Who are Cain and Abel?

In the Abrahamic religions, Cain and Abel are the sons of Adam and Eve, born after the expulsion of their ancestors from Eden. As God bequeathed, Cain and Abel worked on the earth and ate the fruits of their hard work. Cain was a farmer and Abel a shepherd.

The story of Abel and Cain is the story of the first murder on Earth. The earth at that time was still very young, but it had already undergone the influence. Cain was the first person born on the young Earth, Abel the first person to die.

The story of Cain and Abel is told in, in the fourth chapter. You can read or listen to the chapter on Cain and Abel by clicking on the link:

The names Cain and Abel: meaning.

Name Cain came either from the Hebrew root KANA, which means "to create / bring into being", or from the root KINA, which means "envy". In favor of the first version, the lines of the Bible speak in which Eve speaks of Cain "I made a man." The name Cain has become a household name. Today it is customary to call an evil and envious person capable of meanness.

Name Abel(Hevel) probably goes back to the Hebrew word "hevel" - breath. However, many modern scholars say that the name Abel comes from the Akkadian "ablu", which means son.

Why did Cain kill Abel?

Cain the farmer and Abel the cattle breeder offered the fruits of their labors as a sacrifice to God. God favorably accepted Abel's sacrifice, as it was offered with a pure heart. Cain's sacrifice was rejected, because Cain sacrificed only out of habit, without love for God. Out of envy and anger, Cain kills Abel, thus committing the first crime on the young Earth.

History of Cain after fratricide.

After the murder, Cain tried to hide his sin before God. When God asked Cain where his brother was, he replied that he did not know, since he was not his brother's keeper. It is believed that God asked this question to Cain in the hope of confessing his sin, but Cain showed no desire to repent.

Cain and Abel. Zhitnikov Mikhail.

After the murder, Cain was cursed by God from the land where the blood of Abel had been shed. According to the word of God, the earth will not give strength to Cain. And he must become an exile and a wanderer on earth. And Cain was sent to the land of Nod.

Cain cries out to God, saying that his punishment is more than he can bear, and that anyone who meets him will be able to kill him.

And the Lord [God] said to him: for this, everyone who kills Cain will be avenged sevenfold. And the Lord [God] made a sign to Cain, so that no one who met him would kill him.

Cain is the father of Enoch and the ancestor of his line. He also founded a city and named it after his son ENOCH. Who was Cain's wife? There is no mention of this in the Bible, but there are two opinions, both based on the Book of Jubilees:

• Cain's wife was his sister Avan;
• Cain's wife was Saba.

The tribe of Cain has 7 generations. It is believed that the race of Cain was not saved during the Great Flood. In the apocryphal book of Enoch, it is written that the soul of Abel became the head of the martyrs and persecuted the descendants of Cain.

“This is the spirit that came out of Abel, who was killed by his brother Cain; and he complains about him until his (Cain's) seed is blotted out from the face of the earth and his seed is destroyed from the seed of men.”

The story of Cain and Abel. Manuscripts and interpretations.

The oldest known copy of the biblical narrative containing the story of Cain and Abel is the Dead Sea Scrolls (Qumran manuscripts). The bulk of the Qumran manuscripts date back to 250 BC. e. until 68 AD e. The scroll containing the story of Cain and Abel dates from the first century BC.

The story of Cain and Abel has also come down to us in a number of other texts (24 manuscripts in total). This story is subject to various interpretations.

The image of Abel is interpreted both as the first victim of the murder and as the first martyr; while Cain is seen as both the first murderer and the ancestor of evil. Some scholars suggest that the biblical story of Cain and Abel is based on an ancient Sumerian story about a conflict between nomadic shepherds and settled farmers.

The image of Cain is reflected in Kabbalah, where he is considered the son of the angel Samael and Eve, as well as in Gnosticism, where he is considered the son of Satan and Eve.

An interesting fact is that, following the story of Cain and Abel, the idea of ​​God's preference for the younger son is more than once observed in the Bible:

• The story of Esau and Jacob;
• History of Joseph and his eleven brothers;
• The story of David and his older brothers, etc.

The story of Cain and Abel became the archetype of fratricide. This story is interpreted in literature and other arts.

Medieval legend says that Cain was sent by God to the moon.

A medieval legend says that Cain was sent by God to the moon, so that from there he could see all the delights of earthly life and not be able to return. According to this legend, on a full moon, looking at the moon, you can see the image of Cain killing Abel. Cain with a bundle of brushwood is also synonymous with the moon in Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy.

