Cain

Lore & Background

Cain is the first human born (as distinct from God's creation of Adam and Eve), and the first murderer, according to the narrative in Genesis 4. When he and his brother Abel made their offerings to God, the Lord 'had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry.' Cain then treacherously murdered his brother Abel and lied about the murder to God. As a result, Cain was cursed and marked for life. With the earth left cursed to drink Abel's blood, Cain could no longer farm the land. He becomes a 'fugitive and wanderer' and receives a mark from God – commonly referred to as the mark of Cain – so that no one can enact vengeance on him. Cain is described as a city-builder, and the forefather of tent-dwelling pastoralists, all lyre and pipe players, and bronze and iron smiths.

In Their Own Story

In the Book of Genesis, Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord, while Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. The Lord warned Cain: 'If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door. It desires to have you, but you must rule over it.' Despite this warning, Cain killed his brother Abel. When God asked where Abel was, Cain replied, 'I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?' God then cursed Cain from the ground, which had opened its mouth to receive his brother's blood. Cain would be a fugitive and wanderer on the earth. Cain feared that whoever found him would kill him, but the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would attack him. Cain then went out from the Lord's presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. Cain built a city and named it after his son Enoch. His descendants include Irad, Mehujael, Methushael, and Lamech.

Reader's Guide

In Jewish and Christian interpretations, a key question is why God rejected Cain's sacrifice. The Midrash suggests that although Abel brought the best meat from his flock, Cain did not set aside the best of his harvest for God. In the Christian understanding, 1 John 3:12 explains it was 'Because his own works were evil and his brother's righteous', while Hebrews 11:4 teaches that Abel's was an offering of faith. Some traditional interpretations within Abrahamic religions consider Cain to be the originator of evil, violence, or greed. In Islamic tradition, Cain's name is Qabil. His story is mentioned in the Quran, though without a name, where he and his brother Abel offer sacrifices; Abel's sacrifice was accepted while Cain's was not. Cain gets angry and threatens to murder his brother, but Abel tries to console him. In the end, Cain kills Abel. God sends a crow searching in the ground to show Cain how to hide the disgrace of his brother. Cain's shame is stated not to be for killing Abel, but for failing to cover up the body. In Latter-day Saint interpretation, the Book of Moses describes the seed of Cain as 'black' (Moses 7:22), without explicitly stating whether this description is symbolic or literal. The modern leadership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has formally disavowed teachings that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse.

Did You Know?

• Cain was the first human born (as distinct from God's creation of Adam and Eve), and the first murderer.
• According to the Book of Jubilees, Cain murdered his brother with a stone and was later killed when his house fell in upon him, its stones killing him.
• A Talmudic tradition says that after Cain murdered his brother, God made a horn grow on his head, and he was later killed by his great-grandson Lamech, who mistook him for a wild beast.
• In Jewish tradition, Philo, Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer, and the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan asserted that Adam was not the father of Cain; instead, Eve was seduced by Sammael, the serpent in the Garden of Eden.
• Pseudo-Philo, a Jewish work of the first century CE, relates that Cain murdered his brother at the age of 15 and died at the age of 730.