Exploration of Early Genesis: The Story of Cain and Abel

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Genesis 4.1-7
May 8th, 2022

Faith Comes by Hearing

And so here we go – life in the world going way, way back to the expulsion from paradise. And we are going to cover a chunk – from Genesis 4:1-15!

Here we go . . .

Genesis 4:1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?
10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;
12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
13 And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
15 And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

Analysis of Genesis 4:1

Alright, back to verse one as Moses writes:

Genesis 4:1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.

We are going to work through these first 15 verses as a whole – so we will read them but kind of refer to them as one story rather than individual verses.

Some more reputable Hebrews scholars suggest that the first line of verse 1 is not chronological but refers to a time “prior” when Adam knew his wife – even to the point that she both conceived and bore Cain in the garden. Others have trouble accepting this view.

Interpretation Challenges

Other radical ideas come out from the Hebrew as well because from it the Jews anciently believed that in addition to Cain and to Abel it is possible, due to the language here, that twins or triplet sisters were also born with them because the description of their birth includes the line, “Cain and additional things.” I tend to think something different which we will get to in a minute.

While the name Cain in Hebrew generally means “acquired,” as in acquired of the Lord, some suggest that the Woman believed that Cain was the one promised to “crush the head of the serpent.” I tend to think that the name given Cain was nothing more than her acknowledging God’s hand in the son she had been given. Again, I would think that if Adam had been of faith we would have heard something from him – but we don’t. In my estimation, Adam became the prototypical dead husband because of the lack of reference to his person forever more.

Verse 2:
2 And she “again” bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

Literally, the first line means, “She added to bear his brother,” and from the…

Cain and Abel: Understanding Their Story

On the very face of this account, it appears evident that Cain and Abel were twins – which is my view. This accounts for the idea that in Cain's birth, there were additions. So, if not sisters or others, it means Abel was an addition to Cain's birth. Cain came out first, and Abel was added. The better way to read this in the Hebrew is "And she continued to bear his brother, Abel." Then "And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground."

Names and Their Meanings

Let’s work through some of the elements found in this ancient tale. We will begin with their names. The names Cain and Abel come from the Greek Septuagint, a 2,000-year-old Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, where their names are written as "Kain" and "Abel."

These names are the Greek transliterations of the Hebrew, Cain (qayin) and Abel is (havel). The word ??? (qayin, from the root QN) means “to acquire or possess something,” which is why Eve said "I have gotten/acquired a man" (Gen 4:1). The word ??? (havel) means “to be empty” and is often translated as vain or vanity in the sense of being “empty of substance.”

The Hebrew word for "name" is “shem” and literally means “breath or character.” In Hebrew thought, a given name is reflective of one's character, and the Hebraic meanings of the names of "Cain and Abel" are windows into their souls or characters. Therefore, Cain is a possessor or “one who has substance” while Abel is “empty of substance.”

This may seem odd to us because we have always assumed that Abel was the good guy and Cain the bad, but this is an oversimplification of the facts, as according to their names, which is a Hebrew reflection of their character, Cain is what we would call "a man of character," but Abel would be considered "vain." This is not the first time we will see this in scripture. Remember Jacob and Esau. Esau was a man's man, and Jacob was a twit – but the latter was a man of faith while Esau was a man of the flesh.

Births and Professions

Now let’s consider their births. It is a well-known fact that Jacob and Esau were twins, but what is not commonly known is that Cain and Abel were also twins. In the normal Hebraic accounting of multiple births, the conception then the birth of each child is mentioned.

In Genesis 29, it states that “Leah conceived and bore a son, and then she conceived again and bore a son.” We see that there are two conceptions and two births. But notice how it is worded in Genesis 4:1-2?

Now, Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain; And again, she bore his brother Abel. (RSV)

Notice that there is only one conception mentioned, but two births. The Hebrew word for "again" is asaph, meaning “to add something, and in this case, the birthing of Abel was “added” to the birthing of Cain. It is from these things that some Hebrew scholars believe that Cain and Abel were twins. I concur.