...Two hemispheres and beyond Seville into the waves

Cain descends, holding his firewood

There is an interesting interpretation of the story of Abel and Cain, according to which this story explains the source of all wars. How is it that blood brothers who worship the same God become mortal enemies? According to the author of the theory, it is not the difference in dogmas or rituals that leads to wars, including religious ones, but “claims for equality” or “denial of hierarchy” (

Who was Cain's wife? Was Cain's wife his sister?

The Bible does not specifically state who Cain's wife was. The only possible answer is that Cain's wife was his sister or niece. The Bible does not record Cain's age at the time of Abel's murder (Genesis 4:8). And since they both cultivated the land, they were most likely already adult men and, possibly, had families of their own.

Adam and Eve had other children besides Cain and Abel.

The fact that after the murder of Abel Cain feared for his life indicates that there were other children at this time, and perhaps even the grandchildren of Adam and Eve.

Thus, Cain's wife was the daughter or granddaughter of Adam.

Because Adam and Eve were the first (and only) humans, their children had to marry each other. God forbade intra-family marriages much later, when there were enough people to eliminate the need for such marriages.

No one should approach any relative in the flesh in order to reveal nakedness. I am the Lord.Do not expose the nakedness of your father and the nakedness of your mother: she is your mother, do not expose her nakedness.Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's wife: it is the nakedness of thy father.The nakedness of your sister, your father's daughter, or your mother's daughter, whether born in the house or outside the house, do not reveal their nakedness.The nakedness of your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter, do not reveal their nakedness, for they are your nakedness.The nakedness of the daughter of your father's wife, born of your father, she is your sister paternal do not reveal her nakedness.Do not reveal the nakedness of your father's sister, she is your father's half-blood.Do not reveal the nakedness of your mother's sister, for she is your mother's half-blood.Do not reveal the nakedness of your father's brother, and do not approach his wife: she is your aunt.Do not expose the nakedness of your daughter-in-law: she is the wife of your son; do not expose her nakedness.Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife, it is the nakedness of thy brother.Do not open the nakedness of her wife and daughter; Do not take the daughters of her son and the daughters of her daughter to reveal their nakedness, they are her consanguineous ones; this is lawlessness.Do not take a wife with her sister to make her a rival, to reveal her nakedness in her presence, during her lifetime.

Interbreeding of people with similar genetics often results in genetic abnormalities in their offspring. The likelihood of genetic abnormalities increases if the father and mother have the same genetic problems (for example, brother and sister). In spouses from different families, the possibility of coincidence of genetic defects is minimal. Over the centuries, the human genetic code has become extremely "contaminated" as genetic defects have been accumulated, modified and passed down from generation to generation. Since Adam and Eve did not have genetic defects, this allowed them and the first generations of their descendants to have much better health than we currently have. The children of Adam and Eve, even if they had genetic defects, were very minor, that is, intra-family marriages were safe for them. It's hard for us to imagine that Cain's wife was his sister, but at first, since God created one man and one woman, the second generation simply had no choice but to marry brothers and sisters.

He asked Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" Cain answered: “I don't know; Am I my brother's keeper? But God said, “What have you done? the voice of your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. Cursed are you from the land that received your brother's blood from your hand. When you cultivate the land, it will no longer give its strength to you: you will be an exile and a wanderer on the earth. Cain said, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, I will wander the earth; whoever meets me will kill me.” He said to him: “Whoever kills Cain will be avenged seven times.” And God made a sign to Cain, so that no one would kill him. And Cain went with his wife from the place where he appeared to people as their father, and settled east of Eden, built a city and called it Enoch, after the name of his son.

From Cain came a tribe of wicked people who were called the sons of men. They cared only for the safety, comforts, and pleasures of earthly life.

One of Cain's descendants, Lamech, was the first to marry two wives. From him were born: Jabal, who was the first to live with flocks in tents; Jubal, inventor of musical instruments; Tubalcain (Fauvel), inventor of blacksmithing, and Noema.

A mix of tribes. Corruption of people. Noah. The Flood (2262 from the creation of the world, 3247 BC). Salvation of Noah with his family. His sacrifice. God's blessing to Noah and God's covenant with him

When people multiplied on earth, the sons of God (the descendants of Seth) began to be seduced by the beauty of the daughters of men (the daughters of the descendants of Cain) and took them as their wives. Because of this, all people are corrupted. Then he said: “It is not for ever that people neglect this Spirit of mine; they have gone astray and become carnal. I will give them 120 years to repent."

At that time there were giants on earth (giants, attackers), who especially began to be born from the time when the sons of God began to marry the daughters of men. They further increased the wickedness, corruption and wickedness on earth. When he saw that the corruption of people was great and that the earth was filled with atrocities from them, he grieved and determined to exterminate people, and with them cattle, and reptiles, and birds.

