I had who Cain married explained to me, but I don't remember. I think it had something to do with, um, giants. But I might be mixing my mythologies.

But there's still the icky incest that no one I asked wanted to account for.

There was incest, but Adam and Eve were perfect humans so there wasn't any worry about birth defects and such from inbreeding.

Well, Cain would have had to marry one of his sisters, there are lots of unmentioned daughters of Adam and Eve. 23 or something.

Were there other brothers? If not, Cain and Able would have been pretty busy....

I'm pretty sure there were other brothers. I think there is some line about how Adam had many sons and daughters by the time he lived his 800 years or so.

These were my questions that never got answered. They seemed to make my Sunday School teachers uncomfortable.

That made Sunday School worth going to. Like my riff on Jesus entering into Jerusalem at Passover and cursing a tree that didn't bear fruit at his command. I was all, "But--it's barely spring! Trees aren't supposed to bear fruit yet!" See what happens when you tell these stories to farm kids?

Later I was told it was some parable about how people should be productive for Christ, but at the time it just made think Jesus was a big meanie.

Don't forget, the whole incest issue comes back again after the Flood, when Noah and his family are the only humans left.

I had serious issues with Lot that were never answered either. I would argue that Lot tried to pimp out his daughters, but be told that "no, Lot knew that they only wanted the angels so his daughters were safe." Which is still icky because he's offering them up. Then he and his daugthers live, go hide in a cave, where he's daughters get him drunk and jump him so they can have kids.

And this guy was spared?

The only answer to that was "God works in mysterious ways."

But, with Noah, most of the incest would be cousins (his sons' wives came along). Granted, first cousins, but that's less squicky to me than siblings.

cursing a tree that didn't bear fruit at his command.

So was the tree sentient? Maybe it only became sentient when Jesus gave it the command.

So it's whole conscious life would be, "Wow, I can think. Shit, Jesus is mad at me!"

But, with Noah, most of the incest would be cousins (his sons' wives came along). Granted, first cousins, but that's less squicky to me than siblings.

Sheesh... this is what I get for giving Debet hot cousins. Oy.