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Sacrifices of Cain and Abel. Fresco from Chiesa di San Lorenzo in Palatio ad Sancta Sanctorum, Rome.

Dwelling in the Land of Nod – Was it a Real City?

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The Land of Nod is not just a place we go to catch a few winks but was mentioned in Genesis as the place where Cain, the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, was cast away after murdering his brother Abel. Although the Land of Nod is mentioned only once, it has intrigued Biblical scholars for centuries – was it a real place, and if so, where was it?

The Story of Cain and Abel

The story of Cain and Abel is found in Genesis 4:1-15. In brief, Cain and Abel were the sons of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman created by God. The older brother Cain became a farmer while the younger Abel became a shepherd. The two made a sacrifice of their produce to God, who favored Abel’s and not Cain’s. Filled with jealously Cain killed his brother and as a consequence, he was cursed by God to be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth. Genesis 4:16 states, “And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the Land of Nod, on the east of Eden.”

Cain and Abel. (Jane023 / Public Domain)

Cain and Abel. (Jane023 / Public Domain)

Where is the Land of Nod?

‘Nod’ is a Hebrew word that may be translated to mean ‘to wander’ and the only piece of information provided by Genesis about this place is its relative location to the Garden of Eden, i.e. to its east. Some Biblical scholars believe that Nod is an actual place and have tried to establish its location. This endeavor, needless to say, is dependent on the location of the Garden of Eden which is itself a highly disputed topic. It is described in the Book of Genesis as the source of four tributaries and many believe it was where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers run into the sea.

There are many speculations about where the land of Nod may be, including Arabia, India, and even as far away as China. Unsurprisingly, there is no consensus as to the exact location of the Land of Nod.

Cain fleeing before Jehovah's Curse. (BetacommandBot / Public Domain)

Cain fleeing before Jehovah's Curse. (BetacommandBot / Public Domain)

On the other side of the debate is the argument that the Land of Nod is not an actual place, but a symbolic or figurative one. Some are of the opinion that the Land of Nod refers to any area where Cain’s wandering took him. Others suggest that this Biblical Land of Nod represents a place of exile, grief, and mourning. Yet others have argued that this place symbolized the growing distance between God and humanity. As Adam and Eve were living in the Garden of Eden, they were closer to God than their son Cain, who was forced to wander further east of this paradise.

The Garden of Eden. (FRAYK / Public Domain)

The Garden of Eden. (FRAYK / Public Domain)

Cain’s Wife and Child

The next verse of the chapter (Genesis 4:17) introduces the character of Cain’s wife, “And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he built a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch”, whose identity has attracted the attention of Biblical scholars. Adherents of the Abrahamic faiths believe that all human beings are descended from Adam and Eve. In Genesis, however, Adam and Eve are said to have had three children – Cain, Abel, and Seth.

Depiction of Cain establishing the city of Enoch. (Ldorfman / Public Domain)

Depiction of Cain establishing the city of Enoch. (Ldorfman / Public Domain)

This is a problem for those who subscribe to a literal interpretation of the story of creation in Genesis. The conventional way of solving this problem is that Adam and Eve had many other children, though their names are not mentioned, and that Cain married one of his sisters. It has been argued that marriages between siblings was allowed and was only forbidden during the time of Moses. Nevertheless, the problem with this is that their children are at a risk of being born with abnormalities, as a result of inbreeding. To address this issue, it has been argued that Adam and Eve, being created ‘perfect’, had genes that were ‘perfect’, and that their closest descendants inherited these ‘perfect’ genes. Moreover, ‘mistakes’ entered the human genetic makeup over time, which meant that inbred children risk being born with abnormalities.

Who Was Cain’s Wife?

Others have suggested that Cain met his wife in the Land of Nod, which would imply that she was not a daughter of Adam and Eve. Proponents of a literal interpretation of Genesis are quick to point out that Genesis 4:17 merely states that “Cain knew his wife”, i.e. had sexual intercourse with his wife, in the Land of Nod and not that he met her there. The same argument, however, may be used against this claim, as it is neither stated that Cain was married before his exile. In any case, it has been suggested that the question may be looked at from a different angle, i.e. from the way group identities are created. Those ‘outside’ the group are often regarded to be less important and perhaps even less human than those ‘inside’. This would explain the position of the author of Genesis, in which focus is placed on Adam, Eve, and their descendants, whereas those who do not belong to this family, even if they existed, did not matter and may be glossed over.

