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Genesis 4:25–26, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Genesis 4:25–26
Seth Is Born and People Begin Calling on the LORD
Another child, and a name called on
After Abel's murder and Lamech's boast, the story returns to Adam and Eve. Eve names Seth as God-appointed offspring in Abel's place and still names Cain's killing. Abel is not forgotten. A new child is not Abel returned.
Seth fathers Enosh, and the narrator marks that time with the beginning of calling on the LORD's name. The chapter does not close with a sinless line. It closes with worship directed toward God rather than with self-magnifying speech.
How this should shape us
Receive new life after loss without treating it as a replacement that erases grief. Let suffering turn a community toward God rather than toward boasting or retaliation.
Teach it back
Explain how Genesis 4:25–26 responds to the Cain genealogy without erasing Abel. What clearly begins in verse 26, and which details about the caller and the divine name remain uncertain?
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Who begins to call on the LORD's name in Genesis 4:26?
Best judgment: The strongest reading is that people began a recognizable practice of invoking or proclaiming the LORD's name, while the grammatical subject and exact form of the practice remain uncertain. The Septuagint and negative reception readings should remain visible as ancient interpretations.
How certain? probableDoes Genesis 4:26 contradict Exodus's presentation of the divine name to Moses?
Best judgment: The texts do not give enough information to reconstruct exactly what primeval people knew about the name. The received canon can distinguish early worshipful invocation from the later covenantal disclosure to Moses, while compositional explanations remain possible historical reconstructions.
How certain? uncertainResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Reader-facing Scripture wording, verse numbering, paragraph data, and supplied-word markup.
Pinned eBible/CrossWire standardized 1769 KJV corpus, Genesis 4:25–26
Supports: Seth-appointed wordplay, offspring language, Enosh, passive beginning clause, and calling-on-the-name idiom.
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 4:25–26
Supports: Seth-appointed wordplay, supplied collective subject, passive construction, and prayer/proclamation translation range.
NET Bible, Genesis 4:25–26 translator notes
Supports: Final-form movement from Cain's descendants through Seth and Enosh into the Adam genealogy.
Genesis commentary, section Genesis 4:17–26
Supports: Genesis 4's literary and proposed compositional movement, used with final-form and reconstruction claims kept distinct.
The Formation of Genesis 1–11, chapter 3, pp. 66–82; official chapter abstract
Supports: Literal passive wording, unstated subject, unique Hebrew form, Exodus divine-name tension, Septuagint construal, and diversity of ancient versions and interpretation.
Let Us Go Up to Zion, VTSup 153 (2012), pp. 57–68; publisher preview pp. 57–58 and official contents
Supports: Modern theological comparison of Genesis 4:26 with Exodus 3:14–15 and a proposed distinction between Enosh-era worship and Moses' later divine-name disclosure.
Warszawskie Studia Teologiczne 30.2 (2017), pp. 100–125; official English abstract and complete bibliography
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Reader-facing Scripture wording, verse numbering, paragraph data, and supplied-word markup.
Exact location: Pinned eBible/CrossWire standardized 1769 KJV corpus, Genesis 4:25–26
Open source ↗hebrew text morphology and lemma data
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026
Supports: Seth-appointed wordplay, offspring language, Enosh, passive beginning clause, and calling-on-the-name idiom.
Exact location: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 4:25–26
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, Digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: Seth-appointed wordplay, supplied collective subject, passive construction, and prayer/proclamation translation range.
Exact location: NET Bible, Genesis 4:25–26 translator notes
Open NET Genesis 4 ↗modern open whole book commentary
Genesis
T. Desmond Alexander
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023
Supports: Final-form movement from Cain's descendants through Seth and Enosh into the Adam genealogy.
Exact location: Genesis commentary, section Genesis 4:17–26
Open source ↗modern scholarly compositional and literary study
The Formation of Narratives about Adam and Eve's Descendants (Genesis 4)
David M. Carr
Oxford University Press, The Formation of Genesis 1–11, 2020
Supports: Genesis 4's literary and proposed compositional movement, used with final-form and reconstruction claims kept distinct.
Exact location: The Formation of Genesis 1–11, chapter 3, pp. 66–82; official chapter abstract
Open source ↗modern scholarly hebrew textual and versional study
Who ‘Began to Call on the Name of the Lord’ in Genesis 4:26b?: The MT and the Versions
Robert P. Gordon
Brill, Let Us Go Up to Zion: Essays in Honour of H. G. M. Williamson, Supplements to Vetus Testamentum 153, 2012
Supports: Literal passive wording, unstated subject, unique Hebrew form, Exodus divine-name tension, Septuagint construal, and diversity of ancient versions and interpretation.
Exact location: Let Us Go Up to Zion, VTSup 153 (2012), pp. 57–68; publisher preview pp. 57–58 and official contents
Open source ↗peer reviewed open theological and historical critical study
‘Wtedy zaczęto wzywać imienia JHWH’ (Rdz 4,26). Imię Boga jedyną nadzieją dla ludzkości – znaczenie imienia Bożego w tekstach Rdz 4,26 i Wj 3,14–15
Adam Gorlewski
Warszawskie Studia Teologiczne 30.2, 2017
Supports: Modern theological comparison of Genesis 4:26 with Exodus 3:14–15 and a proposed distinction between Enosh-era worship and Moses' later divine-name disclosure.
Exact location: Warszawskie Studia Teologiczne 30.2 (2017), pp. 100–125; official English abstract and complete bibliography
Open source ↗