Sacrifices and Their Significance

How about their professions? According to the Biblical text, Abel was a shepherd. The KJV uses the word "keeper," but the Hebrew word ro'eh means shepherd. Cain is a "tiller of the ground." The Hebrew word translated as "tiller" is o'ved, which literally means a "servant."

We should recognize the Hebrew word o'ved because it is the participle form of the verb avad, and the verb avad is found in Genesis 3:23, where it states that when Adam was expelled from the garden, he was sent to "till" (avad) the ground. Therefore, Cain, who is the older of the twins, takes on the profession of his father, a very common occurrence in Hebrew culture, and Abel an occupation not of his dear old Dad. The fatherly influence certainly could have played a role in the development of these two boys.

Now to their sacrifices. The traditional story is that when the two boys brought their sacrifices to God, Cain, the farmer, brought fruit from the ground that he worked, and Abel, the shepherd, brought a sheep from his flock. We are then told that God had respect for Abel's sacrifice, but not for Cain's, but we are not told why Cain's sacrifice was not respected.

Something of interest that can be gleaned from this story. We often assume the first commands by God were given to Moses at Mt. Sinai.

The Story of Cain and Abel

This story shows that this is evidently not the case. God gave at least some of his commands to Adam and Eve and their children, and it is apparent from the narrative that Abel obeyed those commands, but Cain did not. There was some sort of expectation from God, and Cain did not meet it – but Abel did. Because God did not respect Cain's sacrifice, Cain was angry and sad.

Here we enter into a really beautiful exchange between God and Cain. Seeing his reaction, God says, "Cain. if thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?" These are the words of a loving God to a troubled soul. And they bode well in supporting freedom of choice. I also see them as God is telling Cain that he can overcome this; all he has to do in the future is bring the correct sacrifice according to information we don’t have, and all will be well. There is hope in this message – hope in redemption and choosing to change the course of one’s life.

The Consequence of Choices

Then God says something profound – He adds, "and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door." Now there are several ways to interpret these words and ALL of them are right – remember, it is God speaking and His words have the capacity to say everything. We will cover the last line of this verse near the conclusion of our study.

Hebrew commentaries say that Cain was born first and was, therefore, according to Hebrew tradition, the leader. But they add a unique insight – and suggest that Abel, the empty one, was attempting to take over the leadership in the family, possibly because he felt superior to Cain as his sacrifice was accepted by God and Cain’s was not. Also, don't forget that Cain's character, at least based on the name, was one of substance and Abel's was one of vanity. So there’s that.

Also, note that the King James Version translates Genesis 4:8 as follows. “And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.” This is a pretty straightforward passage, isn’t it? From it, we have historically seen Cain as the supreme evildoer. But the verse has been altered in order for it to make sense. It was not uncommon for the translators of scripture to "fix" the text so that it could be understood by the reader more easily. In my opinion, when we see evidence of this, we also see a disservice to the reader too. I am of the opinion that the translator should remain true to the text and then footnote their opinions. But this does not always happen.

Translation Discrepancies

So what was done here? The very first part of that verse actually reads, from the Hebrew, "And Cain said to his brother." What did Cain say to his brother? We don't know, that is missing from the text. The King James translators fixed this by changing the word from "said" to "talked." This may sound trivial, but every time the Hebrew uses vai'yomer (“and said”) a conversation follows in the text – except in this case. So at some point, when the scroll was being copied, a copier accidentally skipped over what was said by Cain. Young's Literal Translation tries to correct this and translates the passage: And Cain saith unto Abel his brother, 'Let us go into the field;' and it cometh to pass in their being in the field, that Cain riseth up against Abel his brother, and slayeth him.

Young's remains true to the Hebrew but adds, "Let us go into the field." Where did Young's get this line? From the Greek Septuagint, which reads as follows. And Cain said to Abel his brother, “Let us go out into the plain;” and it came to pass that when they were in the plain Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. Where did the Septuagint get the "Let us go out into the plain?" We don't know! So, either they were translating from a Hebrew scroll that includes the conversation OR they "fixed" the text by adding the sentence in order for the passage to make sense.

