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Enoch (son of Cain)

Enoch

A son of Cain, after whom Cain named the first city mentioned in Genesis.

Accounts of this vary across texts and traditions. This entry primarily follows Hebrew Bible (Genesis), with other tellings (Masoretic Text (Hebrew Bible), Septuagint (Greek translation), Jewish and Christian rabbinic and patristic tradition) noted where relevant.

Relationships

Parents
Cain
Children
Irad

Introduction

Enoch is a son of Cain, notable as the namesake of the first city mentioned in the Bible, which Cain is recorded as building and naming after him.

Note: this Enoch, of Cain's line, is a different figure from the Enoch of Seth's line, son of Jared, who "walked with God" and was taken without dying; the two share a name but are distinct individuals.

Family

The first city

Genesis 4:17 records that Cain, after being cursed to wander, built a city and named it after his son Enoch, the first city mentioned in the biblical text, though its precise location is not given.

In the Cainite genealogy

Enoch is the father of Irad, continuing the genealogical line of Cain given in Genesis 4, distinct in form and much shorter than the parallel Sethite genealogy in Genesis 5, down to Lamech and his children.

Sources

  1. Genesis 4:17-18 (primary text) — https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+4%3A17-18&version=NRSVUE

This entry is independently written for myVamsam using the sources listed above. Where traditions differ, this entry identifies the relevant tradition rather than presenting one account as universally established fact.