Yes — the first humans found spouses by marrying within their own immediate family, with brothers marrying sisters, since all humanity descended from Adam and Eve alone.
Les Feldick teaches that there was no separate population from which early people — including Cain — could take a spouse. Since the human gene pool was still pure and perfect, close-relative marriage caused no problems in the dawn of the race. God did not place a taboo on such marriages until much later, after the gene pool had degenerated.
Genesis 4:17 — This verse shows that Cain had a wife, and since the race began with Adam and Eve only, that wife necessarily came from within his immediate family.
Genesis 24:3-4 — This passage shows that even about 2,000 years after Adam, Abraham required that Isaac's wife come from his own kindred, not from the surrounding nations.
According to Scripture, the human race began with Adam and Eve. The Genesis record describes Adam and Eve leaving the garden, after which God placed cherubim and a flaming sword at the gate of Eden (Genesis 3:24). It then records that "Cain went out from the presence of the LORD" (Genesis 4:16), and it is in this context that the Bible introduces Cain's wife (Genesis 4:17). The New Testament genealogy in Luke traces all the way back to Adam, who was created by God, while Matthew's genealogy opens with Abraham (Matthew 1:1). Scripture also records that when Isaac was ready to marry, Abraham made his servant swear: "thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac" (Genesis 24:3-4). The servant asked what he should do if the woman would not return with him (Genesis 24:5). These verses show that in the earliest biblical generations a marriage partner was expected to come from within one's own extended family.
Les Feldick addresses the question directly: with the entire human race descending from Adam and Eve, there was no other population from which Cain could have taken a wife. He says it is obvious that these early families married sisters, and then gradually married cousins and other next of kin. He explains that this was not a problem at the dawn of the human race because "the physical makeup, the gene makeup was so pure, it was so perfect, that there wasn't any problem with intermarriage of next of kin." Even Abraham himself married a half-sister, and it was not until sometime later that God put a taboo on close relatives marrying because by then the gene pool had degenerated to the point that it caused genetic problems. Les also points out that the patriarchal families continued to marry within the kinship circle: Isaac was required to marry a woman from Abraham's kindred in Syria, and Jacob also took wives from among those relatives. The various Middle Eastern peoples descending from Abraham were all interrelated, which is why they are blood relatives to this day.
Since Adam and Eve were the only humans at the beginning, there was no separate tribe or community from which Cain could take a wife. Les Feldick says the answer is obvious: these early families married sisters, and then gradually married cousins and next of kin. Even after Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and built a city, his wife necessarily came from within the immediate family, because no other human beings existed.
Les Feldick explains that at the beginning of human history the physical and genetic makeup of the race was so pure and perfect that intermarriage of next of kin caused no problems whatsoever. This is why the first generations could marry sisters without difficulty. It was only much later — after the gene pool had degenerated — that close-relative marriage began to produce genetic problems, which is why God eventually placed a taboo on it.
Yes. Les notes that Abraham married his half-sister. About 2,000 years after Adam, Abraham required his servant to swear not to take a Canaanite wife for Isaac but to travel to Abraham's own country and kindred; the servant brought Rebekah from Syria (Genesis 24:3-5). Jacob likewise got his wives from Laban, who were relatives of Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees. Even Esau's marriages were to daughters of Ishmael, so all of these Middle Eastern families come from Abraham and are interrelated.
All Humanity Traces Back to Adam
Les explains that while Matthew's genealogy of Jesus begins with Abraham, the genealogy in Luke goes all the way back to Adam, showing that all human beings trace back to Adam, the first man created by God.
The Pure Gene Pool Made Close Marriage Safe
Les teaches that the earliest humans married sisters and next of kin without problems because the gene pool was pure, and that God only placed a taboo on close-relative marriage later when the gene pool had degenerated. He also notes that Abraham married a half-sister.
Isaac Marries Rebekah from the Family Homeland
Les explains that Isaac had to have a wife from the place of his forebears in Syria, and that the servant brought Rebekah back to him — continuing the pattern of marrying within the family line.
Even Esau's Marriages Stayed Connected to the Family
Les shows that Esau married Hittite women and daughters of Ishmael, and that all of these Middle Eastern families come from the patriarch Abraham — none were from a separate human line.
Jacob and Isaac's Wives Were Relatives of Abraham
Les notes that Jacob and Isaac got their wives from the Syrians, who were relatives of Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees, showing that the patriarchs continued to marry within their extended family.
Middle Eastern Peoples Are All Interrelated
Les shows that all the families of the Middle East descended from Abraham are blood relatives, and he recounts Abraham's instruction that Isaac must not marry a Canaanite woman but a wife from Abraham's own kindred.
Abraham's Command to Choose a Wife from His Kindred
Les quotes Genesis 24:3-4 to show that Abraham bound his servant by oath not to take a Canaanite wife for Isaac, but to go to Abraham's country and kindred for a wife.
Cain's Wife Came from the Family
Les answers the question of Cain's marriage directly: these early families married sisters, and since there was no other human population, Cain's wife had to come from within his own family.
Genesis 3:24: So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
Les refers to this verse when describing the setting after Adam and Eve left the garden, before the narrative turns to Cain and his wife.
Genesis 4:16: And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
This verse records Cain leaving the Lord's presence, setting up the question of where his wife came from.
Genesis 4:17: And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.
This verse reveals that Cain had a wife, which is the central question answered by the teaching that early families married sisters.
Genesis 24:3-4: And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.
Abraham's oath requirement shows that even in Isaac's generation a wife was to be chosen from within the extended family.
Genesis 24:5: And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?
The servant's question shows how the family-based marriage arrangement was expected to be carried out.
Matthew 1:1: The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Les points out that this genealogy begins with Abraham, while Luke's genealogy goes back to Adam, confirming that all humanity traces to Adam.
The Bible records that Cain knew his wife (Genesis 4:17) but does not name her. Les Feldick teaches that since Adam and Eve were the only humans at the beginning, the early families married sisters, so Cain's wife was necessarily a close relative — most likely a sister.
Les Feldick concludes that in the first generation or two, brothers married sisters because there was no one else to marry. The human gene pool was so pure at that time that this caused no genetic harm, and God did not forbid it until centuries later.
According to Les Feldick, the taboo came only sometime after Abraham — roughly 2,000 years after Adam — when the human gene pool had degenerated and close-relative marriage began causing genetic problems.
Yes. Les Feldick points out that Abraham himself married a half-sister. He uses this as evidence that close-relative marriage was not taboo in the early centuries, because God did not place a ban on it until sometime later.
Watch the Teaching: Why the New Testament Starts With Abraham — Matthew 1:1 Explained