The reason that I bring up this is to show that we do not know with certainty all of the facts surrounding this murder. We like to create a

Cain's Punishment and Precedent of Grace

Narrative that enhances the bloodletting but we are not sure what actually went down to lend to it happening. In the end, Cain does murder his brother, no doubt, and he is punished for it by God, which by the way, is more evidence that God gave his commands to Adam and Eve, long before he gave them to Moses, here specifically the commandment, "you shall not murder" for the scripture is plain that where there is no law given there is no sin? So somehow God justly punished Cain according to both rejecting his offering and for murdering his brother.

The Punishment of Cain

Then let’s look at the punishment. The first punishment for Cain is that he is will no longer be able to work the ground, as Moses records God saying:

“And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength;” (RSV, Genesis 4:11-12a)

That is a curse of suffering, hunger, labor. The second punishment was banishment as Moses writes:

“You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” (RSV, Genesis 4:12b)

The two words are related and best describe those poor souls we see in a certain vicinity of town to stumble about, foraging through trash cans, sitting on the curb, and just wandering about. Because he was the first born of the fallen parents, it could mean he would not relate with them either.

Cain’s Remorse

Cain is distressed by this punishment and says to God, according to the translations;

“My punishment is greater than I can bear.” (RSV, Genesis 4:13).

At first glance this appears to suggest that he does not seem remorseful for his crime but only appears to be worried about his punishment and therefore himself. However, the Hebrew word translated as punishment is avon, which means "iniquity" or "guilt." So, with this insight, he is actually saying, "My guilt is greater than I can bear." And therefore with this translation we see great remorse in Cain – if the interpretation is correct. Then Cain then continues to say:

“Behold, thou hast driven me this day away from the ground; and from thy face I shall be hidden; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will slay me.” (RSV, Genesis 4:14)

Interesting that Cain is worried about someone finding him in the world and killing him even in that early stage of the game, right? Cain will go on and get married so there are other people around somehow – which we will talk about in coming weeks but this is peculiar.

Examples of Grace

But what is supremely interesting to me is God’s response. See, we often believe that the Old Testament taught only that God was Law and that the NT presents God as Grace. The reality is we find throughout the Old Testament instances where God shows an abundance of Grace.

1. God’s grace infuses Noah’s Story. “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Gen 6:8).

2. God’s grace endures in spite of Abraham and Sarah’s unbelief. “And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen 12:3b).

3. God’s grace for Joseph gave him strength to persevere. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good” (Gen 50:20).

4. Moses doubted God at every turn, yet God graciously guided him.

5. The Israelites repeatedly rebelled against God, yet He graciously rescued them. “And he could bear Israel’s misery no longer (Judges 10:16).”

6. Rahab bravely asked God to save her (in spite of her past sins) and He did! “The Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below (Josh. 2:11b).”

7. David lusted, stole, fornicated, lied, and killed—yet God saw his heart and loved him. “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin (Ps. 51:1)”

And I would add to this list Cain as God grants mercy, grace, and hope to Cain – something we often forget. Listen to God’s reply to Cain, as he says:

"Not so! If any one slays Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold." And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who came upon him should kill him. (RSV, Genesis 4:15)

Note something here that is frequently overlooked. God punished Cain for murdering Abel but God evidently believed that Cain's murder did not deserve death, either by his or anyone else's hand and this may be a sign that there is more to this murder story.

The Story of Cain and Abel

It is also an interesting argument against capital punishment – amidst all the arguments in the Bible that support it. Don't forget that the conversation between Cain and Abel is not known for sure and it is also possible that there are elements of this story that have not been passed down to us. Perhaps this was a crime of passion rather than of premeditation? Perhaps Abel mocked Cain repeatedly and Cain, having slid into a place of beastly flesh, resorted to killing him. It doesn’t excuse it – hence the punishment – but we can say that Cain was treated mercifully by God.

What is the mark that God placed on Cain? We of course cannot know with any certainty, but there are some clues. The Hebrew word translated as "mark" is the word 'ot, which is used in the Biblical text for a "sign." This word is also used in non-Biblical Hebrew texts for a "letter," as in a letter of the alphabet.

