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Genesis 4:15
And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

seventy.

Matthew 18:22
Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.
Lamech, a descendant of Cain, boasts about his own acts of violence inGenesis 4:23, claiming that if Cain received divine protection, he should receive even greater protection. The number seventy-sevenfold amplifies the concept of vengeance to an extreme degree, indicating Lamech's arrogance and the escalation of sin and violence in human society. This hyperbolic statement contrasts with Jesus' teaching inMatthew 18:22, where He instructs Peter to forgive "seventy times seven," emphasizing forgiveness over vengeance. Lamech's declaration reflects the moral decline from Cain's time to his own, illustrating the increasing corruption and departure from God's ways.

Genesis 4 moves quickly from the first murder to the emergence of Cain’s descendants. By verse 23, Lamech—Cain’s great-great-great-grandson—brags to his wives about killing a man. That boast sets up verse 24, where Lamech compares his own “protection plan” to the one God gave Cain back inGenesis 4:15.

• InGenesis 4:15, the LORD said, “Whoever kills Cain will suffer vengeance sevenfold.”

• This promise showed God’s justice: although Cain deserved death (Genesis 9:6;Romans 6:23), God delayed it and warned others not to take matters into their own hands.

• God’s sevenfold vengeance symbolized complete, certain retribution—reinforced later in passages likeDeuteronomy 32:35 andRomans 12:19, where vengeance belongs to the LORD alone.

• Cain’s protection was God-given, underscoring divine mercy even toward the guilty (cf.Psalm 103:10).

• Lamech arrogantly multiplies God’s promise by eleven times seven, claiming an even greater shield without any divine authorization.

• His words reveal escalating violence and pride among Cain’s line—echoed inGenesis 6:11, where the earth is “filled with violence.”

• This distortion of God’s earlier promise exposes the human heart’s drift: turning mercy into license (Jude 4) and vengeance into self-glory (James 4:1-3).

• Lamech’s boast contrasts sharply with Jesus’ later instruction to forgive “seventy-seven times” (or “seventy times seven”) inMatthew 18:22, shifting the multiplier from vengeance to grace.

• God alone reserves the right to vengeance—believers are called to trust His justice (Proverbs 20:22;1 Peter 2:23).

• Human attempts to magnify personal protection or payback lead to spiraling violence (Galatians 6:7-8).

• The gospel reverses Lamech’s boast: where sin multiplies, grace abounds all the more (Romans 5:20), inviting us to extend forgiveness lavishly instead of demanding retaliation.

Genesis 4:24 contrasts God’s measured justice toward Cain with Lamech’s presumptuous inflation of that promise. The verse exposes humanity’s tendency to twist divine mercy into self-centered vengeance, foreshadowing the spread of violence before the flood. Ultimately, Scripture redirects us from Lamech’s seventy-sevenfold revenge to Christ’s seventy-sevenfold forgiveness, calling us to trust God’s justice and walk in grace.

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