19 ¶ And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name
of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. 20 And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of
such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. 21 And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the
father of all such as handle the harp and organ. 22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an
instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain
was Naamah.
23 ¶
And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives
of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a
young man to my hurt. 24 If Cain shall
be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.
Here are listed some originators of professions,
crafts, and cultures such as the nomad who herds animals, the musician, and the
iron and brass worker. This is not to say that these were the only professions,
crafts, and cultures but the way they are listed they may only be meant for
examples. They are representatives of the endeavors of man down through the
ages, their beginnings.
Here also, according to a disputed and controversial
extra-Biblical tradition, is the wife of Noah, Naamah. If that were true, and
we have no proof or even suggestion in the Bible that it is, then mankind also
descends from Cain, as well as Adam’s son, Seth.
The knowledge and skills gained by these men would be
passed on to the three sons of Noah who began populating the entire earth after
the Flood.
Here also continues the abuse of God’s word and of His
commands and of His ordinances, going beyond what He said as Eve did or using
His words as an excuse for sin as Christians often do. Just as Job’s three
friends misrepresent God, insisting that if something bad happens to you then
you must have done evil to deserve it so Christians will say, just because God
allowed something, even an opinion of a Bible writer or a cultural reference
specific to the time in which it was written, that God meant it for a rule that
is to be enforced mercilessly on the congregation. Christians often choose to
either twist God’s words, His intentions, or even to go beyond what He has said
with alcohol, dress, relationships between men and women, and many other issues
that reflect their own bigotry, fear, and paranoia rather than a desire to
please God. Here, God specifically protected Cain from revenge for his murder
of Abel but Lamech will murder another man and insist that he is worthy of even
more protection than Cain. “After all,” Lamech would say if he were a
fundamentalist preacher today, “God said it, its Bible, so it must mean what I
want it to mean and who cares about the context?”
This begins the justification for the extreme violence
of the pre-Flood civilization that must have been characterized by a callous
disregard for life, a savagery that would have maintained powerful warlords at
the top of the heap, with people seeking their protection. This is not unlike
our European and African heritage and in countries like Somalia and the Sudan
today.
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