Thebiblicalstory of Cain and Abel runs only 17 brusk verses in the book of Genesis , but it hold a significant issue of " firsts " : Earth ’s first pair of siblings , God ’s first mention of wickedness , and most magnificently the first act ofmurderin human history .
Whether or not you believe that these two brothers ever existed , the ethical motive tale of Cain and Abel is a foundational myth of Western culture . Rabbi Dan Ornstein ofCongregation Ohav Shalomin Albany , New York , says that Cain and Abel remain so fascinating and relevant today because it ’s more than a cautionary tale about the dangers of sibling contention . The story function as a " mirror " that all readers — spiritual or not — can use to meditate on our own thoughts and actions .
" Why do we do vehemence toward each other ? Where do our hatreds come from and how are they expressed ? " says Ornstein , source of " Cain v. Abel : A Jewish court Drama . " " finally , we ’re forced to call for ourselves the canonic question of the news report , which is , ' Are we our brothers ' keepers ? ' The solution , of trend , is yes , but that ’s not something that Cain was willing to allow . "
A Quick Summary of Cain and Abel
If you do n’t remember the level of Cain and Abel , here ’s a short primer coat .
The plot picks up decently afterAdam and Eveeat the " forbidden fruit , " and are ejected from the garden Eden of Eden , to hold out hard life full of pain in the ass and battle in penalisation for disobedience . In their new place of residence , Eve gives birth to a boy whom she name Cain . In clock time , a second boy is born named Abel .
Cain , it say in theKing James Version of Genesis , was a " tiller of the ground " ( i.e. , a granger ) , while his younger brother Abel was a shepherd . When both men offer sacrifices to God — Cain with his fruits and veggie , and Abel with the " firstlings of his troop " ( some of the firstborn sheep ) — the Lord resist Cain ’s offer and have Abel ’s .
In response , Cain is " very wrathful " ( furious and overturned ) and God tries to rede him , warning that " boob lieth at the room access " if Cain continues to behave that mode . But Cain does n’t mind . alternatively , he invites his brother to go with him to a field ( thetext suggeststhat they tattle or perhaps quarrel there ) and then Cain kill his brother .
God take Cain where Abel is , to which Cain famously replies , " I know not . Am I my chum ’s keeper ? " God lets Cain hump he hear the blood of Abel " cry " from the terra firma and as punishment for this violent act , Cain will have it even harder to originate solid food and is condemned to a " fugitive " life-time of wandering .
When Cain kick that his penalisation is too harsh and that people will drink down him when they find out about his law-breaking , God " home run " Cain with a special protection that will safeguard him from vengeance . Cain then live to live in the country of Nod ( east of Eden ) , sires a son named Enoch and founds a city ( the first city ? ) in Enoch ’s fame . End of story .
Did Cain Have a Right to Be Angry?
Rabbi Ornstein says there ’s honest reason to believe that the scriptural tale of Cain and Abel , like others in the book of Genesis , is an abridged version of a much foresighted and more elaborate myth that circulated for century in the ancient Near East . So why did the editors of the Torah ( the first five record book of the Hebrew Bible starting with Genesis ) decide to include such a bare - bones version of the first fratricide ?
By paring the story of Cain and Abel down to just 17 verses , the ancient scriptural author purposefully leave pickle in the narration , say Ornstein .
" Rather than give you a bunch of reply , the Torah ’s editor want you , the faithful referee — or the not - so - faithful reader — to necessitate really expert questions , " says Ornstein , " questions about ourselves and others , what it means to be human and what it imply to be creditworthy for your fellow human organism , who are your brothers and sisters . "
For forward-looking reader , one of the more interesting questions to ask is why Cain was so furious and hurt , and whether Cain ’s mistreatment at the hand of God somehow rationalize his crime .
Cain was the firstborn Logos of Adam and Eve . The Hebrew for Cain isCayin , which means " acquire , " according to Ornstein . Eve order in Genesis that she named him Cain because , " I have gotten a Isle of Man from the Lord . " As firstborn , Cain comply in his father ’s footsteps . When Adam was exhaust from Eden , God sentenced him to till the now " cursed " earth , and Cain was the one who extend Adam ’s proletariat as a husbandman .
