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Electricpants t1_iw0wooj wrote

I always understood Nod as being any land not of Eden.

Not sure where I got that from.

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No-Dirt-8737 t1_iw0yqmt wrote

Wait the brotherhood of nod from command and conquer is a Bible reference? Cool.

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lego_office_worker t1_iw11hho wrote

Nod was not purgatory. it was just a geographic location away from the area around the garden.

it was east of the garden and the name just means land of wandering.

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quicxly OP t1_iw125lq wrote

for sure, i wasn't sure how to summarize it for the title. I'm basically informed by this passage from the wiki, but am by no means a Bible scholar --

> Nod is said to be outside of the presence or face of God. Origen defined Nod as the land of trembling and wrote that it symbolized the condition of all who forsake God.

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sterlingphoenix t1_iw12lvl wrote

I don't think I've ever heard it referred to as a "'dreamland' sleepytime dealie".

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CySnark t1_iw12ro9 wrote

So what's "Nodding Off" then?

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lego_office_worker t1_iw13arb wrote

certainly possible. Cain stated here:

13 But Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can stand! 14 You have forced me off this land today. I have to hide from you and become a fugitive, a wanderer on the earth. Now anyone who finds me will kill me!

That there were other people around, and they might not take kindly to him (maybe because he was a murderer). So this land of wandering was populated by some fierce people. I dont think anyone knows who they really were or why they were there. But Cain was certainly scared of them.

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Peacemkr45 t1_iw13hzb wrote

Ok, So Adam and Eve birthed and raised Cain and Able. Cain killed Able and was cast out to live with the people of Nod (the land of Nod). So that bears the question of.... Where did those other people come from?

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FabulousEmotions t1_iw18n66 wrote

Dreamland sleepytime dealies are notorious for stuff like this.

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Cetun t1_iw1b9k5 wrote

Some liberal interpretations would say that the garden of Eden and the creation myth were all parables of sorts and should not be taken literally. More conservative denominations will tell you all those people were descendants of Adam and Eve and therefore Cain's sister or nieces. They go on to say that the only problem with incest is that It increases the chance of recessive genes becoming dominant, but that isn't a problem if your a child of adam and eve because they are perfect and have no abnormal recessive genes so it's perfectly safe to have children with your sister.

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Peacemkr45 t1_iw1d0p4 wrote

Any way you want to look at it, there is no adequate explanation of the people of Nod. Adam and eve created 2 offspring, Cain and Abel; Both males. There is no other mention of any other people on the planet, just those 4 people (unless you count Lilith which opens a whole other can of worms). Abel gets killed by Cain who goes to live with THE PEOPLE of Nod. That is the Biblical account based on the Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Judaism and Islam). I've had long theological discussions with multiple clergy over this and the honest ones say they have no answer. It's not like it's the only flaw in the scriptures about Creation. It's just one I like to point out to the zealots.

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Mike_Tyson_Lisp t1_iw1ds3y wrote

It could also not historically be real like most things in the bible and thus doesn't matter what or where it is

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Cetun t1_iw1exre wrote

Well I think the explanation is two fold. First that Adam and Eve were perfect, therefore they lived much longer. You have other historical biblical figures living for well over 150 years, it stands to reason that Adam and Eve likely lived longer, it never says how old they are or when they die or even when they had children.

Second of all it doesn't say Adam and Even had only two children, only that Cain and Abel were two of their children. It could be Eve was popping them out every 9 months or something, it doesn't say she wasn't so maybe they had a couple hundred kids, some went to live in the land of Nod.

The ultra conservative view you will find very few clergy defend in the United States at least. Most say they are just stories to get a message across and to not take the whole 7 days to create earth and Garden of Eden thing literally, they are just stories to teach people important lessons about God and humanity.

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BrokenEye3 t1_iw1jxqg wrote

I thought it was just a country that he lived in for a while

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chimisforbreakfast t1_iw1kj5b wrote

"Prowl through empty fields, great Cain."

-The Mountain Goats

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WentzWorldWords t1_iw1ublk wrote

Another interpretation leads one to ancient racism. “Banished to the eastern land of Nod with a mark upon his face”. Hmmm, which peoples to the east have different facial features? Moses was simply othering oriental people.

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DharmaCub t1_iw1xn0d wrote

Well if he went East of Eden (presumably somewhere in Iraq) then it's likely he either ended up in Iran or the Eurasian Steppe. I would assume those people to be ancient Steppe nomads (wanderers on the Earth).

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AllDayJay1970 t1_iw1xw9z wrote

In older judaic text, Adam and Eve weren;t the first people , they were the first people made by god . When Adam and Eve were cast from the garden there were people already living there . I think this is where Lilith comes into the story

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DharmaCub t1_iw1y06r wrote

In the ancient Canaanite religions that the Semitic religions evolved from were polytheistic with many patron gods of cities or tribes. Eventually, a main God (YHWH- Yahweh) won out and became the only God, while many of the others (Baphomet, Azazel, Bael, Moloch etc) became demons.

YHWH was just the God of the Israelites at one point way way back, but other peoples had other Gods and this was accepted.

So most likely these other people (whom I believe to be ancient Scythian or other Eurasian steppe peoples) were merely followers "created by" another God.

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Faelix t1_iw1znvj wrote

To call it a flaw is your very subjective interpretation. To me, God makes it clear that outside of Eden, there were primitive people, wanderers, beduins, who would kill any trespassers they came upon.

When God evicts Adam and Eve, he makes them clothing of Animal Skin. So that put's us in time. The conflict of Cain and Abel, are the hunter/gatherer, vs the Farmer. The Farmer creates much more produce, than the hunter/gatherer.

It all puts us in a specific time of human history.

I, who did find God, is very glad that the Allmighty, puts this on the table, I am not one to accept time as absolute, and will not use the Bible generations, to date earth, as some do. Time is relative, and God created all things in 6 days, on the seventh day he rested.

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Faelix t1_iw205wd wrote

I feel confident your leap of logic reveals your own inner rascism, and not that of the Bible. Have you not noticed, how your generations is found guilty, of everything they accused the Christians of?

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dr69ons6mur6i t1_iw241ha wrote

>Well I think the explanation is two fold. First that Adam and Eve were perfect, therefore they lived much longer. You have other historical biblical figures living for well over 150 years, it stands to reason that Adam and Eve likely lived longer, it never says how old they are or when they die or even when they had children.

>Second of all it doesn't say Adam and Even had only two children, only that Cain and Abel were two of their children. It could be Eve was popping them out every 9 months or something, it doesn't say she wasn't so maybe they had a couple hundred kids, some went to live in the land of Nod.

Genesis 5:3-5 says Adam was 130 when Eve gave birth to Seth who was born after Cain killed Abel, then lived for another 800 years fathering more children. It doesn’t say how long between their creation and when they were kicked out of the garden, but it’s reasonable to assume there was enough time between their exile and when Abel was killed they had time to knock boots a few times.

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w0lfmancer t1_iw25kpv wrote

Dreamland, great show. Art Bell was the man.

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lego_office_worker t1_iw38s8r wrote

yea. some people say that cains wife and the people he was afraid were going to kill him were all the future sons and daughters that adam and eve had. people back then lived a long time. future sons and daughters would know what cain had done and why he was living out there. genesis condenses lots of history and its probably not exhaustive.

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Quirky-Topic-2389 t1_iw4hcyi wrote

not only that:

​

- every time the GDI defeats the Brotherhood of Nod, the BoN's next resurgence is multitudes more violent and forceful

​

- which... is what the Biblical God told Cain to reassure him he will be OK in some ways, despite the whole world hating him

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marmorset t1_iw4lmb9 wrote

>there is no adequate explanation of the people of Nod. Adam and eve created 2 offspring, Cain and Abel; Both males. There is no other mention of any other people on the planet, just those 4 people

You're wrong. Not only does Genesis say that Adam and Eve had other sons and daughters, it specifically mentions a son named Seth.

It doesn't mention when those other children were born or what happened to them, only that that the first two children were Cain and Abel. And it clearly says that Eve is the mother of mankind in general so the other people are all the descendants of Adam and Eve.

I'm sure the zealots love it when someone who doesn't know what the Bible says and doesn't believe in it, tries to share his "knowledge."

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marmorset t1_iw4ocb4 wrote

Monotheism is a modern conception, and the word "god" originally just meant divine being. The thing that's different about Yahweh is that He's the only creator. Also, Yahweh is the only god that isn't part of a pantheon, the divine beings with Yahweh are His subordinates, they're not offspring or equals. That's much different from all the other beliefs.

Another difference is that God has a singular relationship with people. There's no give and take, it's Yahweh's way of the highway. All of the other gods rely on humans and do favors for humans if they get something in return.

It was generally acknowledged, and mentioned in the Bible, that God has a council and he addresses other divine beings--angel is a job description, the word means "messenger." Only in modern times did Jewish and Protestant leaders invent monotheism, the notion that there's only one divine being. The Bible itself notes that there are divine beings, angels, who assist Yahweh, and divine beings, demons, that oppose Yahweh, but He's the one God.

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marmorset t1_iw4olq3 wrote

It is mentioned that Eve is the mother of mankind, which suggests that all people come from her, it's not just an honorary title. But Genesis also mentions that Adam and Eve have other children after Cain and Abel, it just doesn't mention what happens to them.

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marmorset t1_iw4p6f0 wrote

That's all extra-Biblical, it's rabbis looking to explain things after the fact. The Bible says that God created Adam, then later He creates Eve, and they're the parents of mankind.

Lilith isn't in the Bible, other people weren't created first. If you're accepting the Bible either as a religious text or as mythology, it's clear that God creates Adam and Eve and everyone else comes from them, there's no Lilith or others.

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for2fly t1_iw7ri49 wrote

I wasn't asking because I was incredulous. I was asking because the poem relates to the TIL, nothing more. For all I know, your knowledge of poets worldwide could be vast and rich.

It's entirely reasonable that one might have never heard of him or any of his works. Most of what I know of Eugene Field is due to his tenuous connection to my wife's family.

Otherwise, as far as poetry goes, I don't get very far. :p

Disney made a [Silly Symphony](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wynken,Blynken_and_Nod(film)) cartoon based on it also. This was how I first learned of the poem.

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sterlingphoenix t1_iw7tfc0 wrote

Oh I wasn't accusing you of anything. Just mentioning that I haven't heard of it and, having followed your link to it, realising why.

I am absolutely not complaining about the fact that I learned something new!

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Dveralazo t1_ixe4wfc wrote

Set and his siblings.

I mean,c'mon,this guys allegedly lived for NINE CENTURIES, probably fertile for five centuries,and with no internet,no tv,no music just imagine what would end happening : )

Actually,you don't have to imagine,great grandma had 9 childs and it was common.

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