From the scriptures, we know that Enoch came east out of his homeland of Cainan to preach repentance unto the people. However, the local Sumerian people seem to have had their own records of what happened in those days. This Enoch is not to be confused with Enoch, son of Jared, to whom the authorship of the Book of Enoch is ascribed. Learn how your comment data is processed. In the Hebrew version we read that Cain lived in the land of Nod. Just as Eridu was the home of Enki, Enlil was chief deity at Nippur, Inanna (Ishtar) was supreme at Uruk, the sun god Utu was the patron deity of Sippar, and so on. Paul's Journey to Cyprus, Pamphylia & Galatia, Paul & Barnabas return to Antioch in Syria, Paul & Barnabas attend the Council of Jerusalem, Paul & Barnabas take the decision to Antioch, 10. As we explore ancient Christianity, we can better understand our own beliefs and practices and those of our fellow Christians today. He has also published the novels The God Conspiracy and Iron Dragons, and hes a contributing author to the nonfiction anthologies Gods Ghostbusters, Blood on the Altar, I Predict: What 12 Global Experts Believe You Will See by 2025, and When Once We Were a Nation. NASB 1995 Trust ye in theLordfor ever: for in theLord Jehovahis everlasting strength:For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust. 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.". Paul's Letters to Ephesus, Colossae & Philippi, 17. In Sumerian, it was known as 'Nun-ki' meaning 'the mighty . Here, archaeologists have discovered remains of houses built using the ubiquitous reeds found allover this swampy delta. Because of this, it is most likely Enoch did not travel to the land of Canaan. This page was last edited on 30 December 2022, at 03:47. The son of Jared, and father of Methuselah ( Genesis 5:21; Luke 3:37).His father was one hundred and sixty-two years old when he was born. "And Enoch beheldangelsdescending out of heaven, bearingtestimonyof the Father and Son; and the Holy Ghost fell on many, and they were caught up by the powers of heaven into Zion" (Moses 7:27). 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. //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. Either Cain built a city and named it after the mighty Enoch, or else Enoch built a city. 3378-3013. 4 I am the same which have taken the Zion of Enoch into mine own bosom. Cain also himself had a son, whose name was Enoch; and he built a city, which he called by the name of his son, Enoch. This city is the birthplace of paganism. Because of Enoch's preaching and leadership, the people of the City of Enoch were so righteous that "the Lord came anddweltwith his people" while they were on the earth (Moses 7:16). The differences in the story are at least partly due to the ebb and flow of power over the centuries. The Sumerian King List gives us the approximate year that Uruk became a recognized city as 4544 BC. 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. An archaeological dig at Eridu just after World War II discovered about a thousand bodies that were buried during the Ubaid. Adam, for example, "lived a total of 930 years Genesis 5:5), while Seth lived for 912 years (Genesis 5:8). The Ubaid civilization was typified by large unwalled villages, rectangular multi-room mud-brick houses, high quality pottery, and the first public temples. (Note: Were using dates that are generally accepted by a consensus of scholars so we dont get bogged down arguing about the timeline. ESV Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. We may add that this prepares our minds for the rapid advance of the Cainites in the arts of civilisation, and for the very remarkable step next taken by Cain. 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. Though he asked God "wherefore am I thy servant?" What a contrast is Cains city to the lowly manger. The Apostle John sets Cain and Christ out as the only two alternative humanities. Cain, it seems, made his way to these settlements for reasons of daily food, shelter, and finding a wife. The city of Uruk started sometime before 4000 BC. We are then told that "Zion, in process of time, was taken up into heaven" (Moses 7:21). Cains son Enoch would then be 264, relating to approximately 26 years old in our terms. . Therefore, to dwell in the land of Nod can mean to live a wandering life. The name of Enoch means "dedicated one.". (Cain) builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch (or Chanoch)." Genesis 4:17 Genesis then goes on to chronicle Cain's basic lineage down through Lamech's sons and daughter (Genesis 4:18-24). "So Cain went out from the Lord's presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden". Enoch is a person in the Book of Genesis. In that case the builder of the city was Enoch, and the city was named for his son, Iradhence, Eridu. Cain's departure from God started with distance from God and led to complete disconnection from God. His descendants, with Lamech and his two wives. Follow along then as I read, beginning at verse 17: "Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. But these early settlements were not a city and are still considered as part of the Ubaid period. Cain does not have the honor of having his own toledoth in the book of Genesis but we do read of his posterity up to six generations. Enki was the god of magic, craftsmanship, and wisdom. The Letter to the Jewish believers in Antioch, The General Letters: James, Jude, Peter & John, The Letter of James to the Jewish believers, The Letter of Jude to the Jewish believers, The 1st Letter of Peter to the Jewish believers, The 2nd Letter of Peter to the Jewish believers, 19. The last word, Enoch, might be a later addition. The Philosopher, the Lover & the Mourner, Introduction to the Old Testament Prophets, Amos denounces social injustice in Israel, Hosea laments the unfaithfulness of Israel, Micah decries social injustice in Israel and Judah, 39. All the homesgone. The city of Uruk was well on its feet by the time Tubal-Cain was working with metal. Enmerkar is said, on clay tablets, to try and restore the disrupted linguistic unity of the inhabited areas around Uruk. NASB Cain had relations with his wife . Other than a sarcastic, cynical retort, Am I my Brothers keeper?,Cain had no real response to God. , 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 earliest community settlements found in Uruk are what archaeologists call Uruk XVIII dating back to around 5000 BC. