![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Joshua-Schachterle-Bart-Ehrman-Author-1-1.png\" "\\"Joshua")
<\/span><\/p>\nWritten by <\/a>Joshua Schachterle, Ph.D<\/a><\/p>\n Author | Professor | Scholar<\/p>\n Author | Professor | BE Contributor<\/p>\n Verified! See our editorial guidelines<\/a><\/p>\n Verified! See our guidelines<\/a><\/p>\n\nDate written: March 3rd, 2025\n \nDate written: March 3rd, 2025<\/p>\n Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily match my own. – Dr. Bart D. Ehrman<\/p>\n The story of Cain and Abel in the book of Genesis<\/a> is one of the best-known and widely interpreted narratives in religious and literary traditions<\/strong>. The story raises important questions about divine favor, the nature of sin, and the human condition but also leaves us with significant ambiguities.<\/p>\n In this article, I\u2019ll examine the story\u2019s complexities, including its historical roots, its interpretations over the centuries, and the lessons it may hold for us today.<\/p>\n We can find the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4:1-16. The story takes place after Adam and Eve<\/a> have been expelled from the Garden of Eden for disobeying God. Rather than merely summarize the story, I\u2019ll put the verses here in their entirety so we can unpack what\u2019s actually there.<\/p>\n Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, \u201cI have produced [or acquired] a man with the help of the Lord.\u201d Next she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel for his part brought of the firstlings of his flock, their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. The Lord said to Cain, \u201cWhy are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.\u201dCain said to his brother Abel, \u201cLet us go out to the field.\u201d And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, \u201cWhere is your brother Abel?\u201d He said, \u201cI do not know; am I my brother\u2019s keeper?\u201d And the Lord said, \u201cWhat have you done? Listen, your brother\u2019s blood is crying out to me from the ground! And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother\u2019s blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it will no longer yield to you its strength; you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.\u201d Cain said to the Lord, \u201cMy punishment is greater than I can bear! Today you have driven me away from the soil, and I shall be hidden from your face; I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and anyone who meets me may kill me.\u201d Then the Lord said to him, \u201cNot so! Whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold vengeance.\u201d And the Lord put a mark on Cain, so that no one who came upon him would kill him. Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.<\/p>\n The name Cain (Hebrew: Qayin) means acquire or possess, which is why Eve, after giving birth to Cain, says in the original Hebrew phrase \u201cI have acquired a man from Yahweh.\u201d Rabbi David Zaslow<\/a> says that the name also carries connotations of creating or building, which makes sense since after Cain is banished, we are told that he manages to build an entire city in Genesis 4:17.<\/p>\n The name Abel (Hebrew: Hevel) comes from a Hebrew root meaning breath, and Rabbi Zaslow notes that it is \u201ccommonly used of anything transitory, evanescent, frail.\u201d This makes sense, of course, since Abel does not have a long life. Rabbi Zaslow also says that \u201cthe etymologies of [Cain and Abel\u2019s] names give us a hint that this story may never have been intended to be taken as an historical account.\u201d He therefore calls it an allegory. But to what does this allegory refer?<\/p>\n In his book History Begins at Sumer: Thirty-Nine Firsts in Recorded History<\/a>, Samuel Noah Kramer writes that like many stories in the book of Genesis, the story of Cain and Abel may have roots in a Sumerian story about rival gods<\/strong>. The story says that the gods Emesh (meaning \u201csummer\u201d) and his brother Enten (meaning \u201cwinter\u201d) had specific roles in the world. The higher god Enlil put Emesh in charge of producing trees, building houses, temples, cities and other tasks, not unlike Cain who first raised crops and then built a city. Enlil put Enten, on the other hand, in charge of the reproduction of animals. These brothers had violent clashes as well.<\/p>\n (Affiliate Disclaimer: We may earn commissions on products you purchase through this page at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting our site!