Genesis 4:20

Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and raise livestock.

BSB

Parallel translations

4 additional translations

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KJV

And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle.

ASV

And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents and have cattle.

YLT

And Adah beareth Jabal, he hath been father of those inhabiting tents and purchased possessions;

DBT

And Adah bore Jabal: he was the father of those who dwell in tents, and [breed] cattle.

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On this verse

He begot, he says, Ada Jabal, who was the father of those who dwell in tents and shepherds, and the name of his brother was Jubal. He was the father of those who play the harp and organ. Sella also begot Tubal-Cain, who was a …

Bede· Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron), 735patristic

Related commentary

And Adah bare Jabal,.... According to Hillerus (m), this name, and Jubal and Tubal, after mentioned, all signify a river; why Lamech should call all his sons by names signifying the same thing, is not easy to say.

John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)reformed

Jabal - was the father - The inventor or teacher, for so the word is understood, 1Sa 10:12. He was the first who invented tent-making, and the breeding and managing of cattle; or he was, in these respects, the most eminent in that time. Though Abel was a shepherd, it is not likely he was such on an extensive scale.

Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible, 1832evangelical

Abel's was a more excellent sacrifice than Cain's; Cain's was only a sacrifice of acknowledgment offered to the Creator; the meat- offerings of the fruit of the ground were no more: but Abel brought a sacrifice of atonement, the blood whereof was shed in order to remission, thereby owning himself a sinner, deprecating God's wrath, and imploring his favour in a Mediator.

John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament, 1765evangelical

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Cross-references

10 linked verses

The verses this one reaches10

1 Chronicles 4:4–5
Penuel was the father of Gedor, and Ezer was the father of Hushah. These were the descendants of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah and the father of Bethlehem.
1 Chronicles 2:50–52
These were the descendants of Caleb. The sons of Hur the firstborn of Ephrathah:
Genesis 4:2
Later she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the soil.
Hebrews 11:9
By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.
Jeremiah 35:9–10
Nor have we built houses in which to live, and we have not owned any vineyards or fields or crops.
Genesis 4:21
And his brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute.
Genesis 25:27
When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home.
Romans 4:11–12
And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.
John 8:44
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
Genesis 13:5
Now Lot, who was traveling with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.

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Around this verse

Word doors

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread — the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

About this book

Cain Slays Abel — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866) — public domain

Genesis — The book of beginnings. Creation, fall, flood, covenant, election, providence — eleven generational seams stitch one unbroken story from heaven-and-earth to a coffin in Egypt.

Canon: Old Testament
Author: Moses — by traditional attribution; the book is the first of the Pentateuch
Date: Composed c. 15th–13th century BC; draws on older patriarchal sources (the toledoth framework is internal)

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first — the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Hebrews 11:9
By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.
leads to
- Genesis 12:8
  From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to the LORD,…
- Genesis 13:18
  So Abram moved his tent and went to live near the Oaks of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.
- Genesis 13:3
  From the Negev he journeyed from place to place toward Bethel, until he came to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly been pitched,
- Acts 7:5–6
  He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised to give possession of the land to Abraham and his descendants, even though he did not yet have a…
- Hebrews 6:17
  So when God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath.
Through
Genesis 4:2
Later she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the soil.
leads to
- 1 John 3:15
  Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that eternal life does not reside in a murderer.
- 1 John 3:12
  Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain slay him? Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous.
- Luke 11:51
  from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, all of it will be charged to this generation.

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