Cain and Abel

Biblical Account

According to Genesis 4, Cain was the firstborn son of Adam and Eve and a farmer who tilled the ground. His younger brother Abel was a shepherd. Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground, while Abel brought the firstlings of his flock and their fat. God accepted Abel and his offering but did not accept Cain and his offering. When Cain became very angry, God warned him that "sin lieth at the door" and that he must rule over it (Genesis 4:7).

Cain struck and killed Abel in the field. When God asked, "Where is Abel thy brother?" Cain replied, "Am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4:9). God declared that the voice of Abel's blood cried out from the ground and sentenced Cain to be a wanderer on the earth. When Cain feared that someone would kill him, God set a mark on him to protect him. Cain then settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden, where he fathered a son, Enoch, and built a city that he named after him (Genesis 4:17). Adam and Eve later had Seth in place of Abel (Genesis 4:25).

Significance Within Scripture

The New Testament refers to Abel as righteous and to Cain as an example of evil. Jesus cited "the blood of righteous Abel" as the first case among the Old Testament martyrs (Matthew 23:35; Luke 11:51). Hebrews states that by faith Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice (Hebrews 11:4) and contrasts the two by saying that the blood of Christ speaks better things than that of Abel (Hebrews 12:24). 1 John says that Cain was of the wicked one and slew his brother (1 John 3:12), and Jude warns that false teachers have gone in "the way of Cain" (Jude 1:11).

Interpretations and Debated Questions

The text does not explain why Cain's offering was not accepted, and interpretations therefore diverge.

• The type of offering: One view holds that the key issue was whether the sacrifice involved the shedding of blood, and it reads Abel's sacrifice as a foreshadowing of Christ's atoning sacrifice.
• The heart and faith: Another view, based on Hebrews 11:4, holds that the faith and attitude of the one making the offering were decisive. Its proponents also point out that Abel chose the very best, "the firstlings and the fat," to offer.

This question does not sharply divide denominations, and both views are held within the same denomination. In The City of God, Augustine interpreted Cain as representing the earthly city and Abel as representing the City of God.

The text also does not say where Cain's wife came from or what the mark of Cain looked like. Regarding Cain's wife, a common interpretation holds that she was one of his sisters, based on the statement in Genesis 5:4 that Adam had other children as well. The story that the two brothers had twin sisters and quarreled over them is preserved in some Jewish traditions but does not appear in the biblical text. In addition, in parts of the modern West the mark of Cain was associated with a particular race and used to justify discrimination, but the text provides no basis for such a reading.

In the Korean Church

In Korean church preaching, this narrative is frequently cited when addressing the proper attitude in worship and offering. The main emphases are that God looks first at the heart of the giver rather than at the offering itself and that one should give one's very best. The question "Where is thy brother?" is also used as a text on responsibility toward one's neighbor and community. Genesis 4:7 is cited as a text exhorting believers to master anger and sin. In Sunday school, the story is commonly taught as a unit in Genesis curricula to address jealousy and reconciliation between siblings.