Gen. 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
Gen. 3:2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
Gen. 3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
This chapter causes many questions. First, there is the serpent. It is described as “more subtil” (cunning, crafty, shrewd) than any of the beasts of the field that God had made. Then, the serpent is able to talk to the woman, and she understands him. He also has knowledge of God’s commands to the humans.
Next, it is important to note that the serpent approached the woman. God had given the command to the man before the woman was on the scene. It’s obvious that the command had been communicated to her—but (as usual when things are given 2d and 3d hand) the facts were altered, or she altered them herself. She added to the command by saying that they weren’t even to “touch” the tree, let alone eat of it.
Gen. 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
Gen. 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Gen. 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
The serpent doesn’t hesitate to call God a liar—and she decides to trust this creature rather than her Creator! Reading through this again, I thought of the serpent Kah in the movie “Jungle Book” and how he lured Mowgli by singing the song “Trust in Me.” How appropriate that it is a snake; I wonder if the Bible influenced this depiction.
I’ve heard all the sermons, so I know it doesn’t matter who the first woman was; the results would have been the same. It’s just hard for me to imagine being that stupid. There are so many things we don’t really know about that time that I’m sure would at least help explain why she would even consider believing an animal. Since God created us with an ability to make our own choices, there had to be a degree of knowledge and awareness upon which to base those decisions. I can really relate to the desire to understand/know something that is unknown by you but known by someone else. I don’t think she had a true concept of the difference in good and evil; everything in her life had been good. Would one really choose to know about evil and all its consequences?
The woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food. I think it is possible that the serpent ate some of it in front of her to show that it was good and that nothing would happen to her. (First she desired, then she took, then she looked for company for what she was doing. The desire came through seeing. It is important to be careful about what we allow before our eyes.) So, she took some of the fruit and ate it and gave it to her husband who was with her. Again, if Adam was with her, why was the serpent talking to the woman? Why wasn’t the man stepping in to intercede?
There are some enlightening verses in Paul’s letter to Timothy regarding this issue.
1Timothy 2:13-14 “For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.”
Both the man and the woman disobeyed God, but the Holy Spirit is clear to make a difference in the sin of the woman vs. the sin of the man. Eve was deceived; Adam was willfully, knowingly disobedient.
It’s also interesting to note that the serpent implied that there were other beings (“gods”) that knew about good and evil, implying that God was holding out on them or depriving them of something good.
Gen. 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Though they could see before; they now saw with new understanding. It’s interesting how the perspective changes when you are looking at things from a sinful position. Sin always makes something ugly of what should be beautiful (e.g., our bodies, the marriage act, etc.) They were feeling guilt and wanted to hide themselves, so they tried to “cover up” the evidence of their sin/disobedience. (There could be no guilt without an understanding of what was right/good.)
The fact that they knew how to sew fig leaves together is a good example of the fact that the man and woman were created having a knowledge base and possessing the skill to act using that knowledge.
Gen. 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
Gen. 3:9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
Gen. 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
The man and woman recognized the sound of God’s voice as He walked in the garden. It was familiar; they had heard it many times before. So they hid—they knew He would be unhappy with them. They were ashamed of their nakedness (v10); they never had been before. Sin always separates and puts a wall between us and those we love/admire/respect. It’s obvious that God had expected to fellowship with man as He called out His question. Again, He didn’t force the interaction; He gave man the choice to respond to Him. Because of established relationship, the love of God won out over the fear of man—as it always will when rooted in a faith relationship.
Gen. 3:11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
Gen. 3:12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
Gen. 3:13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
The questions are rhetorical; God knows the answers. The point is made that the only thing that produced this knowledge and shame was man’s disobedience to God’s instructions. Then comes the first example of “blame shifting.” The example of the man is quickly picked up and used by the woman. (Our example always impacts others, especially those closest to us, either for good or bad.) Neither wanted to accept responsibility for their choice to disobey. Neither was concerned with protecting the other. One bad choice led to another bad choice (and almost always does).
Gen. 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
Gen. 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Immediately, we see where the power and authority lie. God passes judgment on the serpent. Thought: Considering that the serpent was described as more cunning and shrews than any beast of the field and that it could talk might imply that it was a will accomplice to Satan.
Satan had used the serpent just like he tries to use each one of us; and just like the serpent, we will be cursed if we choose to ignore God’s provision for us.
