Was Luluwa the wife of Cain?

The Bible does not identify Cain’s wife, and while some traditional, extra-Biblical sources attempt to explain where Cain and Abel acquired wives, most of these sources are of dubious authority.

Many ancient sources indicate that Cain had a wife, but she is given a variety of names. Aclima, Kalmana, Lusia, Cainan, Luluwa, and Awan are all different versions of names that have been proposed. Islam has a tradition that identifies Cain’s wife as Aclima and says that she was born as the twin sister of Cain whom he eventually married, though Muslim sources don’t agree on this claim. Some Muslim sources indicate that her name was Lusia, and that Aclima was Abel’s twin sister, not Cain’s. Jewish and ancient Christian sources give different names for this figure, though there is a common theme that Cain’s wife was his sister or twin sister, probably on the basis that there were no other humans at the time, so Cain and Abel had to marry their sisters, whoever they were.

The name “Luluwa” comes from a sixth-century work called The Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan. This text is not part of the canonical writings of any religion. It falls into a common genre of the ancient world: stories which came many centuries after the composition of Genesis which expand on its stories in different ways.

Frans Floris - Adam and Eve with Cain and Abel - 1500s

While the “sixth century” may sound like a long time ago, it’s actually late compared to the formation of Christianity. The sixth century was at least a thousand years after Genesis was originally written, so the authors of The Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan couldn’t have been connected to anyone who was involved in writing or compiling Genesis, let alone influenced them. A text written that late would also have been composed well after the formation of the Christian canon of scripture, so it wouldn’t influenced the early Church, the formation of Christian doctrine, or Jewish or Christian understandings of theology.

Who did Luluwa marry?

It depends on the source you’re using. Some sources say that Cain married his twin sister while Abel married his own twin sister, while other sources say that Cain married Abel’s twin sister and Abel married Cain’s. The Book of Jubilees indicates that Cain’s wife was named “Awan” (or “Avan”) and was both the wife and sister of Cain. Finally, Genesis 4:17 says that Cain made love to “his wife” and she bore Enoch, so we know he had a wife and that his line continued.

Peter Oliver - The Family of Cain - circa 1647

What Can We Say Definitely About Cain’s Wife?

Not a whole lot. If you want to rely on textual evidence, all of the texts that give any details about the identity of Cain’s wife were written centuries (or a millennium) after the composition of Genesis and weren’t candidates to be canonical texts of either early Christianity or ancient Judaism—with one exception.

The Book of Jubilees was one of the extra-Biblical sources read by the early Christians and Israelites of the late antique period which seem to have been regarded as authoritative, much like the Book of Enoch. I’ve written about how the Book of Enoch, while not included in the canon of Scripture, still had a kind of secondary authority among the early Christians, which you can read more about here.

What does the Book of Jubilees say? It corresponds with Genesis in that it says that Cain married and begat children with his wife. Unlike Genesis, it indicates that he indeed married his sister, “Awan,” but that’s about it. All the fanciful narratives about the personalities and drama of the so-called “first family” are the inventions of authors who came much too late to be considered authoritative or influential on the early Church, on the formation of the canon of scripture, or either Christian or Jewish doctrine.

What is the Lulua tribe?

The Lulua tribe is a tribe in central Africa. While the name is similar, it has no relationship—at least none that I’m aware of—to the name Luluwa from the Medieval document, The Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan.