The first city mentioned in the Bible. From Acts of the Apostles to John's Revelation, 12 Aug. 1 Corinthians 10:16-17,11:20-34, 2 Feb. Genesis 29:31-35,30:1-12,17-24. City of Cain. In chapter 7 of the book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith provides us with an extensive account of how Enoch built a city "called the City of Holiness, even ZION" (Moses 7:19). The Journey continues from Sinai to Moab, The Israelites defeat King Sihon and King Og, The Israelites defeat the kings of Midian, Canaan is divided among the twelve tribes, 28. Though he asked God "wherefore am I thy servant?" How to get right with God: Sacrifice or Faith? Over the years, the sandy island was slowly extended by building out over mats of berdi reeds laid at the waters edge, and the surrounding swamplands were gradually drained. Thats outside the scope of what were trying to do here.) All the buildingsgone. The city may therefore havebeencalled Eridu after Enochs son Irad (see Genesis 4:18) (see 4 on Map 35). Though, then, the wife may have had most to do with giving the name, yet we see in it a purpose that the child should be a trained and consecrated man; and Cain must have now put off those fierce and violent habits which had led him into so terrible a crime. According to The Pearl of Great Price: Verse by Verse Commentary, bosom in this instance means God's throne, His actually dwelling place. A possible description we have of where the City of Enoch might have been located is in Moses 7:17, which states that the people of Enoch "were blessed upon the mountains, and upon the high places, and did flourish," making it possible that the City of Enoch could have been built somewhere in a mountainous region. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. We Bible-believing Christians dont reject science when we interpret data through a biblical lens. Will the city give him the sense of permanence and security that he craves? 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. Adam, for example, "lived a total of 930 years Genesis 5:5), while Seth lived for 912 years (Genesis 5:8). He built a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. The Babylonian creation myth, the Enuma Elish, describes how everything on Earth came into being through the defeat of the chaos goddess Tiamat by Marduk, son of Enki/Ea, the chief god of Babylon. The older brother Cain became a farmer while the younger Abel became a shepherd. Adam seems to have spoken an early form of the Akkadian language. Of the Two Fathers and Leaders who Sprang from one Progenitor. Both Enmerkar and Enoch have the Sumerian prefix En, meaning ruler or lord. And Mesh-ki-ang-gasher, as we noted, seems to have a literary resemblance to Cain in its middle. The city of Uruk was the largest city in the world at its height. A new nation? Ki in the Sumerian language seems to mean earth, and we know that Cain worked the land or earth. Sumerian was replaced by the Semitic Akkadian language around 2000 BC. And she conceived and she bore Enoch.". Cain knew his wife. The story of Cain; his rejected worship, the murder of his brother, consequently ,his sentence to be a vagabond on earth, and the city he built, is one of the primary lessons of the entire Bible. So Cain departed from the presence of the Lord. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the ancestor of . Hes been a regular speaker at Bible prophecy conferences in recent years. Many of Lamech's ancestors were likely alive and also lived in the vicinity of Enoch. Analysis is what we do with that information after its collected. 17:11, "the harvest has fled" ["but see ," which some take in this place as the subst.]. The articles and information in this website are for education, motivation, encouragement and challenge. 2 Coon, C.S. Answer (1 of 7): Cain went into banishment in "the land of Fugitiveness to the east of Eden," taking with him his wife, an anonymous daughter or granddaughter of Adam and Eve. Why it is That, as Soon as Cain's Son Enoch Has Been Named, the We must first see why, in the enumeration of Cain's posterity, after Enoch, in whose name the city was built, has been first of all mentioned, the rest are at //christianbookshelf.org/augustine/city of god/chapter 21 why it is that.htm, What Cain's Reason was for Building a City So Early in the History Scripture may not be reckoned incredible when it relates that one man built a city at a man the father of all, and Cain himself, and his son Enoch, by whose //augustine/city of god/chapter 8 what cains reason was.htm, Cain's Family and their Inventions. Regardless of its origins, what is most interesting about Eridu is that besides being the oldest city in Mesopotamia, and possibly the world, is that was also the home of the oldest and largest ziggurat in Mesopotamia. And when Cain had traveled over many countries, he of all set boundaries about lands: he built a city together to it; and called that city Enoch, after the //josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 2 concerning the posterity.htm, The World was Created by God Nearly Six Thousand Years Ago situated outside our world altogether. Enoch (not to be confused with the son of Jared) is the eldest son of Cain and one of the kings of the city of Enoch, which was built by his father who put his name on his homage. Cain built a city and named it after his first born son, Enoch. The lessons of this story go far beyond the surface moral caution against envy and murder. The Ubaid civilization was typified by large unwalled villages, rectangular multi-room mud-brick houses, high quality pottery, and the first public temples. The Bible teaches us that Cain built a city, the name of the city was Enoch named after Cains son. It places Cain's city of refuge in contrast to later Palestinian cities of refuge established by God (Numbers 35:25-32). The last word, Enoch, might be a later addition. The earliest community settlements found in Uruk are what archaeologists call Uruk XVIII dating back to around 5000 BC. Simon & Schuster, 2017. During his ministry, Enoch also built a city for the people of God or the people who repented and were baptized. 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. And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bore Enoch: and he built a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. Something strange happened when Enoch was 65, from which time "He walked with God." Enoch was given a prophecy that as long as his firstborn son 'Methuselah' was alive, the judgement of the flood would be withheld, but as soon as he died, the flood would be sent forth. The winners of the Church History Museums 12th International Art Competition have been announced, and the artwork is breathtaking. -Genesis 4:17. (Note: Were using dates that are generally accepted by a consensus of scholars so we dont get bogged down arguing about the timeline. How to get right with God: By water or the Spirit? The names of their entire civilizations are accidents of discovery, coming from wherever the first archaeologist, bored shepherd, or greedy tomb raider found the first bit of evidence from people wed never heard of before. Interestingly, the Bible may support this account. //the expositors bible the epistle to the hebrews/chapter xi the faith of.htm, Enoch: Father of Methuselah--Transporting of, Enoch: Father of Methuselah--Transporting of Called Henoch. The first recorded use of the phrase to mean "sleep" comes from Jonathan Swift in his Complete Collection of Genteel and Ingenious Conversation (1737)[15] and Gulliver's Travels. archaeologists and sociologistshave known at least since the late 1940s that people throughout Mesopotamia, before they learned how to write, figured out how to turn their children into coneheads. Science is the process by which we collect and record information to test theories about the way things are. Therefore, to dwell in the land of Nod can mean to live a wandering life. In time, the city grew to house a holy shrine and a controversial temple the first, 1. See Why Did God Confuse The Languages? We also know that Enoch did not preach to the Canaanites, a band of people responsible for the annihilation of the people of Shum (Moses 7:7). Illustrations by Denis Freitas. His descendants, with Lamech and his two wives. Irad was the father of Mehujael. NASB 1995 As a rule, only the eldest son is mentioned in the genealogies, and Abel's birth is chronicled chiefly because of his tragical end, leading to the enactment of the merciful law which followed and to the sundering of the human race. (Ge 4:16, 17; FUGITIVENESS, LAND OF A land "east of Eden," in which the condemned murderer Cain took up residence. It appears, based on human remains dated to between about 10,000 B.C. But in old times the ideas of training and dedication were closely allied, because teaching generally took the form of initiation into sacred rites, and one so initiated was regarded as a consecrated person. East of Eden, away from Gods presence and the memory of the paradise,Cain would set about to make his own life.He would secure himself, and escape from his wonderings by building the worlds first city. For Cain begat Enoch, in whose name he built a city, an earthly one, which was not from home in this world, but rested satisfied with its temporal peace and ///christianbookshelf.org/augustine/city of god/chapter 17 of the two fathers.htm, Concerning the Posterity of Adam, and the Ten Generations from Him 2. This Enoch was the great-great-great-great-grandson of Adam. is of the sort that a parent would direct to a son or daughter who was sulking. We know this because Enoch received many visions from God and "walked with him" (D&C 107:49) and talked with Him "face to face" (Moses 7:4). PHONE: 435-586-1119 FAX: None Office Hours: Monday - Thursday 9 am - 4:30 pm., Friday 9 am - 1 pm. In Sumerian, it wasknown asNun-ki meaning the mighty city (a name later transferred to the mighty city of Babylon). Answer:Adamthe man in the gardentook on the name of men and represented men in the scenario we see in the garden of Eden. One of Adam's daughters apparently clave unto her brother, in spite of the solemn decree of banishment passed upon him, probably, by his father, and followed him in his wanderings as his wife, and bare him a son, whom they called "Enoch." 2. 