Tubal-cain
Patriarchs (Abraham–Joseph)
Early Patriarch
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H8423
Tubal-cain, a descendant of Cain, was the first metalworker mentioned in the Bible, forging tools out of bronze and iron.
Tubal-cain was a descendant of Cain through Lamech and Zillah, credited in Genesis 4:22 with being 'an instructor of every cutting instrument made of bronze and iron' — effectively the biblical tradition's first metalworker. His half-sister Naamah and brothers Jabal and Jubal are likewise associated with foundational human technologies: nomadic herding, music, and now smithcraft. The name has been etymologically connected to the Sumerian god Kainan or analyzed as a Hebrew wordplay, but his primary significance in Genesis is as a cultural ancestor of the arts of metalworking.