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94 The Old Testament and Christian Spirituality
ordering life rather than questioning it. 37 The past thus authorises
the present. 38
The purpose of this genealogy is thus, on the one hand, to
pinpoint the origins of key parts of ancient Near Eastern society:
urban and rural settlement, music, 39 metal work and sex work (and,
in 4:26b, religion). The implication this would have for the
Yahwist’s intended audience is to indicate these activities as
ancient and, therefore, legitimate. This stands in distinction to
other ancient Near Eastern narratives on the origins of components
of civilisation, which tend to be mythological in nature. 40 J,
however, posts these developments in history, related to human
figures. This is an important theological and anthropological point,
demythologising society’s activities. 41
Because this pericope follows directly on the Cain-Abel
fratricide narrative, its interpretational history has tended to see
these cultural/technological developments as negative. 42 The text
itself gives no indication of this, though. Yet, this text, together
with 4:25–26, leads Paul 43 to the following insightful remarks:
The manner in which the story is told indicates a correlation
between man’s rejection of serving God and the introduction of
technology… Cain’s descendents are dedicated to
37
See F. W. Golka, “The Aetiologies in the Old Testament, Part 2,” Vetus
Testamentum 27, no. 1 (1977), 44; read with F. W. Golka, “The Aetiologies in
the Old Testament, Part 1,” Vetus Testamentum 26, no. 4 (1976): 411.
38
Golka, “The Aetiologies in the Old Testament, Part 2,” 46–47.
39
Music as a profession, rather than as a phenomenon; hence: “entertainment”—
see Sasson, “A Genealogical ‘Convention’ in Biblical Chronography?” 173.
40
Cf. Wilson, Genealogy and History in the Biblical World, 149–55 and Wilson,
“Between ‘Azel’ and ‘Azel,’” 13–18 for an overview.
41
Could it be that we have here also a sociological point, namely the
endorsement of diversity within society, that lies as (another) motivation behind
this text?
42
Cf. Paul, “Genesis 4:17–24: A Case-Study in Eisegesis,” 144–60.
43
Ibid., 161–62; cf. Westermann, Genesis 1–11, 453.