Symbolism of the Mark

Ezekiel 9:4 reads, And the LORD said to him, "Go through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark upon the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it." In this passage, the Hebrew word for the "mark" is tav, which is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Ezekiel passages it would be better translated as, "and put a 'tav' upon the foreheads." In the Ancient Hebrew alphabet, the letter tav was written as a picture of two crossed sticks, a cross if you will, and is a sign of a covenant.

ON BOARD Early Hebrew + Middle Hebrew X Late Hebrew n Modern Hebrew n

It is possible that the "mark" God placed on Cain was the letter tav and may also be a sign that God was in covenant relationship with Cain so as to protect him. Why would a tav signify a covenant with God? I don’t know but these markings are super symbolic aren’t they?

The Offering of Cain and Abel

As with most of the things we read in scripture there is much more to the story of Cain and Abel than most of us have been taught. We don't have all of the answers; in fact, as we study the Biblical text carefully, we will usually wind up with more questions than answers. But this is what Bible study/teaching/learning is all about. It is not about getting all the answers, it is about the search. So, let’s continue on at verse 3 where we read

3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. In process of time or perhaps better yet, at the end of days – meaning a period of time like a week or a season. And what did Cain do? Brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. Some traditions suggest that this offering was not the best or most choice of the ground fruit and maybe even it was the worst. Some suggest that it was of flaxseed. I don’t know why.

As to why it was not acceptable is also up to conjecture. Some believe that it was not in accordance with the way God instructed offerings to be made (this is the common thought in Christianity) but this is not certain. Some think that Cain's heart was wrong and not the offering itself. Out of the gate, all we really know is Cain brought an offering and (verse 4)

4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

But there is a little clue here as some scholars suggest that the phrase, “Abel also brought,” should be translated, Abel also brought “IT” – meaning, in addition to what Cain brought. In other words, Abel and Cain both brought a meal offering but Abel also brought an animal to illustrate his heart and need for a living sacrifice.

To this view, the writer of Hebrews apparently refers when he says in Hebrews 11:4:

“By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. “

Understanding Abel's Offering

This passage from Hebrews to you as it contains what I believe are many clues to Abel’s offering. Ready?

“By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.”

“By FAITH Abel offered a MORE excellent sacrifice (plee-own Thusia) in the Greek which means “a larger in quantity sacrifice” not “a better one in quality” which leads us to infer, according to some, that Abel, besides offering a sacrifice of gratitude ALSO brought a victim to be slain for his sins and this latter offering was chosen out of the first-born of his own flock, which, in the order of God, was a representation of the Lamb of God that was to take away the sin of the world. And Abel did this in faith of what was promised to come to the world.

Therefore, it was a matter of quantity rather than just quality and the added offering was according to what God had directed them to do in the face of sin as the precursor to the promise God gave them that a Messiah was coming forth to crush Satan’s head. In other words, Abel’s offering was by faith. Therefore, his offerings were accepted, while those of Cain were rejected; for this, as the writer of Hebrews says, was done by FAITH, and therefore he obtained witness that he was righteous, or a justified person, God testifying with his gifts, (plural) the thank-offering and the sin-offering. So we have tied to Abel’s offering faith – which I believe is central to what was deficient in Cain’s.

5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

Cain's Response

How did God manifest His respect for these offerings? We don’t know. Perhaps he sent fire down and consumed Abel’s but left Cain's untouched. Moses doesn’t tell us.

But I suggest that Cain, unconscious of his sinfulness or faithlessness, offered up something that was not based in faith while Abel's was, and from the start of the fallen world, FAITH presents itself as central to how humans please God. In this we discover some interesting principles. Did Cain make an offering? He did. But we note that God cannot be pleased (or respect) one offering and respect and be pleased with another offered in a different way.

