Man living at the time before the Flood
Jabal, the son of Lamech and Adah, was the ancestor of those who dwell in tents and have livestock.
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Jabal is mentioned in Gen.4.20 as the son of Lamech and his wife Adah. He is described as the ancestor or father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock, indicating that he was the first nomadic herdsman.
This brief description of Jabal appears in the genealogy of Cain, which traces the descendants of Adam and Eve's firstborn son. The genealogy highlights the development of various skills and occupations among Cain's descendants, including agriculture, music, and metalworking (Gen.4.17-22).
As the father of nomadic herdsmen, Jabal represents the beginning of a pastoral lifestyle, characterized by living in tents and moving with one's livestock to find suitable grazing areas. This way of life would have been distinct from the settled agricultural communities that were also developing at this time.
The mention of Jabal in this genealogy serves to demonstrate the diversity of human culture and the development of different ways of life in the early stages of human history. It also highlights the importance of livestock and the nomadic lifestyle in the ancient Near Eastern context.
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A stream, a descendant of Cain, and brother of Jubal; “the father of such as dwell in tents and have cattle” (Gen. 4:20). This description indicates that he led a wandering life.
(stream), the son of Lamech and Adah, (Genesis 4:20) and brother of Jubal. He is described as the father of such as dwell in tents and have cattle.
JA'BAL (a stream), the son of Lamech, descendant of Cain; described as the "father of such as dwell in tents and have cattle." Gen 4:20.
JA'BAL (a stream), the son of Lamech, descendant of Cain; described as the "father of such as dwell in tents and have cattle." Gen 4:20.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
1 verse in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H2989
Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and raise livestock.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.