Genesis 4: Cain and Abel, the Two Lines, and Calling on the Name

And Adam had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man,” she said. Later she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the soil. So in the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the Lord, while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock. And the Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell. “Why are you angry,” said the Lord to Cain, “and why has your countenance fallen? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you refuse to do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires you, but you must master it.” (BSB)

Says “And Adam had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain” (4:1, BSB). The Hebrew is וְהָאָדָם יָדַע, and the man knew, of marital union; the noun has the article here and lacks it at 4:25, where אָדָם is the personal name. Where that name begins is treated in the notes on Genesis 2. Eve names the child קַיִן and says, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man” (4:1, BSB). The verb is קָנִיתִי, I have gotten or acquired; אִישׁ is a man, not a child. With the help of is the BSB's reading of אֶת־יְהוָה. Later she gave birth to Abel, הֶבֶל. Abel was a keeper of sheep, Cain a tiller of the soil. See the Hebrew note.

Implies The narrative itself draws a name-play: Cain is named with Eve's קָנִיתִי. Whether the name Abel, spelled like the noun for breath or vapor, points to his short life is not said, and no lean is taken here.

Implies Cain and Abel are real persons, as the New Testament treats them. That is set out in the note on persons and history, consistent with the notes on Genesis 2. No lean is taken here between historical narrative and history told with literary features, such as the name-plays of this chapter. A purely non-historical or eponymous reading is presented fairly in that note and is outside that core.

Uncertain What אֶת־יְהוָה means is open, and no lean is taken here. (1) With (the help of) the Lord, as in the BSB: אֶת as the preposition with, and the Greek διὰ τοῦ θεοῦ, through God. Objection: the help of is the English of that reading, not a separate Hebrew word. (2) I have gotten a man, the Lord: אֶת as the object marker, read as a hope that the seed of 3:15 had come. Objection: the sense it yields. (3) Alongside the Lord, with the verb as create, as in 14:19, Creator of heaven and earth. Objection: in 4:25 a son is God's gift.

Says In the course of time each brother brings a מִנְחָה, a gift or offering. Cain brings of the fruit of the ground. Abel brings of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions; the BSB joins the two as the best portions of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord regarded Abel and his offering, and had no regard for Cain and his. Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell. How the regard was shown is not said. See the Hebrew note.

Says Hebrews 11:4 says, “By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did” (BSB). 1 John 3:12 gives the reason that “his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous” (BSB). These are stated as those texts say. They do not fix a lean among the readings that follow.

Uncertain Why Abel's offering was regarded is open, and no lean is taken here. (1) The giver's heart and faith; grounds: Hebrews 11:4, 1 John 3:12, and 4:7, If you do what is right. Objection: 4:3–5 names no attitude. (2) The quality of the gift: firstborn and fat against unqualified fruit. Objection: Cain's gift is not called poor. (3) The kind: animal against produce. Objection: מִנְחָה later includes grain offerings, and no command is given. (4) God's free choice, with no reason stated. Objection: 4:7 ties acceptance to doing well. Combinations are common. Early readings of the two offerings and of the killing are gathered in the historical note: Josephus, Jubilees, Wisdom, Philo and the Targum of Pseudo-Jonathan each read the scene in their own way. Those views are theirs.

Says The Lord asks why Cain is angry, and why his countenance has fallen (4:6). If he does what is right, will he not be accepted? If he refuses, sin is crouching at your door; it desires you, but you must master it (4:7, BSB). The Hebrew of the first clause is one word, שְׂאֵת, lifting up. חַטָּאת, sin, is feminine, but רֹבֵץ, crouching, and the suffixes of תְּשׁוּקָתוֹ and בּוֹ are masculine. Desire and rule stand in the same order as in 3:16, with sin as the one who desires: a similar sequence, not the same wording. תִּמְשָׁל is an imperfect; the BSB has you must master it. The Greek reads otherwise, of offering and dividing, and has ἀποστροφή, turning, as at 3:16. See the Hebrew note, the Greek note, and the Genesis 3 note on 3:16.

Uncertain The hard syntax is set out as options, and no lean is taken here, including on the parallel with 3:16. For שְׂאֵת: (1) acceptance, as in the BSB; (2) the lifting of the fallen face (4:5–6); (3) bearing or forgiveness, as in 4:13; (4) rank or precedence, as in 49:3. For the crouching and the masculine forms: (1) sin pictured as a beast at the door, the participle used as a noun, a croucher; (2) a sin offering lying at the door, with the objection that the clauses of desire and mastery follow; (3) the suffixes refer to Abel, the younger under the firstborn's rule, with the objection that the flow is from sin. For the last clause: a command, a promise, or a question; the imperfect allows each.