At that time there was a righteous and blameless man, Noah. He had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. He said to Noah, “The earth is filled with evil deeds from people. I will exterminate them from the earth. Make yourself an ark, with a hole at the top and a door on the side. Arrange in it a lower, second and third dwelling. Cover it with resin inside and out. Behold, I will bring a flood of water on the earth to destroy every living creature on the earth. But I will establish my covenant with you: and you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives will enter the ark with you. Also bring into the ark animals of all kinds, clean by seven, male and female, and unclean by two, male and female. Stock up on all kinds of food." And Noah did everything that God commanded him.

At the end of the six hundredth year of his life, Noah, with his family and animals, entered the ark. shut the ark after them. On the same day, heavy rain fell on the earth and poured for forty days and forty nights; and the waters of the deep sea rushed to dry land. The water covered all the mountains and rose 15 cubits above the highest mountains. Everything that lives on earth has died. Only Noah remained and those who were with him in the ark, which floated on the waters. The waters rose above the earth for 150 days. Then the wind brought on the earth, and the water began to subside. The ark stopped on the mountains of Ararat. The tops of the mountains appeared. 40 days later, Noah opened the window of the ark and let out a raven. The raven flew off and landed on the roof of the ark. After seven days, Noah released a dove. The dove did not find a dry place and returned to the ark. After another seven days, Noah released the dove again. The dove returned with a fresh olive leaf in its mouth, and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth. After another seven days, Noah sent out the dove for the third time, and it did not return to him. When the earth dried up, God told Noah to come out of the ark with all who were there with him.

After leaving the ark, Noah built an altar, took from every clean livestock and from every clean bird, and offered a burnt offering to God. God was pleased with this sacrifice, and He said in his heart: “I will no longer curse the earth for the sins of man, and I will no longer strike all living things. Henceforth, while the earth will stand, sowing and harvesting, summer and winter, days and nights will not stop on it. And he blessed Noah and his sons and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Let all the animals fear and tremble you, and let them be in your hands. Everything that moves and lives, let it be food for you, like green grass; Just don't eat blood. I'll take your blood too. Whoever sheds human blood, that same blood will be shed, for man is created in the image of God.” And he made a covenant with Noah and his offspring that there would be no more flood, and as a sign of this covenant he put a rainbow in the cloud. (.)

Noah was a type of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, and the ark was a type of the Church of Christ, in which alone people are saved.

Ham's disrespect for his father. Noah's prophecy about the fate of his children

After leaving the ark, Noah began to work the land and planted a vineyard. Once he drank grape wine, not knowing its power, got drunk and lay naked in his tent. Ham his son saw him and told his two brothers. Shem and Japheth took the clothes, put them on their shoulders, went backwards into the tent and covered their father without seeing him. When Noah woke up and found out what Ham had done to him, then he prophetically said: “Cursed is Canaan (son of Ham), the servant of servants will be with his brothers.” Then he continued: “Blessed be the Lord of Sims; Canaan will be his slave. May God expand Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem; Canaan will be his slave." With these words, Noah predicted that the descendants of Hamov would be slaves of the descendants of Shem and Japheth; God will be blessed in the offspring of Shem, true worship of God will be preserved, and God will be incarnated from this tribe; the descendants of Japheth will occupy the largest expanse of the earth, subdue the Shem descendants under their power and enter into the true.

From the sons of Noah very soon people multiplied and began to spread over the earth. (Ch.)

Babylonian pandemonium, confusion of languages, scattering of people (2793 from the creation of the world, 2716 BC) and the emergence of idolatry

At first, all people spoke one language and one dialect. Spreading across the land, people settled on a plain in the land of Shinar. Here the descendants of Ham were especially strong. Remembering that Noah had prophesied slavery to them, and not wanting this prophecy to be fulfilled, they said; “Let us build ourselves a city and a tower to the heavens, and make a name for ourselves (we will be glorified), before we are scattered over all the earth,” and they began to build. Instead of stones, which are not found in the land of Shinar, they began to use bricks, and instead of lime, earthen tar. Many people from other tribes were also involved in this enterprise. But he said: “Let us go down and confuse their language so that one does not understand the speech of the other.” And the Lord confounded their language and scattered them over all the earth. The city was given the name Babylon (mixing). So there were different peoples speaking different languages.

Scattered over the earth, people gradually began to forget the true God and began to worship instead of God: the sun, the moon, the stars, people, animals, plants, demons, fictions of their imagination and idols (images of false gods). Faith in the true God was preserved only in the offspring of Simov's son, Arfaxad.

