Enoch (Cain's son)

Enoch, was the son of Cain, and grandson of Adam and Eve. He was born about 135 years after the creation in the land of Nod. In the course of time his father would build a city and name it after him. He would become the father of Irad.

Name and Family
Enoch (Heb. חֲנוֹךְ pronounced khan-oke' ), which means "initiated" or "disciplined". This is likely a reference to his father Cain's life as a wanderer and exile from his parents after slaying his brother Abel. At some point, perhaps before killing Abel, Cain had taken a wife. Having been condemned to wander, the exile chose to settle down and raise a family.

In the times before the Great Flood, humanity retained a robust gene pool without many mutations. Cain had, of necessity married his sister. In the course of time, Enoch would also marry a sister. As with their cousins born of Seth this would be the way humanity would grow for centuries.

Life was not easy for Enoch, for his parents had to start over without the comforts developed over the first century out of Eden. Nevertheless, his father would work hard to establish his posterity and build Enoch, the city. Even as he helped his father build a new society, he named his son Irad, which means "fugitive", remembering the curse on Cain.