DOCSLIB.ORG

INTRODUCTION a Story of Firsts the Story of Cain and Abel Is a Story Of

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
INTRODUCTION a Story of Firsts the Story of Cain and Abel Is a Story Of INTRODUCTION A story of firsts The story of Cain and Abel is a story of firsts. Readers of the Bible are accustomed to hearing that the first ever recorded murder happened in Genesis 4. But that notorious act was only one among a number of “firsts” in biblical history that are located in Genesis 4. The declaration in 4:1 that “Adam knew Eve” is the first act of sexual intercourse in the Bible. Eve’s subsequent pregnancy and bearing of two sons repre- sents the first time that human beings appear on the earth devoid of a creative act by God. In Gen 3:17 Adam’s role as farmer is thrust upon him by God as part of the cursing of the earth, whereas the mention of Cain and Abel’s activities as farmer and shepherd is the first time that human beings chose their occupation (4:2). The account of the brothers’ sacrifice is the earliest presentation of deity worship in the Bible. It is also the first ever account of God rejecting a worshipper’s offering. While Adam and Eve both clearly disobeyed God by par- taking of the forbidden fruit, their act is never labeled as “sin.” The first appearance of the word “sin” is in Gen 4:7 when God imparts a warning to Cain. Genesis 4 is also the first time a human being dies. In spite of the fact that God forbid Adam to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and warned him that “in that day you eat of it you shall die,” he lives to the ripe age of 930 (Gen 2:17; 5:5). The first person to die is Abel at the hands of his brother, which is also the first time that blood is mentioned in the Bible (4:10–11). Strangely, the first murder is accompanied by the first promise of divine protec- tion that allows the murderer to go off, raise a family and build the first recorded city (4:15–17). Among other notable firsts that appear in this chapter are: a genealogy, bigamy, vendettas, exile, and the appear- ance of music and metallurgy. The Cain and Abel story provides the genesis for a number of biblical topics. On the other hand, the story generates more questions than answers. The initial, perhaps most puzzling question is: Why did God reject Cain’s sacrifice? What was it about Abel’s offering that pleased God more than that of Cain? Following upon that question would be the mystery of why Cain killed Abel. While commentators ancient and 2 introduction modern suggest that it was because Cain was jealous of Abel, the Bible provides no more a specific reason for the murder than it does for what makes Abel’s sacrifice better than Cain’s. The Bible simply is silent on both of those topics. Even when details are provided, they often raise questions rather than provide answers. For instance, why should the first murderer receive divine protection and be allowed to marry, raise a family and initiate a monumental building project? How, in light of the crime, is this justice for murdered Abel? Even more significantly, what does this say about God and the way that the affairs of the world are handled by the divine? The more one digs into these questions the more theological dilem- mas appear to bedevil the interpreter. Moreover, these are questions that are formulated by a mere cursory reading of the text. A critical analysis of the story, with the aid of the original languages, reveals a host of problems. Gaps in details, unusual terminology, and tortured syntax add to the confusing mix one encounters when trying to read, let alone interpret and understand, this story. One would think that such an important story detailing the origins of so many things from sex to city planning would have been put together rather more carefully. How ancient exegetes interpreted the Bible We would be presumptuous, of course, to assume that modern inter- preters are the first to notice the difficulties latent in the story. In fact, the questions raised above have been with translators and interpret- ers from the beginning. If anything, they were more familiar with the interpretive challenges presented by Genesis 4 than most modern students of the Bible usually appreciate. Generally speaking, modern readers of the Bible are not aware of the numerous attempts to answer these and other questions. Sometimes the answers that are so read- ily accepted in the modern age are not appreciated for their antiq- uity. For instance, the oft-repeated explanation that Cain’s wife was his sister has been part of the interpretive history of Genesis 4 for at least 1800 years. The result of these types of encounters between the story and interpreters is a set of well-documented traditions that attempt to answer questions generated by the story and not answered by the author. The very nature of the story, indeed of the whole Bible, requires that every encounter be an act of reading that includes, at the same time, the process of interpretation..