By verse 15, God is speaking directly to Satan. He is promising a lifelong hatred and conflict between Satan and “her seed”—Jesus, the Son of God. (All other men that ever lived were from the seed of man or fallen angels.) The result will be that Jesus will suffer (a bruised heel) but Satan will be conquered (a bruised head). This is also a prophetic statement regarding God’s knowledge of the future. None of this was a surprise to God; His plan/provision was already in place ready to be revealed. It is also the first promise of the Messiah.
2 Timothy 1:8–9 “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began….”
1 Peter 1:18–20 “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you….”
1 Corinthians 2:7–8 “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
Note: The “seed” of reproduction comes from the male. Scripture reveals the “seed of the woman” to be a reference to the supernatural birth of Jesus, the Son of God, that came as the second Adam to be our redeemer.
1 Corinthians 15:21–22 & 47 “For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive….The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.”
Galatians 3:16 “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.”
Luke 1:30–35 “And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”
I was reading through the Complete Jewish Bible in Revelation and came across a reference to this verse that I thought was enlightening.
“I will put enmity between you [the serpent] and the woman [Eve], and between your seed [all who sin and rejoice in the sin of others, whether angelic (Ephesians 6:10-13) or human (Romans 1:32)] and her seed [her descendants, i.e., humanity; but more particularly, the unique “seed” spoken of in Galatians 3:16, Yeshua]; He [the Hebrew is singular, referring to Yeshua, not plural] will bruise [or crush] your head, and you will bruise their heel [the Hebrew is plural; humanity can be injured, Yeshua cannot].
Gen. 3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
Sin always has consequences. Conception is not possible without the pain associated with menstruation. It is interesting to note that the word sorrow in this verse is two different words in the Hebrew. The first refers to “worrisomeness and pain.” It made me think about the fact that except for sin, there would be no worry or pain associated with childbirth. God meant the whole process to be a wonderful, joyful experience. The sorrow includes concern about the health of the baby as well as concern about what his/her future will hold. The second word is a reference to the actual labor and pain that is part of the birthing process.
The man and woman had been functioning as a content unit. Now the woman would struggle with her assigned position as helper (the submissive partner); she would rather have her husband’s position as leader.
Gen. 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Gen. 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
Gen. 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Man is now destined to struggle for his survival. He is also reminded that this dust he must struggle with for food is exactly where he will find himself when life is over. The effort to get food would require hard work (sweat). He was created from dust and will return to dust. Emphasis was made that the reason he was being punished was because he had given someone else the position of “god” in his life—his wife. He had decided to please her rather than obey God.
Obviously, Adam and Eve did not die physically on the day they sinned. Interestingly enough—From God’s perspective, using the formula 1000 years = one day, Adam died physically as well as spiritually in the same day that he sinned.
Genesis 5:5 “And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.”
The inference seems to be that they died spiritually that day; they were no longer in fellowship with God and allowed to enjoy His presence.
Gen. 3:20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
Eve – Chavvah in Hebrew – life-giver, first woman
The point is made that she is the mother, life-giver, of ALL living. We are ALL descended from Adam and Eve.
I ran across an article on Chuck Missler’s website by a molecular biologist named Wendy Wippel. In it she explained how science is again affirming the truth of scripture. Following is an excerpt from that article.
The field of genetic anthropology, which allowed man’s history to be studied with DNA, first gained public awareness in 1987 with the announcement that mitochondrial DNA analysis had demonstrated that every human being on the planet descended from the same female. Similar analysis of Y-chromosomes found that every human male was also descended from a single individual human male. Scientists involved (gleefully) proclaimed that, since this identified male lived considerably after the female, the Bible had been officially repudiated, with headlines across the globe declaring “Adam and Eve Never Met!”
The scientists may need to review their Sunday School lessons. What “mitochondrial Eve” and “Y-chromosome Adam” really represent are really statistical entities called the Most Recent Common Ancestor, or MRCA, meaning the last shared relative. As such, they exquisitely confirm the Biblical account. Since the males on the ark were Noah and his sons, all should have had identical Y-chromosomes. The four women, however (Mrs. Noah, Ham, Shem, and Japheth), ostensibly not related, would therefore trace their maternal lineages back to the Biblical Eve. The MRCA of the men, then, was Noah, but the MRCA of the maternal lineage was NOT Mrs. Noah, but Eve—who did (according to both science and the Bible) live considerably before her statistical counterpart, Noah.
