Seth, Enosh, and calling on the name (Genesis 4:25–26)
Says Adam, without the article, knows his wife again, and she bears a son named שֵׁת, Seth, “God has granted me another seed in place of Abel, since Cain killed him” (4:25, BSB). The Hebrew verb is שָׁת, he has set. The giver is named God, אֱלֹהִים. To Seth a son is born, Enosh. Then אָז הוּחַל לִקְרֹא בְּשֵׁם יְהוָה: then it was begun to call on the name of the Lord, an impersonal Hophal. The BSB has men began to call upon the name of the Lord. The same phrase is used of Abram at an altar (12:8). The Greek has οὗτος ἤλπισεν, this one hoped to call. See the Hebrew note and the variant note.
Implies The narrative draws the name-play: Seth is named with שָׁת, he has set.
Uncertain Whether another seed, זֶרַע אַחֵר, recalls the seed of 3:15 is a verbal link only; no lean is taken here. See the Hebrew notes on both verses. What began at 4:26 is open: public worship in Seth's line; proclaiming, or calling oneself by, the name; a beginning of profaning, a later Jewish reading; or the Greek's he hoped. How 4:26 stands beside Exodus 6:3 is open. (a) Exodus concerns the name known in deed. (b) The narrator uses the name from a later standpoint. (c) Different strands date the name differently; Skinner (p. 127) holds this view. That source question is treated in the historical note on Cain's wife and the two lines. No lean is taken here.
Claims
- SaysSeth is born in Abel's place as another seed; Enosh is born; then it was begun to call on the name of the Lord. The BSB has men began to call upon the name of the Lord; the Greek has this one hoped.
- ImpliesThe narrative draws the name-play: Seth is named with the verb he has set.
- UncertainWhether another seed recalls 3:15 is a verbal link only. What began at 4:26, and how it stands beside Exodus 6:3, are open; Skinner (p. 127) holds the source-strand reading. That source question is treated in the historical note on Cain's wife and the two lines. No lean is taken here.
Citations
- BSB public domain Gen 4:1–26
- OSHB CC BY 4.0 Gen 4:1–26 (WLC/OSHB), cantillation removed
- LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 Gen 4:1–26, vol. 1, pp. 6–7 (oldtestamentingr01swetuoft, viewer leaves n37–n38); read on the page images
- Skinner, Genesis (ICC) public domain Skinner, Genesis (ICC, 1910), on Gen 4:26, p. 127 (n228); read on the page image; paraphrased
- APOT public domain vol. 2 (1913): Jub 4:2, 9, 11–12, 31, pp. 17–19 (n36–n38); read on the page images; “to call on the name of the Lord on the earth” (4:12) quoted, otherwise paraphrased
- Etheridge public domain Etheridge, vol. 1 (1862), Targum of Palestine (Pseudo-Jonathan) on Gen 4:8, 15, pp. 170–172 (n182–n184), and 4:26, p. 174 (n186); read on the page images; quoted, otherwise paraphrased
Quotations from LXX (Swete) are used under CC BY-SA 4.0 · Credits
2026-11-10
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