Genesis

This story reflects the challenges and struggles that arose in humanity with the advent of agriculture (sedentary people) and the rise of livestock (nomadic people). It also reveals an ancient religious custom: at the beginning of the harvest, farmers offered their finest fruits to their deities as a gesture of gratitude for the bounty they had received. Shepherds did the same with the best of their livestock. However, this was not only a matter of appreciation; it also involved “committing” the divinity to ensure the following year would be productive as well. When this did not occur, it was interpreted as a sign that the divinity had rejected the offerings. This may have been true for Cain, whose agricultural failure led him to conclude that God had rejected his offering while his brother’s had been accepted. Rancor haunted him, and instead of mastering it, he allowed himself to be consumed by it and killed his brother.
The narrative of Cain and Abel denounces not only individual fratricide but also collective fratricide, as Cain, the older brother with power, shows little regard for his younger brother’s life and ultimately takes it away. Thus, the story’s focus is not just on the relationship between Cain and Abel, but also on the cursed offspring that Cain represents: the groups and power structures that exclude, destroy, and kill the weaker brothers.

This story builds upon the previous one and highlights a significant point that should not be overlooked. It is not a descendant in the strict sense, but rather a “type” descendant. In the earlier passage, Cain is marked with the seal of the curse, and immediately we find a series of his descendants, whose names are closely linked to what we can refer to as power groups. Remember that in the Semitic mindset, the name signifies the essence of the person and their condition. This is why it is beneficial to examine the etymological meanings of some names among these descendants.
Enoch is related to the city that Cain builds (17). The Bible does not condemn the city for being a city but for its structure. The resources of the region or country flow toward it, not for the good and enjoyment of all, but for a select few who hold dominion and power. Enoch is also condemned for his son Irad, a name that means “the one who returned to the city.” He represents those who accumulate land—the hoarders of natural resources. Mechuyael, which means “God is destroyed,” and Metusael, which translates as “man greedy to possess,” symbolize the power of greed and the attempt to “destroy” God himself. In the hearts of the greedy and overbearing is born the desire to destroy a God who requires him to share his goods with others (cf. Dt 15:7f) and to return to his brother what belongs to him in justice. 
The names of the women mentioned are all associated with beauty: Ada means “adornment” (19); Sila, “adornment” (19); and Naama, “precious, beautiful” (22). They represent women valued for their external attributes rather than for their feminine essence, which reflects the image and likeness of God (1:26).

The data presented in this passage must be aligned with the global plan that the writers establish regarding the meaning of history: they interpret it in terms of fidelity or infidelity to the divine plan. It is not, therefore, about characters who have achieved such longevity. The number of years serves as a means of quantifying the quality of life, but above all, it reflects the consistency of adherence to or rejection of the divine plan. Note the irregular variation in ages, whose true intention is to set the scene for the story that follows, the story of Noah and the flood. We can say that a characteristic of this list of characters, which derives from the trunk that replaced the murdered Abel, is that they represent the lineage of the “good,” in contrast to the lineage of Cain, who represents the “bad.” Yet, this good offspring is also the cause of the flood, as they were unable to maintain the high quality of life that follows from the divine plan.