ANDREWS UNIVERSITY

SDA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................1

Problem 1

Method 1

Results1

Conclusions 1

II. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT.................................................1

Delineation of text 1

Genesis 4:1-17 1

Historical Background 1

Context 1

III. LITERARY STRUCTURE 1

Chiastic Structures 1

IV. CONTENT AND GRAMMATICAL STUDY 1

Genesis 4:1-17 as a whole 1

Names 1 Contrasts 1

Genesis 4:7 1

V. MESSAGE AND THEOLOGY 1

VI. INTERTEXTUALITY 1

VII. CONCLUSIONS1

WORKS CITED 1

Bibliography 1

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LIST OF TABLES1. Imaginary Table: Style is Called “List of Figures Items” ................................... 15

2. Set Tabs for This: One Left Table at .5; One Right Tab with Dots at 5.75; and One Right Tab without Dots at 6 inches. ............................... 36

3. Also Change Paragraph Settings: Single Space, Hanging Indent .5, and 12 pt Space After................................................................................................. 48

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Problem

Genesis 4:7 presents the fact that God and Cain had an exchange right before Cain killed

his brother. Just what God said to him and the meaning behind the words is up for debate. This

has been described as the most unclear verse in the whole book of Genesis.1 This verse is

important to understand not only for the words spoken to Cain, but the message it brings for us

today.

Method

In order to properly understand Genesis 4:7, there must be a better understanding of the

section that it is in, which is Genesis 4:1-17. First, the historical background of Genesis 4:1-17

will be discussed. Second, the immediate and larger context of Genesis 4:1-17 will be

investigated. Third, a literary structure and genre analysis will be done for Genesis 4:1-17 along

with a content and grammatical study. Fourth a content and grammar study will be conducted for

Genesis 4:7. Fifth, the theological message will be brought out from the analysis of the text and

context. And finally, the intertextuality of the verse will be discussed.

Conclusions

In Genesis 4:7, God tells Cain that he must look out for and love his younger brother.

This is clear from word analysis of the text and also the context of the verse. Relationships are

one of the biggest themes that run through the first four chapters of Genesis. The first sibling

1 G. Charles Aalders, Genesis, Bible Student's Commentary (Grand Rapids, MIZondervan, 1981), 121.

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relationship ever is presented as cantankerous. It is obvious that Cain did not like his younger

brother. The reason why he wants to kill him isn’t only due to his offering not being accepted

and Abel’s being accepted, but is due to a lifetime of enmity that was between them. Cain and

Able were enemies because of the sin that split them apart. Therefore, before Cain kills Abel in

verse eight, God tells Cain that he must care for his younger brother instead of hate him. Cain did

not listen to God and the rest is history.

Limitations

CHAPTER II

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

Delineation of Text

While the text chosen to deeply study is Genesis 4:7, it is part of a story that runs from

Genesis 4:1 through 4:17. The first 17 verses of Genesis tell the story of the first children born to

humans. It ends with the first death and a punishment to the murderer and him beginning a

family. There is an obvious split in the story after verse 17, where it begins to describe Cain

going out and having his own family. For this reason, the cutoff of this section was placed at

verse 17.

Translation of Genesis 4:1-17 (NKJV) with 4:7 highlighted

1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, "I have acquired a

man from the Lord."

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2 Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain

was a tiller of the ground.

3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the

ground to the Lord.

4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and

his offering,

5 but he did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance

fell.

6 So the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?

7 "If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door.

And its desire [is] for you, but you should rule over it."

8 Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that

Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

9 Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where [is] Abel your brother?" he said, "I do not know. [am] I my

brother's keeper?"

10 And he said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to me from

the ground.

11 "So now you [are] cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's

blood from your hand.

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12 "When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a

vagabond you shall be on the earth."

13 And Cain said to the Lord, "My punishment [is] greater than I can bear!

14 "Surely you have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from

your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen [that] anyone who

finds me will kill me."

15 And the Lord said to him, "Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him

sevenfold." And the lord set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.

