014. III. The Story Of Cain And Abel
§ III. THE STORY OF CAIN AND ABEL Genesis 3:20; Genesis 4:1-16 a
1.Occupations of Cain and Able. Now the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living beings. And the man knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain. And she also bore his brother Abel. Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
2.Their offerings. Now in course of time it came to pass, that Cain brought some of the fruit of the ground as an offering to Jehovah. And Abel also brought some of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat. And Jehovah looked favorably upon Abel and his offering; but for Cain and his offering he had no regard.
3.Cain’s anger and Jehovah’s counsel. Therefore Cain was very angry and his countenance fell. And Jehovah said,to Cain, Why art thou angry ? And why is thy countenance fallen ?
If thou doest well, is there not acceptance ? But if thou doest not well, Does not sin crouch at the door ? And to thee shall be its desire, But thou shouldst rule over it.
4.The first murder. Then Cain said to Abel his brother, Let us go into the field. And while they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him.
5.Conviction and condemnation. And when Jehovah said to Cain, Where is Abel, thy brother ? he said, I know not; am I my brother’s keeper ? Then he said, What hast thou done ? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth to me from the ground. Now, therefore, cursed art thou; away from the ground, which hath opened its mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand. Whenever thou tillest the ground, it shall no longer yield to thee its strength; a fugitive and wanderer shalt thou be on the earth.
6.His complaint. Then Cain said to Jehovah, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the ground, and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall become a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth; and it will come to pass, that whoever finds me will slay me.
7. Divine decree and sign of protection. But Jehovah said to him, Not so! if any one kill Cain, Vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. So Jehovah granted Cain a tribal mark, that any one finding him should not kill him. Thus Cain went out from the presence of Jehovah and dwelt in the land of Nod [Wandering].
I.The Background of the Story. The story of Cain has all the literary charm and picturesqueness peculiar to the Judean prophetic writers; but it is complete in itself and has no vital connection with the stories that immediately precede and follow. Its background is the settled land of Palestine, where herdsmen and tillers of the soil live side by side. The worship of Jehovah and the institution of sacrifice have already been established. The land is peopled by tribes whose vengeance Cain the murderer fears. The significance of the tribal mark is also fully recognized. The Cain of this story is evidently not the Cain of the ancient genealogy (§ IV). The identity of the name doubtless explains why the two independent traditions have been joined together in Genesis 4.
II.Origin of the Story. No Babylonian or Egyptian parallel to this story has yet been discovered. The closest analogy is found in the Roman tale of Romulus and Remus; but even here the resemblance is only in general theme. The present story probably originated in or near Palestine. In its oldest form, Cain and Abel apparently represented tribes or nations. This conclusion alone explains Cain’s fear of blood revenge, for only the tribe of the murdered man would seek to slay the murderer.
Possibly the story is based on some otherwise forgotten chapter in Israel’s early history. Certain scholars have sought to identify Cain with the Kenites, the nomadic tribe, which in Israel’s early history shared the worship of the same tribal god. The story states, however, that Cain was not a nomad but a tiller of the soil. Cain is perhaps to be identified with the agricultural Canaanites. During the early days, after the Hebrew shepherds emerged from the wilderness, they lived side by side in Palestine with the older inhabitants of the land. The Hebrews, however, increased rapidly in numbers and possessions. Prosperity was ever regarded by the ancients as clear evidence that the Deity looked with favor upon the offerings of his people. Finally, in the days of Deborah (§ XXXVI) the Canaanites were defeated and dispossessed. Some of the survivors were absorbed by the Israelites and others became wandering traders.
Whatever be the origin of the story, the prophet who has preserved it recognized its value as an illustration of certain vital religious truths, and adapted it to his noble purpose. By treating Cain and Abel as individuals, he has given to the story that personal quality which greatly enhances its interest and value.
III.The Reason why Cain’s Offering was Rejected. Both Cain and Abel brought regularly, as gifts to Jehovah, the respective products of their labor. The growing prosperity of Abel and the waning fortunes of Cain soon showed that the younger of the two brothers enjoyed Jehovah’s favor. This favor was not due to the nature of his offerings, but rather, as the sequel indicates, to his nobler spirit and character. The jealousy and anger of Cain were soon revealed in his sullen, lowering countenance. Then there came to him the divine counsel, Hast thou any cause for anger ? If thou doest what is right, thou wilt surely enjoy Jehovah’s favor. But if not, then temptation, which thou shouldst conquer, and the consequences of sin shall ever dominate thee. The Greek and Hebrew versions of the Old Testament differ in their rendering of the closing words of Jehovah, and the original meaning is not clear. The translation given above appears to be the meaning of the Hebrew and Latin texts. This interpretation is also true to human experience, as well as to the implications of the context.
IV.Cain’s Crime and its Punishment. But Cain was already mastered by his passions, and was therefore irresponsive to the divine voice. Luring his brother out into the open field, he treacherously murdered him.
Even to the bloody murderer Jehovah came, as to the man and woman in the garden, with a question that invited frank confession; but Cain’s reply was one of denial and defiance. It also disclosed his inner motives. True to the criminal type, he repudiated all responsibility to society. Having by his deliberate act severed his connection with his fellow-men, he had made himself an outlaw. The ancient law of blood-revenge demanded the shedding of his blood. The very ground was a witness of his crime. No longer should it yield to him its richest products. Rather as a fugitive, he must wander up and down the face of the earth, ever haunted by the dread that the avenger of blood would suddenly overtake and slay him.
V.Meaning of the Mark of Cain. Not in contrition, but appalled by the severity of the judgment that had fallen on his guilty head, Cain asks that he may not be sent forth to a foreign land, where, according to the thought of his day, he would be beyond the pale of his God’s protection. The guardian of each man in the ancient East was his tribe or clan. The knowledge that each and all the members of a tribe were pledged to avenge any wrong done to one of its number stayed many a murderous hand in the past, as it still does to-day in the life of the desert. To be deprived of the tribal protection meant that any man might with impunity slay the accursed outcast. It is this fate that Cain bewails.
Again God’s mercy far surpasses that of men. Upon the cringing but unrepentant criminal, he places the tribal mark that proclaimed, as does the tattooing or method of cutting the hair among the Arabs to-day, that he was still a member and under the protection of a powerful tribe. Cain bears the mark of Jehovah’s own people, who are thus under obligation, not only to spare but also to avenge in full measure any wrong done to him. The land of wandering (Nod), may be an allusion to the nomadic life of the desert or to that of the itinerant traders, who were called by the Hebrews, Canaanites.
VI.Aim and Teachings. As in the preceding story the prophet’s main aim is to present the origin, nature, and consequences of sin. At many points it supplements the story of man’s fall. Chief among the vital prophetic truths illustrated by the sad story are: (1) Mere formal worship is not necessarily acceptable to God. (2) It is the spirit and character of the offerer, not the offering, that the Lord regards. (3) Temptation comes in connection with the acts of worship, as well as in the other relations of life. (4) God patiently endeavors to point out to the offender the right way and to influence him to follow it. (5) Great crimes are committed only by men whose characters have been gradually debased by lesser sins. (6) Man is a free agent: God surrounds him with good influences, but does not remove from him the ‘ possibility of committing the most heinous crimes. (7) The man who repudiates his responsibility as his brother’s keeper allies himself with Cain. (8) Guilt unconfessed cuts a man off from his fellows and makes him an outcast from society. (9) God’s mercy to the guilty is infinitely greater than that of man.