125126. She became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. Secondly, we can see the childhood/adolescent phase in Cains reply to Yahweh when he said, Am I my brothers keeper? indicating that his brother had a keeper. A scribe from Lagash appears to ridicule the long-livers by pointing out they were children in diapers for a long time, and not only were they slow to grow up they were also dull-witted, and needed someone to watch over them, usually the mother. It was built by Adam's son Cain, east of Eden in the land of Nod. To go much deeper with author and Biblical History Researcher Derek Gilbert read his recent book The Great Inception. "Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, east of Eden. 3870. 3 "And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of . But when the Divine sentence was passed, basically divorcing Cain from the earth for life, cursing any attempts at farming, and making him a homeless exile, Cain responded with passionate pleading. According to Genesis 4:16: And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. Whoever indeed forsakes God, who abandons understanding, whose thinking is continually 'in the land of Nod' dwells there today also, that is, that person remains in wicked unsettlement of heart and in commotion of mind.". It is impossible to fix more definitely the locality of this first of cities, recorded, as Delitzsch says (Genesis, in the place cited. When Cain was banished from the garden he was tilling, he fled to the land of Nod (Genesis 4:16 KJV). Hmm. He is described as a son of Cain, and father of Irad. Either Cain built a city and named it after the mighty Enoch, or else Enoch built a city.[1]. The World of the Old Testament Journeys, 23.The Journeys of Adam, Enoch, Noah & Abraham, Cain is sent on a journey to the east of Eden, 24. For thousands of years, people have wondered: Where did it go? 18 And unto Enoch was born Irad: . 3378-3013. Of the 206 sets of remains the archaeologists exhumed, all of the crania had been deformed in one fashion or another.2. Moses 6-7. You'll find heaps of discussion about where Cain found his wife on here, in a bunch of different questions, and in Creationists site. This Enoch is not to be confused with Enoch, son of Jared, to whom the authorship of the Book of Enoch is ascribed. Scholarsarchaeologists and sociologistshave known at least since the late 1940s that people throughout Mesopotamia, before they learned how to write, figured out how to turn their children into coneheads. Cain built a city. It's unclear where the City of Enoch was located. Enki . Agriculture, cities, writing, trade, science, and organized religion all developed in a broad arc that stretched from Egypt through the Levant and down into Mesopotamia. Why is your face downcast?" God bless you and your family this Christmas as we remember the birth of the King of Kings. Shusterman, Neal. Uruk is a strong contender for the city that Cain built. Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad became the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael became the father of Methushael, and Methushael became the father of Lamech. [8] Early commentators treated it as the opposite of Eden (worse still than the land of exile for the rest of humanity). The Golden Age of Israel under King Solomon, Solomon builds a palace and furnishes the Temple, The Ark of the Covenant is installed in the Temple, Solomon builds a network of chariot cities, 32. Genesis 11:4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. She conceived, and gave birth to Enoch. The city of Uruk was the largest city in the world at its height. Adam had many children, so marriage was not a problem as mutations only appeared in the time of Leviticus 18:6 (2500 year later) where God prohibited inter-family relations. At the time of Abels murder Cain appears to have emerged from the childhood stage but was not yet able to father children. Isaiah predicts the fall of Israel & Judah, Prophecies written before the fall of Jerusalem, Isaiah reassures King Ahaz of God's support, Troubled times and a glorious future kingdom, 40. [9], Augustine described unconverted Jews as dwellers in the land of Nod, which he defined as commotion and "carnal disquietude". Question: I am curious about the metaphysics of: land of Nod, Cain's wife, and the Son/City of Enoch. Cain's city was built . Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. [1] Although Moses did not cite the name of Cain's wife, his original readers may have assumed that she was one of Adam's "other daughters" ( Gen 5:4 ). She conceived, and gave birth to Enoch. From the Kingdom of Israel to the Exile, 5. Now this name, in Hebrew Chanoch, is of the utmost importance in estimating Cain's character. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. Cain rebelled against God and created new gods with false stories. Nimrod wanted to ascend to the holy city and seize it. In time, the city grew to house a holy shrine and a controversial temple the first Tower of Babylon (see Genesis 11:1-9). On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. In this city the people were of "one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them." (Moses 7:18-31.) In Eridu, Alulim became king; he ruled for 28,800 years.1. For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Eve said, God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him (Gen 4:25). After Cain arrived in the Land of Nod, to which he was evicted by the Lord as his punishment for murdering his brother Abel, his wife became pregnant and bore Cain's