16 Then Cain went out from the presence of the lord and dwelt in the land of nod on the east of Eden.

17 And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son--Enoch.

Historical background of Genesis 4:7

Genesis is the first book of the Bible. It is generally accepted that Moses wrote this book.

In the first four chapters of Genesis, there are a few different main characters discussed. Adam

and Eve are the first people that were created. In the beginning of chapter four, two new people

arrive on the scene as characters. Eve bears a son named Cain and then one named Abel. Not

only are humans different characters in Genesis 1-4:17 but God is as well as an evil serpent. The

main events leading up to the passage selected are: Creation of the Earth and all that live in it, the

temptation and fall of humans, the blessings/curses as a result of sin and the promise of a Seed

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that will come and destroy the serpent and his descendants. The places covered in this section are

the Garden of Eden and just outside Eden.

Context of Genesis Four

The book of Genesis is divided into ten different parts by what are known as “toledots”.2

Each of these “toledots”3 introduces a new section of Genesis by acting “like a topic sentence at

the head of a section”.4 Therefore, it introduces a new section by describing the generations or

toledots that precede the next event in the narrative. The first toledot mentioned in Genesis is

found in 2:4: “This is the history of the heavens and earth when they were created…”5 The larger

context of Genesis 4:1-17 consequently, is in the first toledot in Genesis: the beginning of life on

earth.

The smaller or immediate context of chapter four is a story that comes after some big

events in Earth’s history. Chapters one and two describe the creation of the Earth and everything

that lives in it. Arguably the most important creations of God detailed in the first two chapters

were the first man and the first woman.6 Not only does God first create the physical being that is

man, but also forms the first human/God relationship with Him. With the creation of both male

and female, the first human relationships were created, being a matrimonial one.

As we come to chapter three another new relationship is formed. The first human

relationship with Satan7 arises when the woman begins talking with him. He tempts her, and she

2 "The associated verb means 'to bear children'. (James McKeown, Genesis, The Two Horizons Old Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2008), 29.)3 "The Greek name for the first book (Genesis) is actually the translation of the Hebrew toledot." (Martin Kessler and Karel Adriaan Deurloo, A Commentary on Genesis : The Book of Beginnings (New York: Paulist Press, 2004), 1.)4 Ibid., 3.5 (NKJV)6 Gen 1:27, 2:7,22-237 While the text just states he is a talking serpent, it is generally believed that this is Satan.

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sins and afterwards there is another first when it comes to relationships: sin marred relationships.

Her relationship with Adam is marred because when she tempts him and in 3:6, he also sins.

Both of their relationships with God are marred and instead of welcoming Him as He comes to

investigate what happen they hide from Him.8 It is the first time that humans experienced the

separation that sin causes in regards to a relationship with God.

Right before arriving to Genesis four, Adam and (the newly named) Eve are kicked out of

the Garden of Eden following the court like scene where God investigated and judged them and

the serpent for their actions. It is here that God introduces a relationship that is primarily

negative in nature. In 3:15, He depicts that He “will put enmity between you (the snake) and the

woman, and between your seed and her Seed…” God announces that there will be “enmity”

involved in a relationship describing two sides of offspring that will be opposed to each other.

This also sets up the fact that there is going to be an offspring of the woman that will ultimately

defeat the serpent and his seed.9

The immediate context of Genesis chapter four is outside of the garden of Eden, with

Adam and Eve waiting for this seed to destroy their newly formed friend turned enemy, the

serpent. The new relationships that have been formed create a theme that runs through these first

four chapters. As we come to Genesis 4:1-17, more new relationships are formed. Unfortunately,

sin already stains these relationships. The parent/child and sibling/sibling10 relationships exist

for the first time. Within the sibling/sibling relationship, there exists the older sibling/younger

sibling dynamic.

8 Gen 3:89 Gen 3:15b10 Kessler and Deurloo, 58-59.

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CHAPTER III

LITERARY STRUCTURE

Chiastic Structures

Genesis 4:1-17 there are a few different structures within the text. First, there are two

chiastic structures in dealing with the first sibling relationship, Cain and Abel’s. The first is

found in verses one and two. First there is a mentioning of Cain being born, then of Abel’s birth,

what Abel did as for a profession and finally what Cain did for a profession. The second chiastic

structure appears in verses three through five. First, Cain’s offering is described then Abel’s is

described, then Abel’s sacrifice is accepted by God while Cain’s is not. Together, these two

chiastic structures form a singular chiastic structure. Chiastic structures are organized in such a

way that the middle section is the most important piece. The middle of this structure is the

description of Cain and the description of his offering. Clearly, Cain is the subject of this story.

