Cain is possibly one of the most well-known baddies of the Bible. Yet his entire life is summed up in only two and a half paragraphs of biblical text (Genesis 4:1-17). His legacy of jealousy, violence, and inappropriate worship sent shockwaves throughout all of history. Who was this man who had such a profound impact on the world?
CAIN: A Brief History
Cain was the first boy ever born to human parents. He was born just like every other person—as an innocent, impressionable infant. His parents, Adam and Eve, were the first man and woman to walk the earth, and were uniquely crafted by the hands and breath of God himself.
When Cain was born, Eve said, “With the Lord’s help, I have gotten a man.” Many commentators have pointed out the peculiar wording in the original Hebrew as being a reference to the prophecy that God gave in Eden after Adam and Eve sinned (Genesis 3:15). That prophecy (the first prophecy in the Bible!) is nearly universally claimed as a direct promise of the Christ who would come to bear Adam’s sins, thereby removing the curse Adam placed on humanity (the fancy word for it is “proto-evangelium”—or “the first Gospel”).
This is a provocative piece of information because it implies that Eve might have hoped Cain would be their promised Savior, their Christ figure. Paradoxically, Cain grew up to be an anti-Christ figure, even going so far as murdering his younger brother, Abel. In the original Hebrew, Cain’s name even sounds like the word for “spear” and the word for “possession,” indicating both his violent nature and his potential inheritance as Adam and Eve’s firstborn son—not to mention the possibility of demonic possession!
In the end, the importance of Cain’s life rests on his failure to worship God in an appropriate manner, and his subsequent decision to kill his brother. Why did Cain do it? Any speculation would necessarily fall into the realm of fiction, because we’re just not given enough information to go off of in the Bible. But it is important to realize that Cain, Adam, Eve, and Abel were all real people that really lived sometime in the past. As with any family, you can trust that dynamic to be riddled with complexity and difficulty.
How much more difficult would living as the world’s first family be? None of them would have had an example of a healthy family to look toward for inspiration because they were it. And, after losing their direct communion with God in Eden, they likely would have been devoid of the wisdom of God to guide them. Lastly, if we trust that Eve hoped Cain would be their Savior, we could assume the pressure they put on him to live up to that title to be one of the main sources of the friction between Cain and Abel.
Talk about a potentially explosive relationship!
But Cain’s life is much more than an example of how not to live our lives. He’s a representation of the sin nature in all of us—our proverbial shadow-side. When we read Genesis 4:1-17, it becomes clear that the reason Cain’s story is included in the Bible is not to show the dangers of violence or jealousy, but rather to show that God offered Cain, a representation of the worst of us, both forgiveness and mercy.
Book of Jasher explains it:
Chapter 1:
17 And in some time after, Cain and Abel his brother, went one day into the field to do their work; and they were both in the field, Cain tilling and ploughing his ground, and Abel feeding his flock; and the flock passed that part which Cain had ploughed in the ground, and it sorely grieved Cain on this account.
18 And Cain approached his brother Abel in anger, and he said unto him, What is there between me and thee, that thou comest to dwell and bring thy flock to feed in my land?
19 And Abel answered his brother Cain and said unto him, What is there between me and thee, that thou shalt eat the flesh of my flock and clothe thyself with their wool?
20 And now therefore, put off the wool of my sheep with which thou hast clothed thyself, and recompense me for their fruit and flesh which thou hast eaten, and when thou shalt have done this, I will then go from thy land as thou hast said?
21 And Cain said to his brother Abel, Surely if I slay thee this day, who will require thy blood from me?
22 And Abel answered Cain, saying, Surely God who has made us in the earth, he will avenge my cause, and he will require my blood from thee shouldst thou slay me, for the Lord is the judge and arbiter, and it is he who will requite man according to his evil, and the wicked man according to the wickedness that he may do upon earth.
23 And now, if thou shouldst slay me here, surely God knoweth thy secret views, and will judge thee for the evil which thou didst declare to do unto me this day.
24 And when Cain heard the words which Abel his brother had spoken, behold the anger of Cain was kindled against his brother Abel for declaring this thing.
25 And Cain hastened and rose up, and took the iron part of his ploughing instrument, with which he suddenly smote his brother and he slew him, and Cain spilt the blood of his brother Abel upon the earth, and the blood of Abel streamed upon the earth before the flock.
26 And after this Cain repented having slain his brother, and he was sadly grieved, and he wept over him and it vexed him exceedingly.
The book of Jasher account is definitely interesting, but not canon. We need to be careful saying, “This is how it happened,” because we really don’t know. I personally wouldn’t put much faith in extra-biblical sources, though I would put my faith in what Genesis explicitly says.
But thanks for commenting and sharing that perspective! It certainly could have happened that way.