How old was Abel when Cain killed him?

Gustave Doré: Cain kills Abel

Short answer: a lot older than most realize.  

Scripture doesn’t specify Cain’s or Abel’s age at the time of the murder, but we do have clues indicating they were both quite old.  The textual evidence, in fact, seems to indicate they were well into their hundreds.  

Come again?  If that sounds outlandish, consider the following.  

Seth Was Not The 3rd Child

Reading Genesis 4, alone, you may be tempted to think Cain, Abel and Seth were born in succession, since they’re the only children mentioned in the account.  On closer examination, however, this is not likely. While it’s likely Cain and Abel were the first two sons of Adam, Seth couldn’t have been the third.  

In the narrative, we learn Seth was born after Abel’s death, and that he was a special replacement for Abel. 

Gen. 4:25   And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, “For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.”

The Offerings of Cain and Abel
Carving from the main doors of the Sainte Chapelle in Paris

We also know Cain and Abel were of working age at the time of the murder—Cain a farmer, Abel a rancher, respectively.  

Gen. 4:2 ….. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

At minimum, just based on this chapter alone, Abel would have been a generation apart from Seth.  If Seth was the 3rd child, one would have to ask why Adam and Eve abstained for so long (minimum 12-18 years) before having more children, especially given the commandment to be fruitful, multiply (Gen. 1:28)?  

That said, the evidence goes way beyond this.

Seth was born when Adam was 130

In Genesis chapter 5 we have a genealogical record which reveals Adam was130 years old when he fathered Seth.

Gen. 5:3 And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.

Think about that.  If Cain and Abel were the first sons of Adam, conceived and born soon after the Creation, and Seth was born 130 years later, how could Seth possibly be the third son?  We would have to believe Adam and Eve refrained from relations for more than a century after Abel’s birth.  

Another scenario is that Adam and Eve abstained for more than a century after bering created, until they finally had their first 3 sons—Cain, Abel and Seth.  None of these scenarios work. 

First, Eve was likely the most attractive woman who ever lived.  She was created directly by God, prior to the Fall and before any sin or decay had touched the earth.  What motive, even fleshly motive, would Adam have had to ignore her for 100+ years?  

Second, and more significantly, God commanded Adam and Eve to multiply and fill the earth (Gen. 1:28). If they abstained for a century, we’d have to assume they rebelled for a century, and there is no evidence to sustain this.  

The simplest explanation is that Adam and Eve had a multitude of children after Abel and prior to Seth.  Cain and Abel were likely born in succession, followed by at least a couple dozen children before Seth.  But the evidence doesn’t stop there. 

Cain feared retribution from his relatives

When God confronted Cain about his brother’s death, he denied knowing about it.  “Am I my brother’s keeper” was his sarcastic rejoinder, based on Abel’s profession of keeping flocks (Gen. 4:9).  But when God cursed him and informed him of his fate, he changed his tune.  Cain feared for his life.  

Gen. 4:13  And Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear! 14 …I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me.”

Who was Cain talking about?  Obviously, there were other men in existence, at the time, who could do him harm.  He was not alone with his two parents, and he certainly wasn’t worried about future, yet-to-be-born siblings who would come around some 20 years later.  The simplest explanation is that he was afraid of his own adult brothers and their adult descendants. 

In the Genesis 5 genealogy, we’re also told Adam had many sons and daughters.  

Gen. 5:4 After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons and daughters. 5 So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died.

According to the Jewish historian, Josephus, Adam had 33 sons and 23 daughters (Antiq. 1:68-3 notes).  This is not an inspired record, but Josephus was a reliable historian with access to writings and traditions that are now lost.  56 children is also quite logical, considering Adam’s lifespan of 930 years.  