Genetics has confirmed the Bible’s (long discredited) claim that Noah’s family populated the entire world, putting to rest the widespread theory that humans evolved simultaneously in several places. Analysis of Y- and mitochondrial chromosomes also confirm after Noah, the population grew, dispersed into northeast Africa and the Levant, and gathered in the Middle East shortly before dispersing into the rest of the world, also matching the Biblical account of events between the times when eight people exited an ark and when the entire human population, 70 families strong, gathered at a plain in Shinar to build a tower.
Gen. 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
God makes them coverings of skin to replace the leaves. The coverings of skin were obtained by the sacrifice or shedding of blood of an innocent creature to clothe their nakedness. This is already providing a picture of Jesus having to die and shed His blood to clothe us with His righteousness.
2 Corinthians 5:21 “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
Isaiah 61:10 “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness,”
Again, our sin impacts others.
Gen. 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
Gen. 3:23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
Gen. 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
Then God banishes Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden to protect them from eating from the tree of life. That seems to imply that if they had eaten of that tree, they would have lived forever in their sinful condition with no hope of redemption. Man has been judged and must now suffer the consequences of his disobedience; he is sent out to work the ground and grow his own food. God doesn’t take any chances, so to speak; He places Cherubim (a special order of the angels) and a flaming sword to guard the way to the tree of life.
“man is become as one of us” – This phrase stood out to me as I read this section again. It also took me back to the words with which the serpent tempted Eve. It would seem that “gods” (verses 5&22) referenced those who could differentiate between good and evil. Before their sin, they had only known good.
Gen. 4:1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
Gen. 4:2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
The record given here gives no indication of elapsed time between events. We just know that Eve became pregnant by Adam (probably soon after leaving the garden) and bore a son named Cain whom she recognized as a gift from the Lord. The only assumption you can make is that at least nine months later she gave birth to another son, Abel. As they became young men, Cain became a farmer and Abel became a shepherd.
My mom suggested that the wording implies to her that Cain and Abel were twins. There is no reference to another conception as is the case with Seth.
Gen. 4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
Gen. 4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
Gen. 4:5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
Gen. 4:6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
Gen. 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
“in the process of time” – This allows for the birth of many brothers, sisters, etc. Seth was born when Adam was 130 years old (cf 5:3).
Now we are given the record of the presentation of the offerings to the Lord of each son. Cain brought some of his harvest, and Abel brought one of the firstborn from his sheep. The Lord accepted Abel’s offering and did not accept Cain’s. This made Cain angry. He patiently explains to Cain that if he makes the right offering, it will be accepted. (This implies that they had been given instruction regarding an acceptable offering before the Lord—either by their parents or by God Himself.) If he chooses not to present the right offering, then it would be because of sin/pride in his life (choosing to disobey).
Jon Courson made an interesting observation using a reference to Hebrew 11:4.
Hebrews 11:4 “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.”
“By faith Abel offered….” – Where does faith come from? By hearing. Hearing what? The Word of God.
Romans 10:17 “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
This helps confirm that Cain and Abel had been given instruction regarding what was an acceptable sacrifice to God.
Abel appears to be the innocent, trusting, obedient child; Cain, on the other hand, appears selfish, arrogant and disobedient.
“unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him” – I am not real sure what this means. It is sort of like the wording used to Eve in 3:16. It’s like sin (Satan) desires to rule in Cain’s life, but that would not happen if he was obedient. Then, Cain would be the ruler over sin and Satan would have no sway in his life.
Gen. 4:8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
Gen. 4:9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?
Gen. 4:10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.
Gen. 4:11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;
Gen. 4:12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
It would be interesting to know the conversation between Cain and Abel. The end result is that Cain killed his brother. Again, the question from God is rhetorical; He already knows the answer. Cain refuses to admit his sin. (Pride once given a foothold becomes stronger and stronger.) So God tells Cain that Abel’s blood has called out to him from the ground. Obviously, the blood can’t speak, but life is given by the Creator and should only be taken by the Creator. Later on in scripture we are told that the life is in the blood. God knows the circumstances in each one of our lives. Cain is now told the consequences of his sin. The ground will no longer respond to his work and effort with strength and to its great capacity. He is condemned to be a wanderer in sorrow throughout the land.
Wayne Walter’s article on 2d Sedrah at www.lampresource.com provided some further insight.
“The word blood in the Hebrew is plural in form. In slaying Abel, Cain also slew Abel’s never to be born descendants.”