Note ID: note.exegetical.Gen.4.3-Gen.4.7.offerings-and-warning

Note ID: note.exegetical.Gen.4.1-Gen.4.26.persons-and-history

Then Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. And the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I do not know!” he answered. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” “What have you done?” replied the Lord. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it will no longer yield its produce to you. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” But Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, this day You have driven me from the face of the earth, and from Your face I will be hidden; I will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” “Not so!” replied the Lord. “If anyone slays Cain, then Cain will be avenged sevenfold.” And the Lord placed a mark on Cain, so that no one who found him would kill him. So Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. (BSB)

Says In the Masoretic Text Cain said to Abel his brother, and no spoken words follow. The BSB has Let us go out to the field, which is the sense of the Greek Διέλθωμεν εἰς τὸ πεδίον, let us go through into the plain. The Samaritan has two words after his brother, let us go to the field. Whether the Masoretic Text lost the words, or the versions filled out the verb of saying, is not settled. The printed wording is the Masoretic Text. See the variant note and the Greek note.

While they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Brother stands seven times in 4:2–11. The Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” (4:9, BSB), after the where of 3:9. “I do not know!” he answered. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (4:9, BSB). The verb is that of 2:15, to keep. The Lord asks what he has done: the voice of his brother's bloods, דְּמֵי, a plural, cries out from the ground. The Greek has a singular, αἵματος. Cain is cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive his brother's blood from his hand (4:11). The Hebrew is אָרוּר אָתָּה מִן־הָאֲדָמָה, cursed are you from the ground. In 3:17 the ground was cursed and the man was not. Whether from marks source or separation is open, and no lean is taken here. The ground will no longer yield its produce, and Cain will be נָע וָנָד, a fugitive and a wanderer. See the Hebrew notes, and the Genesis 3 note on the questions and on the cursed ground.

Implies The narrative ties the bloodshed to the ground (4:10–12). Numbers 35:33 speaks of bloodshed polluting the land.

Cain fears that he will be hidden from the Lord's face, and that whoever finds him will kill him (4:14). Who those others are is the same question as Cain's wife, treated below by the grounds only.

Says Cain said his punishment is greater than I can bear (4:13, BSB). The noun, עֲוֺנִי, may be punishment or iniquity or guilt; the verb may be to bear or to be forgiven. A footnote in the BSB offers guilt or sin. The Greek has αἰτία … ἀφεθῆναι, guilt too great to be forgiven. Cain fears that whoever finds him will kill him. The Lord answers לָכֵן, therefore — the printed wording is the Masoretic Text; the Samaritan has the same word. The BSB has “Not so!” (4:15), following the Greek Οὐχ οὕτως. Whether the Greek read other Hebrew, or rendered the Masoretic word by sense, is not settled. See the variant note. Whoever kills Cain will be avenged sevenfold, and the Lord set for Cain an אוֹת, a sign or mark, so that no one who found him would strike him.

Uncertain What the sign was is open, and no lean is taken here. (1) A mark on Cain himself, so that finders spare him. Objection: the text does not describe it. (2) A sign given to Cain to assure him, as in Exodus 3:12. Objection: the sign protects him from others. (3) The Lord's protective decree, with no visible mark. Objection: the decree is already spoken before the sign is set. Keil takes it as a protective sign, not a bodily mark, its kind undeterminable. Later readings that name a color, a horn, a letter or a dog are history of reading only; the Targum of Pseudo-Jonathan reads the Name sealed on his face. See the Hebrew note and the historical note.

Uncertain Cain's wife is treated by the grounds only, and no speculation is added. Genesis 4 names Cain, Abel and Seth as Adam's sons; 5:4 says Adam had other sons and daughters; 4:14 assumes other people; 4:17 says only that Cain knew his wife. (1) The common reading is that he married a sister or other near relative from those other sons and daughters; the later prohibition of Leviticus 18:9 is not yet given in the narrative. Jubilees 4 names a sister, Âwân, as background only. Augustine holds that the first men married sisters, “dictated by necessity” then and later forbidden; Keil agrees, since the race came from one pair. (2) The chapter's order is topical, so 4:14–17 need not follow 4:8 closely in time. (3) Readings that place people outside Adam's line do not fit the notes on Genesis 2 or Acts 17:26, “From one man He made every nation of men” (BSB). See the historical note.

