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The Forgotten Books of Eden · 95 of 293

Second Adam and Eve: Chapter XIII

“Among the children of Cain there was much robbery, murder and sin.”

1.IN those days lived Lamech the blind, who was of the sons of Cain. He had a son whose name was Atun, and they two had much cattle.

2.But Lamech was in the habit of sending them to feed with a young shepherd, who tended them; and who, when coming home in the evening wept before his grandfather, and before his father Atun and his mother Hazina, and said to them, “As for me, I cannot feed those cattle alone, lest one rob me of some of them, or kill me for the sake of them.” For among the children of Cain, there was much robbery, murder, and sin.

3.Then Lamech pitied him, and he said, “Truly, he when alone, might be overpowered by the men of this place.”

4.So Lamech arose, took a bow he had kept ever since he was a youth, ere he became blind, and he took large arrows, and smooth stones, and a sling which he had, and went to the field with the young shepherd, and placed himself behind the cattle; while the young shepherd watched the cattle. Thus did Lamech many days.

5.Meanwhile Cain, ever since God had cast him off, and had cursed him with trembling and terror, could neither settle nor find rest in any one place; but wandered from place to place.

6.In his wanderings he came to Lamech’s wives, and asked them about him. They said to him, “He is in the field with the cattle.”

7.Then Cain went to look for him; and as he came into the field, the young shepherd heard the noise he made, and the cattle herding together from before him.

8.Then said he to Lamech, “O my lord, is that a wild beast or a robber?”

9.And Lamech said to him, “Make me understand which way he looks, when he comes up.”

10.Then Lamech bent his bow, placed an arrow on it, and fitted a stone in the sling, and when Cain came out from the open country, the shepherd said to Lamech, “Shoot, behold, he is coming.”

11.Then Lamech shot at Cain with his arrow and hit him in his side. And Lamech struck him with a stone from his sling, that fell upon his face, and knocked out both his eyes; then Cain fell at once and died.

12.Then Lamech and the young shepherd came up to him, and found him lying on the ground. And the young shepherd said to him, “It is Cain our grandfather, whom thou hast killed, O my lord!”

13.Then was Lamech sorry for it, and from the bitterness of his regret, he clapped his hands together, and struck with his flat palm the head of the youth, who fell as if dead; but Lamech thought it was a feint; so he took up a stone and smote him, and smashed his head until he died.

Asked of Guide

Why does Lamech kill Cain and then the young shepherd in this chapter?

Lamech shoots Cain because he mistakes Cain for a robber or wild beast threatening the cattle; he acts after the young shepherd warns him of an approaching figure and asks how the man looks. The text says Lamech “bent his bow” and then the arrow and stone strike Cain, who falls and dies, so Lamech’s motive is protecting the herd and his household amid lawless violence among Cain’s descendants.

When Lamech realizes his mistake he feels bitter regret and panics, then lashes out at the young shepherd, striking him first with his hands and then with a stone until the youth dies. The chapter frames both killings as tragic consequences of fear, disorder, and the curse on Cain’s line, echoing themes of violence and exile found elsewhere in Genesis.

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