Top image: Sacrifices of Cain and Abel. Fresco from Chiesa di San Lorenzo in Palatio ad Sancta Sanctorum, Rome. Source: Renáta Sedmáková / Adobe.

By Wu Mingren

References

Biblical Archaeology Society Staff, 2018. Who Was the Wife of Cain?. [Online] Available at: https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/hebrew-bible/who-was-the-wife-of-cain/
Fairchild, M., 2017. Where Did Cain Find His Wife?. [Online] Available at: https://www.thoughtco.com/where-did-cain-find-his-wife-4126647
Got Questions Ministries, 2019. What is the land of Nod in the Bible? Where was it?. [Online] Available at: https://www.compellingtruth.org/land-of-Nod.html
Ham, K., 1993. Cain's Wife: It Really Does Matter!. [Online] Available at: https://www.icr.org/article/cains-wife-it-really-does-matter
Kalisch, M. M., 2019. The Land of Nod. [Online] Available at: https://biblehub.com/sermons/auth/kalisch/the_land_of_nod.htm
Lyons, E., 2005. The Land of Nod. [Online] Available at: http://apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=6&article=696
The Bible: Standard King James Version, 2014. [Online] Available at: http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/

 

Comments

Hi All,

This is so exciting I love reading articles pertaining to The Bible. I know the World's not like me in terms of how much I both view and believe in The Book of Faith, The Bible and now that I've said that I'll move on with the Topic at hand.

There was a program sponsored by A&E it was called Mysteries of The Bible nowadays other Exploring T.V. stations do Bible Secrets.

I'm still addressing The Subject was The Land of Nod a real place but, first I'll share an example. I was born in Oakland, CA. It wasn't till I got older when I found out there were other places within The United States where an Oakland, City is located.

I read the biography of the African American play write August Wilson and learned of a Oakland, Pittsburgh where he grew up.

Think of this Pittsburgh is where in The United States?

Are how about this an Oakland, City within the State of
New Jersey? A Oakland, City in Portland, Oregon?

Clearly these Cities of Oakland in The United States isn't the only example that I have to share so how about Salem, Massachusetts an Salem, North Carolina?

My point The United States is a big mass of land which seems to stretch on and on its like there's no end to The United States; I think the factor isn't just The Land of Nod Cain lived in exile because He murdered his brother Abel, it's The City he founded after the birth of his first born Son Enoch.

I think that Nod was a whole other mass of land where Cain eventually came to live after his vagabond wanderings he was forced to endure because of the murder of his brother.

There's something else I think people miss with this testimony from Genesis why did God send Cain away in exile and become a vagabond to begin with?

Because Cain had just murdered his own brother and so what was too stop him from Murdering his Parents as well?

Where did Cain's wife come from Book of Jubilees answered that question The Lesser Genesis as its known as She was Cain & Abels sister.

The factor is where The Bible is concern Adam and Eve were the only people on Earth Cain and Abel there Sister were born after the Fall of People (Adam in Hebrew means PEOPLE), in Eden.

After, Sin came into the World and changed everything, (I even think Climate Change began in that moment in Eden), what was it that People no longer had access too?

The Tree of Life.

In the detailed description in Genesis, Adam was Created in the image and likeness of God but then it changes too an Adam had a son in the image and likeness of Adam.

Genesis doesn't share how long first Adam then Eve lived on Earth but, it only took one decision, one Time; too change Everything, but, I do believe that since Adam and Eve; ate of the Tree of Life, an The other variety of fruits and vegetables in Eden those genetic traits did get passed on biologically into Cain & His Wife.

Life begins to change for the worse by the Time of Jared who fathered Enoch, who in turn was the Father of Methuselah, an Methuselah becomes father to Lamech, an grandfather too Noah the 10th generation from Adam.

Going back to the question of Nod being real then yes I do believe a land called Nod did in fact exist an might have been lost during The Great Flood.

No I will not stop believing in God and The Bible, that I continually see as His Word.

One last thing I remember when I first heard of the brother's killing brother's in the Egyptian Stories an evil brother named Seth who murdered his brother now recall thinking oh know they were confused it wasn't Seth because Seth was born after Abels murder and Cain's subsequent exile imposed upon him by God.

Thanks to Enoch that's no longer how I see this particular brother story but, that is a conversation for another Time.

