14 | Genesis 4:4
to the Lord . b 4 And Abel also brought an of fer ing — fat por tions c from some of the first born of his flock . d The Lord looked with fa vor on Abel and his of fer ing , e 5 but on Cain and his of fer ing he did not look with fa vor . So Cain was very an gry , and his face was down cast .
6 Then the Lord said to Cain , “ Why are
you an gry ? Why is your face down cast ? 7 If you do what is right , will you not be accept ed ? But if you do not do what is right , sin is crouch ing at your door ; f it de sires to have you , but you must rule over it . g ”
8 Now Cain said to his broth er Abel ,
“ Let ’ s go out to the field .” a While they were in the field , Cain at tacked his brother Abel and killed him . h
9 Then the Lord said to Cain , “ Where is
your broth er Abel ?” “ I don ’ t know ,” he re plied . “ Am I my brother ’ s keeper ?”
10 The Lord said , “ What have you done ?
Lis ten ! Your broth er ’ s blood cries out to me from the ground . i 11 Now you are un der a curse and driv en from the ground , which opened its mouth to re ceive your broth er ’ s blood from your hand . 12 When you work the ground , it will no lon ger yield its crops for you . You will be a rest less wan der er on the earth .”
13 Cain said to the Lord , “ My pun ishment is more than I can bear . 14 Today you are driv ing me from the land , and I will be hid den from your pres ence ; j I will be a rest less wan der er on the earth , and whoev er finds me will kill me .” k
4:3 b Nu 18:12 4:4 c Lev 3:16 d Ex 13:2 , 12
e Heb 11:4
4:7 f Nu 32:23 g Ro 6:16
4:8 h Mt 23:35 ; 1Jn 3:12 4:10 i Ge 9:5 ; Nu 35:33 ; Heb 12:24 ; Rev 6:9‐10 4:14 j 2Ki 17:18 ; Ps 51:11 ; 139:7- 12 ; Jer 7:15 ; 52:3 k Ge 9:6 ; Nu 35:19 , 21 , 27 , 33
4:15 l Eze 9:4 , 6 m ver 24 ; Ps 79:12 4:16 n Ge 2:8 4:17 o Ps 49:11 4:23 p Ex 20:13 ; Lev 19:18 4:24 q Dt 32:35 r ver 15
15 But the Lord said to him , “ Not so b ;
any one who kills Cain l will suf fer vengeance sev en times over . m ” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him . 16 So Cain went out from the Lord ’ s pres ence and lived in the land of Nod , c east of Eden . n
17 Cain made love to his wife , and she
be came preg nant and gave birth to Enoch . Cain was then build ing a city , and he named it af ter his son o Enoch . 18 To Enoch was born Irad , and Irad was the fa ther of Mehujael , and Mehujael was the father of Me thu sha el , and Me thu sha el was the father of La mech .
19 La mech mar ried two wom en , one
named Adah and the oth er Zil lah . 20 Adah gave birth to Ja bal ; he was the fa ther of those who live in tents and raise live stock .
21 His broth er ’ s name was Ju bal ; he was
the fa ther of all who play stringed in struments and pipes . 22 Zil lah also had a son , Tu bal-Cain , who forged all kinds of tools out of d bronze and iron . Tu bal- Cain ’ s sister was Naamah .
23 La mech said to his wives ,
“ Adah and Zillah , listen to me ; wives of Lamech , hear my words . I have killed p a man for wounding me , a young man for injuring me .
24 If Cain is avenged q seven times , r
then Lamech seventy-seven times .”
a 8 Samaritan Pentateuch , Septuagint , Vulgate and
Syriac ; Masoretic Text does not have “ Let ’ s go out to the field .” b 15 Septuagint , Vulgate and Syriac ; Hebrew Very well c 16 Nod means wandering ( see verses 12 and 14 ). d 22 Or who instructed all who work in
4:7 sin is crouching at your door . Recent commentators have preferred seeing the participle “ crouching ” ( Hebrew robes ) as a reference to a well-known Mesopotamian demon ( rabisu ) who lingers around doorways . “ Sin ” is then portrayed as a doorway demon waiting for its victim to cross the threshold . From the Old Bab ylonian period on in Mesopotamia , such demons were considered evil and were thought to ambush their victims . 4:12 wanderer . In Mesopotamian thinking the ideal lifestyle is urban . Civilized life in the city is the gift of the gods and highly valued . Agricultural and pastoral activities are part of the urban landscape and are foundational to the success of the city . In this way of thinking , nomadic groups are considered uncivilized and a threat to society . The motif of the wild man living out in the steppe country among the animals is represented by Enkidu in the Gilgamesh Epic and is an archetype for these despised and feared people .
An interesting contrast here in Genesis is that the categories are set up differently . As in Mesopotamia , Cain ’ s status as a wanderer marks him as undesirable . But this wandering is in contrast to being a farmer rather than to being a city dweller . In fact , it is within his line that the arts of civilization are developed ( vv . 17 – 22 ). 4:14 whoever finds me will kill me . Blood feuding between clans is not a foreign concept . In the ancient world it was typically the business of the clan to avenge the death of one of its members . This concept is represented in Biblical law — e . g ., cities of refuge and the avenger of blood ( Nu 35 ; Dt 19:1 – 14 ) — as well as in the ancient Near East . Cain ’ s comment assumes that Abel has an extended family who might seek revenge . 4:15 mark . The Hebrew word does not indicate a tattoo or mutilation , but rather a mark of divine protection similar to that placed on the foreheads of innocents in Eze 9:4 – 6 . It may be an external marking to serve as an indicator to others , or it might represent a sign from God to Cain that he will not be harmed . 4:17 building a city . According to Mesopotamian tradition , the first city built was Eridu ( remarkably similar to the name Irad , see v . 18 ). Within this tradition , city building was a divine enterprise . It was an enterprise related to , and a part of , creation , since creation involved the establishment of the world as they knew it — not only in terms of the physical cosmos , but also the civilized aspect of the social and economic world . In contrast , Genesis sees city building in purely human terms . 4:20 live in tents and raise livestock . Describes the pastoralist , who had to keep herds and flocks moving to a variety of water sources and grazing lands . This refers not to an achievement ( e . g ., domestication ) but to a lifestyle . Just as Mesopotamians believed cities and kingship to have originated with the gods , so did pastoralism , agriculture and other lifestyles . In contrast , Genesis sees them as human developments .