<\/em>)<\/p>\n In Traditions of the Bible: A Guide to the Bible As It Was at the Start of the Common Era<\/a>, James Kugel notes that most scholars believe the stories of Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel are actually about the growth of civilization during the agricultural era<\/strong>. He goes on to note that the Cain and Abel story is most likely about conflicts over territory and resources between itinerant herders and sedentary farmers. If so, this might mean that the story was not intended as a moral lesson but rather as a kind of allegorical description of what happened when herders and farmers came into conflict with each other.<\/p>\n Having said this, various moral lessons have been derived from this story for centuries so let\u2019s look at how people have interpreted it.<\/p>\n NOW AVAILABLE!<\/p>\n Finding Moses: What Scholars Know About The Exodus & The Jewish Law<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/u><\/b>Riveting and controversial, the “FINDING MOSES” lecture series takes you on a deep dive into the stories of Moses, the exodus, and a whole lot more…<\/span><\/p>\n __CONFIG_colors_palette__{“active_palette”:0,”config”:{“colors”:{“62516”:{“name”:”Main Accent”,”parent”:-1}},”gradients”:[]},”palettes”:[{“name”:”Default Palette”,”value”:{“colors”:{“62516”:{“val”:”rgb(255, 133, 34)”,”hsl”:{“h”:26,”s”:0.99,”l”:0.5667}}},”gradients”:[]}}]}__CONFIG_colors_palette__ <\/span> LEARN MORE<\/strong><\/span><\/span> <\/a> Before we look at some interpretations of the story, it\u2019s important to note that there are ambiguities in the story that are difficult to ignore. For example, unless you are prepared to say that herding is morally superior to farming, there is no explicit explanation for why God liked Abel\u2019s sacrifice and not Cain\u2019s. The original Hebrew says that God \u201clooked favorably\u201d upon Abel\u2019s offering and but \u201cdid not respect\u201d Cain\u2019s offering. It doesn\u2019t say that Cain did anything wrong up to this point, so God\u2019s choice seems all but arbitrary. Was the offering supposed to be a competition wherein God could only accept one offering? The text doesn\u2019t say so. At this point, no moral lesson is apparent.<\/p>\n However, Cain becomes angry at God for not accepting his offering, and subsequently murders his brother out of envy. One can certainly read into this a lesson on the danger of envy (and, of course, murder!). But rather than unilaterally punishing Cain for his sin, God also gives him lifelong protection. He punishes him by taking away Cain\u2019s ability to farm, but then gives him a mark (we aren\u2019t told what the mark is or where it is on Cain\u2019s body) that prohibits anyone from killing him and allows him to have a rather successful life as a city-dweller. How are we to interpret such a story morally or ethically? What is the lesson of Cain and Abel?<\/p>\n Rabbi Zaslow believes that the main lesson of the story is that humans must accept responsibility for the well-being of other people<\/strong>. He says that \u201chumanity is still trying to achieve the sense of brotherly, sisterly, and neighborly obligation implied by this story. Is Cain still asking God if he is his brother\u2019s keeper? It certainly seems so. Does not Abel\u2019s blood cry out from the ground today too? It certainly seems so.\u201d<\/p>\n As for Christian interpretations, they begin with Hebrews<\/a> 11:4, which refers to Cain and Abel in this way:<\/p>\n By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain\u2019s. Through this he received approval as righteous, God himself giving approval to his gifts; he died, but through his faith he still speaks.<\/p>\n While the author doesn\u2019t get this information from the scanty details of the original story, he interprets God\u2019s approval of Abel\u2019s sacrifice as the result of the faith with which Abel offers it, implying that Cain\u2019s faith was either absent or deficient. This is an argument for faith reckoned as righteousness, also referred to in Paul\u2019s allegorical interpretation of the story of Abraham in Romans 4:3.<\/p>\n Later church fathers would go on to interpret the Cain and Abel story as well. For instance, in Against Heresies<\/a>, 2nd-century Christian author Irenaeus of Lyon<\/a> had this to say about the moral of the story:<\/p>\n For at the beginning God had respect to the gifts of Abel, because he offered with single-mindedness and righteousness; but He had no respect unto the offering of Cain, because his heart was divided with envy and malice.