely older men by the time this happened.

Now again, in the pre-flood time, people lived to very old.... so middle age is in the hundreds of years.

By the time Cain killed Able, they were both likely over 100 years old.

Additionally, Jewish traditions, is that only the eldest son, is typically mentioned in genealogies. The reason why Cain was mentioned, is because of the death of Able the Eldest son. And then likely the reason Seth is mentioned, is because he was the 'replacement' for Able the eldest son.

The point of that is, it is entirely possible and even likely, that Adam and Eve had many other sons and daughters alive and even bearing children at the time that Cain killed Able.

I realize that in churches across the country for the past hundred years, have taught dumbed down children-stories, where Cain and Able are portrayed as being 10 years old or something, and that they were the only two children Adam and Eve had at the time.

I don't think those stories are Biblical.

It is very possible that the land of Nod was already well populated with people by the time this event happened.

It is also possible that Cain had taken a wife from the land of Nod, before he even killed Able. It doesn't say specifically that one happened before or after the other. It might be that the reason he moved to Nod, is because that's where his wife's family was, and thought they would offer protection from vengeance.

We don't know. That's speculation.

The problem with converting Hebrew to English, is that English tends to automatically assign a chronology to statements. This (X) happened, and (Y) happened. We say the first X obviously happened first, because it was mentioned first. Y happened after X.

But in Hebrew literature, they often put what was most important first, and then just listed other things that happened.

So Cain killing Able, was the highest significant thing to happen. But Cain also married a woman from Nod, and had kids.

It might be that he married after he killed Able. It might also be that he had already married a woman from Nod, and then moved there, and had kids, after killing Able.

Again, speculation.

What we know for sure, is that Cain killed Able. Cain had a wife. Cain lived in the Land of Nod, and there he had a family.

 

[rylah]

If they had multiple children while in Eden, it could explain how the people of Nod came to exist.

The original children Eve had in Eden were spoiled brats. God was annoyed. He sent Satan, as a snake, to tempt Eve in an effort to get rid of the humans. Once Adam & Eve and their brood were gone, God closed the portal to Eden. Adam & Eve were so pissed they kicked the brats out of their house and they had to go east and settle the Land of Nod.

What people of Nod?

Genesis 4:16 "And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden."

Cain took a wife there and she bore him children.

They had lots of children, yes. But not in the garden of Eden. They were kicked out of the garden directly after they committed sin. It was after that, that Adam made love with his wife, and started popping out kids.

1. Seth was born after Cain killed Able. Since this was specifically mentioned, it is unlikely Eve had many kids before Seth. It is unlikely they had a bunch of girls that were unmentioned.

2. We know Seth had to have been born outside the garden, because Cain committed sin, and the Garden was off limits from the moment sin entered the world.

3. While theoretically possible that Cain and Able were born in the garden, it is unlikely since the Bible does not mention G-d forcing any other people out of the garden. Had any others been alive at that time, we would think likely that the Bible would have mentioned everyone else being evicted.

The rest would be speculation.

Cain married his twin sister.

No, according to the Bible Cain took a wife in the land of Nod, and she bore him a son he named Enoch.

You said "people of Nod"...where are they mentioned,
based on what?

Be specific.

Genesis 4
"16 And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.

17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.
16 And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.

17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch."


Unless there were people in the land east of Eden, who did Cain marry?

There is nothing to indicate a time line. And that's typical of a Jewish genealogy. This happened, and this happened. But there could be 100 years between (this) and (this).

Now I'm about to blow apart some conventional wisdom here.... If you read the Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, and other theologians, contrary to the typical portrayal of Cain and Able, by many opinions Cain and Able were likely older men by the time this happened.

Now again, in the pre-flood time, people lived to very old.... so middle age is in the hundreds of years.

By the time Cain killed Able, they were both likely over 100 years old.

Additionally, Jewish traditions, is that only the eldest son, is typically mentioned in genealogies. The reason why Cain was mentioned, is because of the death of Able the Eldest son. And then likely the reason Seth is mentioned, is because he was the 'replacement' for Able the eldest son.

The point of that is, it is entirely possible and even likely, that Adam and Eve had many other sons and daughters alive and even bearing children at the time that Cain killed Able.

I realize that in churches across the country for the past hundred years, have taught dumbed down children-stories, where Cain and Able are portrayed as being 10 years old or something, and that they were the only two children Adam and Eve had at the time.

I don't think those stories are Biblical.

It is very possible that the land of Nod was already well populated with people by the time this event happened.

