Genesis 4:10-15, Why Was Cain’s Life Spared?

There seems to be a lot of speculation and struggling with Qayin’s (Cain’s) punishment – or lack thereof – as some believe that Qayin should’ve lost his own life after murdering his brother Hevel (Abel), based on comments from skeptics and even some believers in Internet Land.  On the flip side is Christian flag-waving of the “Grace” extended to Qayin; according to Christians, this is one proof that Jesus was always the ‘God of the Old Testament’.

The way I see it, the problem is that both sides of the debate perceive an inconsistency between how God views premeditated murder in other parts of the Bible (i.e. the Torah or “Law”), versus how God allows Qayin to keep his life after such a blatant example of… premeditated murder!  However, I suggest both views are missing key points of information in what I call ‘The Curious Case of Qayin’.

First of all, nothing in the Law and its punishments for murder were applicable until Yis’rael made a covenant with God at Horev (cf. Exod. 24:7).  With respect to how God banished Qayin thousands of years earlier, comparisons to other parts of the Bible would be irrelevant, except that it does raise questions about the eternal nature of God, and how we’d expect His judgments to be uniform throughout time.  That’s an important question, and I will answer it shortly.

As for this being “Grace”, indeed there are many instances of grace in the Tanakh, but I  can’t include Qayin’s judgment among them.  Grace entails complete forgiveness and a restoration of the soul, but that is not what I see in Qayin.

So this leaves two questions: why was Qayin’s life spared and if it’s not grace, what is it?

I say the answer is in plain sight.

First, let’s clear up an assumption that many of us may have.

Where is Abel, your brother?  And Cain answered, “I don’t know! The keeper of my brother… is me?” (Genesis 4:9)

We read this dialogue and always assume that God and Qayin were alone.  But the text suggests there were witnesses.  For example, by the time she had Seth, Havah (Eve) knew Hevel’s fate , and seemed to be a bit hostile to Qayin (cf. Gen. 4:25).  If Qayin was banished immediately, how could Havah know this information?  Therefore, I suggest that the following dialogue makes much more sense… in the presence of witnesses, likely other “sons and daughters” birthed by Havah (cf. Gen. 5:4).

“What have you made? The voice of your brother’s blood cries to me from the ground.” (vs. 10)

Even in death, God hears a righteous person more than the wicked who remains alive, because “YHVH is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Matt. 22:32).  By listening to the voice of Hevel, God is advocating for the victim.  Thus everything hereafter should be understood as God honoring what the blood of Hevel spoke.

And now, you have been cursed from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand, because you would work the ground.  No longer will it yield its produce to you… (vs. 11-12)

Qayin knowingly buried his brother in the same grounds that he worked.  In doing so, God judged those grounds to now be Hevel’s final resting place – instead of a cultivated field. If the sinister Qayin remained, he would disrupt Hevel’s resting place for the sake of “produce” (the Heb. koach can mean “strength” but when used with soil it should be understood as “produce”) – even with his brother secretly buried beneath it!  Thus God obviously judged in favor of Hevel and dismissed Qayin from those lands.

A vagrant and a wanderer will you become in the earth.” (vs. 12)

“Fugitive and vagabond” is a seriously unhappy translation of two words that are almost the same, found in the obviously poetically Hebrew ‘na wa nad’.  In fact, this is the only place where “fugitive” and “vagabond” are used for each word, respectively.  Since there is no consistency in how each of these words are translated, the interpretation of na wa nad is open to suggestion.

I say that this term, obviously used to describe Qayin’s future, should be compared with his past.  Previously, he was “the man” and was stable, grounded, and secure.  Now, his future would be the exact opposite – unstable!  As long as we understand that it’s the exact opposite of him being “the man” alongside his parents, we understand the intent of Qayin becoming “na wa nad” – living life alone without the stability always provided for him.

Then Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is too great to endure.” (vs. 13)

The real reason Qayin was allowed to live jumps right off the page… right here.

God – Who I think was deferring to the blood of Hevel for judgment – knew that Qayin would’ve preferred a coward’s death to facing a life filled with adversity.  In this respect I think Hevel knew his brother quite well!  Notice how much that fear of adversity is evident in Qayin’s response below:

“Behold, You have driven me this day from the face of the ground; and from Your face I will be hidden, and I will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will smite me.” (vs. 14)

Ironically, Qayin would’ve lived a lot like someone else in the story – wandering to and fro, fearful of prey, living away from the cultivated fields… that sort of reminds me of how a shepherd would live, is it not?  It seems to me that Qayin’s judgment has an air of becoming like his brother Hevel was in life – who coincidentally is now crying out to God through his blood.  It’s nothing short of poetic justice that Qayin has to live as Hevel was. I believe that Hevel wanted his brother Qayin to see life as he’d seen it.

