Genesis 4
From Bible Study
Genesis 4 tells the story of Cain and Abel.
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[edit] Verses
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.
16 And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.
18 And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.
19 And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.
20 And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle.
21 And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.
22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.
23 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.
24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.
25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.
26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.
[edit] Summary
Adam and Eve conceive two children, Cain and Abel. Cain becomes a farmer and Abel becomes a shepherd. At some point in time they both bring offerings to the Lord - Cain offers some of his crops while Abel offers some of the firstborn of his flock. God is pleased with Abel's offering but less than enthused about Cain's. Out of anger Cain kills his brother in the fields. Due to this violent act, Cain is cast out of God's presence and is forced to live in the land of Nod. However, God grants Cain grace by giving him a mark that would protect him, that if anyone kills him, he shall be avenged sevenfold.
After this, Adam and Eve bear another son, Seth, who becomes part of the human lineage as well as the lineage that would bring forth the Savior of mankind, the promised Woman's Seed.
[edit] Q & A
[edit] Why was God not pleased with Cain's offering?
Genesis 4 offers a tiny hint as to why God was displeased with Cain's offering. When Cain gets angry after his offer is rejected, God asks him, "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?[1]" This seems to indicate that for some reason Cain's offering wasn't made in a "righteous" manner (and that it didn't have much to do with the type of offer, i.e., crops versus meat).
A few other books of the Bible support this idea. The author of Hebrews indicates that Abel offered his flock out of true faith while Cain offered his crops as a mere formality, and not out of faith. In 1 John, John states that Cain "belonged to the evil one" and notes that Cain's actions were evil while Abel's were righteous.
[edit] What is this "mark" God puts on Cain?
When God banishes Cain, Cain worries that "whoever finds me will kill me". God puts a mark on Cain so that he would not be killed by strangers. What is this mark? Several other books note the use of marks of protection. In Ezekiel 9 God commands a man to run through Jerusalem and mark the forheads of people who grieve the sins taking place there; Angels are to eliminate everyone in the city except those with the mark. In Revelation 7 angels are to harm the land and sea, but not until the servants of God have had "seals" put on their forheads. In Cain's case, it seems the mark (whatever it was) served as a visible warning to strangers that he should not be crossed.
[edit] Where is Everybody?
Cain is worried that whoever finds him will kill him. Yet Cain was the first human to be born...presumably there aren't too many other people around yet, and Abel, the other human that was born, was killed. If there are, where did they come from? They must have been Eve's, for Cain hadn't had any children yet, and Abel was dead. Most likely, these other people came about when Adam fathered other children after he did Seth, as it is written in Genesis chapter 5.
[edit] References
- ↑ Genesis 4:7 (NIV)