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Garment of Adam in Jewish, Muslim, and Christian Tradition
    24 The Garmentof Adam in Jewish, Muslim, and ChristianTradition Stephen D. Ricks Although rarely occurring in any detail, the motif of Adam's garment appears with surprising frequency in ancient Jewish and Christian literature. (I am using the term "Adam's garment" as a cover term to include any garment bestowed by a divine being to one of the patri­ archs that is preserved and passed on, in many instances, from one generation to another. I will thus also consider garments divinely granted to other patriarchal figures, including Noah, Abraham, and Joseph.) Although attested less often than in the Jewish and Christian sources, the motif also occurs in the literature of early Islam, espe­ cially in the Isra'iliyyiit literature in the Muslim authors al­ ThaclabI and al-Kisa'I as well as in the Rasii'il Ikhwiin al­ ~afa (Epistles of the Brethren of Purity). Particularly when discussing the garment of Adam in the Jewish tradition, I will shatter chronological boundaries, ranging from the biblical, pseudepigraphic, and midrashic references to the garment of Adam to its medieval attestations. 1 In what fol­ lows, I wish to consider (1) the garment of Adam as a pri­ mordial creation; (2) the garment as a locus of power, a symbol of authority, and a high priestly garb; and (3) the garment of Adam and heavenly robes. 2 705 706 STEPHEN D. RICKS 1. The Garment of Adam as a Primordial Creation The traditions of Adam's garment in the Hebrew Bible begin quite sparely, with a single verse in Genesis 3:21, where we are informed that "God made garments of skins for Adam and for his wife and clothed them." Probably the oldest rabbinic traditions include the view that God gave garments to Adam and Eve before the Fall but that these were not garments of skin (Hebrew 'or) but instead gar­ ments of light (Hebrew 'or).
    [Show full text]
  • Adam, the Fall, and Original Sin Baker Academic, a Division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2014
    Adam, the Fall, and Original Sin Theological, Biblical, and Scientific Perspectives EDITED BY Hans Madueme and Michael Reeves k Hans Madueme and Michael Reeves, Adam, The Fall, and Original Sin Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2014. Used by permission. (Unpublished manuscript—copyright protected Baker Publishing Group) MaduemeReeves_Adam_LC_wo.indd iii 9/17/14 7:47 AM © 2014 by Hans Madueme and Michael Reeves Published by Baker Academic a division of Baker Publishing Group P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287 www.bakeracademic.com Printed in the United States of America All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Adam, the fall, and original sin : theological, biblical, and scientific perspectives / Hans Madueme and Michael Reeves, editors. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8010-3992-8 (pbk.) 1. Sin, Original. 2. Adam (Biblical figure) 3. Fall of man. I. Madueme, Hans, 1975– editor. BT720.A33 2014 233 .14—dc23 2014021973 Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2011 Scripture quotations labeled NASB are from the New American Standard Bible®, copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.
    [Show full text]
  • The Generations of Adam
    The Generations of Adam hat is the purpose of Bible chronology? According to Philip Mauro, in Wonders of Bible Chronology, “its basis is the Bible itself; its plan is the genealogical or life line that Wstretches from the first Adam to the last Adam ... and its purpose is to bring those who follow its progress to revelations of vital truth pertaining to God’s mighty work of redemption.” Genesis 5 reveals the time span between Adam and the worldwide flood of Noah’s time. The following table summarizes this time line: Age at: Anno Hominis Adam created 0 Adam's birth of Seth (130) 130 Seth's birth of Enosh (105) 235 Enosh's birth of Kenan (90) 325 Kenan's birth of Mahalalel (70) 395 Mahalalel's birth of Jared (65) 460 Jared's birth of Enoch (162) 622 Enoch's birth of Methuselah (65) 687 Methuselah's birth of Lamech (187) 874 Lamech's birth of Noah (182) 1056 time of worldwide flood Noah's 1656 (600) Before we analyze Genesis 5 further, a few general points must be made. First, the Bible is the only reliable source book that gives history with an exact chronology for the first 4000 years of the human race. It has been about 6000 years since the creation of man. For the first 3/5ths of this period, there is no chronological information whatever except in the Bible. The histories of other peoples give an account of their beginning vaguely and in the context of myths and fables. In contrast, the Bible is a very accurate historical document.
    [Show full text]
  • An Adult Female Sheep Is Called a Ewe. an Adult Male Sheep Is Called a Ram
    Where do sheep live? Some sheep are kept in a barn year round. They are kept in small groups in pens. They have access to feed and water. Some sheep are kept outside year round in a field. Even though sheep have wool, they still need barns or a windbreak - like a group of trees - for shelter in the winter. A group of sheep is called a flock. A farmer’s flock can range from two sheep to over 1,500 ewes with their lambs. What do sheep eat? Sheep are ruminants, meaning they eat plants and digest it in a series of four compartments in their stomach. A sheep’s diet consists of mainly forages - grasses like alfalfa and clover, or hay (dried grasses). Sheep often graze on land that can’t grow other crops. At certain times during the year, farmers may also feed their sheep feed grains - corn, barley, oats, soybeans - as well as vitamins and minerals. What comes from sheep? Most of the sheep raised in Canada are for meat (called lamb). Dairy sheep are milked much like a dairy cow and their milk is then used to make dairy products like cheese and yogurt. Some sheep are raised to produce fibre. The wool from the sheep is sheared at least once a year. It is then cleaned and spun into yarn. • An adult female sheep is called a ewe. An adult male sheep is called a ram. A sheep that is less than 1 year of age is called a lamb. • Sheep need to have their wool shorn at least once a year.