Note ID: note.exegetical.Gen.4.8-Gen.4.16.murder-and-mercy

And Cain had relations with his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. Then Cain built a city and named it after his son Enoch. Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methusael, and Methusael was the father of Lamech. And Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and raise livestock. And his brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute. And Zillah gave birth to Tubal-cain, a forger of every implement of bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah. Then Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; wives of Lamech, listen to my speech. For I have slain a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.” (BSB)

Says Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. The phrase קִדְמַת־עֵדֶן recalls 3:24. Nod, נוֹד, sounds like וָנָד, wanderer, in 4:12 and 4:14: a name-play the narrative itself draws. He knew his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. He was building a city, a participle, and named it after his son Enoch. The line runs Enoch, Irad, Mehujael — written two ways in 4:18, מְחוּיָאֵל and מְחִיּיָאֵל — Methushael and Lamech; the BSB has Methusael. Jabal is the father of those who dwell in tents and raise livestock; Jubal, of all who play the lyre and pipe, which the BSB renders harp and flute; Tubal-cain, a forger of every implement of bronze and iron, a difficult phrase; their sister is Naamah. Lamech took for himself two wives, Adah and Zillah, the first such taking named in the book. The narrative states the fact and does not comment beyond the text. Then Lamech said to his wives that they should hear his voice. He has slain a man for wounding him, a young man for striking him. If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold (4:24). See the Hebrew notes.

Implies The song turns the Lord's protective sevenfold of 4:15 into Lamech's own claim of vengeance: 4:24 restates it and raises it to seventy-seven.

Uncertain Who built the city is open, and no lean is taken here. The subject may be Cain, who opens the verse; or Enoch, the nearer name, with the city named for Enoch's own son. Objection to the second: the verse names the son Enoch.

Uncertain Whether the line presents the arts as fruit of rebellion, as common grace, or neutrally is open, and no lean is taken here. Ancient comparisons are treated in the historical note. Driver and Skinner describe a Phoenician account of first inventions; King describes Sumerian and Babylonian tradition as picturing the beginnings of civilization; Keil says Cain's descendants invented the arts and carried them on “in an ungodly spirit”, yet the arts rest on powers given man for dominion. No dependence in either direction is claimed, and this background does not fix the meaning of 4:17–22. See the historical note.

Uncertain The tense and tone of the song are open, and no lean is taken here. (1) A boast of a past killing, revenge beyond measure; grounds: the perfect הָרַגְתִּי. Objection: the song names no occasion. (2) A threat, the perfect read as I will kill; grounds: the taunting address to his wives. Objection: the plain sense of the perfect. (3) One victim in parallel lines, or two. Matthew 18:22 is taken up in the New Testament reading.

Uncertain How this line stands beside the names in Genesis 5 is open, and no lean is taken here. (1) Two distinct lines with some like names; grounds: names recur in families, and the two Lamechs differ sharply, 4:23–24 against 5:29. Objection: the number of near matches. (2) Two forms of one older list; Skinner suggests the Cainite list and the Sethite core may be variants of one original. Objection: the different persons and deeds. Keil denies that similar names make them “different forms of one primary legend”. The source question is treated in the historical note on Cain's wife and the two lines, and is not re-argued here. (3) A deliberate literary contrast of Cain's line with Seth's line and with calling on the name. Objection: Genesis 5 does not mention Cain's line.

The Kenite question is treated in the historical note. Driver grants that some link between Cain and the Kenites is possible, but sees no grounds for supposing that the Kenites stood out among nomad tribes for the traits given Cain in 4:14–15. No lean is taken here, and that background does not fix the meaning of Genesis 4.

Note ID: note.exegetical.Gen.4.17-Gen.4.24.cains-line-and-lamech

Minor variants

The printed text of this chapter is the Masoretic Text throughout. At 4:8 the Masoretic Text has no spoken words after Cain said to Abel his brother; the Greek has Διέλθωμεν εἰς τὸ πεδίον, and the Samaritan has two words, let us go to the field. At 4:15 the Masoretic Text has לָכֵן, therefore, and the Samaritan has the same word; the Greek has Οὐχ οὕτως, not so, which the BSB follows. At 4:26 the Masoretic Text has אָז הוּחַל, then it was begun; the Greek has οὗτος ἤλπισεν, this one hoped. Whether the versions reflect other Hebrew, or render the Masoretic wording, is not settled. No lean is taken on how the Greek readings arose. See the variant notes.