It is also possible that Cain had taken a wife from the land of Nod, before he even killed Able. It doesn't say specifically that one happened before or after the other. It might be that the reason he moved to Nod, is because that's where his wife's family was, and thought they would offer protection from vengeance.

We don't know. That's speculation.

The problem with converting Hebrew to English, is that English tends to automatically assign a chronology to statements. This (X) happened, and (Y) happened. We say the first X obviously happened first, because it was mentioned first. Y happened after X.

But in Hebrew literature, they often put what was most important first, and then just listed other things that happened.

So Cain killing Able, was the highest significant thing to happen. But Cain also married a woman from Nod, and had kids.

It might be that he married after he killed Able. It might also be that he had already married a woman from Nod, and then moved there, and had kids, after killing Able.

Again, speculation.

What we know for sure, is that Cain killed Able. Cain had a wife. Cain lived in the Land of Nod, and there he had a family.

A woman from Nod?
Is that in the scripture?

You use terms like 'Hebrew tradition' and literature, but I don't see any reference.

 

[Vastator]

... or were Cain and Abel their first, after getting thrown out? There seems to be some who think they had lots of children while in the Garden, and lots after they were tossed out, and those who think they didn't have any until they were tossed out. I've only read a little on this but it seems Genesis is vague enough to allow for believing they did have children before the exile.

They had lots of children, yes. But not in the garden of Eden. They were kicked out of the garden directly after they committed sin. It was after that, that Adam made love with his wife, and started popping out kids.

1. Seth was born after Cain killed Able. Since this was specifically mentioned, it is unlikely Eve had many kids before Seth. It is unlikely they had a bunch of girls that were unmentioned.

2. We know Seth had to have been born outside the garden, because Cain committed sin, and the Garden was off limits from the moment sin entered the world.

3. While theoretically possible that Cain and Able were born in the garden, it is unlikely since the Bible does not mention G-d forcing any other people out of the garden. Had any others been alive at that time, we would think likely that the Bible would have mentioned everyone else being evicted.

The rest would be speculation.

Cain married his twin sister.

He could have been banging Lilith. Adams first wife.

Myth and urban legend. There was no Lilith.

That’s a pretty ancient “urban legend”.
Far, far older than the "King James Bible".

 

[Andylusion]

... or were Cain and Abel their first, after getting thrown out? There seems to be some who think they had lots of children while in the Garden, and lots after they were tossed out, and those who think they didn't have any until they were tossed out. I've only read a little on this but it seems Genesis is vague enough to allow for believing they did have children before the exile.

They had lots of children, yes. But not in the garden of Eden. They were kicked out of the garden directly after they committed sin. It was after that, that Adam made love with his wife, and started popping out kids.

1. Seth was born after Cain killed Able. Since this was specifically mentioned, it is unlikely Eve had many kids before Seth. It is unlikely they had a bunch of girls that were unmentioned.

2. We know Seth had to have been born outside the garden, because Cain committed sin, and the Garden was off limits from the moment sin entered the world.

3. While theoretically possible that Cain and Able were born in the garden, it is unlikely since the Bible does not mention G-d forcing any other people out of the garden. Had any others been alive at that time, we would think likely that the Bible would have mentioned everyone else being evicted.

The rest would be speculation.

Cain married his twin sister.

He could have been banging Lilith. Adams first wife.

Myth and urban legend. There was no Lilith.

That’s a pretty ancient “urban legend”.

It is. But being an old myth and urban legend, does not change it from being a myth and urban legend.

 

[luchitociencia]

Nothing in the Bible is written randomly or without purpose, it all ties together with other 'books' and many chiasm structures within structures; its writers were trained to express a whole lot in few words. Those who keep claiming it's full of 'errors' and 'inconsistencies' are wrong, they're just ignorant.

That is correct.

If errors, they should be "typos", something which is assumed will happen since the copies were made by hand, and there are possibilities of missing or adding a letter here and there.

Other "typos" appear to be caused by the intention of the context. Lets say you will write the word "concluded" a few times in your narration. And, at each step you will write "it has been conclud". But, at the final sentence, when the last step is done, you write at the end "it has been concluded".

Then, you notice that writing with missing letters was made in purpose, that the word "concluded" was not completely written until the whole event was done.

Other reason for assumed mistakes is the several parts of the biblical narration which are practically written as a poem and so forth.

 

[Vastator]

They had lots of children, yes. But not in the garden of Eden. They were kicked out of the garden directly after they committed sin. It was after that, that Adam made love with his wife, and started popping out kids.