first child, whom he named Enoch. Because of this, it is most likely Enoch did not travel to the land of Canaan. The differences in the story are at least partly due to the ebb and flow of power over the centuries. He was 68 (approx), and in a regular lifespan that would be old, but for Cain it meant that he was probably emerging out of childhood. When I reflect on how I found the gospel, I realize that my familys experiences informed two important pieces of my testimony. Gen 4:17-25 Nearly a thousand years of ancestral history passes by as the Biblical narrative moves on to Enoch (Hebrew, meaning founder), a descendent of Cain who founds the first city in Mesopotamia in c.4250BC, located at the mouth of the River Euphrates in Shinar (historical Sumer in modern-day southern Iraq) (see4 on Map 35). And wherefore slew he him? He had a son named Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech. It will immeasurably enrich your understanding of such doctrines as the nature of God, pre-mortal life, the Creation, the Fall, the Atonement, the establishment of Zion, the Last Days, and the Second Coming. After the birth of Enoch, the Hebrew text of Genesis 4:17 is unclear. Imagine a 365-year-old citydisappeared. This derivation, coincidentally or not, connects with the English pun on "nod". "Some authors carried the groaning and shaking interpretation over to Gen 4:16 when they commented on Cain's dwelling place. "Nod" () is the Hebrew root of the verb "to wander" (). before Marduk replaced Enlil at the head of the Mesopotamian pantheon, an event linked to Babylons emergence as the regions dominant power in the 18thcentury B.C. Enoch is not the writer of the "Book of Enoch." This is an uninspired, apocryphal book written many centuries later, probably sometime during the second and first centuries B.C.E. In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Life after Eden must have been a crushing disappointment for early humans, especially the First Couple. Crop irrigation developed by about 5000 B.C., so cereals and grains could grow in the dry climate that again dominated the region. Which city was that and what's the background in history? Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. But that didn't mean that those who weren't in the city at the time were out of luck. | GotQuestions.org, Who was Methuselah in the Bible? This city is the birthplace of paganism. Image. The concept of Cain's Enoch corresponding to Egypt, could semi-highlight a common motif of sibling struggle; by the sons of Seth (Israelites) in a land that allegedly once belonged to the sons of . And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.". Enoch (dedicated).The eldest son of Cain, (Genesis 4:17) who called after his name the city which he built. Irad fathered Mehujael, Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. It was built on an island of slightly higher land situated among the low-lying marshlands at the mouth of the River Euphrates near Basra in modern-day Iraq. He writes, "The City of Enoch, we have seen, is admitted by all the leading Biblical experts to be identical with the City Unug or Unuk and latterly Uruk, of the Sumerians, and identical with "Erech" of the later Hebrew Old Testament texts.". If we place a "k" at the end of E-anna we see E-annak which looks like "Enoch", a point made by R.J. Fischer author of "Historical Genesis. It appears, based on human remains dated to between about 10,000 B.C. And he builded a city, and he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. To "go off to the land of Nod" plays with the phrase to "nod off", meaning to go to sleep.[14][5]. Thats not what the people who lived in it called it, of course; we dont know what they called themselves because they never invented writing. The Divided Kingdom & Journey into Exile, Jezebel kills the prophets & Elijah escapes, Elijah organises the opposition to King Ahab, Jehu races to Jezreel to depose King Joram, King Joash repairs the Temple in Jerusalem, Jeroboam II restores the boundaries of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria invades Israel, Israel falls & the exiles are led to Assyria, King Hezekiah of Judah rebels against Assyria, Isaiah prophesies the destruction of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invades Judah, Jerusalem falls and the exile in Babylon begins, Biblical sources relating to Judah in exile, The later years of exile & the return to Judah, The completion of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, A third group of exiles returns with Ezra, A fourth group of exiles returns with Nehemiah, Mordecai uncovers a plot to kill the king, The origin of the Jewish festival of Purim, 37. 4:1; Gen. 4:12, 14; Ps.56:9; to flee, Ps. In that case the builder of the city was Enoch, and the city was named for his son, Iradhence, Eridu. Forget about the burden of living under the curse. 18 Irad was born to Enoch. Other than a sarcastic, cynical retort, Am I my Brothers keeper?,Cain had no real response to God. Malachi & Joel await the Day of the LORD, 48. As a leader and prophet of the people of God, Enoch met personally with the Lord on many occasions throughout his 365-year ministry. civilization, its not by stumbling across the shell of a Wawa or a Piggly Wiggly. 