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.
2 And she again H3254 bare H3205 his brother H251 Abel. H1893 And Abel H1893 was a keeper H7462 of sheep, H6629 but Cain H7014 was a tiller H5647 of the ground. H127
3 And in process H7093 of time H3117 it came to pass, that Cain H7014 brought H935 of the fruit H6529 of the ground H127 an offering H4503 unto the LORD. H3068
4 And Abel, H1893 he H1931 also brought H935 of the firstlings H1062 of his flock H6629 and of the fat H2459 thereof. And the LORD H3068 had respect H8159 unto Abel H1893 and to his offering: H4503
5 But unto Cain H7014 and to his offering H4503 he had not respect. H8159 And Cain H7014 was very H3966 wroth, H2734 and his countenance H6440 fell. H5307
6 And the LORD H3068 said H559 unto Cain, H7014 Why art thou wroth? H2734 and why is thy countenance H6440 fallen? H5307
7 If H518 thou doest well, H3190 shalt thou not be accepted? H7613 and if thou doest not well, H3190 sin H2403 lieth H7257 at the door. H6607 And unto thee shall be his desire, H8669 and thou shalt rule H4910 over him.
2 And again she 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 Jehovah.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And Jehovah 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 Jehovah said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
7 If thou doest well, shall it not be lifted up? and if thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door: and unto thee shall be its desire, but do thou rule over it.
2 and she addeth to bear his brother, even Abel. And Abel is feeding a flock, and Cain hath been servant of the ground.
3 And it cometh to pass at the end of days that Cain bringeth from the fruit of the ground a present to Jehovah;
4 and Abel, he hath brought, he also, from the female firstlings of his flock, even from their fat ones; and Jehovah looketh unto Abel and unto his present,
5 and unto Cain and unto his present He hath not looked; and it is very displeasing to Cain, and his countenance is fallen.
6 And Jehovah saith unto Cain, `Why hast thou displeasure? and why hath thy countenance fallen?
7 Is there not, if thou dost well, acceptance? and if thou dost not well, at the opening a sin-offering is crouching, and unto thee its desire, and thou rulest over it.'
2 And she further bore his brother Abel. And Abel was a shepherd, but Cain was a husbandman.
3 And in process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to Jehovah.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of their fat. And Jehovah looked upon Abel, and on his offering;
5 and upon Cain, and on his offering, he did not look. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
6 And Jehovah said to Cain, Why art thou angry, and why is thy countenance fallen?
7 If thou doest well, will not [thy countenance] look up [with confidence]? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door; and unto thee [shall be] his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
2 Again she gave birth, to Cain's brother Abel. Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
3 As time passed, it happened that Cain brought an offering to Yahweh from the fruit of the ground.
4 Abel also brought some of the firstborn of his flock and of the fat of it. Yahweh respected Abel and his offering,
5 but he didn't respect Cain and his offering. Cain was very angry, and the expression on his face fell.
6 Yahweh said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why has the expression of your face fallen?
7 If you do well, will it not be lifted up? If you don't do well, sin crouches at the door. Its desire is for you, but you are to rule over it."
2 Then again she became with child and gave birth to Abel, his brother. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a farmer.
3 And after a time, Cain gave to the Lord an offering of the fruits of the earth.
4 And Abel gave an offering of the young lambs of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord was pleased with Abel's offering;
5 But in Cain and his offering he had no pleasure. And Cain was angry and his face became sad.
6 And the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? and why is your face sad?
7 If you do well, will you not have honour? and if you do wrong, sin is waiting at the door, desiring to have you, but do not let it be your master.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Genesis 4
Commentary on Genesis 4 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 4
Ge 4:1-26. Birth of Cain and Abel.
1. Eve said, I have gotten a man from the Lord—that is, "by the help of the Lord"—an expression of pious gratitude—and she called him Cain, that is, "a possession," as if valued above everything else; while the arrival of another son reminding Eve of the misery she had entailed on her offspring, led to the name Abel, that is, either weakness, vanity (Ps 39:5), or grief, lamentation. Cain and Abel were probably twins; and it is thought that, at this early period, children were born in pairs (Ge 5:4) [Calvin].
