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Genesis 4:22

in Genesis 4

And Zillah gave birth to Tubal-cain, a forger of every implement of bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, the forger of every cutting instrument of brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

KJV

And Zillah, she also bare Tubal–cain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal–cain was Naamah.

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This verse in Genesis 4

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Tubal-cain - The first smith on record, who taught how to make warlike instruments and domestic utensils out of brass and iron. Agricultural instruments must have been in use long before, for Cain was a tiller of the ground, and so was Adam, and they could not have cultivated the ground without spades, hooks, etc. Some of these arts were useless to man while innocent and upright, but after his fall they became necessary. Thus is the saying verified: God made man upright, but they have sought out many inventions.

This site's exposition

the father of those who dwell in tents

on Genesis 4:20-22

Jabal fathers the herdsmen in tents, Jubal the players of harp and flute, and Tubal-cain the forgers of bronze and iron. These are real gifts, and they arose in the line of the man who went out from the presence of the LORD. Naamah is named, and the name is all the verse gives.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Augustine of Hippo

City of God 15.17 · Written in the 5th century.

proposed

The text runs: "Methushael begot Lamech, who took two wives: the name of the one was Ada, and the name of the other Sella. And Ada brought forth Jobel; who was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of herdsmen. His brother's name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the psaltery and cittara. Sella bore Tobel; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tobel was Noema." This is as far as the line of descent from Cain is carried. There are eight generations in all, including Adam. The seventh is that of Lamech, who was the husband of two wives; the eighth is that of his children, among whom is the woman who is mentioned by name. What is here delicately intimated is that to the very end of its existence the earthly city will be propagated by physical births proceeding from the union of the sexes. This is why we are given the proper names of the wives of the last man mentioned as begetting children—a practice unheard of before the flood, except in the case of Eve.

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah. We have here some particulars concerning Lamech, the seventh from Adam in the line of Cain. It was one of the degenerate race of Cain who first transgressed that original law of marriage that two only should be one flesh.

The words behind it

16 Hebrew words

Every 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.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

6 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Job 28:2Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.3 worksDeuteronomy 33:25May the bolts of your gate be iron and bronze, and may your strength match your days.”1 worksNumbers 31:22Only the gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead—1 worksDeuteronomy 8:9a land where you will eat food without scarcity, where you will lack nothing; a land whose rocks are iron and whose hills are ready to be mined for copper.1 works2 Chronicles 2:7Send me, therefore, a craftsman skilled in engraving to work with gold and silver, with bronze and iron, and with purple, crimson, and blue yarn. He will work with my craftsmen in Judah and Jerusalem, whom my father David provided.1 worksExodus 25:3This is the offering you are to accept from them: gold, silver, and bronze;1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Deuteronomy 33:25

    May the bolts of your gate be iron and bronze, and may your strength match your days.”

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 41:10

      Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand…

    • Psalms 138:3

      On the day I called, You answered me; You emboldened me and strengthened my soul.

    • Isaiah 40:29

      He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak.

    • Colossians 1:11

      being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have full endurance and patience, and joyfully

    • Philippians 4:13

      I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 8:9

    a land where you will eat food without scarcity, where you will lack nothing; a land whose rocks are iron and whose hills are ready to be mined for copper.

    it leads to

    • Job 28:2

      Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 1 Chronicles 22:14

      Now behold, I have taken great pains to provide for the house of the LORD—100,000 talents of gold, 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron too great to be weighed. I have also…

    • Joshua 22:8

      saying, “Return to your homes with your great wealth, with immense herds of livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron, and very many clothes. Divide with your brothers the spoil of your enemies.”

Where this verse is studied

About Genesis

Cain Slays Abel — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Cain Slays Abel — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Genesis: the study guide →Read Genesis 4 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Augustine of Hippo, City of God 15.17; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Genesis 4 →