From Arfaxad successively descended the patriarchs who preserved and spread the veneration of the true God: Cainan, Sala, Eber, Peleg, Raghav, Serug, Nahor and Terah. They lived less than the antediluvian patriarchs. Noah lived 950 years, Shem 600 years, Arfaxad 465 years, Terah 206 years. (Ch.)

Turning the pages of the Holy Bible, we learn many interesting and mysterious stories. It is in this sacred book that the crime is first described - fratricide, which was committed by one of the sons of Adam and Eve. So why did Cain kill Abel, and how was he punished later? Despite the fact that this conflict is described in great detail on the pages of writing, there are several reasons for what happened.

Adam and Eve, returning from paradise to ordinary earth, were forced to start working so that they had something to eat and what to wear. They had sons - Cain and Abel. Each of them chose their own path. Cain began to cultivate the land and grow plants, and Abel liked the occupation of cattle breeding, he became a simple shepherd.

Both of these men were devout and wanted to please God. To appease the Almighty and find his favor, they made sacrifices to him. During one of these sacrifices, Cain lit a small fire and put a bundle of ears of corn into it. Abel lit another fire, slaughtered the fattest lamb and put it on the fire in the same way.

But God accepted only the sacrifice of the younger brother Abel, since he was a pious and kind person. He sincerely believed in the Lord and prayed with a pure soul. The older brother Cain was not noticed by God, because the Almighty saw the falsity of his prayer and presentation. Cain sacrificed only because it was necessary, and not from the heart.

Seeing that Abel was more fortunate, the proud Cain was indignant at this state of affairs. He was filled with anger and envy. He began to hate his own brother. The Lord tried to inspire him with other thoughts and soften his heart, but he remained adamant. The Lord literally told him that a person who started evil commits a sin.

But Cain was already on his way to fratricide. He called Abel into the field and took his life in cold blood. No tears and pleas of the victim, no thought that he would bring grief to his own parents, did not stop the killer.

Cain believed that not a single living soul noticed his heinous deed, but this was not so. The Almighty sees everything. Turning to him, the Lord asked: “Where is your brother?” To which the offender replied: “How do I know, I am not my brother’s keeper!”

Then God decided to punish Cain in the following way:

• put a curse on him;
• send to live in a different direction;
• in no place will the killer find peace and tranquility;
• every hour his conscience will torment him for the innocently shed blood;
• put a special mark on him so that oncoming people would know who was in front of them and would not accidentally kill him.

This story has a deep philosophical meaning. We see the reasons that prompted Cain to commit a great sin, we realize the responsibility for the committed actions and understand that for every crime an identical punishment will surely follow.

Other murder theories

1. According to one version, the woman became the bone of contention. Despite the fact that the Bible speaks of only 4 people living at that time, it is believed that the brothers also had sisters. One of them is Avan - both brothers liked, and they could not share it in any way. This theory appeared due to the fact that it was Cain who subsequently married this woman, founded a new city and gave birth to a son.
   
2. Another theory considers this murder unintentional. In Islam, they say that one day, in a rage, Cain grabbed Abel by the breasts and asked the Lord: “What should I do with him?” At this time, the devil was nearby, who whispered to him: “Kill!” Unwittingly, the brother killed Abel.
3. Philosopher Yosef Albo puts forward his version of what happened. He says that Cain could not forgive Abel for killing innocent animals. Because of this, a scandal erupted between them, the result of which was death.
4. Talmudic books say that a battle took place between the brothers, where Abel turned out to be the winner. Wanting to avenge his defeat, Cain went on the murder.

But still, the first version is considered the main version in spiritual literature. Cain was endowed with such vices as malice, indifference, hatred, anger and cruelty, which is why he committed the murder of his blood brother.

Cain was punished according to his deserts. All his life he lived far from his relatives, but even there he did not find peace. As soon as he closed his eyes, an image of his brother Abel appeared in front of him in a pool of blood. His conscience tormented him constantly, he was afraid of any rustle. As soon as a leaf flew off the tree, Cain rushed to run in a panic.

Nevertheless, he continued his favorite business - to cultivate the land. This became the starting point of a new generation of farmers.

Eve spent the rest of her life grieving and crying for her murdered son. At first, no one dared to tell her the whole truth about her sons, but the devil brought her this terrible news and told her everything in detail. It is from here that the heaviest grief in the world comes - the death of a loved one. But nevertheless, he took pity on the unfortunate mother and sent her a new son, who was named Seth, which means “foundation”. This symbolizes the beginning of a new world, in which there should be no anger, indifference and murder.

