1
Now the manוְהָאָדָםknewיָדַעEveאֶת חַוָּהhis wife,אִשְׁתּוֹand she conceivedוַתַּהַרand gave birthוַתֵּלֶדto Cain,אֶת קַיִןand she said,וַתֹּאמֶר“I have acquiredקָנִיתִיa manאִישׁwithאֶתYHWH.”יְהוָה
Genesis 4:1
Study it in the app“Now the man knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have acquired a man with YHWH.””
With the Hebrew beneath
Genesis 4:1, word by word
- Now the manאָדָםadam
Adam
Adam, the first man.
Where else “adam” appears- knewיָדַעyada
lie with
To be intimate with a woman.
Where else “yada” appears- Eveחַוָּהchava
Eve
Eve: the name the man gave his wife. In Hebrew it is "Chavvah", which sounds like "living"; Genesis 3:20 explains why.
Where else “chava” appears- his wifeאִשְׁתּisht
wife
Literally "his woman": the one married to him.
Where else “isht” appears- and she conceivedתַּהַרtahar
conceive
Become pregnant, conceive; figuratively, conceive a plan.
Where else “tahar” appears- and gave birthתֵּלֶדteled
bear
To bring a child into the world, giving birth after pregnancy.
Where else “teled” appears- to Cainקַיִןkayin
Cain
Cain, the first son of Adam and Eve, who killed his brother Abel. In Hebrew "Qayin" sounds like "I have gotten" (Genesis 4:1). Also a place, and the tribe of the Kenites.
Where else “kayin” appears- and she saidתֹּאמֶרtomer
say
To say with the mouth to someone what one thinks or wants, or to answer him.
Where else “tomer” appears- “I have acquiredקָנִיתִיkaniti
acquire
To get something: "get wisdom".
Where else “kaniti” appears- a manאִישׁish
man
An adult male person; also each man of a people, a trade or a place.
Where else “ish” appears- YHWHיְהוָהyehva
YHWH
The personal name of the God of Israel, written in Hebrew with four letters, Y-H-W-H, without vowels. Out of reverence Jews stopped pronouncing it and read "Adonai" (Lord), so many Bibles put "the LORD" or "Jehovah". This translation keeps the four letters. The name is related to the verb "to be" (Exodus 3:14-15). He is not a god other than Elohim: "YHWH Elohim" is the same Creator God, called by his name.
Where else “yehva” appears
Translation note
“Knew” translates the Hebrew verb yada, which here refers to sexual union. “Cain” (Qayin) sounds like “I have acquired” (qaniti).
The context
1 · This verse (above)
2And again she gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel became a keeper of flocks, and Cain was a worker of the ground.
To study Genesis 4 in a group
1. What it says
How did Cain feel when YHWH did not look with favor on his offering, and what did YHWH say to him (vv. 5-7)?
2. What it means
What does Cain mean by his question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (v. 9)?
3. How I live it
How can you deal with anger or envy toward someone today before it grows?