Tubal-Cain

And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. 21And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. 22And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.

I'f you notice in this passage names 3 men but only two of them are fathers.   

  1. Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. 
  2.  Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ
The 3rd however is not a father.  He is Tubal-Cain.  If you know history you know that the ability to forge Iron was not discovered till many ages in the future.   In other words the science of iron was forgotten.  

The skills of Jabal and Jubal were remembered however and so what we have here is a different meaning for the word father.    Despite the fact that Jabal and Jubal's descendents died in the flood they are still fathers.   They are fathers of Ideas rather than fathers of men.   Their teaching lives on after they die while the teaching of Tubal-Cain dies along with his actual children.   Forging iron is later rediscovered however it was others who discovered it for the second time.  I assume though that Noah or his sons carried on the teachings of Jabal and Jubal and passed them on to their descendents.   Perhaps it was Shem since the Hebrews did live in tents as Abraham did.  I believe that Jesus used this meaning of the word Father in this New Testament passage:

 "Abraham is our father," they answered. "If you were Abraham's children," said Jesus, "then you would do what Abraham did.

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