SUBJECT:  Mark of Cain

QUESTIONS:   What is the Mark of Cain?  Was it a mark on the skin, face or head?  What was its color and shape?

ANSWER:

What Was The Mark Of Cain? When God judged Cain for the murder of Abel he became fearful for his life. The Bible speaks of God putting a mark on Cain to protect him from others.

And the Lord said to him, Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him (Genesis 4:15).

God's mark of protection on Cain was to help provide for his safety. However, it did not prevent Cain from being attacked or murdered. The mark merely warned that anyone who killed Cain would himself suffer a worse death.  

Large Population

The fact that God had to put a mark on Cain suggests that the population was large enough that Cain needed to be singled out for protection. The text does not tell us what the mark was or that it was passed down to succeeding generations. As to what was the mark of Cain there have been a number of suggestions.

Not Necessarily On His Person

Certain Bible commentators have argued that the mark was merely a sign of confirmation that Cain would be protected from others. We are not told what sign God gave him, but whatever it was it calmed his fears for his life.

The phrase set a mark upon Cain (King James Version) does not necessarily mean that there was some mark upon his person. The phrase more likely means a sign for him. This could mean that God gave some sign to appear for Cain's reassurance. Thus the idea of mark may mean some type of token or pledge. There are two other instances in the Old Testament where God gave similar signs to confirm His Word (Judges 6:36-40) and Elisha (2 Kings 2:9-12).

Appointed A Sign

The Revised Version translates the phrase appointed a sign for Cain. This indicates that whenever someone approached Cain some sign was given to deter that person from attacking. Though we are not told what this sign was, it protected Cain from those who wished to harm him.

Physical Sign

Others have argued that the mark was something physical. This would either be on his person or something that was with him. Possible solutions include: a dog to provide direction for Cain, a physical mark on his forehead, horns, or a brightly colored coat. One of the horrible suggestions that has been made is that Cain was marked with black skin. There is absolutely no basis whatsoever for accepting this terrible interpretation.

Not Told

 None of these proposed solutions to the mark of Cain can be proven or disproven  -  we are simply not told what it was.

In another source of ours, we state:

According to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, the Hebrew word owth may be rendered "mark," or "signal, flag, monument, sign, or beacon." Young's Analytical Concordance renders this word "sign." The Critical and Experimental Commentary by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown shows that this word can be translated "sign," "token" or "pledge." The Hebrew word owth could also indicate a boundary marker that God set up to separate or segregate Cain and his descendants from the rest of mankind. Genesis 4:12, 16 shows that God banished Cain to the land of Nod-meaning land of "wandering"-east of Eden. The owth-mark or sign-that God made for Cain could also have been something to carry on his person, perhaps around his neck-from which the ancient and modern custom of wearing a charm or talisman-or cross -for protection may be derived. Some have thought that Cain's mark involved skin color. Cain's mark was not the changing of his skin from one color to another.  Cain, in accordance with certain West African traditions, may well have been dark, but his sin was lack of character.  Thus, his "mark" was either carried on his person, or a sign set up to segregate him from others-or both.

 
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