Will someone explain to me how if Adam and Eve were the first humans, how Cain could marry a woman who lived in Nod?  Genesis made it very clear that Adam and Eve are not the parents of her.

Please answer.  If I find your answer, I will be back to your site.

Sincerely,
Skeptical

Dear Skeptical,

Eve is the mother of all living (Gen 3:20).  In the beginning, there were only Adam and Eve.  Adam and Eve had multiple children (Gen 5:3-4).  In the genealogies of Genesis 5, none of the daughters are named – only the sons.  This is because Jewish genealogies (and Genesis is a Jewish book) follow the male lineage – we never know the dates or names of the daughters that are born.  Cain was Adam’s firstborn son (Gen 4:1).  When Cain went to find a wife, the only logical person he could marry would be his sister.  Therefore, Cain’s wife was also his sister (Gen 4:17).

It is morally repugnant in today’s society for someone to marry his sister, but it wasn’t that way in the beginning.  In the beginning, they had no other choice.  God told the family of Adam to “go forth and multiply” (Gen 1:28).  When Adam’s sons and daughters intermarried, they fulfilled God’s command.  God didn’t prohibit close intermarriage until almost 2,500 years after Adam and Eve (Lev 18:9-17).  As far as her living in Nod, the Bible never says Cain’s wife was from Nod (Gen. 4:16-17) – it simply says that Cain moved to Nod.  He may very well have married her before going there.

    Recent research says that most of the first chapter of the Bible was written in 100 AD.  The part that is puzzling is that there are two ‘creation of man’ stories.  One is the traditional rib story, and the other is that He created them man and woman.  Which is true – if any?  Another part says that God created man in His image and likeness.  If God is a spirit, what are His image and likeness?

Sincerely,
Fabri-created?

Dear Fabri-created,

We don’t know what recent research you have been reading, but there is not a notable Bible historian on the planet that would say that the first chapter of Genesis was written in 100 AD.  Even if you only used the Dead Sea Scrolls, those manuscripts are dated around 100 BC.

As for the dual creation stories, the confusion comes when people read Genesis 1 and see that God made man and woman, and then read Genesis 2 and see God making man and woman all over again.  The key is to realize that chapter one is an overview of the entire six days of creation (which includes the creation of man on day six), and Genesis chapter two is a more detailed account of what happened when God made Adam and Eve.
Think of chapter two as a microscope honing in to get a closer look at the most important detail of the creation story – the creation of humans.

Gen. 3:15, I have no understanding.  What is your interpretation?

Sincerely,
Looking For Clarity

Dear Looking For Clarity,

Gen. 3:15 is a prophecy regarding Jesus.  Satan, the old serpent (Rev. 12:9), would forever battle with Eve’s descendants, but one of Eve’s descendants would crush the head of Satan.  Satan bruises the heel, but Jesus bruised the head – He delivered a deathblow.  Heb 2:14 shows that Jesus’ death destroyed the power of Satan and crushed him under the power of Jesus’ selfless gift.  Rom 16:20 shows Satan is crushed under the feet of those that Jesus paid for with His blood (Acts 20:28).

     What does Psalm 23 mean?  I read that it means that God is our shepherd, and we are the sheep.

Sincerely,
Sheepish

Dear Sheepish,

You are seeing it properly.  Ps 23:1 says, “The Lord is my shepherd.”  That first verse sets the tone for the entire psalm.  David is comparing the relationship of God and His faithful to the relationship between a shepherd and his sheep.

God said He hated Esau for selling his birthright for a bowl of mush.  How could he sell something that was not his to sell?

Sincerely,
Food For Thought

Dear Food For Thought,

Esau’s birthright was his to keep or sell; culturally, that is different than our society today, but that was the case back then.  The Bible refers to Esau as a man that was “profane” because he sold his birthright for a meal (Heb 12:16).  Esau took something holy (e.g. his right as the firstborn to have a double portion of the inheritance) and sold it for something as common as dinner.  The warning from Esau’s mistake is to not sell our souls, the holiest part of us, for common worldly pleasures (Mk 8:36-37).