We don’t see God here saying to Cain, “Good job, little buddy!” “Everything you do is wonderful!” Instead, God deals straight up in truth with Cain and would not give Cain credit for a perfunctory show. He wanted Cain to give gifts to Him that reflected faith in him, not complicity to demands; that showed a desire for true atonement, not religion. Abel’s offering was in harmony with all that was good and known of them in that day. Cain’s simply was not. And God loved him enough to make this known.

6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

These words appear to have been aimed at getting Cain to look inward and to get real with the circumstances. Then listen to what God says next:

7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.

The Consequences of Choices

In other words, God reminds Cain of a simple truth: That if he chooses to do what is right or good in the sight of God, he would be received and accepted for God certainly does not reject any man who serves him in simplicity and godly sincerity. But, God adds, “if thou doest not well, you stand on the slippery slope of sin. It literally lies at your door.”

Now, this last line can be taken in a couple of ways – first, it could mean that God is warning Cain that the more he chooses to not do well, sin is waiting right outside his door to trip him up – and some believe that this is God warning him of the condition of his heart. We note in this that God is telling Cain to choose well, to do right, and he would always be accepted by God.

The Concept of Faith from the Beginning

The even more graceful meaning of the term, sin lieth at the door, as it could also refer to the sin offering of an animal that could be as close as lying outside the door of his home. And all he needed to do was lift it and offer it up to God as Abel did. In other words, God is saying:

7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, a sin offering lieth at the door to bring temporary propitiation for you, Cain.

“This is what your brother brought in addition to the offering you brought. And it was from the heart and in faith, trusting in the promised shed blood of my Son (or at least the promise of Him to come).

See, the early human family was not supplied with all the facts and prophecies of the Messiah, but they had some promises and had to choose to believe and act on them – or not. Those that did, walked by faith and were pleasing to God. Those who didn’t, refused to conform, and were not pleasing to him. The Nation of Israel, given more promises and information, also looked in faith toward the coming of the King that was not of this world. Those who were alive in His day received Him by what they saw, but the price was severe treatment of their person and very lives. And those of us who look back to completed events, similar to the Children of Israel, have all sorts of witnesses and historical accounts to lean on and believe, but suffer in our choosing to conform to Him and His ways in faith rather than to live for today and all the world offers.

Faith Across Different Ages

In every place, faith is required. In every epoch of time, every individual expresses their faith in a way reflecting what is coming and what has been. Understanding this is so central to the faith, that all people – from Adam and Eve to the Present – are called to operate by faith, humility, and to subject their lives to Him and His will. We all just experience a different sort of faith perspective – depending on the age in which we live. Here with Cain, God both instructs and warns him, and even points out that if He fails an offering for His sin lies at the door. God is graciously reaching to him and illustrates to him that all options are in his power to choose.

Interpretation of Genesis 4:7

Then he adds a weird line that causes all manner of weird interpretation, saying: And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. Many people believe that these words are talking about sin here, with God personifying it. They say that God is saying: “If you do not improve, Cain, sin is lying at the entrance and to you is its longing, but you can rule over it." It is assumed by most that the "his" and "him" in this verse is "sin," however, this is impossible. In Hebrew, all nouns are either masculine or feminine. For instance, the earth is feminine, but the sky (heaven) is masculine and the word for fish is feminine, but the word for bird is masculine. The Hebrew word for sin is hhatah, which is a feminine noun. If the "his" and "him," (which by the way are the correct gender for the pronouns in the Hebrew text) then the correct pronouns would have been "hers" and "her."

We can then conclude that the "his" and "him" are referring to something or someone other than to sin. So here is a literal rendering of this passage from the Hebrew; "and toward you is his desire but you will rule over him." Now, let's go back to the previous chapter (Genesis 3:16) where God is speaking to Eve about her relationship with Adam after the curse and He says "and toward your husband is your desire, but he will rule over you." Did you notice that these two passages, aside from the gender of the pronouns and to whom the passages are referring too, are identical? In the passage about Adam and Eve, Eve is to follow her husband and her husband is to rule over her. In the passage about Cain and Abel, "he" is to follow Cain and Cain is to rule over "him." So, the "he" and "him?" has to be Abel.

We will stop here and continue next week.

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