    [Show full text]
  • How Can Original Sin Be Inherited?
    DEAR FATHER KERPER Michelangelo, The Fall and Expulsion from Garden of Eden. Web Gallery of Art sinned against obedience. But this act How can original represents much more: they actually rejected friendship with God and, even worse, attempted to supplant God as God. sin be inherited? To see this more clearly, we must rewind the Genesis tape back to chapter ear Father Kerper: I’ve always had a huge 1. Here we find that God had created problem with original sin. It seems so unfair. I can the first human beings “in the image of God.” (Genesis 1:27) As such, they understand punishing someone who has broken a immediately enjoyed friendship and law. That’s perfectly just. But why should someone even kinship with God, who had Dwho’s done nothing wrong get punished for what someone else lovingly created them so that they could share everything with Him. did millions of years ago? Though Adam and Eve had everything that human beings could Many people share your understandable In the case of speeding, the possibly enjoy, the serpent tempted reaction against the doctrine of original punishment – say a $200 ticket – is them to seek even more. Recall the sin. As you’ve expressed so well, it does always imposed directly on the specific serpent’s words to Eve: “God knows in indeed seem to violate the basic norms of person who committed an isolated fact that the day you eat it [the forbidden fairness. But it really doesn’t. How so? illegal act. Moreover, the punishment is fruit] your eyes will be opened and you To overcome this charge of unfairness, designed to prevent dangerous and illegal will be like gods.” (Genesis 3:5) we must do two things: first, reconsider behavior by creating terribly unpleasant By eating the forbidden fruit, Adam the meaning of punishment; and second, consequences, namely costly fines and and Eve attempted to seize equality rediscover the social nature – and social eventually the loss of one’s license.
    [Show full text]
  • Stones, Bones, and States: a New Approach to the Neolithic Revolution
    1 Stones, Bones, and States: A New Approach to the Neolithic Revolution Richard H. Steckel and John Wallis February 19, 2007 The invention of agriculture, the wide spread shift to a sedentary lifestyle, and the growth of large population centers began around 10,000 years ago in what we now call the Neolithic revolution. This profound change in human activity marks the beginning of modern human society and has long been of interest to economists, anthropologists, and social scientists in general. Was it caused by a shift in relative prices due to climate, population pressure, or changes in the animal environment? Did it result from technological innovation in human knowledge about the physical world? Was institutional change a catalyst? Early research was highly speculative, with abundant explanations built on little data. New evidence from archeology and anthropology has eliminated some hypotheses and raised possibilities for answering more specific questions. This paper contributes to both the Neolithic empirical evidence and the theoretical questions about the Neolithic revolution. We propose a theoretical answer to how larger social groups were organized. A sedentary life-style was necessary for settled agriculture, and the shift to larger population units occurred contemporaneously with, and may have even preceded, the spread of new agricultural techniques. We then focus on the paradoxes inherent in the question: why did people move into towns and cities? Urban living came at a substantial cost. Accumulating evidence from skeletons, which we discuss below, shows that Neolithic cities and towns were unhealthy. Their residents were smaller in stature than hunter-gatherers and their bones had relatively more lesions indicating dental decay, infections and other signs of physiological stress.
