These are the first 10 references to death in Genesis. Genesis 2:17 ESV

“but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Genesis 3:3–4 ESV

...but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.”

Genesis 5:5 ESV

“Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.”

Genesis 5:8 ESV

“Thus all the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died.”

Genesis 5:11 ESV

“Thus all the days of Enosh were 905 years, and he died.”

Genesis 5:14 ESV

“Thus all the days of Kenan were 910 years, and he died.”

Genesis 5:17 ESV

“Thus all the days of Mahalalel were 895 years, and he died.”

Genesis 5:20 ESV

“Thus all the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died.”

Genesis 5:27 ESV

“Thus all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died.”

Genesis 5:31 ESV

“Thus all the days of Lamech were 777 years, and he died.”

Genesis 4:8-16 ESV

Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” And the LORD said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” Then the LORD said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Judgment & mercy... Cain complains about his punishment and attempts to manipulate God by exaggerating it, adding to God's words, implying that the additions are natural implications of God's words. A very familiar strategy, no?

God clarifies... and protects Cain's life with a mark and a consequence should Cain be killed.

Cain, Enoch, Irad, Mehujael, Methushael, Lamech...

Genesis 4:19–24 ESV

And Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. Zillah also bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

Lamech said to his wives:

“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say: I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold.”

Seriously?

I am so very sad.

On August 24, he resigned. On October 5, he died.

What is this mysterious thing called self-control? When we fight an urge, it feels like a strenuous effort, as if there were a homunculus in the head that physically impinged on a persistent antagonist. We speak of exerting will power, of forcing ourselves to go to work, of restraining ourselves and of controlling our temper, as if it were an unruly dog. In recent years the psychologist Roy F. Baumeister has shown that the force metaphor has a kernel of neurobiological reality. In “Willpower,” he has teamed up with the irreverent New York Times science columnist John Tierney to explain this ingenious research and show how it can enhance our lives.

via NYTimes.com.

In the days ahead, a baby will be born who will take the global population above 7 billion for the first time, and in all probability that birth will take place in China or India, the two countries with more than a billion inhabitants.No one is sure. There may already be 7 billion passengers on spaceship earth, as no statistician would be prepared to say exactly when this event of largely symbolic significance takes place.The United Nations has fixed October 31 as the date of the fateful birth, but events have so often proved demographers wrong in the past that the expectation is that it will be sooner rather than later The rate of population growth has soared over the course of recorded history: When Jesus was born, there are thought to have been around 300 million people on earth.

via The Hindu.