Genesis 4:16
in Genesis 4So Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Cain went out from the presence of Jehovah, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
KJV
And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
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This verse in Genesis 4
Commentary
16 notes on this verseBy means of righteousness we come into God's presence, as Moses did when he entered the thick cloud where God was. On the other hand, by the practice of evil a person leaves the presence of the Lord. For example, Cain, when he killed his brother, left the Lord's presence as far as his will was concerned.
This site's exposition
went out from the presence of the LORD
on Genesis 4:16-17
Cain settles east of Eden, in the land of Nod, where the way back to the garden was barred. He builds a city and names it for his son Enoch. Settled life in Genesis starts in the line of the man under judgment.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
After Cain received the punishment and the sign had been added to it … Moses said that "Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod, east of Eden."
The land of Nod is so called because it was the land in which Cain wandered about in fear and trembling. But the land also received a second curse when God said, "When you till the earth it shall no longer yield to you its …
There the families of the two brothers had separated: Cain went off by himself and lived in the land of Nod, a place lower still than that of Seth and Enosh; but those who lived on higher ground, who were called "the children of God," …
The Scripture makes good sense: "Cain left God's presence and went to live in the land of Nod, opposite Eden." Nod means "disturbance," Eden, "the good life." The good life from which the transgressor was expelled consisted in faith, knowledge, peace. Those wise in their own eyes … are happy to transfer to the disturbance of a tossing sea. They drop from the knowledge of the One who knows no birth to the realm of birth and death. Their opinions are constantly changing.
(Verse 16.) And he dwelt in the land of Naid. Which the Septuagint translated as Naid, but in Hebrew it is called Nod, meaning 'shaking', that is, unstable and fluctuating, with an uncertain dwelling place. Therefore, it is not the land of Naid, as our common people think, but the divine sentence is fulfilled, that he wandered and fled here and there.
9 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church3 voices
And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, that is, from the inner parts of those dwellings in which he had been living with his parents until then, and was often accustomed to see Him in angelic form.
He dwelled in the land as a fugitive to the east of Eden. Eden is interpreted as pleasure or delight, by which name paradise is designated, about which it is said above: "And the Lord God planted a garden of pleasure from the beginning," which …
And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod to the east of Eden. By the presence of the Lord is usually understood the recognition by which He manifests and is known.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Hell is destruction from the presence of the Lord, 2 Thess. i. It is a perpetual banishment from the fountain of all good. This is the choice of sinners; and so shall their doom be, to their eternal confusion.
And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord,....
Hell is destruction from the presence of the Lord, 2 Thess. i. It is a perpetual banishment from the fountain of all good. This is the choice of sinners; and so shall their doom be, to their eternal confusion.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
The land of Nod - As נוד nod signifies the same as נד sa , a vagabond, some think this verse should be rendered, And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, from the east of Eden, and dwelt a vagabond on the earth; thus the curse pronounced on him, Gen 4:12, was accomplished.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Leaving it, he not only severed himself from his relatives but forsook the ordinances of religion, probably casting off all fear of God from his eyes so that the last end of this man is worse than the first (Mt 12:45). land of Nod--of flight or exile--thought by many to have been Arabia-Petræa--which was cursed to sterility on his account.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Leaving it, he not only severed himself from his relatives but forsook the ordinances of religion, probably casting off all fear of God from his eyes so that the last end of this man is worse than the first (Mt 12:45). land of Nod--of flight or exile--thought by many to have been Arabia-Petræa--which was cursed to sterility on his account.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּ֥צֵא | vaiyetze' | and he went out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| קַ֖יִן | kayin | Cain | H7014 → | 19 times |
| מִלִּפְנֵ֣י | milifnei | from to before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיֵּ֥שֶׁב | vaiyeshev | and he dwelt | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בְּאֶֽרֶץ־ | beeretz- | in [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| נ֖וֹד | nod | Nod | H5113 → | |
| קִדְמַת־ | kidmat- | [the] east of | H6926 → | |
| עֵֽדֶן׃ | ʾeden | Eden | H5731 → | 16 times |
וַיֵּ֥צֵאand he went out
vaiyetze'H3318 →1067 times
קַ֖יִןCain
kayinH7014 →19 times
מִלִּפְנֵ֣יfrom to before
milifneiH6440 →2123 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיֵּ֥שֶׁבand he dwelt
vaiyeshevH3427 →1079 times
בְּאֶֽרֶץ־in [the] land of
beeretz-H776 →2504 times
נ֖וֹדNod
nodH5113 →
קִדְמַת־[the] east of
kidmat-H6926 →
עֵֽדֶן׃Eden
ʾedenH5731 →16 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 52:3For because of the anger of the LORD, all this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until He finally banished them from His presence. And Zedekiah also rebelled against the king of Babylon.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 36:13
He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. But Zedekiah stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD, the God of Israel.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Chronicles 36:13
Through
2 Kings 13:23But the LORD was gracious to Israel and had compassion on them, and He turned toward them because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And to this day, the LORD has been…
it leads to
- Psalms 105:8
He remembers His covenant forever, the word He ordained for a thousand generations—
- 2 Kings 14:27
and since the LORD had said that He would not blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Jehoash.
- Micah 7:18–20
Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion?
- Exodus 2:24–25
So God heard their groaning, and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
- Psalms 86:15
But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness.
- Psalms 105:8
Through
Exodus 20:18When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sounding of the ram’s horn, and the mountain enveloped in smoke, they trembled and stood at a distance.
it leads to
- Exodus 19:16–18
On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud was upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the ram’s horn went out, so that all the…
- Exodus 19:16–18
Through
Genesis 4:14Behold, this day You have driven me from the face of the earth, and from Your face I will be hidden; I will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever…
it leads to
- Numbers 35:19
The avenger of blood is to put the murderer to death; when he finds him, he is to kill him.
- Numbers 35:19
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPrimevalCainAdam's firstborn; the first murderer, who killed his brother Abel out of jealousy and became the archetype of the way of self-will…
- PlaceMesopotamia (traditional)EdenThe garden God planted in the east with the tree of life and a river, lost at the fall and opened again in the New Jerusalem.
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Athanasius of Alexandria, FESTAL LETTERS 10; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata Book 2; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 3.11.1; Ephrem the Syrian, HYMNS ON PARADISE 1.11; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.