This Chiastic structure can be viewed below on table 2.

Not only does Cain being in the middle of the chiasm give credence to the fact that he is

the subject but it also gives an informative description of Cain. He was basically a farmer who

gave his produce as a sacrifice. Not only does this chiasm depict Cain as the main subject, it

gives information about Abel and what type of person he was. Abel worked with sheep and

offered that as a sacrifice.

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Table 2

Chiastic Structure of verses1-5

A1. Cain’s birth (1:1)

B1. Abel’s birth (1:2)

C1. Abel’s description (1:2)

D1. Cain’s description (1:2)

D2. Cain’s offering described (1:3)

C2. Abel’s offering described (1:4)

B2. Abel’s offering respected by God (1:4)

A2. Cain’s offering not respected by God (1:5)

It is interesting to note the relationship between A1 and A2 and B1 and B2. While not

explicitly stated, the structure implies something of the life of the two brothers.11A1 states that

Cain was born and A2 states that his offering was not respected by God. This may infer that this

could be a theme throughout the life of Cain. Conversely, B1 states that Abel was born and B2

states that Abel’s offering was respected by God. Again, this just might infer the respect from

God was a theme throughout life for Abel.

In the context of Genesis 3:15 and the promise of two different types of seed12, it could be

noted that Cain’s life leading up to the offering in verses four and five was opposed to one that

God finds acceptable denoting him as one of the serpent’s seed. Equally, Abel’s life leading up

to the offering could be viewed in this case as one that was acceptable to God, denoting him as

11 Professor Muran, I apologize if I am totally wrong about this, but I felt it was an interesting find and couldn’t pass up offering this interpretation of the structure. Hopefully I haven’t done eisegesis with this to prove my own point of a strained relationship between the brothers. 12 The woman’s and the serpent’s (good vs. evil)

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the woman’s seed. If this was the case, the brothers would have been on opposite sides of the

enmity. Therefore, it could be viewed that their relationship was strained because Cain’s lifestyle

was in contrast to Abel’s. As seen in the next chapter, the theme of contrasts between the

brothers is common throughout the story.

CHAPTER IV

CONTENT AND GRAMMATICAL STUDY

Contrasts and Comparisons

One of the biggest contrasts between the brothers can be seen in the meaning of their

names. Cain is translated from the Hebrew word qayin, which means “possession”.13 Some

scholars note that qayin is a wordplay on the claim that Eve had “gained” or “acquired a man

from the LORD,”14 in which the Hebrew word for “acquired” (qanah) is very similar to qayin.15

John Byron asserts: “…Cain’s name is a pun created from his mother’s excitement at his birth;

Cain is her possession that she has received from the Lord”.16 It must be noted that there are

other scholars who disagree that Cain’s name has anything to do with Eve’s statement.17 In any

event, Eve had gained something, which was a son.

While Cain’s name meant something concrete, Abel’s name was something that was

more abstract and basically temporary. Abel is translated from the Hebrew word hebel, which

means “breath; vanity; or vapor”.18 Abel’s name seems to indicate that he will not be around for

13 "Easton's Bible Dictonary" http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/eastons-bible-dictionary/cain.html (accessed December 2 2013).14 Genesis 4:115 John Byron, Cain and Abel in Text and Tradition : Jewish and Christian Interpretations of the First Sibling Rivalry, Themes in Biblical Narrative Jewish and Christian Traditions (Leiden ; Boston: Brill, 2011), 30.16 Ibid.17 "Apart from assonance, any other link between the words is unlikely; Hebrew names and subjects are often associated with words that sound similar, regardless of meaning." (McKeown, 39.)18 "Hitchcock's Bible Names" http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/hitchcocks-bible-names/abel.html (accessed December 2 2013).