<\/p>\n Irenaeus assumes here that Abel was righteous and Cain unrighteous, even before they had given their offerings to God. This is not said in the original story, of course. But we can see how the lesson of keeping one\u2019s heart and mind pure could be derived from this interpretation.<\/p>\n Fourth-century Christian author Didymus of Alexandria (also known as Didymus the Blind) modifies Irenaeus\u2019 interpretation in his Commentary on Genesis<\/a>:<\/p>\n Insofar as Cain had made his offering with indifference, and Abel with sincerity, God took notice of Abel and his gifts, whereas to Cain and his offerings he paid no heed. Abel\u2019s sincerity is manifest, in fact; he offered his firstborn, deciding to apportion to God the most precious, including the fattest. Cain should have done so as well by offering some of the first-fruits; offering first-fruits to God is particularly appropriate.<\/p>\n For Didymus, then, righteousness is sincerity, represented by Abel, while evil is indifference represented by Cain. How do we know Cain and Abel were oriented this way, according to Didymus? Because Abel offered the best of his animals while Cain did not offer the best of his crops. Again, the story doesn\u2019t say anything about the quality of Cain\u2019s crops; nevertheless, this could be interpreted as a lesson on only giving one\u2019s best to God.<\/p>\n Didymus goes on to offer a further lesson from the story as well, an observation about how our internal states can result in external actions and consequences he finds in the Cain and Abel story:<\/p>\n A slight growth in vice left unchecked goes to excess, and a sin hiding in the heart unimpeded by reason will translate into action, even if it seems to be stalled for a brief time.<\/p>\n As an educated man of his time, including in Greek philosophy, Didymus believed that sin and vice were the result of a failure of reason. Thus, any evil internal thoughts, if reason is not applied to them, will result in evil actions. The lesson, then, is to use reason to mitigate any impure thinking that occurs to you before choosing to act<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The story of Cain and Abel is iconic, referred to in literature and films and almost universally known. Despite the brevity (and lack of detail) of the story, it has had a major influence on religious thinkers for centuries. But what is the lesson of Cain and Abel?<\/p>\n In the story, we are not told why God accepts Abel\u2019s gift but not Cain\u2019s. This leaves the rest of the story somewhat ambiguous. Why did God make this choice? Was Cain not entirely liable for his murderous actions since God had arbitrarily provoked him? Was God\u2019s protection of Cain perhaps an acknowledgement of this?<\/p>\n Various interpreters have offered ideas on how the story should be understood. In our own time, for instance, some have interpreted the phrase \u201cAm I my brother\u2019s keeper?\u201d as an injunction to take care of those around us rather than ignore their needs and prioritize our own. Church fathers like Irenaeus and Didymus, on the other hand, emphasized assumptions not evident in the story to develop moral lessons, such as the need for faith and a pure heart in one\u2019s relationship with God.<\/p>\n NOW AVAILABLE!<\/p>\n Finding Moses: What Scholars Know About The Exodus & The Jewish Law<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/u><\/b>Riveting and controversial, the “FINDING MOSES” lecture series takes you on a deep dive into the stories of Moses, the exodus, and a whole lot more…<\/span><\/p>\n __CONFIG_colors_palette__{“active_palette”:0,”config”:{“colors”:{“62516”:{“name”:”Main Accent”,”parent”:-1}},”gradients”:[]},”palettes”:[{“name”:”Default Palette”,”value”:{“colors”:{“62516”:{“val”:”rgb(255, 133, 34)”,”hsl”:{“h”:26,”s”:0.99,”l”:0.5667}}},”gradients”:[]}}]}__CONFIG_colors_palette__ <\/span> LEARN MORE<\/strong><\/span><\/span> <\/a> Cain and Abel: What Really Happened in Genesis? Written by Joshua Schachterle, Ph.D Author | Professor | Scholar Author | Professor | BE Contributor Verified! See our editorial guidelines Verified! See our guidelines Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily match my own. – Dr. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":18583,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","tve_updated_post":" Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily match my own. - Dr. Bart D. Ehrman<\/p><\/div> The story of Cain and Abel in the book of Genesis<\/a> is one of the best-known and widely interpreted narratives in religious and literary traditions<\/strong>. The story raises important questions about divine favor, the nature of sin, and the human condition but also leaves us with significant ambiguities.