Human life is given by God, and no one has the right to take it away from a person.

Regardless of why Cain killed Abel, Cain became a household name. It is it that denotes a person - a murderer, a scoundrel and a sinner. To recognize him, just look at the face, drooping and distorted with anger. Great was his crime and worthy was his punishment.

Descendants of Cain

The Bible says the following about them:

“And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch. And he built a city; and named the city by the name of his son: Enoch.

Enoch was born Irad; Irad begat Mechiael; Mechiel begat Methuselah; Methuselah begat Lamech.

And Lamech took two wives for himself; the name of one: Ada, and the name of the second: Zilla.

Ada gave birth to Jabal: he was the father of those who dwell in tents with flocks.

His brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all who play the harp and flute.

Zillah also gave birth to Tubal Cain, who was the forger of all copper and iron tools. And Tubal Cain's sister Noah (1. Gen. 4:17-22).

Everything that is said about the descendants of Cain in various traditions partially echoes what was said in the Bible. Some of this can be found in Ephroim Sirus (in the collected works of the Holy Fathers of the Church XXVII). Recall that the punishment imposed on Cain extended until his death. seventh knees included. This means that the descendants of Lamech must be punished, and the distribution of punishment must stop there. Lamech, in punishment for Cain's transgression, was limited to female offspring. His wives Ada and Zilla had to console him for this. His three sons mentioned in the Bible: Jabal, Jubal and Tubal Cain (1. Gen. 4, 17) are absent in this work.

Of interest in the interpretations of Ephroim, in chapter 6, 1, is one of the explanations, which says:

“By the sons of men he understood only Cainites and as for the birth of daughters, he explains, they were in order to interrupt the line of Cainites and thus break the causal connection with the past.

Since the Cainites were dissolute, God gave them only daughters. However, Cain must be the forefather of the Kenites. The nomadic tribe of Kenites belonged - as we know - to the Midianites. Some of them lived on the Sinai Peninsula. Moses' father-in-law Jethro was either a Kenite or a Midianite. The race of Israel is descended from the Kenites of Canaan, who were dispersed over lands with many forges and gradually became the Israelite nation.

However, we need to clearly distinguish the "Kenites" from the so-called "Cainites". The Kenites are a biblical nomadic family. Cainites, on the other hand, are– from a psychological point of view – carriers of the motivating nature and malicious attitude towards the people of the Cains. The startling words about "Cainites" - quoted here - were spoken by Ephroim Cyrus as early as the fourth century. However, Cainites live among us even now, and, apparently, they are reborn again and again.

From the book of Pontius Pilate [Psychoanalysis of the wrong murder] author Menyailov Alexey Alexandrovich

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From the book of Cain. images of evil author Zondi Leopold

Birth of Cain About the birth of Cain in the Bible (1. Gen. 4, 1) the following is said: “Adam knew Eve, his wife, and she conceived, and gave birth to Cain, and said: I have gained a man from the Lord. And she also gave birth to his brother, Abel. There is also a Jewish tradition, according to which Cain was not born from

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Cain's name Many authors derive from the Hebrew word "cana". It means: 1) established, created (by God); 2) purchased. Literally: acquired from God (Gesenius). In the Hebrew text about the birth of Cain and the joyful exclamation of Eve at the birth of her first son, it is written

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Brothers and Sisters of Cain The number of sisters and brothers of Cain is interpreted differently in various traditions and comments on them. Only the names of Abel and Seth are given invariably in all of them. Regarding the daughters of Adam, the Bible says: “The days of Adam after he begat Seth were eight hundred years, and

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Marriage of Cain Many Jewish and Christian sources agree that Cain and Abel were married to their twin sisters. One legend says: “Three miracles happened in one day; on the same day Adam and Eve were created, on the same day they were united, and on the same day they

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The Mark of Cain The controversy regarding the Mark of Cain has not yet been completed. In the Bible, we can only read about a certain "sign that allows him to be recognized, distinguished from other people." One of the legends says that the Lord made Cain grow horns on his forehead. According to another legend,

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The death of Cain The death of Cain is presented in the traditions in three different ways (see Couch and Aptowitzer, note 33c).1. Cain found his death under the rubble of a collapsed building. This tradition can be found in the "Book of Jubilees or Small Genesis ... 4, 81", published by

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Cain's Radical This table shows that the needs of Cain and, accordingly, Abel = Moses are determined by the radical e.

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Cain is neurotic. The Cain Complex So can a person with a Cainist nature become neurotic? Yes, we should answer this question in the affirmative and talk about the Cain complex. The Cain complex can arise in a variety of conflicts. First, in a conflict that