1. Seth was born after Cain killed Able. Since this was specifically mentioned, it is unlikely Eve had many kids before Seth. It is unlikely they had a bunch of girls that were unmentioned.

2. We know Seth had to have been born outside the garden, because Cain committed sin, and the Garden was off limits from the moment sin entered the world.

3. While theoretically possible that Cain and Able were born in the garden, it is unlikely since the Bible does not mention G-d forcing any other people out of the garden. Had any others been alive at that time, we would think likely that the Bible would have mentioned everyone else being evicted.

The rest would be speculation.

Cain married his twin sister.

He could have been banging Lilith. Adams first wife.

Myth and urban legend. There was no Lilith.

That’s a pretty ancient “urban legend”.

It is. But being an old myth and urban legend, does not change it from being a myth and urban legend.

Chronologically... The "King James Bible" is far more " urban legend" than the tale of Lilith.

 

[Andylusion]

Cain married his twin sister.

He could have been banging Lilith. Adams first wife.

Myth and urban legend. There was no Lilith.

That’s a pretty ancient “urban legend”.

It is. But being an old myth and urban legend, does not change it from being a myth and urban legend.

Chronologically... The "King James Bible" is far more " urban legend" than the tale of Lilith.

That's your opinion of course.
I'm not going to argue your opinion on the matter.

 

[Vastator]

He could have been banging Lilith. Adams first wife.

Myth and urban legend. There was no Lilith.

That’s a pretty ancient “urban legend”.

It is. But being an old myth and urban legend, does not change it from being a myth and urban legend.

Chronologically... The "King James Bible" is far more " urban legend" than the tale of Lilith.

That's your opinion of course.
I'm not going to argue your opinion on the matter.

The dates of the two literary works aren’t subject to debate, nor are they a matter of opinion. The account of Lilith categorically, and incontrovertibly predates the King James Bible.

 

[Picaro]

Interesting answers so far. Meanwhile, while looking up some other stuff in the Fun With Ancient Hebrew genre, I got curious about the use of the word 'city' re Enoch's 'city', and found a whole new exegesis on the use of that word in the OT as well. lol and then there is the 'Samaritan Torah', with its first translation into English just recently, which is another reference source, though probably not nearly as reliable in all cases as the Masoretic translators, but then again I don't particularly trust some of the post-exilic writings either.

 

[Andylusion]

Myth and urban legend. There was no Lilith.

That’s a pretty ancient “urban legend”.

It is. But being an old myth and urban legend, does not change it from being a myth and urban legend.

Chronologically... The "King James Bible" is far more " urban legend" than the tale of Lilith.

That's your opinion of course.
I'm not going to argue your opinion on the matter.

The dates of the two literary works aren’t subject to debate, nor are they a matter of opinion. The account of Lilith categorically, and incontrovertibly predates the King James Bible.

Yeah, that's very interesting. I can tell you are not here to argue honestly, or you wouldn't be saying "King James Bible" as if it wasn't a collection of works that date all the way back to 2000 BCE.

Thank you, but I'm not interested in continuing this conversation with you.

 

[Vastator]

That’s a pretty ancient “urban legend”.

It is. But being an old myth and urban legend, does not change it from being a myth and urban legend.

Chronologically... The "King James Bible" is far more " urban legend" than the tale of Lilith.

That's your opinion of course.
I'm not going to argue your opinion on the matter.

The dates of the two literary works aren’t subject to debate, nor are they a matter of opinion. The account of Lilith categorically, and incontrovertibly predates the King James Bible.

Yeah, that's very interesting. I can tell you are not here to argue honestly, or you wouldn't be saying "King James Bible" as if it wasn't a collection of works that date all the way back to 2000 BCE.

Thank you, but I'm not interested in continuing this conversation with you.

Trigger much? It seems that you are showing bias for one bit of folklore over another. Even though the OP has specifically referenced the King James Bible...

 

[Picaro]

I didn't reference any particular version, just commentators who were bringing up the topic. I use the New King James Version and the Ryrie New American Standard for most references unless I link to Bible hub or some other online source. On the whole I prefer translations from the Textus Recepticus versions. I'm aware of the allegedly chronologically 'correct' versions as well, I just don't credit them with more importance on that alone.

 

[luchitociencia]

I didn't reference any particular version, just commentators who were bringing up the topic. I use the New King James Version and the Ryrie New American Standard for most references unless I link to Bible hub or some other online source. On the whole I prefer translations from the Textus Recepticus versions. I'm aware of the allegedly chronologically 'correct' versions as well, I just don't credit them with more importance on that alone.