Time for me to go so until next time Everyone, Goodbye!

Walter Mattfeld's picture

Sir Clerke noted that Adam and Eve, are the creations of God in the Bible. Others have noted that they are recasts of Enkidu and Shamhat in the Epic of Gilgamesh, as noted circa 1898 by Professor Morris Jastrow Junior of the Department of Semitic Languages at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia in a scholarly journal of that time. For his article just google “Ukhat, Eabani, Sadu, Morris Jastrow,” and his article will appear on Google. In 1898 the Epic of Gilgamesh was called the Epic of Izdubar, Enkidu was called Eabani, and Shamhat was called Ukhat. I have written a book on all this, available on the internet at Amazon.com from various book sellers, in 2010, titled _The Garden of Eden Myth: Its Pre-biblical Origin in Mesopotamian Myths_, illustrated with maps and pictures of the pre-biblical characters who were recast as God, Adam, Eve, the Cherubim, as well as Eden’s Serpent. I understand that the Sumerian Edin’s gods and scenarios were recast in Genesis as Eden’s fictional characters, God, Adam, Eve, and the Serpent, the Cherubim.

Walter R. Mattfeld

There were two creations of man. The first creation was man and woman. The second was the Adam creation and from Adam came Eve. Open your eyes.

Sir Clerke

Walter Mattfeld's picture

I wish to point out that Nod is not a city, it is region that a city called Enoch is located within. My research is into the Bible's pre-biblical origins, and it is in pre-biblical Mesopotamian myths that I have identified Enoch's pre-biblical origin, and consequentally, the land of Nod which it was within. Oxford Professor Archibald Henry Sayce circa 1884 proposed that Sumerian Unuk (rendered Unug today) had been recast as biblical Enoch. I agree, and therefore I understand the land Unug/Unuk lies within is Nod. The Sumerian Unug/Unuk is rendered in Babylonian (Akkadian) as URUK. It was the largest city in ancient Mesopotamia in antiquity. The wilderness about URUK is called the EDIN in Sumerian. The Epic of Gilgamesh has its king Gilgamesh wandering EDIN in fear of dying after his companion, Enkidu's death. I suspect Gilgamesh has been recast as Cain, as Gilgamesh cites his building of Uruk's mighty walls as his way of being remembered or immortalized in future ages (immortality being denied him) and wanderer Cain feared death and built Enoch. I understand that the writer of Genesis is recasting Mesopotamian myths in order to refute them. Another way to put it is that Genesis' Garden of Eden and Land of Nod, is an ANTI-THESIS, a refutation of an earlier THESIS, about the building of Unug/Unuk by its builder, Gilgamesh, who wanders the EDIN in fear of dying after his brother, Enkidu's, death. My research suggests that Adam is a recast of Enkidu, Eve is a recast of Shamhat, and Sadu, the hunter, has been recast as God. The EDIN has been recast as Eden. If interested in all the details, see my book, published in 2010, _The Garden of Eden Myth: Its Pre-biblical Origin in Mesopotamian Myths_ available via various book-sellers at Amazon.com on the internet.
In summary, Nod is a recast of the Sumerian EDIN, Gilgamesh has been recast as Cain, the city of Enoch is a recast of Sumerian Unug/Unuk. Enkidu's death has been recast as Abel's death.

Walter R. Mattfeld

Walter Mattfeld's picture

My Secular Humanist research indicates that SPGIB is _correct_ in surmising that "..the Bible... is preserving pieces of stories from far earlier history that have been woven into another story to serve a purpose." The "pieces" are from much earlier Mesopotamian myths about man's origins and the origins of civilization, appearing in such literary works as the (1) The Epic of Gilgamesh, (2) Adapa and the South Wind, and (3) Atrahasis. See my two books published in 2010 for more details. Said books are available via several book-sellers at Amazon.com on the internet, _Eden's Serpent: Its Mesopotamian Origin_ and _The Garden of Eden Myth: Its Pre-biblical Origin in Mesopotamian Myths_ or my website, in existence since December of 2000, www.bibleorigins.net or my 70 You Tube videos under my channel name of Walter R. Mattfeld.

Walter R. Mattfeld

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Wu

Wu Mingren (‘Dhwty’) has a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient History and Archaeology. Although his primary interest is in the ancient civilizations of the Near East, he is also interested in other geographical regions, as well as other time periods.... Read More

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