Tubal-Cain

Tubal-cain stands at the end of the short list of Lamech's sons in the Cainite genealogy. He is named once in scripture, with his trade and his sister recorded in a single verse.

Son of Lamech and Zillah

The Cainite line moves through Lamech and his two wives. "And Lamech took to him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah" (Gen 4:19). Adah bears two sons whose names introduce trades — Jabal, "the father of such as dwell in tents and [have] cattle" (Gen 4:20), and Jubal, "the father of all such as handle the harp and pipe" (Gen 4:21). Tubal-cain is the third son, born to the second wife: "And Zillah, she also bore Tubal-cain, the forger of every cutting instrument of bronze and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah" (Gen 4:22).

The Forger of Cutting Instruments

The descriptor placed on Tubal-cain is occupational rather than narrative. He is "the forger of every cutting instrument of bronze and iron" (Gen 4:22). The phrasing parallels the descriptors given to his half-brothers — Jabal as the "father" of tent-dwelling herdsmen, Jubal as the "father" of musicians, Tubal-cain as the forger of metal tools. Each of the three is fixed in the genealogy as the originator of a trade. Tubal-cain's trade is the working of bronze and iron into edged implements.

The same verse identifies his sister: "the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah" (Gen 4:22). Naamah's name closes the Cainite list, and Tubal-cain is the only one of Lamech's sons named alongside a sister in the genealogy.