One of the most frequently asked questions about the Bible is, “Who was Cain’s wife?” Closely related to it is another question: “Where did Cain get his wife?” At first glance, the Bible does not seem to answer these questions directly, leading some people to wonder whether there were other people on the earth besides Adam and Eve. The good news is that Scripture provides enough information to arrive at a reasonable and biblical conclusion.
The Biblical Account
After Cain murdered his brother Abel, God pronounced judgment upon him. Cain then left the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. “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.” (Genesis 4:17, KJV) The passage simply mentions that Cain had a wife. It does not tell us her name or when they were married. This omission has led many to ask where she came from.
The key is found in Genesis 5. “And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters.” (Genesis 5:4, KJV)
This verse tells us that Adam and Eve had many sons and daughters, not just Cain, Abel, and Seth. The three sons are mentioned because they are important to the biblical narrative, but they were not the only children born to Adam and Eve.
Since all humanity descended from Adam and Eve, Cain’s wife was almost certainly one of his sisters or possibly a niece born to one of his brothers or sisters.