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Cainan (fromHebrew:קֵינָןQēnān) is mentioned in theSeptuagint, the Greek translation of theBook of Genesis, theBook of Jubilees and thegenealogy of Jesus given inLuke 3:36 in theNew Testament. He is described as a son ofArpachshad and father ofSalah, who lived in the time betweenNoah andAbraham.
The postdiluvian Cainan does not appear in theMasoretic Text, the most common Hebrew version of Genesis, whereArpachshad is noted as the father of Salah. He is also omitted from theSamaritan Pentateuch[1] and the writings of the Jewish historianJosephus. Helen Jacobus has argued that the omission from the Masoretic text is deliberate.[1]
Despite his name being omitted from the Masoretic text, a substantial number of traditions about this other Cainan exist in the history of literature.
According to theBook of Jubilees, Cainan was taught to read by his father, and he found, carved on the rocks by former generations, an inscription preserving the science ofastrology as taught by theWatchers, who had rebelled from God before the deluge. He is also stated to have married a daughter ofMadai named Melka.
InThe Patriarchal Age: or, the History and Religion of Mankind (1854), George Smith writes:[2]
It is remarkable that, notwithstanding the omission of the name of Cainan from the Hebrew text, and the consequent general rejection of him by historians, there are more traditions preserved of him than of his son Salah. "The Alexandrine Chronicle derives theSamaritans from Cainan; Eustachius Antiochenus, the Saggodians;George Syncellus, the Gaspheni;Epiphanius the Cajani. Besides the particulars already mentioned, it is said Cainan was the first after the flood who inventedastronomy, and that his sons made a god of him, and worshiped his image after his death. The founding of the city ofHarran in Mesopotamia is also attributed to him; which, it is pretended, is so called from a son he had of that name." –Anc. Univ. Hist., vol. i, p. 96,note.
TheAlexandrian World Chronicle states:[3]
And Arphaxad begat Cainan, from whomthe Samaritans from the east come from. And Cainan begat Salathee, whence the Salathees are made.
(Latin: Et arfaxad genuit cainan, unde fiunt quiab oriente samaritae. Cainan autem genuit Salathee, unde fiunt Salathii.)
gaspheni.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Hirsch, Emil G.;Kohler, Kaufmann (1904)."Kainan". InSinger, Isidore; et al. (eds.).The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 414.