Gen 4:1 Error in KJV Translation
It is well established that the original Hebrew texts were destroyed but that before they were destroyed, 7 members from each of the 10 tribes of Israel translated the Hebrew texts into Greek. Thus, the Greek version translated by these 70 israelites was called the Septuagint, which means 70. The Septuagint was then used to translate the text back into Hebrew.
In the Septuagint, the Greek words for Lord and God are translated as Kurious and Theos, respectively. In Hebrew, the words for Lord and God are translated as Yahweh and Elohim, respectively.
(NOTE: I now contend the use of the word God and Lord are Hellenized terms and instead the name Yahweh should be used.)
It should be noted that Elohim is translated as angels or messengers, i.e. spiritual or interdimentional beings. Yahweh is Elohim, but is the supreme Elohim, who was the creator and ruler of the lesser elohim.
In this respect the words Yahweh and Kurios should be translated into English as "The Lord." Similarly, Theos and Elohim should be translated as "God." However, this distinction was not always practiced in the translations.
In particular, Genesis 4:1 in the Septuagint reads that Eve said she has gotten a man from "theos." Accordingly, this should have be properly translated into Hebrew as she has gotten a man from Elohim (God) and not Yahweh (The Lord). Yet the King James version translates the verse as Eve saying she has gotten a man from "the Lord." See https://www.septuagint.bible/-/genesis-4 and https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/gen/4/1/s_4001
This puts an entirely different if not erroneous perspective on what Eve said. If Eve said she has gotten a man from elohim this could mean that she "got" this child from a spiritual being other than Adam. And in rightly dividing the rest of the scriptures, we find that Eve said she was beguiled or seduced by Nachash, who was also an elohim.
Many believe that because Genesis 4:1 says "Adam knew his wife Eve and she bear Cain" that Adam was the father of Cain . But because Eve says she has gotten a man from elohim, this means Cain could have been fathered from someone other than Adam. Because verse 2 says Eve again (or continued in labor) and bore Abel, this implies that Cain and Abel were twins. As such they were fraternal twins meaning that they had 2 different fathers.
This interpretation is supported by John 3:12 which says that Cain is of (son of) the wicked one. The wicked one refers to Satan and does not refer to Adam. If Scripture is interpreted that Adam fathered Cain then one would have to conclude that Adam was the wicked one and this is just not the case. Matthew 13:38 specifically states that "the tares are the children of the wicked one." And verse 39 it reads that "The enemy that sowed them is the devil."
We find in Revelation 20:2 that "the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan" is thus the wicked one so that the wicked one who fathered Cain would not be Adam but the Devil, that serpent of old, or Nachash.
Thus translating the word "theos" as "Yahweh" in Gen 4:1 instead of "god" (small "g") has lead to much confusion in the word because many use this verse to support their view that Adam fathered Cain and not Nachash, which is error.
Tags:
cain, cains father, genesis 4.1, genesis 4.1 translation error, serpent seed, translation error in genesis 4
Posted at: 08:45 AM | Add Comment