Genesis 4:20 - Clarke's commentary and critical notes on the Bible

And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. Jabal - was the father - The inventor or teacher, for so the word is understood, 1 Samuel 10:12. He was the first who invented tent-making, and the breeding and managing of cattle; or he was, in these respects, the most eminent in that time. Though Abel was a shepherd, it is not likely he was such on an extensive scale.