In contrast , when Abel was behave , Eve does n’t explain why she commit him that name . The Hebrew for Abel isHevel , which mean " vapor " or " steam " in Hebrew , accord to Ornstein . Abel does n’t stick with in the " family business concern " of battling thistles and pot by the effort of his brow but put forward sheep instead .
Yet when Cain , the beloved firstborn child , offers God a sacrifice of the severely - bring home the bacon fruits of his harvest time , God rejects it . Seemingly brush off the " family history " of the expulsion from Eden and the cursing of the ground for Adam ’s sake , God turns up his nose at Cain ’s paltry produce and finds favor or else with the fauna sacrifice of the second - suffer Abel , literally a " nothing man " who does n’t even utter a word in Genesis .
From Cain ’s position , he had every grounds to be " wroth . " If Cain ’s sacrifice was unacceptable , it was because he was hamstrung by his father ’s curse , and therefore it was unjust for God to liken Cain ’s offering of vegetables to his unseasoned brother ’s delectable and fatty roast meat .
The Meaning of Cain and Abel
Ornstein sees an important example here . Yes , it ’s unjust that Cain , as a farmer , inherited his forefather ’s cuss . And yes , it ’s cruel that God rejected Cain ’s offering without giving a good intellect and found favor in his brother ’s or else . But one of the morals of this ancient story is that no matter how justified you are in being raging , even when your life circumstances seem cruel and unfair , there is still no excuse for lashing out and hurt others .
" We talk about family history and ethnical story when we ’re talk over all of the different circumstance that cause masses to do the awful thing that they do , and those thing have to be taken into account , " say Ornstein . " But at its very burden , the story is try out to say thatmorallynone of that backcloth stuff is of enceinte significance than the fact that this soul standing in front of you is your comrade , and that you have the responsibility to treat him as your sidekick , not as your enemy . "
It ’s also not an accident , add together Ornstein , that Adam and Eve are almost completely lacking from Cain and Abel ’s story . Again , the source of the Torah may have been stress to labour the point home that the experience of Cain ’s parent and their interactions with God are n’t at egress here . When the two brothers are place upright alone in that " killing line of business , " says Ornstein , " all of the other stuff is stripped away " and all that matters is what Cain take to do .
The ‘Mark of Cain’
In plebeian usage , the phrasal idiom " mark of Cain " is usually understood as a punishment and therefore someone stigmatize with the " mark of Cain " is an inexcusable outcast . But that ’s a false reading of the text in Genesis , which clearly explains that God pock Cain for his security . As it says in Genesis 4 , verse 15 :
" Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain , vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold . And the Lord set a St. Mark upon Cain , lest any determination him should kill him . "
The nature of this mark is n’t decipherable , though , and it ’s been hypothesized as everything from a word tattooed on his forehead , to a horn and even as dark skin . In the 18th to twentieth century , some American Christian churches incorrectly rationalized their musical accompaniment of slavery or segregation of parishioner by equating blackened skin with the mark of Cain .
What ’s important to Ornstein is recognise that God did n’t destroy Cain as punishment for his crime or cut Cain off from His presence . Instead , the mark of Cain was a symbol of God ’s mercy .
" Even after Cain has essentially pop a quarter of all humanity , God continues to enter into a relationship with Cain , the way he move into into a relationship with all of humanity no matter the awful things we do , " say Ornstein .
The book of Genesis is a full of dysfunctional sib relationships , whether it ’s the twinsEsau and Jacob , Joseph and his 11 brothers , orMoses and his brother Aaron .
" If you place the Cain and Abel story in the context of use of all of the book of Genesis , which is a serial of stories about siblings and sibling rivalry , " suppose Ornstein , " what seems pretty clear is that Cain and Abel set up the enquiry that the rest period of Genesis is attempt to answer , which is , ' Are we our brother ’s keeper ? ' Joseph ’s solvent , and therefore ours , is a resounding yes . "
