Person Old Testament
Lamech
Lamech, a descendant of Cain, was the first polygamist mentioned in the Bible. Mentioned in 4 verses across 1 book, first at Genesis 4:18.
Why it matters. Descendant of Cain; first polygamist mentioned in the Bible
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Lamech
Lamech was a descendant of Cain, the son of Adam and Eve (Gen.4.18). He was the father of Jabal, Jubal, and Tubal-cain (Gen.4.20-22). Lamech is notable for being the first polygamist mentioned in the Bible, having married two women, Adah and Zillah (Gen.4.19). He is also known for his speech to his wives, in which he boasted about killing a man for wounding him and claimed that he would be avenged seventy-sevenfold, in contrast to the sevenfold vengeance promised to Cain (Gen.4.23-24). This speech suggests a progression of violence and a disregard for the sanctity of human life among Cain's descendants.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
- Parents
- Methushael
- Children
- JabalJubalNaamahTubal-cain
Appears in Scripture
Named in 4 verses across 1 book. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.