Irad

Irad (meaning runner, wild ass, or fugitive) was an antediluvian patriarch in the line of Cain, son of Enoch and father of Mehujael (Genesis 4:18). He belongs to the Cainite genealogy that parallels the Sethite line in Genesis 5 — a literary contrast between two branches of humanity, one marked by the culture of the city-builder Cain and the other by those who "began to call on the name of the LORD" (Genesis 4:26). The Cainite list ends with Lamech's boast of sevenfold vengeance, setting up the contrast with the covenant line through Seth.

Irad's name may be related to the ancient city of Eridu in Mesopotamia, one of the oldest cities in the Sumerian tradition, suggesting a possible etymological connection between the Cainite genealogy and ancient Mesopotamian traditions of primordial civilization. Beyond his position in the genealogy, Irad receives no narrative in Scripture.