garden of eden

Most think that there was only Cain and Abel but the Bible actually teaches that by the time Cain took a wife there were many human beings.

Not everything recorded in the Book of Genesis is not written in an exact chronological order. The events of Genesis eleven (the Tower of Babel) happened in the middle of chapter 10, chronologically speaking. ~Genesis 5:4 states, “Then the days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he had other sons and daughters.”

Both Adam and Eve and all their offspring were driven out of the garden. Genesis 3:23-24: “therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.”

After they left the garden they had numerous children. We see by the record that there were a number of people by the time Cain killed his brother Abel. Genesis 4:15 And the LORD said to him, “Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the LORD set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.”

Besides these three sons Adam and Eve had many other unnamed sons and daughters. The Bible does not give the time period when Cain took his wife. Depending on how much time there was between Cain being married, he either married a distant sister, or if enough time transpired, he could have married his own niece. Probably the later is true.

Genesis 4:16-17: “Then Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden. And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son> Enoch.”

We can see by how it is written it is a summary of a whole period of time. He married, his wife conceived and they even built a city; obviously with other people.

The imperfection from sin accumulated over time and eventually corrupted the gene pool, this made it wrong to marry within the family line. By Moses’ time it was forbidden.

It’s just a story - a parable if you will, not a record of actual history.