Well, I can tell you one thing, if the bible doesn't specify certain details, might be because various reasons.

It could be giving more details was not important
.
An easy style of narration was idealized to be easy to understand and remember.

Sometimes translations lose the real meaning of the expressions in Hebrew language

And even more critical, the interpretation is based mostly on "tradition" and doing so no other meaning is accepted, and this causes the obstacle of interpreting the scriptures differently and find more accurate understanding.

However, as many have been doing throughout the eras, you can find scriptures from other sources which can be used to be compared with what the bible says, so you can learn better with such additional information.

 

[Picaro]

I didn't reference any particular version, just commentators who were bringing up the topic. I use the New King James Version and the Ryrie New American Standard for most references unless I link to Bible hub or some other online source. On the whole I prefer translations from the Textus Recepticus versions. I'm aware of the allegedly chronologically 'correct' versions as well, I just don't credit them with more importance on that alone.

Well, I can tell you one thing, if the bible doesn't specify certain details, might be because various reasons.

It could be giving more details was not important
.
An easy style of narration was idealized to be easy to understand and remember.

Sometimes translations lose the real meaning of the expressions in Hebrew language

And even more critical, the interpretation is based mostly on "tradition" and doing so no other meaning is accepted, and this causes the obstacle of interpreting the scriptures differently and find more accurate understanding.

However, as many have been doing throughout the eras, you can find scriptures from other sources which can be used to be compared with what the bible says, so you can learn better with such additional information.

Well, you can find a few snippets at Google Books of the first English translation of the Samaritan Torah, including the first few verses of Genesis, if one is inclined so. I hope to see more translations in the future, so we don't have to rely on just one, from a biased source at that, not that the translators would lie but it's better to have more than one for reference purposes.


Torah, Israelite Samaritan and Masoretic versions in English

Torah, Israelite Samaritan and Masoretic versions in English

 

[luchitociencia]

I didn't reference any particular version, just commentators who were bringing up the topic. I use the New King James Version and the Ryrie New American Standard for most references unless I link to Bible hub or some other online source. On the whole I prefer translations from the Textus Recepticus versions. I'm aware of the allegedly chronologically 'correct' versions as well, I just don't credit them with more importance on that alone.

Well, I can tell you one thing, if the bible doesn't specify certain details, might be because various reasons.

It could be giving more details was not important
.
An easy style of narration was idealized to be easy to understand and remember.

Sometimes translations lose the real meaning of the expressions in Hebrew language

And even more critical, the interpretation is based mostly on "tradition" and doing so no other meaning is accepted, and this causes the obstacle of interpreting the scriptures differently and find more accurate understanding.

However, as many have been doing throughout the eras, you can find scriptures from other sources which can be used to be compared with what the bible says, so you can learn better with such additional information.

Well, you can find a few snippets at Google Books of the first English translation of the Samaritan Torah, including the first few verses of Genesis, if one is inclined so. I hope to see more translations in the future, so we don't have to rely on just one, from a biased source at that, not that the translators would lie but it's better to have more than one for reference purposes.


Torah, Israelite Samaritan and Masoretic versions in English

Torah, Israelite Samaritan and Masoretic versions in English

No doubt I will acquire it, however, the differences between the Masoretic and Samaritan versions have been posted online already.

Just a fast review shows differences only in certain details but nothing about the interpretation of context. The controversies are mostly dates and geographical locations. This can be also found when Jesus was talking with the Samaritan woman. John 4

19 “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet.
20 So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”

The words of the Samaritan woman is a good topic, because the answer will depend of when that will happen.

By following the origin of Samaritans, it can be deduced their version surely is a kind of corrupted. However, reading it will bring to light how far Samaritans turned away from the original writings.

(by the way, I don't use Google)

 

[rylah]

Which is the Best Translation of the Jewish Scriptures?
Rabbi Tovia Singer's Answer May Surprise You

 

[tyroneweaver]

... or were Cain and Abel their first, after getting thrown out? There seems to be some who think they had lots of children while in the Garden, and lots after they were tossed out, and those who think they didn't have any until they were tossed out. I've only read a little on this but it seems Genesis is vague enough to allow for believing they did have children before the exile.

No. They did not have children in the Garden of Eden
Cain and Abel came after the expulsion

 

[Picaro]

Yes, I know Cain and Abel came after.