Mehujael

Biblical Record

Mehujael appears only once, in Genesis 4:18. The verse belongs to a genealogy that lists the descendants of Cain in succession. The line runs from Cain to his son Enoch, then to Irad, Mehujael, Methusael, and Lamech. According to this genealogy, Mehujael was the son of Irad, the father of Methusael, and the great-grandson of Cain.

Apart from his name and his place in the father-son line, Scripture records nothing about his life or deeds. Within this single verse, the Hebrew text spells his name in two ways (Mehuya'el and Mehiya'el). The Korean Revised Version and the New Korean Revised Version both render the name with a single form, Mehujael. Various interpretations of the name's meaning have been proposed, but none is generally accepted.

Significance Within Scripture

Mehujael is an intermediate link in Cain's line leading to his grandson Lamech. In Lamech's generation, Lamech's sons, Jabal, Jubal, and Tubal-cain, are introduced as the founders of herding, music, and metalworking, and Lamech's own song of vengeance is recorded (Genesis 4:23–24). Mehujael is not mentioned in the New Testament. The genealogy of Jesus in Luke 3 follows the line of Seth rather than that of Cain.

Interpretation and Debate

The genealogy of Cain (Genesis 4) and the genealogy of Seth (Genesis 5) are known for containing similar names. Irad resembles Jared, Mehujael resembles Mahalalel, and Methusael resembles Methuselah, while the names Enoch and Lamech appear in both lists. For this reason, some scholars hold that the two genealogies derive from a common tradition. Traditional interpretation, by contrast, reads them as the actual lineages of two distinct families. In addition, Cain's son Enoch is a different person from the Enoch of Seth's line who walked with God. The text contains no account of Mehujael's character or deeds.

In the Korean Church

Mehujael is rarely treated on his own in sermons or Sunday school. His name usually comes up only when Genesis 4 is read during reading through the Bible, or in Bible studies that compare the lines of Cain and Seth.