BIBLICAL CHRONOLOGY
Generation 02: Hebrew years 120 to 240 (3640-3520 BCE)
Introduction
In the previous generation, we saw that Cain fled from his parents and went East from Eden. So, Cain settled down in what was Mesopotamia.
Cain and Sumer
There is no detailed chronology of Cain’s descendants in the Biblical text, as if they were not people worthy of mention. They mixed with the early humans (those created before Adam as in the narrative of Genesis 1) and took wives from them. We only learn that, after Cain settled down, his descendance built the first cities which was the next step of human evolution after early sedentarism:
And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. He became a city builder, and he named the city after his son Enoch. (Genesis 4:17)
Archaeology shows that one of the earliest cities in the world was Uruk, which is in modern-day Iraq. Uruk may be the origin of the name Iraq: the ruins of this ancient city are located at the following coordinates on Google Earth: 31°19'30" N 45°38'10" E.
In the oldest Babylonian language, Sumerian, Uruk was known as Unug, which is the Biblical name of Enoch, considering that the semitic languages do not put emphasis on vowels. One of the greatest builders of the city was historically known as Enmerkar and he is commonly associated with Biblical king Nimrod. Uruk became the largest city of these times and was later ruled around 2700 BCE by the semi-mythical king called Gilgamesh. His name is associated with an ancient tablet called “the Epic of Gilgamesh” with Biblical parallels. If interested in this topic, click here.
Sumer was a region located between the two big rivers in Southern Mesopotamia: the Euphrates and the Tigris. It was a fertile region that attracted human settlements and saw other city-states being built over time.
Seth
Much later, Eve conceived again and bore another son, Seth, born in Hebrew year 130. It is said that, after the so-called "original sin" and especially after the murder of Abel by his own brother Cain, Adam started to have doubts about the future of humanity and refrained from having any intercourse with his wife. He became pious. Only after 130 years, he understood that the Creation must continue, and he fathered Seth in his own likeness, after his image (Genesis 5:3). This is nearly the same expression used by the text when God created Adam, so it shows that Seth had the same spirit (Neshama) as Adam. Except that the expression for the creation of Adam is slightly different: in our image, after our likeness (Genesis 1:26). But it changed in the next verse: in His own image (Genesis 1:27).
In year 235, before the end of the second (present) generation in year 240, Seth also had a son he named Enosh, a name which is close enough to Cain’s son, Enoch. Both Enosh and Enoch lived in the same period and probably influenced one another because. In their days, started idolatry:
And as for Seth, he too had a son; he called him Enosh; at that time, it was common to call the name of God. (Genesis 4:26)
Whereas God decided to make man in His image (Genesis 1:26), men decided to make gods in their image (Genesis 4:26) because the Biblical text alludes that mankind started to call [objects] by the name of God. The God of the Creation, the One that Adam and Eve feared most, was now being forgotten by mankind who was not acquainted with Him. The parallel of the number 26 for these two verses is striking, because 26 is known to be the numerical value of God's 4-letter name (YHVH= 10+5+6+5= 26). For more information about Jewish symbolism in the numbers, click here.
This generation, called the generation of Enosh, which was first to introduce idolatry in mankind, was used as a reference of bad human behavior in later generations:
R. Hiyya b. Abba said in R. Johanan's name: He who observes the Sabbath according to its laws, even if he practices idolatry like the generation of Enosh, is forgiven. (Talmud, Shabbat, 118b)
After barely two generations of mankind, the created world was turning away from the true Creator and made mockery of Him by worshipping man-made idols.
To return to the list of Seder Olam Revisited articles, per "generation", click here.
Albert Benhamou
Private Tour Guide in Israel
Adar 5785 - March 2025