Gen. 4:13 And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
Gen. 4:14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
Cain thinks this punishment is more than he can endure. He sums it up:
I am being driven from the land.
I will be hidden from God’s presence. (It was jealousy over God’s acceptance of Abel’s sacrifice that prompted the murder. He wanted that relationship with God—but evidently on his own terms.)
The apostle John answers the question of why Cain killed Abel in 1John.
1 John 3:11–12 “For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.”
I will be a restless wanderer.
Whoever finds me will kill me.
Boy, does this imply a lot that hasn’t been discussed yet. There are obviously other people on the earth besides Adam, Eve and Cain. Where did they come from? Obviously, they are brothers and sisters, etc. The sin nature has passed to all through Adam. This would prohibit the creation of other humans except through natural reproduction.
Chapter 5 talks about the years of Adam and his other sons and daughters. We don’t know when the incident with Cain and Abel occurred, but it had to be late enough in their lives for Cain to be worried about retaliation from his relatives. It seems obvious that families were large and women were having babies for a longer period of time.
Archibishop Ussher draws this conclusion in The Annals of the World: “When Cain, the firstborn of all mankind, murdered Abel, God gave Eve another son called Seth. Adam had now lived a hundred and thirty years (Gen. 5:3). From which it may be gathered that, between the death of Abel and the birth of Seth, there was no other son born to Eve. For then, he should have been recorded to have been given her instead of Seth. (Since man had been on the earth a hundred and twenty-eight years and Adam and Eve had other sons and daughters (Gen. 5:4), the number of people on the earth at the time of this murder could have been as many as several hundred thousand. Editor.)”
Genesis 5:3–4 “And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth: And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:”
Gen. 4:15 And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
God, as always with us, shows mercy and puts a protective mark on Cain. This mark was obviously unique and recognizable as God’s mark. It was so recognizable that anyone who saw it would know not to kill Cain or they would suffer the consequences from God.
Gen. 4:16 And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
The people of this time were used to God’s presence in their lives. They are not surprised when He talks to them, and they respond to Him easily. Eden had been described as east, and Cain went further east from there to the land of Nod.
Gen. 4:17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.
Gen. 4:18 And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.
As always with sin in our lives, it affects those we love the most. He didn’t leave alone; he had a wife who had to suffer with him. His example also impacted his children.
Gen. 4:19 And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.
Gen. 4:20 And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle.
Gen. 4:21 And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.
Gen. 4:22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.
Gen. 4:23 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.
Gen. 4:24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.
It’s interesting to note that Lamech—descended from Cain—is the first one mentioned with two wives. Sin begets sin. In v23 this same Lamech confesses to murder. Some commentators interpret this to mean that he killed in self-defense. I’m not sure I can buy that based on his arrogant response.
In v15 God declares that anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over. In v24 Lamech seems to think he can assert himself as equal to God by declaring vengeance on anyone who kills him 77 times over.
Most of our actions today seem to shout the same lie. We think we have more control over our life than God does. If we really believed that God was in control, we would make better choices. Many of our choices show we don’t fear His judgment.
I think it is interesting how the Holy Spirit tells us through the writer that Jubal’s descendants were musicians and Tubalcain’s descendants were skilled metal workers. We have been taught that man started out in caves with little expertise in anything. It seems God provided instruction along with a good intellect and inherent abilities from the very beginning. The first thing we see Adam doing is naming the animals. Once cursed, Adam had to work hard to grow food. Abel raised sheep. The descendants of Jabal lived in tents and raised cattle. This implies permanent structures were more common. So called “scientists” have really been successful in demeaning God’s creation.
Gen. 4:25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.
Gen. 4:26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.
Record is made of the birth of Seth and his son, Enos, to begin establishing the lineage of the Messiah, Jesus.
“then began men to call upon the name of the Lord” – This is an intriguing phrase. It seems that sin has grown to such an extent that men are seeing the need to ask for God’s intervention and help in their lives.
Guzik: “Some have called Genesis 4:26 the first revival, because it was the first indication of a spiritual resurgence after a clear decline.”
Further research has revealed a more negative interpretation.
From letusreason.org: “This can have two meanings to call upon the name of God, addressing Him by His proper name or it can even mean they began to call Him by other names, or His right name in a wrong manner.”
Clarke: “It must not be dissembled that many eminent men have contended that “huchal” which we translate began, should be rendered began profanely, or then profanation began, and from this time they date the origin of idolatry. Most of the Jewish doctors were of this opinion….”