    [Show full text]
  • Another Look at Cain: from a Narrative Perspective
    신학논단 제102집 (2020. 12. 31): 241-263 https://doi.org/10.17301/tf.2020.12.102.241 Another Look at Cain: From a Narrative Perspective Wm. J McKinstry IV, MATS Adjunct Faculty, Department of General Education Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary In the Hebrew primeval histories names often carry significant weight. Much etymological rigour has been exercised in determining many of the names within the Bible. Some of the meaning of these names appear to have a consensus among scholars; among others there is less consensus and more contention. Numerous proposals have come forward with varying degrees of convincing (or unconvincing as the case may be) philological arguments, analysis of wordplays, possi- ble textual emendations, undiscovered etymologies from cognates in other languages, or onomastic studies detailing newly discovered names of similarity found in other ancient Semitic languages. Through these robust studies, when applicable, we can ascertain the meanings of names that may help to unveil certain themes or actions of a character within a narrative. For most of the names within the primeval histories of Genesis, the 242 신학논단 제102집(2020) meaning of a name is only one feature. For some names there is an en- compassing feature set: wordplay, character trait and/or character role, and foreshadowing. Three of the four members in the first family in Genesis, Adam, Eve, and Abel, have names that readily feature all the elements listed above. Cain, however, has rather been an exception in this area, further adding to Genesis 4’s enigmaticness in the Hebrew Bible’s primeval history. While three characters (Adam, Eve, and Abel) have names that (1) sound like other Hebrew words, that are (2) sug- gestive of their character or actions and (3) foreshadow or suggest fu- ture events about those characters, the meaning of Cain’s name does not render itself so explicitly to his character or his role in the narrative, at least not to the same degree of immediate conspicuousness.
    [Show full text]
  • The Passionate Shepherd to His Love the Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd
    Pastoral Poems and Sonnets The Passionate Shepherd to His Love RL 4 Determine the meaning Poem by Christopher Marlowe of words and phrases as they are used in the text; analyze the The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone. Poem by Sir Walter Raleigh VIDEO TRAILER KEYWORD: HML12-312A Meet the Authors Christopher Christopher Marlowe was the first great in verse, including Raleigh’s “The Marlowe English playwright. In his brief career, Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd.” The two 1564–1593 he transformed theater by showing the poems present sharply contrasting views potential power and beauty of blank verse on love. dialogue. Freethinker . and Criminal? Marlowe Rise to Fame The son of a poor was a freethinker who questioned shoemaker, Marlowe attended Cambridge established authority and religious University on a scholarship. By age 23, teaching, which gained him enemies in he was the best-known playwright in Elizabethan England. He was accused of England. His most famous play, Dr. being an atheist, a spy, a counterfeiter, Faustus, is about a scholar who sells his a traitor, and a murderer. Although soul to the devil in return for knowledge, he spent time in prison, he was never power, and pleasure. Marlowe also convicted of any crime. He died from a distinguished himself as a poet; his poem stab wound in a tavern brawl at age 29. “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” Some biographers speculate that he was was so popular that it inspired responses murdered for political reasons. Sir Walter Like his friend Christopher Marlowe, Sir Losing It All When the queen found Raleigh Walter Raleigh met a violent end.
    [Show full text]
  • Amazing Facts Study Guide-02 Did God Create the Devil
    Amazing Facts Study Guide 2 - Did God Create the Devil? Most people in the world are being deceived by an evil genius bent on destroying their lives - a brilliant mastermind called the devil, or Satan. But this dark prince is much more than what you might think... many say he's just a devious mythical figure, but the Bible says he's very real, and he's deceiving families, churches, and even nations to increase sorrow and pain. Here are the Bible's amazing facts about this prince of darkness and how you can overcome him! 1. With whom did sin originate? "The devil sinneth from the beginning." 1 John 3:8. "That old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan." Revelation 12:9. Answer: Satan, also called the devil, is the originator of sin. Without the Scriptures, the origin of evil would remain unexplained. 2. What was Satan's name before he sinned? Where was he living at that time? "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!" Isaiah 14:12. Jesus said, "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." Luke 10:18. "Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God." Ezekiel 28:14. Answer: His name was Lucifer, and he was living in heaven. Lucifer is symbolized by the king of Babylon in Isaiah 14 and as the king of Tyrus in Ezekiel 28. 3. What was the origin of Lucifer? What responsible position did he hold? How does the Bible describe him? "Thou wast created." Ezekiel 28:13, 15. "Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth." Ezekiel 28:14.