<\/p> In this article, I\u2019ll examine the story\u2019s complexities, including its historical roots, its interpretations over the centuries, and the lessons it may hold for us today.<\/p><\/div> We can find the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4:1-16. The story takes place after Adam and Eve<\/a> have been expelled from the Garden of Eden for disobeying God. Rather than merely summarize the story, I\u2019ll put the verses here in their entirety so we can unpack what\u2019s actually there.<\/p><\/div> Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, \u201cI have produced [or acquired] a man with the help of the Lord.\u201d Next she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel for his part brought of the firstlings of his flock, their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. The Lord said to Cain, \u201cWhy are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.\u201d The name Cain (Hebrew: Qayin) means acquire or possess, which is why Eve, after giving birth to Cain, says in the original Hebrew phrase \u201cI have acquired a man from Yahweh.\u201d Rabbi David Zaslow<\/a> says that the name also carries connotations of creating or building, which makes sense since after Cain is banished, we are told that he manages to build an entire city in Genesis 4:17.<\/p> The name Abel (Hebrew: Hevel) comes from a Hebrew root meaning breath, and Rabbi Zaslow notes that it is \u201ccommonly used of anything transitory, evanescent, frail.\u201d This makes sense, of course, since Abel does not have a long life. Rabbi Zaslow also says that \u201cthe etymologies of [Cain and Abel\u2019s] names give us a hint that this story may never have been intended to be taken as an historical account.\u201d He therefore calls it an allegory. But to what does this allegory refer?<\/p> In his book History Begins at Sumer: Thirty-Nine Firsts in Recorded History<\/a>, Samuel Noah Kramer writes that like many stories in the book of Genesis, the story of Cain and Abel may have roots in a Sumerian story about rival gods<\/strong>. The story says that the gods Emesh (meaning \u201csummer\u201d) and his brother Enten (meaning \u201cwinter\u201d) had specific roles in the world. The higher god Enlil put Emesh in charge of producing trees, building houses, temples, cities and other tasks, not unlike Cain who first raised crops and then built a city. Enlil put Enten, on the other hand, in charge of the reproduction of animals. These brothers had violent clashes as well.<\/p> (Affiliate Disclaimer: We may earn commissions on products you purchase through this page at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting our site!<\/em>)<\/p> In Traditions of the Bible: A Guide to the Bible As It Was at the Start of the Common Era<\/a>, James Kugel notes that most scholars believe the stories of Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel are actually about the growth of civilization during the agricultural era<\/strong>. He goes on to note that the Cain and Abel story is most likely about conflicts over territory and resources between itinerant herders and sedentary farmers. If so, this might mean that the story was not intended as a moral lesson but rather as a kind of allegorical description of what happened when herders and farmers came into conflict with each other.<\/p> Having said this, various moral lessons have been derived from this story for centuries so let\u2019s look at how people have interpreted it.<\/p><\/div> Before we look at some interpretations of the story, it\u2019s important to note that there are ambiguities in the story that are difficult to ignore. For example, unless you are prepared to say that herding is morally superior to farming, there is no explicit explanation for why God liked Abel\u2019s sacrifice and not Cain\u2019s. The original Hebrew says that God \u201clooked favorably\u201d upon Abel\u2019s offering and but \u201cdid not respect\u201d Cain\u2019s offering. It doesn\u2019t say that Cain did anything wrong up to this point, so God\u2019s choice seems all but arbitrary. Was the offering supposed to be a competition wherein God could only accept one offering? The text doesn\u2019t say so. At this point, no moral lesson is apparent.