2 Samuel 18:18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the king's dale: for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own name: and it is called unto this day, Absalom's place. His purpose was much the same as that of the builders of the Tower of Babel, who wanted to keep mankind together that they might form a powerful community. Cain could be at the bottom of the sea, for all we know. The Doctrine and Covenants, Section 38:4. And Cain went out from the presence of theLord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. Methuselah the oldest member of the family recorded here lived for 969 years (Genesis 5:27). 19 Lamech took two wives, the first named Adah and the second Zillah. Although the Pearl of Great Price is relatively short, its scope is remarkably broad, recording revelations to prophets in several dispensations from Abraham and Moses to Joseph Smith. The city of Uruk was well on its feet by the time Tubal-Cain was working with metal. Immediately after, this verse tells us that even Cain's mild punishment . Not a few, and not just the elites. However, the local Sumerian people seem to have had their own records of what happened in those days. Please read them with prayerful discernment and glean from them. In Sumerian, it was known as 'Nun-ki' meaning 'the mighty . Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch. //marshall/the wonder book of bible stories/the story of adam and.htm, The Promise. How to Start an APPI Table of Champions Chapter, Life after Eden must have been a crushing disappointment for early humans, especially the First Couple. Modern revelation teaches that Enoch "saw the Lord, and he walked with him, and was before his face continually." (D&C 107:49.) document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. We are living in the final stages of Cains grand experiment, for the Bible tells us that the real story of human development is the contrast and strivings of two cities, the doomed city of man and the ultimately triumphant city of God! While talking to the Lord, Enoch expressed his full confidence in Zion, saying, "SurelyZionshall dwell in safety forever" (Moses 7:20). (Isaiah 26:1-5), Your email address will not be published. Cain is brought up again, by Jesus and the Apostles. [6][7], Nod is said to be outside of the presence or face of God. Gen 4:17. . Others interpreted Nod as dark or even undergroundaway from the face of God. Indeed, as you say, his city would have represented the humanistic world of our times, where the behaviours, practices and attitudes of verses 29-32 abound. Finally Jude warns of those false converts and will worshippers who have gone in the way of Cain. (See? That's what we read about in the second chapter of Genesis. Noah obeyed a Divine command when he built an ark Enoch's contemplative life came to a fitting end in a prepared for them a settled abode in the eternal city. Genesis 4:17. So it is possible the City of Enoch could have been around these biblical regions. He is described as a son of Cain, and father of Irad. Altogether, Enoch lived a total of . 4 I am the same which have taken the Zion of Enoch into mine own bosom. What a contrast is Cains city to the lowly manger. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. Daniel 4:30 The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? However, "mountains" and "high places" could also mean sanctuaries or places of worship, not necessarily the location for a city. Enoch. Answer. They have also uncovered fragments of bitumen-covered reed boats used by these early people (similar to those still used by the Marsh Arabs of southern Iraq). Why Cain Built A CityGenesis 4 pt 8. This website uses cookies to monitor usage (see Privacy Statement in drop-down box under 'Contact Us'). ), used of a reed shaken by the wind, 1Ki.14:15; hence to wander, to be a fugitive, Jer. This was the temple of one of the most important gods of the ancient Near East. They are written by men and women in ministry of many backgrounds and express their opinions, experiences and testimonies which are not necessarily that of All Pro Pastors ministry. When the people of God were attacked, their enemies fled to "a land out of the depth of the sea, and so great was the fear of the enemies of the people of God, that they fled and stood afar off and went upon the land which came up out of the depth of the sea" (Moses 7:14), which could have been anisland or a peninsula in the general region of the City of Enoch. It provides deep and powerful insights into crucial Restoration doctrines, particularly doctrines relating to the plan of salvation. The first city in Mesopotamia, and therefore the oldest city in the world, appeared around 5400 B.C. to about 4000 B.C. Using the website implies your agreement to the use of cookies. )[4], A Greek version of Nod written as appearing in the Onomastica Vaticana possibly derives from the plural , which relates to resting and sleeping. So let us see the we refuse not Him that speaks, as His glorious, powerful voice shakes both heaven and earth, and let is have grace, whereby we might serve Him with reverence and godly fear, because our God is a consuming fire. And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his sonEnoch. The first city known by archaeologists to exist in Mesopotamia was Eridu.