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long. As James McKeown puts it: “Abel’s life would be like a breath of vapor because of his

premature death”.19

The names of Cain and Abel are a part of a theme of contrasts between the brothers that

is found in Genesis 4:1-17. In verse two, Abel is noted as “a keeper of sheep” while Cain is

described as a “tiller of the ground”. In verse three Cain’s offering was from the earth while, in

the first half of verse four, Abel’s offering was a living being. In the second half of verse four

Abel’s sacrifice is accepted while, in the first half of verse five, Cain’s is not. Clearly the narrator

was displaying the fact that the brothers contrasted each other. Table 4,below, displays the

different contrasts between the two.

Table 4

Contrasts between Cain and Able

Cain Able

1. Concrete name 1. Abstract and short-lived name2. Tiller of ground 2. Keeper of sheep3. Offering from earth 3. Offering from living being4. Sacrifice not accepted 4. Sacrifice accepted

19 McKeown, 40.

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The differences between the two brothers are noticeable, and so is the fact that they are

brothers. Seven different times in Genesis 4:1-17, Abel is identified as Cain’s brother. This is as

many times as Abel’s named is mentioned! It seems to be the narrator’s intention to identify the

fact that the relationship between the two was one of brothers.

In attempting to answer the question of what God said to Cain in Genesis 4:7, this paper has

dealt with the historical background of Genesis four, the context of the chapter, and finally the

literary structure(s) of the text. This chapter will provide an overall content and grammatical

study of Genesis 4:1-17, to help give an answer to the main issue of this paper. This chapter will

also investigate Genesis 4:7 in depth to give more tools to answer the question of what God said

to Cain before Cain murdered his brother.

Genesis 4:1-17

Names

Names play an important role in any narrative. In Genesis 4:1-17, five names are

mentioned. Adam, Eve, Cain, LORD and Abel are all names that bring characters to this section

of the story. It is important to note that while there are five names mentioned, Cain’s is

mentioned most with 14 references. LORD is next with nine, followed by Abel with seven and

Adam and Eve with one. It is clear from the fact that Cain’s name is mentioned more times than

any other name that Cain is the main subject of this section. Table 3, on the next page gives a

helpful image of the name usage in Genesis 4:1-17.

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Table 3

Number of times different names are mentioned in verses 1-17

Name Number of times mentioned

Cain 14

LORD 9

Able 7

Adam 1

Eve 1

Rhetorical Questions

The reason so-called rhetorical questions are not asked for the sake of acquiring information

is because the answer derives form a self-evident assumption that both the speaker and

addressee share, one which is not open to debate or discussion. Yet, sometimes when a

rhetorical question is invoked, characters express contrasting points of view. 20

20 Kenneth M. Craig, Asking for Rhetoric : The Hebrew Bible's Protean Interrogative, Biblical Interpretation Series (Boston: Brill, 2005), 3.

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Genesis 4:7

CHAPTER V

THEOLOGY AND MESSAGE

CHAPTER VI

INTERTEXTUALITY

CHAPTER VII

CONCLUSIONS

Clines- page 488- Thematic table of sin, speech, punishment

BIBLIOGRAPHY

"Easton's Bible Dictonary" http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/eastons-bible-dictionary/cain.html (accessed December 2 2013).

"Hitchcock's Bible Names" http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/hitchcocks-bible-names/abel.html (accessed December 2 2013).

Aalders, G. Charles. Genesis Bible Student's Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI

Zondervan, 1981.

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Byron, John. Cain and Abel in Text and Tradition : Jewish and Christian Interpretations of the First Sibling Rivalry Themes in Biblical Narrative Jewish and Christian Traditions. Leiden ; Boston: Brill, 2011.

Craig, Kenneth M. Asking for Rhetoric : The Hebrew Bible's Protean Interrogative Biblical Interpretation Series. Boston: Brill, 2005.

Kessler, Martin and Karel Adriaan Deurloo. A Commentary on Genesis : The Book of Beginnings. New York: Paulist Press, 2004.

McKeown, James. Genesis The Two Horizons Old Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2008.

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