    [Show full text]
  • Super Satan: Milton’S Devil in Contemporary Comics
    Super Satan: Milton’s Devil in Contemporary Comics By Shereen Siwpersad A Thesis Submitted to Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MA English Literary Studies July, 2014, Leiden, the Netherlands First Reader: Dr. J.F.D. van Dijkhuizen Second Reader: Dr. E.J. van Leeuwen Date: 1 July 2014 Table of Contents Introduction …………………………………………………………………………... 1 - 5 1. Milton’s Satan as the modern superhero in comics ……………………………….. 6 1.1 The conventions of mission, powers and identity ………………………... 6 1.2 The history of the modern superhero ……………………………………... 7 1.3 Religion and the Miltonic Satan in comics ……………………………….. 8 1.4 Mission, powers and identity in Steve Orlando’s Paradise Lost …………. 8 - 12 1.5 Authority, defiance and the Miltonic Satan in comics …………………… 12 - 15 1.6 The human Satan in comics ……………………………………………… 15 - 17 2. Ambiguous representations of Milton’s Satan in Steve Orlando’s Paradise Lost ... 18 2.1 Visual representations of the heroic Satan ……………………………….. 18 - 20 2.2 Symbolic colors and black gutters ……………………………………….. 20 - 23 2.3 Orlando’s representation of the meteor simile …………………………… 23 2.4 Ambiguous linguistic representations of Satan …………………………... 24 - 25 2.5 Ambiguity and discrepancy between linguistic and visual codes ………... 25 - 26 3. Lucifer Morningstar: Obedience, authority and nihilism …………………………. 27 3.1 Lucifer’s rejection of authority ………………………..…………………. 27 - 32 3.2 The absence of a theodicy ………………………………………………... 32 - 35 3.3 Carey’s flawed and amoral God ………………………………………….. 35 - 36 3.4 The implications of existential and metaphysical nihilism ……………….. 36 - 41 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………. 42 - 46 Appendix ……………………………………………………………………………… 47 Figure 1.1 ……………………………………………………………………… 47 Figure 1.2 ……………………………………………………………………… 48 Figure 1.3 ……………………………………………………………………… 48 Figure 1.4 ……………………………………………………………………….
    [Show full text]
  • Interpretation of the Quran- Surat Al-A'raf (7)- Lesson(12): Satan Has No Influence on Mankind- Some Characters of Jinn
    Interpretation of the Quran- Surat Al-A'raf (7)- Lesson(12): Satan has no Influence on Mankind- Some Characters of Jinn Praise be to Allah, the Lord of Creations, and Peace and blessings be upon our prophet Muhammad, the faithful and the honest. Oh, Allah, w e know nothing but w hat You teach us. You are the All- Know er, the Wise. Oh Allah, teach us w hat is good for us, and benefit us from w hat You taught us, and increase our know ledge. Show us the righteous things as righteous and help us to do them, and show us the bad things as bad and help us to keep aw ay from them. O Allah our Lord, lead us out from the depths of darkness and illusion, unto the lights of erudition and know ledge, and from the muddy shallow s of lusts unto the heavens of Your Vicinity. Dear brothers, w e w ill start lesson 12 of Surat Al Araaf interpreting the Ayah (verse) 27: ”O Children of Adam! Let not Shaitan (Satan) deceive you, as he got your parents [Adam and Haw w a (Eve)] out of Paradise, stripping them of their raiments, to show them their private parts. Verily, he and Qabiluhu (his soldiers from the jinns or his tribe) see you from where you cannot see them. Verily, We made the Shayatin (devils) Auliya' (protectors and helpers) for those who believe not.” [Surat Al-A’raf 7, verse 27] Kinds of Objects in Terms of Methods of Perception Dear brothers, it is a revelation matter in regard of Jinn, w hile all the materialistic objects that have entity and trace, are perceived by the five senses or their extensions such as Telescopes and Microscopes.
    [Show full text]
  • LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON GENESIS 4:1–2 Why Did Cain Kill His Brother Abel?
    CHAPTER ONE LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON GENESIS 4:1–2 You two are book-men: can you tell me by your wit; What was a month old at Cain’s birth, that’s not five weeks old as yet? (Shakespeare—Love’s Labor’s Lost 4.2.40) Why did Cain kill his brother Abel? It is usually assumed by modern commentators that God’s rejection of Cain’s offering led him to kill his brother in a fit of jealousy.1 Such a conclusion is logical in light of the way the action in the story is arranged. But the fact is we are never told the specific reason for the murder. Ancient exegetes, as we will see later, also speculated over Cain’s motive and sometimes provided the same conclusion as modern interpreters. But some suggested that there was something more sinister behind the killing, that there was something inborn about Cain that led him to earn the title of first murderer. These interpreters pushed back past the actual murder to look, as would a good biographer, at what it was about Cain’s birth and childhood that led him to his moment of infamy. Correspond- ingly, they asked similar questions about Abel. The result was a devel- opment of traditions that became associated with the brothers’ births, names and occupations. Who was Cain’s father? As we noted in the introduction, Cain and Abel is a story of firsts. In Gen 4:1 we find the first ever account of sexual relations between humans with the end result being the first pregnancy.
    [Show full text]