The Land of Nod (Hebrew: eretz-Nod, ארץ נוד) is a place in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible, located "on the east of Eden" (qidmat-‘Eden), to which Cain was sentenced by the Lord God after murdering his brother Abel. According to 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."Nod" (נוד) is the Hebrew root of the verb "to wander" (לנדוד) and is possibly an etymological etiology intended to explain the nomadic lifestyle of Cain and his putative descendants, the Kenites. One interpretation of Genesis 4:16 is that Cain was cursed to wander the land forever, not that he was exiled to a "Land of Wanderers" otherwise absent from the Old Testament. Genesis 4:17 relates that after arriving in the Land of Nod, Cain's wife bore him a son, Enoch, in whose name he built the first city.
Read more about Land Of Nod: Places Named "Land of Nod", Popular Culture References
Famous quotes containing the words land of, land and/or nod:
“That impersonal insensitive friendliness which takes the place of ceremony in that land of waifs and strays.”
—Evelyn Waugh (1903–1966)
“Most blest believer he!
Who in that land of darkness and blind eyes
Thy long-expected healing wings could see,
When thou didst rise,
And what can never more be done
Did at midnight speak with the Sun!”
—Henry Vaughan (1622–1695)
“Romance, who loves to nod and sing,
With drowsy head and folded wing,”
—Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849)