We also know Seth was not the firstborn even though he’s the first mentioned in this genealogy.  In fact, it’s unlikely any of the sons in this genealogy were firstborns.  Look at the fathers’ ages at the time of each sons’ birth: Seth’s father-130, Enosh’s father-105, Kenan’s father-90, Mahalalel’s father-70, Jared’s father-65, Enoch’s father-162, Methuselah’s father-65, Lamech’s father-187, Noah’s father-182.  These are clearly not firstborns, just sons in a particular lineage—in this case, Noah’s lineage, and ultimately Christ’s lineage.  

Thus, Adam had numerous children before Seth and after Seth, and Cain was rightfully afraid of the former.  

Cain and Abel both married with children?

If Cain and Abel were over a century old at the time of the murder, they likely also had families and descendants, for they too were commanded to multiply and fill the earth (Gen. 1:28).  Is there any reason not to believe this?—particularly righteous Abel, whose sacrifice was more excellent than Cain’s (Heb. 11:4)?  I believe both had a wife and descendants at the time of the murder. It’s conjecture, but a logical inference from the Text. 

Josephus, a first century Jewish historian, seems to corroborate this, writing that Cain and his wife were driven from the land. 

Antiq. 1:58 God therefore did not inflict the punishment [of death] upon him, on account of his offering sacrifice, and thereby making supplication to him not to be extreme in his wrath to him; but he made him accursed, and threatened his posterity in the seventh generation. He also cast him, together with his wife, out of that land.
….60 And when Cain had travelled over many countries, he, with his wife, built a city named Nod, which is a place so called, and there he settled his abode; where also he had children…

Again, his works are not inspired but they are reliable, and do reflect historical Jewish thought.  Scripture doesn’t specifically mention Cain’s wife being with him at this time, but it doesn’t rule it out, either.  

Josephus also corroborates Adam and Eve having a plurality of daughters along with Cain and Abel. 

Antiq. 1:52 Adam and Eve had two sons; the elder of them was named Cain; which name, when it is interpreted, signifies a possession. The younger was Abel, which signifies sorrow. They had also daughters.

They both had opportunities to marry.  

Conclusion

Cain and Abel were likely over 120 years old when the first murder in history went down.  They were not alone on the earth, but elders in a rapidly growing population.  While the children of Adam would have been denied entrance into the Garden of Eden, they were all still living in the land of Eden, working and enjoying the good remnants of a fallen world. Then Cain murdered Abel and was driven from the land, along with this wife.  

Obviously dogmatism isn’t warranted, but this is the most plausible inference from the biblical and historical data.  

Does it matter?

Yes.  Skeptics have long charged that Cain’s “wife” and his supposed “enemies” don’t fit in with the rest of the narrative.  They are plot-holes in a fictional account, that slipped through the editing process.  The Skeptic’s Annotated Bible, in connection with Gen. 4:14 notes,

Every one that findeth me shall slay me. [v.14]

Cain is worried after killing Abel and says, “Every one who finds me shall slay me.” This is a strange concern since there were only two other humans alive at the time — his parents!

Skeptics have also been tauntingly asking, “Where did Cain find his wife?”  Being his mom was the only woman on earth at the time, who is this mysterious woman living in Nod?

And Cain knew his wife. [v.17]
That’s nice, but where the hell did she come from? The Bible doesn’t mention any of Cain’s sisters.

Well, maybe he married his mom, or maybe God pulled another creation over in the next county. In any case, Cain and the mysterious Mrs. Cain have a son (another blue cigar!). His name is Enoch and he builds a city (population 3).

Peter commanded us to give an answer (1Pet. 3:15), and Paul commanded us to tear down arguments against the knowledge of God (2Cor. 10:5). These objections are easily answered when we read carefully and understand what’s in the Text and what’s not in the Text. 

If you’re fortunate enough to be confronted with one of these objections, make sure you’re ready. 

Further Reading

How old was Cain when he killed Abel? (Creation Ministries International)

Cain’s Wife Still On Trial (Talk Genesis)

Who was Cain’s Wife? (Answers in Genesis)

Who Was Cain Afraid Of? (Midwest Apologetics)