Where Did Cain Get His Wife?

A11

The account of Cain in Genesis raises two big questions: what was the “mark” that God placed on him, and where did his wife come from? These mysteries have led to centuries of speculation, but the Bible provides enough context for us to understand the essentials.

Cain and His Mark

After Cain killed Abel, God judged him and declared that he would be a restless wanderer, unable to produce crops from the ground (Genesis 4:11–12). Fearing for his life, Cain cried out that others would try to kill him. God responded with mercy, placing a mark on Cain to protect him from harm, promising sevenfold vengeance on anyone who took his life (Genesis 4:13–15).

The Hebrew word used for “mark” (ʾôth) simply means a sign or token. The exact nature of this mark is unknown, but it was evidently visible enough to warn others not to attack Cain. Importantly, Scripture never connects this mark with skin color—a false interpretation that was later twisted to promote racism and slavery. The judgment was personal to Cain and not passed down to his descendants.

Cain and His Wife

Another common question is: if Adam and Eve had only two sons at that point, where did Cain’s wife come from? Some suggest there were pre-Adamic people, but this idea contradicts the Bible. Adam is called the first man (Genesis 2:7; 1 Corinthians 15:45), and Eve is described as “the mother of all living” (Genesis 3:20). Humanity descends from them, not from another race.

The answer comes in Genesis 5:4, which records that Adam and Eve had “other sons and daughters.” Ancient Jewish tradition even suggested dozens of children. Given their long lifespans and God’s blessing of multiplication, it’s likely that a large population already existed when Cain killed Abel. Cain’s wife would have been one of his sisters or close relatives.

Was It Incest?

By today’s standards, Cain marrying his sister sounds like incest. But early in human history this was not a sin. The laws against close intermarriage were given much later in the Law of Moses (Leviticus 18). Before that, such unions were necessary to populate the earth and were not harmful because the human gene pool was much purer. In fact, Abraham himself married his half-sister without condemnation.

Over time, however, genetic mutations increased, and God eventually forbade marriages between close relatives to protect future generations. In Cain’s day, though, marrying within his family line was normal, acceptable, and part of God’s plan for filling the earth.