Genesis 4:26 - Began vs. Profane
Question
I have a question regarding Genesis 4:26. This verse reads "then began men to call the name of the LORD." implying that men had fallen from God and now had once again started to return to him. But i have heard a commentator say that the word "began" should be properly translated as "profane", making the verse read "then began men to profane the name of the LORD." To me this makes more sense because as time progresses, men fall deeper into sin and away from God. I looked around in various Greek and Hebrew translators but cant find anything to support this claim. If you could shed some light on this it would be appreciated.
Answer
Genesis 4:26 Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to call on the name of the LORD.
First, I believe the more correct interpretation of Genesis 4:26 would be to use the term “begin” as opposed to “profane.”
Second, the BDB translates the word “begin”:
H2490
חלל
châlal
1) to profane, defile, pollute, desecrate, begin
Third, as you can see both definitions – profane or begin are possible and context would give us our answer; when either context fits, we need to look at the “context in full.”
If you look at some of the ancient Jewish writings (the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan) they translate the term as ‘profane.’ I believe Adam Clarke also has a side note on this issue in his commentary. However, the LXX uses eπικαλεισθαι, from καλεω, which means "call." So, either definition could work. Certain families did call upon the Lord…. a progression of calling happened…. However, the flood came because many profaned the Lord, so ….
However, though both could work and neither damages the overall meaning of Scripture (if looked at rightly), I lean toward ‘begun’ as opposed to ‘profane,’ as Seth’s line (in the context of the verse) is seen as the seed of the woman as opposed to the seed of the serpent – Gen. 3:15. Seth’s line would be more prone to begin calling as opposed to profaning ….
The meaning:
The covenant family by making its petition and voicing its praise in the name of the Lord, glorified God, not man (1:26-28). This practice later distinguished Israel from all other nations (12:8; 13:4, etc.). Thus, Moses’ original audience would rightly have identified themselves with Seth and his descendents.
I make a correlation between this and The Law (Sinai Decalogue was attested to before Moses, etc.) – “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain" (Exodus 20:7); calling "on the ‘name of the Lord" (Genesis 4:26).
Answer by: Joseph R. Nally, Theological Editor, on behalf of the staff at IIIM.