What was the mark of Cain?

What was the mark mentioned in Genesis 4:15 that God put on Cain after Cain killed his brother Abel?


Answer:

After history's first murder, God put a curse on Cain: "When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth" (Genesis 4:12). Cain, instead of thanking God for not taking his life, complained that this punishment was "greater than I can bear!...[A]nd it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me" (Genesis 4:13-14). God in His mercy responded by placing a mark on Cain "lest anyone finding him should kill him" (Genesis 4:15).

Speculations abound about this mark, ranging from the practical to the absurd. Among the practical suggestions is the idea that God gave Cain a distinguishing characteristic that would warn people not to harm him. Others believe that the "mark" was a sign to Cain alone of a promise of God's protection and not a warning to others at all.

The Hebrew word for "mark" is 'owth. Both meanings are possible—a warning to anyone who would harm Cain, as well as a banner or sign from God to Cain. The Bible does not clearly distinguish how we are to understand 'owth in this context. It is clear that God did not exact the death penalty that Cain deserved for murdering his brother Abel. However, the Bible does not say when or how Cain died.

Some believe that the wording of Genesis 4:23-24 implies that Lamech eventually murdered him. If that is true, whatever the mark of Cain was, God removed His protection. Perhaps He limited it to keeping someone from murdering Cain in revenge for the murder of Abel—but did not prevent anyone from killing him for some other reason.

0 comments
Submitted on Oct 27, 2012, 12:07 am

bjwalker90

bjwalker90's picture

it could be an admittance of killing cane, or it could also be a statement made out of fear for killing another man just as cain did.



Submitted on Oct 27, 2012, 12:48 am

bjwalker90

bjwalker90's picture

i also did a little extra research into this idea and discovered that if lamech did infact kill his great (x6) grandfather, he is describing him as a "young man" (niv) even though he would have been at a ripe old age of around 5,769 years old at the time of the birth of lamech's first child.
i am not saying that it isn't possible given the extreme ages of people in the old testament, but that would put methusela WAY behind in the longest life catagory :)
the next question would be: if given a mark that ensures that ensures that no one would murder you, AND being banished from the presence of the LORD, would that also release you from death as well?



Submitted on Oct 27, 2012, 1:18 am

bjwalker90

bjwalker90's picture

sorry math was VERY VERY wrong... but he would have probalbly been older than methusela.



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