In common, I suppose, with most very young people, I used to believe that God caused a red mark (I always imagined it was in the form of a X) to appear on Cain’s forehead, and that this mark could be seen by all and sundry, who would know why Cain carried that curious mark on his face. I suspect that this idea must have been advanced during Scripture lessons in the primary schools in many areas, for I have encountered the idea many times in recent years among adult but uncritical Bible readers.
The familiar hymn, “Father of faithful Abram hear,” seems to lend a certain colour to this idea that Cain was marked in his flesh.
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Author: P. H. Adams
Keywords: cain, mark of cain, mark on forehead, Cain's mark, marked, branded, tattoo, branding
Bible reference(s): Gen 4:15, Job 7:20
Source: “Understandest Thou What Thou Readest?,” The Testimony, Vol. 9, No. 102, June 1939, p. 263.
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