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. Of the Two Fathers and Leaders who Sprang from one Progenitor. To speculate a little further, we can apply a rudimentary translation to the name Alulim and come up with fourth man (A = prefix + lu = man + lim, a contraction of limmu = four). 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. According to The Pearl of Great Price: Verse by Verse Commentary, bosom in this instance means God's throne, His actually dwelling place. Cain would begin a new life, a life without the God who had condemned him. "Consequently, Cain's activity as a builder serves two purposes in Josephus. Thank you, Pastor Bill, for another profound meditation on the plight of Cain. Adam is slightly out of line as he was 230 before Seth was born, but that is because Adam had already fathered two boys, Cain and Abel. This happens a lot with prehistoric cultures. The eldest son of Cain ( Genesis 4:17), who built a city east of Eden in the land of Nod, and called it "after the name of his son Enoch."This is the first "city" mentioned in Scripture. He was depicted with two streams of water flowing from his shoulders that represented the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the main sources of fresh water in Mesopotamia. 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. And wherefore slew he him? It is worth notice that in the line of Seth, the name of the seventh and noblest of that race, is also Enoch, whose training was a close walk with God. 12 Who were separated from the earth, and were received unto myself-a city reserved . He had a son named Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech. To give you an idea of the incredible amount of time were dealing with, Enki ruled in Eridu for about. He built a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. In this vision, Enoch saw the rest of the world sink into wickednesses, with Satan holding "a greatchainin his hand, and it veiled the whole face of the earth withdarkness; and he looked up andlaughed, and hisangelsrejoiced" (Moses 7:26). According to Genesis, Cain was banished from the presence of the Lord and sent to dwell in the land of Nod, East of Eden. 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. This essay is not in any way a thorough review of life, culture, or religion in ancient Mesopotamia, but there is one more aspect of life in the ancient Near East to call to your attention. There must have been others and at least two of them were girls, because Cain and Seth both married and had children of their own. Ironically , Nod means Wanderings. Its something we usually only hear about from fringe pseudo-scholars who blame the phenomenon on extraterrestrials. 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. A place where human beings can escape from a sense of alienation and restlessness. Fortunately, the scriptures, especially the Pearl of Great Price, provide details about the divine destiny and history of the City of Enoch. 206 out of 206. An adult is usually able to avoid wearing their heart on their sleeve, but a child is not experienced enough to dampen the display of their feelings. Enoch had a son and named him Irad. To help you remember that these great events are coming, you will need: heavy paper, glue, scissors, a sharpened pencil, and string. Irad fathered Mehujael, Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. Cain's city was built . To "go off to the land of Nod" plays with the phrase to "nod off", meaning to go to sleep.[14][5]. Required fields are marked *. Using the website implies your agreement to the use of cookies. The first city mentioned in the Bible. The first city, Eridu, is on what used to be the shore of the Persian Gulf. Enki was the god of the sweet waters needed for life. Cain rebelled against God and created new gods with false stories. He could no longer farm the land, so he labored to build a city for his descendants. Again, this is speculative and it may be way off base so dont take it as gospel. Please read them with prayerful discernment and glean from them. to about 4000 B.C. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. 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. Either Cain built a city and named it after the mighty Enoch, or else Enoch built a city.[1]. Even if he settles down he can never truly settle down, for he is sentenced by God to go nowhere, and to find nothing, and to have perpetual insecurity. Cainan was "the land of promise" named after the great-great-grandson of Adam (Moses 6:17). It's unclear where the City of Enoch was located. The two made a sacrifice of their produce to God, who favored Abel's and not Cain's. Evidence of head shaping has been found at sites all over Iraq, southwestern Iran, eastern Turkey, the valleys of the Zagros mountains, and the western shores of the Persian Gulf, dated from 7500 B.C. Its understood that secular archaeologists and historians wont agree with much of what we believe about human history. Damien Mackey. The realization that they had disappointed their Creator and condemned their children and their childrens children until the end of time to lives apart from Yahweh must have been nearly unbearable. Everything was gone without a trace. 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. The lessons of this story go far beyond the surface moral caution against envy and murder. Thus, the building of a city becomes a lasting monument to Cain's ongoing evil activity. A city built by Cain after he left the presence of the Lord to the land of Nod (Genesis 4:16). He is described as a son of Cain, and father of Irad. He probably selected some fit spot for the acropolis, or citadel, to be the centre of his village; and as training is probably the earlier, and dedication the later meaning, Cain appears as a wise ruler, like Nimrod subsequently, rather than as a religious man.