God's Rejection of Cain Outside the Garden of Eden (Genesis 4:1-16)
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Concordia Seminary - Saint Louis Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary Master of Sacred Theology Thesis Concordia Seminary Scholarship Spring 5-18-2018 Falling Far from the Tree? God's Rejection of Cain outside the Garden of Eden (Genesis 4:1-16) Mark Remington Squire Concordia Seminary - St. Louis Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.csl.edu/stm Part of the Biblical Studies Commons, Christianity Commons, Comparative Methodologies and Theories Commons, History of Christianity Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Squire, Mark Remington, "Falling Far from the Tree? God's Rejection of Cain outside the Garden of Eden (Genesis 4:1-16)" (2018). Master of Sacred Theology Thesis. 395. https://scholar.csl.edu/stm/395 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Concordia Seminary Scholarship at Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master of Sacred Theology Thesis by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FALLING FAR FROM THE TREE? GOD’S REJECTION OF CAIN OUTSIDE THE GARDEN OF EDEN (GENESIS 4:1–16) A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Department of Exegetical Theology in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Sacred Theology By Mark Remington Squire April 2018 Approved by Dr. David L. Adams Advisor Rev. Thomas J. Egger Reader Dr. Joel C. Elowsky Reader © 2018 by Mark Remington Squire. All rights reserved. ii CONTENTS PREFACE ...................................................................................................................................... v ABBREVIATIONS ...................................................................................................................... vi ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................ viii INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................................ 8 TRANSLATION AND NOTES (GENESIS 4:1–16) ........................................................... 8 TRANSLATION OF GENESIS 4:1–16 ............................................................................... 8 TRANSLATION NOTES FOR GENESIS 4:1–16 .............................................................. 9 CHAPTER TWO ......................................................................................................................... 28 BAD APPLES: WAS SOMETHING WRONG WITH CAIN’S SACRIFICE? ................ 28 WAS IT THAT CAIN BROUGHT A ‘SACRIFICE’ AND NOT A ‘GIFT’? ................... 29 WAS IT THAT CAIN’S TIMING WAS WRONG AND ABEL’S RIGHT? .................... 33 WAS IT THAT CAIN BROUGHT SOMETHING LIFELESS AND ABEL SOMETHING LIVING? ............................................................................................................................. 33 WAS IT THAT CAIN BROUGHT SOMETHING PRODUCED BY FORCE AND ABEL SOMETHING THAT GREW OF ITSELF ACCORDING TO THE NATURAL, GOD- MADE PROCESSES? ........................................................................................................ 35 WAS IT THAT CAIN BROUGHT FROM FRUIT OF THE CURSED GROUND AND ABEL ANIMALS? ............................................................................................................. 38 WAS IT THAT CAIN BROUGHT ‘SOME’ AND ABEL THE ‘BEST’? ........................ 41 CHAPTER THREE ..................................................................................................................... 45 BAD APPLE: WAS SOMETHING WRONG WITH CAIN HIMSELF? ......................... 45 WAS IT THAT CAIN WAS EVIL, A SON OF THE DEVIL, AND ABEL RIGHTEOUS? (ORIGIN) ............................................................................................................................ 45 WAS IT THAT CAIN WAS A FARMER AND ABEL A SHEPHERD? (OCCUPATION) iii ............................................................................................................................................ 47 WAS IT THAT CAIN WAS GREEDY AND ABEL GENEROUS? (VIRTUE) .............. 52 WAS IT THAT CAIN WAS FAITHLESS AND ABEL FULL OF FAITH? (FAITH) .... 66 CHAPTER FOUR ........................................................................................................................ 79 CRAB APPLE: IS GOD TO BLAME? .............................................................................. 79 WAS IT THAT GOD WAS COMPLETELY ARBITRARY IN FAVORING ONE OVER THE OTHER?..................................................................................................................... 80 WAS IT THAT GOD SIMPLY FAVORS THE YOUNGER BROTHER? ...................... 85 WAS IT THAT GOD WAS TESTING CAIN? ................................................................. 87 CHAPTER FIVE ......................................................................................................................... 94 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................... 94 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................ 97 iv PREFACE It would be difficult to point to what anyone might call the ‘beginning’ of my love and enjoyment for Biblical theology. I was blessed to begin attending Saint John Lutheran School in Fraser, MI my second grade year, where I was taught the accounts of Scripture, most importantly the good news of Jesus Christ. There, I was mentored by faithful men and women who had dedicated their lives to Christian education. Pastors John Merrill and Eric Majeski, and later, Pastor Brad Smith, all fanned the flame of my love for the Bible and for theology. This only continued at Lutheran High School North in Macomb, MI. There, I learned how to put theology into practice from men like Steve Garrabrant and Brian Horvath. Without them, I may not have found myself entering the seminary four years later. In addition, it was John Brandt who sharpened my skills with pen and paper. I attribute my writing abilities to his tutelage (and I apologize for any stray use of the word “thing” in this thesis paper). Naturally, it was upon entering higher education that my love for Biblical theology blossomed. At Concordia University River Forest, I began studying the Biblical languages, learning Hebrew and Greek from Rev. Drs. Andrew Steinmann, Michael Eschelbach, and Charles Froehlich. Once I entered Concordia Seminary, my Biblical interests only grew deeper, as I was fortunate to study with many faithful pastors and doctors of theology, including Rev. Drs. Andrew Bartelt, Reed Lessing, Jeffrey Kloha, Paul Raabe, Robert Kolb, Timothy Saleska, David Schmitt, Joel Okamoto, Joel Biermann, and others, including Rev. Thomas Egger, my fourth year faculty advisor. I thank him for his time, patience, and wise counsel imparted to me during our meetings in his office. During my vicarage year, my supervisor, Rev. Dr. Mark Hoehner, always encouraged me to “read my Bible.” In particular, I thank Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Gibbs for instructing me on the vital importance of the text of Scripture. Indeed, “grammar saves lives.” It is much easier, though, to identify the beginning of my interest in the account of Genesis 4. In 2011, I came across Frank Anthony Spina’s article on the subject of Cain’s disregard in the context of Gen 1–11. As I dug deeper into the question, I was amazed at how wide-ranging various historical interpretations were regarding the question of God’s disregard for Cain. It was clear that, despite the vast number of interpretations, that there appeared to be only three broad categories of interpretation. With this newfound understanding, the question at hand served as a natural place to dig deeper into the text of Scripture, as well as its historical interpretation. Having a full-time call as a pastor makes researching and writing a paper like this quite difficult. Adding to it the call away from the seminary for my original advisor, Reed Lessing, my path was much longer and full of more twists and turns than I had ever imagined. However, as I have found myself at the end of one journey and the beginning of another, I am very thankful for my advisor, Rev. Dr. David Adams. Though I was never fortunate to have a class with him at Concordia Seminary, he has labored to make my thesis better through his feedback and support. I thank him for sharpening my focus, helping me in my research, and providing support in any number of other ways. I would also be remiss not to thank Rev. Dr. Joel Elowsky and Rev. Thomas Egger for serving as readers for my thesis. Their time and effort will not be overlooked, and I thank them for their feedback and contributions to the final paper. Most of all, I am so greatly indebted to my wife, Emma. She has been a rock for our family and in our marriage, giving me opportunity to write and research, sacrificing her own time, and helping to hold everything together over these several years. I cannot imagine finishing this without her love, support, and encouragement. I dedicate this paper to you, my beloved. v ABBREVIATIONS Ant Josephus, Flavius. Antiquities. In The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged.