Genesis 4:22a. “And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron: […]”
Tubal rhymes with Jubal, and sure enough, Strongs Concordance reveals that his name also comes form the same root word as the names of his half-brothers. For being potential rivals, Adah and Zillah seem to be on the same page not only in the meaning of their own names, but in the names of their boys, assuming of course that Lamech didn’t name all the children. Another possibility is that Zillah was so antagonistic that she copied her competitor’s naming pattern but with an additional one-upmanship kind of twist. The name Tubalcain pays homage to great-great, great-great granddaddy Cain, literally meaning “this stream flows from Cain.” Why Cain1? Why not go back one more generation and pay respect to Adam, the father of all living and the “Son of God” (Luke 3:38)? Or better still, why not give a name to hearken back to the Creator God Himself as the true Source of everything good, the One who brings forth, carries and leads? The reason for the short-circuit is obvious in the immediate backdrop of Cain’s chain of sin and rebellion. When Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, he chose to separate himself from God. He tried to make himself the source, and live independent from his Creator, and he passed on that prideful mindset to the following generations.
Nevertheless, God was not vindictive or stingy with the descendants of Cain. He lavished beautiful gifts on them and gave them ample opportunity to glorify His name. Tubalcain was a master of metallurgy, the bronze and iron age rolled into one: everyone else in the trade went to him for training. With all that talent and influence, Tubalcain could have done so much to stay the tide of evil in the world. What about you? What are you doing with the talents and influence God has given you?
1 The name Cain “qayin” according to Stong’s is the same as H7013 “kah’-yin” which means "a fixity, a lance or spear," but also makes a play on the affinity to H7069 “kaw-naw’” which means “to erect, that is, create; by extension to procure, especially by purchase; by implication to own, attain, get, provoke to jealousy, possess, purchase, recover, redeem”↩
Comments
Post a Comment