Other Greek differences, named in the textual note, include through God at 4:1; θυσίαν and related words for the offerings; God for the Lord at several verses; a different sense at 4:7; singular blood at 4:10; one name for both spellings of Mehujael; Θόβελ without -cain; ἑβδομηκοντάκις ἑπτά at 4:24; and the naming of Eve at 4:25. See the textual note and the Greek notes. The Masoretic wording is the text printed here in each case.

And Adam again had relations with his wife, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another seed in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.” And to Seth also a son was born, and he called him Enosh. At that time men began to call upon the name of the Lord. (BSB)

Says Adam again knew his wife, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another seed in place of Abel, since Cain killed him” (4:25, BSB). The verb is שָׁת, he has set; the BSB has granted. The giver here is named God, אֱלֹהִים. The Greek names Eve, who is not named in the Hebrew of this verse. In 4:1 Eve spoke of the Lord; here the giver is named God. Enosh, אֱנוֹשׁ, is a word for man or mortal; the narrative does not say why the name is given, and no lean is taken on it. “And to Seth also a son was born, and he called him Enosh. At that time men began to call upon the name of the Lord” (4:26, BSB). The Hebrew is אָז הוּחַל, an impersonal Hophal: then it was begun. The same phrase, to call on the name of the Lord, is used of Abram at an altar (12:8). The Greek has οὗτος ἤλπισεν, this one hoped to call. See the Hebrew notes and the variant note.

Implies The narrative draws the name-play: Seth, שֵׁת, is named with שָׁת, he has set.

Uncertain Whether another seed, זֶרַע אַחֵר, recalls the seed of 3:15 is a verbal link only. The Hebrew note on 3:15 lists this verse as a ground for one of four readings there, with no lean among them. No lean is taken here.

Uncertain What began at 4:26 is open, and no lean is taken here. (1) The beginning of public or corporate worship of the Lord in Seth's line; grounds: the phrase at altars (12:8; 26:25). Jubilees has Enos begin “to call on the name of the Lord on the earth”. (2) The beginning of proclaiming, or calling oneself by, the Lord's name; grounds: Exodus 34:5. (3) A beginning of profaning, from the other sense of the verb, a later Jewish reading; the Targum of Pseudo-Jonathan reads the time men “began to err, and to make themselves idols”. Objection: the phrase elsewhere is worship. (4) The Greek's he hoped, of Enosh.

Uncertain How 4:26 stands beside Exodus 6:3 is likewise open. That verse says that “by My name the Lord I did not make Myself known to them” (Exod 6:3, BSB). (a) Exodus concerns the experienced character of the name, known in deed, not the bare word. (b) The narrator uses the name from his own later standpoint. (c) Different strands date the name differently; Skinner (p. 127) holds this view, reading 4:26 as one strand's view, unlike Exodus 3:13–15 and 6:3. The objection is that this rests on a source division. The source question is treated in the historical note on Cain's wife and the two lines, and is not re-argued here. No lean is taken among them.

Note ID: note.exegetical.Gen.4.25-Gen.4.26.seth-and-calling

New Testament reading

Says “By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did” (Heb 11:4, BSB). By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts, and by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. 1 John 3:12 says, “Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother” (BSB), and asks why: “Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous” (1 John 3:12, BSB). Jude says they have traveled “the path of Cain” (Jude 11, BSB). Matthew 23:35 speaks of “the blood of righteous Abel” (BSB), from that blood to the blood of Zechariah. Luke 11:51 names “the blood of Abel” (BSB) in the same span, without a separate link here. Hebrews 12:24 speaks of “the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (BSB). Matthew 18:22 has seventy-seven times, and its Greek has the same form as Swete at 4:24, ἑβδομηκοντάκις ἑπτά. Form agreement is not a claim about which text was used. See the Greek note.

Implies These texts treat Abel as a real person whose offering was regarded, and Cain as a real person who murdered him. That reading agrees with the note on persons and history. They do not fix a lean on why Abel's offering was regarded.

Uncertain Whether Matthew 18:22 alludes to Lamech, as a contrast, is not settled. The form is the same, and the numbers stand in contrast — sevenfold and seventy-seven turned from vengeance to forgiveness — but the Gospel does not name Lamech. No lean is taken here, and no application is drawn. Luke 3:36–38 names the Sethite line in a genealogy; that list is not treated here.

Note ID: note.exegetical.Gen.4.1-Gen.4.26.new-testament-reading