Bible Commentary

4:1 - Adam1 lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, "With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man."2
[ T - OL ]

"Adam lay with his wife Eve" is more famously translated as "Adam knew his wife Eve" (KJV, RSV, NASB, NKJ, NRS). The verb "knew" is a literal translation of the Hebrew verb yada', and is traditionally interpreted in the West as a euphemism for the sexual act, whether of the consensual loving kind between husband and wife, or of the perverted oppressive kind such as in sodomy (Gen 19:5) or rape (Judg 19:25). Either kind requires an exposure of what is most private of the other person that comes from 'knowing' the person. Though somewhat old-fashioned, "know" holds a good deal of what ought to be sought after in a marital relationship. The verb speaks of understanding, discernment and concern for all that involves the object known. A good carpenter who knows his wood, e.g., will not subject them to uses or circumstances that are imcompatible with the wood. A good carpenter will also know how the wood cannot be worked. Likewise, a good spouse will not abuse his partner but will be able to bring out the best in her that is natural and true to her nature and character. Bad spouses are bad because they do not "know"; they either do not know themselves or the partner or both.

There have been attempts to understand the verb "knew" as having occurred before the couple was banished from Eden. This is not necessary and adds no useful insights. Yet, in a non-sexual sense of the verb, Adam "had known" Eve before their expulsion. "She became pregnant and gave birth to" shows how well Adam understood Eve's nature when, immediately after the judgement in the Garden, he named her "Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living" (3:20). Here the conception and birth of her first child fulfilled and proved his discernment in so naming her. It was an act of trust in Yahweh's gracious character in so boldly calling her "Eve" and his faith is rewarded in the fulfillment. Adam's trust in Yahweh is paralleled here by Eve's act of naming the child Cain (qayin) and her explanation of her motivation, "With the help of Yahweh I have brought forth a man." The verb qanah is the usual word for "purchase," "acquire," or even "create." He was Qayin because qaniti with Yahweh's help. In the explanation we hear the voice of thanksgiving, the acknowledgement of grace. Though under judgement the couple was not deprived of divine goodness—divine goodness they had no right to expect.

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