<\/p> However, Cain becomes angry at God for not accepting his offering, and subsequently murders his brother out of envy. One can certainly read into this a lesson on the danger of envy (and, of course, murder!). But rather than unilaterally punishing Cain for his sin, God also gives him lifelong protection. He punishes him by taking away Cain\u2019s ability to farm, but then gives him a mark (we aren\u2019t told what the mark is or where it is on Cain\u2019s body) that prohibits anyone from killing him and allows him to have a rather successful life as a city-dweller. How are we to interpret such a story morally or ethically? What is the lesson of Cain and Abel?<\/p> Rabbi Zaslow believes that the main lesson of the story is that humans must accept responsibility for the well-being of other people<\/strong>. He says that \u201chumanity is still trying to achieve the sense of brotherly, sisterly, and neighborly obligation implied by this story. Is Cain still asking God if he is his brother\u2019s keeper? It certainly seems so. Does not Abel\u2019s blood cry out from the ground today too? It certainly seems so.\u201d<\/p> As for Christian interpretations, they begin with Hebrews<\/a> 11:4, which refers to Cain and Abel in this way:<\/p><\/div> By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain\u2019s. Through this he received approval as righteous, God himself giving approval to his gifts; he died, but through his faith he still speaks.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div> While the author doesn\u2019t get this information from the scanty details of the original story, he interprets God\u2019s approval of Abel\u2019s sacrifice as the result of the faith with which Abel offers it, implying that Cain\u2019s faith was either absent or deficient. This is an argument for faith reckoned as righteousness, also referred to in Paul\u2019s allegorical interpretation of the story of Abraham in Romans 4:3.<\/p> Later church fathers would go on to interpret the Cain and Abel story as well. For instance, in Against Heresies<\/a>, 2nd-century Christian author Irenaeus of Lyon<\/a> had this to say about the moral of the story:<\/p><\/div> For at the beginning God had respect to the gifts of Abel, because he offered with single-mindedness and righteousness; but He had no respect unto the offering of Cain, because his heart was divided with envy and malice.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div> Irenaeus assumes here that Abel was righteous and Cain unrighteous, even before they had given their offerings to God. This is not said in the original story, of course. But we can see how the lesson of keeping one\u2019s heart and mind pure could be derived from this interpretation.<\/p>![\"Cain](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cain-and-Abel.png\" "\\"Cain")
<\/span><\/p>\nThe Cain and Abel Story<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/quote-down.png\" "\\"quote")
<\/span>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/quote-up.png\" "\\"quote")
<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Finding-Moses-PBS-4x3-1.jpg\" "\\"Finding")
<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\nWhat Is the Lesson of Cain and Abel?<\/h2>\n
<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n![\"Cain](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cain-and-Abel-story.png\" "\\"Cain")
<\/span><\/p>\nConclusion<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cain and Abel: What Really Happened in Genesis?<\/h2><\/div>
<\/span><\/div>The Cain and Abel Story<\/h2><\/div>
Cain said to his brother Abel, \u201cLet us go out to the field.\u201d And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, \u201cWhere is your brother Abel?\u201d He said, \u201cI do not know; am I my brother\u2019s keeper?\u201d And the Lord said, \u201cWhat have you done? Listen, your brother\u2019s blood is crying out to me from the ground! And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother\u2019s blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it will no longer yield to you its strength; you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.\u201d Cain said to the Lord, \u201cMy punishment is greater than I can bear! Today you have driven me away from the soil, and I shall be hidden from your face; I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and anyone who meets me may kill me.\u201d Then the Lord said to him, \u201cNot so! Whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold vengeance.\u201d And the Lord put a mark on Cain, so that no one who came upon him would kill him. Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>What Is the Lesson of Cain and Abel?<\/h2><\/div>
<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>