2. Abel was a keeper of sheep—literally, "a feeder of a flock," which, in Oriental countries, always includes goats as well as sheep. Abel, though the younger, is mentioned first, probably on account of the pre-eminence of his religious character.
3. in process of time—Hebrew, "at the end of days," probably on the Sabbath.
brought … an offering unto the Lord—Both manifested, by the very act of offering, their faith in the being of God and in His claims to their reverence and worship; and had the kind of offering been left to themselves, what more natural than that the one should bring "of the fruits of the ground," and that the other should bring "of the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof" [Ge 4:4].
4. the Lord had respect unto Abel, not unto Cain, &c.—The words, "had respect to," signify in Hebrew,—"to look at any thing with a keen earnest glance," which has been translated, "kindle into a fire," so that the divine approval of Abel's offering was shown in its being consumed by fire (see Ge 15:17; Jud 13:20).
7. If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?—A better rendering is, "Shalt thou not have the excellency"? which is the true sense of the words referring to the high privileges and authority belonging to the first-born in patriarchal times.
sin lieth at the door—sin, that is, a sin offering—a common meaning of the word in Scripture (as in Ho 4:8; 2Co 5:21; Heb 9:28). The purport of the divine rebuke to Cain was this, "Why art thou angry, as if unjustly treated? If thou doest well (that is, wert innocent and sinless) a thank offering would have been accepted as a token of thy dependence as a creature. But as thou doest not well (that is, art a sinner), a sin offering is necessary, by bringing which thou wouldest have met with acceptance and retained the honors of thy birthright." This language implies that previous instructions had been given as to the mode of worship; Abel offered through faith (Heb 11:4).
unto thee shall be his desire—The high distinction conferred by priority of birth is described (Ge 27:29); and it was Cain's conviction, that this honor had been withdrawn from him, by the rejection of his sacrifice, and conferred on his younger brother—hence the secret flame of jealousy, which kindled into a settled hatred and fell revenge.
8. And Cain talked with Abel his brother—Under the guise of brotherly familiarity, he concealed his premeditated purpose till a convenient time and place occurred for the murder (1Jo 3:12; Jude 11).
9. I know not—a falsehood. One sin leads to another.
10. the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me—Cain, to lull suspicion, had probably been engaging in the solemnities of religion when he was challenged directly from the Shekinah itself.
11, 12. now art thou cursed from the earth—a curse superadded to the general one denounced on the ground for Adam's sin.
12. a fugitive—condemned to perpetual exile; a degraded outcast; the miserable victim of an accusing conscience.
13, 14. And Cain said … My punishment is greater than I can bear—What an overwhelming sense of misery; but no sign of penitence, nor cry for pardon.
14. every one that findeth me shall slay me—This shows that the population of the world was now considerably increased.
15. whosoever slayeth Cain—By a special act of divine forbearance, the life of Cain was to be spared in the then small state of the human race.
set a mark—not any visible mark or brand on his forehead, but some sign or token of assurance that his life would be preserved. This sign is thought by the best writers to have been a wild ferocity of aspect that rendered him an object of universal horror and avoidance.
16. presence of the Lord—the appointed place of worship at Eden. Leaving it, he not only severed himself from his relatives but forsook the ordinances of religion, probably casting off all fear of God from his eyes so that the last end of this man is worse than the first (Mt 12:45).
land of Nod—of flight or exile—thought by many to have been Arabia-Petræa—which was cursed to sterility on his account.
17-22. builded a city—It has been in cities that the human race has ever made the greatest social progress; and several of Cain's descendants distinguished themselves by their inventive genius in the arts.
19. Lamech took unto him two wives—This is the first transgression of the law of marriage on record, and the practice of polygamy, like all other breaches of God's institutions, has been a fruitful source of corruption and misery.
23, 24. Lamech said unto his wives—This speech is in a poetical form, probably the fragment of an old poem, transmitted to the time of Moses. It seems to indicate that Lamech had slain a man in self-defense, and its drift is to assure his wives, by the preservation of Cain, that an unintentional homicide, as he was, could be in no danger.
26. men began to call upon the name of the Lord—rather, by the name of the Lord. God's people, a name probably applied to them in contempt by the world.