Verse Lens · Context pointer
Genesis 4:18 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 18. 18And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
The genealogy moves rapidly from Enoch through Irad, Mehujael, and Methusael to Lamech, the figure on whom the rest of the unit concentrates.
Read It With
- Genesis 4:17–24
Read verses 17–24 together. This compressed family chain connects Cain's city to Lamech's household and poem without supplying biographies for the intervening names.
Why It Needs Context
The verse is a genealogical bridge. It does not explain the named people's character, lifespans, deeds, or relation to similarly named people in Genesis 5.
Read Genesis 4:17–18 together
Why these verses belong together: Cain's city and the compressed genealogy carry the family from Enoch to Lamech.
Verse 17. 17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.
Verse 18. 18 And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Genesis 4:17–24 — Cain's Family Develops Culture as Lamech Escalates ViolenceSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
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 4:17–24
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: Hebrew wording, morphology, genealogy, craft terms, poetic parallelism, perfect-form killing claim, and numerical escalation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 4:17–24
Open source ↗