Notice how the Almighty never said anything about killing Qayin, and how that was purely Qayin’s invention?  Again, if we assume this exchange had witnesses, it makes more sense.  I say Qayin was subtlely inviting anyone – a witness per say – to find him and kill him, to alleviate the one thing Qayin couldn’t bear: adversity.  I think Qayin was so fearful of real life that he wanted to be ‘offed’.

Which is then why the Almighty ensured Qayin would live:

But the LORD said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” And the LORD set a sign on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. (vs. 15)

The mysterious mark/sign of Qayin only makes sense if witnesses overheard these words.  It’s my opinion that this declaration is the mark of Qayin.  True, this is a protection of Qayin’s life, but this was not for Qayin’s benefit – it was done for Hevel.  I believe Hevel – as a righteous man – had compassion on his murderer.

This doesn’t mean he wanted his brother excused!  Up to this point, Qayin never laments his murderous act – he only laments its consequences!  Therefore, Qayin would not learn any remorse through death.  Thus Qayin was allowed to live to learn remorse, and perhaps humility for what he did.  This is the poetic justice the blood of Hevel wanted, which God honored.

So, Qayin was neither offered Grace, nor was he given murder.  Qayin was given the punishment that fit Qayin – which was exactly what he deserved. If anything, this is one indication that we all will get what we deserve. The question is, do we want God to listen to us, even in death? Or do we want God to set His face and dismiss us from His presence?  Ω

Genesis 4:10-14, The Way of Qayin Was and Is the Way of the Serpent

The LORD said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries to me from the ground.   Now you are cursed because of the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.  From now on, when you till the ground, it won’t yield its strength to you. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth.” Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me out today from the surface of the ground. I will be hidden from your face, and I will be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth. Whoever finds me will kill me.” (Genesis 4:10-14)

The majority of our Bibles translate YHVH’s words to Qayin (Cain) as “What have you done?” but I say we should interpret this as “what have you made?”  The verb in question is the Hebrew asah, which is used interchangeably with its synonym bara (to create) to describe God’s ordering of the heavens and the earth, as well as His creation of Mankind (ref. Genesis 1-2).

By design, YHVH also responds with “asah” to Havah (Eve) and the serpent after their transgressions at the Tree of Knowledge (cf. Gen. 3:13-14).  These responses indicate that we who were created in the image of God are creative in nature, but we can “make” (asah) acts of mischief that are foreign to YHVH.  When we create such evil, God asks, “What is this you made?” for this is not the handiwork He respects.  Selah.

So the question to Qayin after he murdered his brother Hevel (Abel), “what have you made?” is similar to God’s response at the Tree, but it’s the fates of the serpent and Qayin that are eerily similar.  However, before delving into this mystery, we must understand how similar paths led to similar fates.

At first, both Qayin and the serpent were “the man”.  We know that the serpent was the wisest among the animals and Qayin was the stronger son who learned his father’s trade.  They were as privileged as royalty until someone else came along who – in their eyes – stole their favor.  To them, it wasn’t supposed to go down that way!

“Dumb humans, who don’t have any knowledge of good and evil? How could they be favored before me, the serpent, who is the wisest of all the beasts!? I will make them as I am and conquer them, and regain my rightful place over all creation!”

“Hevel!? That runt!? How can he be favored instead of me, Qayin!? I’m the one who was born strongest, and followed in my father’s footsteps!  Now it looks as if my parents favor him, along with God!  Nonsense! I will eliminate this competition, and regain my proper place!”

Thus the similarities in motivations led to similar fates:

The Serpent’s Fate (Gen. 3:14-15)	Qayin’s Fate (Gen. 4:10-14)
Because you have made (asah) this…	What have you made (asah)?
Cursed are you…	Now you are cursed…
From all the cattle and every beast of the field…	From the ground, which opened its mouth to receive the blood of your brother by your hand.
Over your belly will you go, and dust you will eat all the days of your life.	If you work the ground, it will not continue to give its produce to you. A waverer and a wanderer shall you become in the Earth.
And I will put enmity between your seed and her seed… he will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel…	It will come to pass, that anyone who comes upon me will kill me.
X	Rightly so. Whoever smites Qayin, seven times will I avenge him.  And YHVH set upon Qayin a sign, lest anyone come upon him to kill him.

Both the serpent and Qayin were judged by God for their mischief (what they made/worked), and cursed them from their previous, comfortable lives.  Both of them were informed of how they would experience life as a “wanderer”, and would have to rely on a new means of sustenance.  Both of them also knew of the enmity they would experience with Mankind in the future.

I’ve written before how at the Tree of Knowledge we became more like serpents than gods, and this seems to bring that theory home to roost.  Qayin’s motivations were like the serpent before him, which is why the shared similar fates. Thus we have our main takeaway:  God is showing us that we might all become like the snake. The serpent’s venom is within us. 

If we don’t control our lusts, we might go what the Apostle Yahudah (Jude) calls
“the way of Qayin” (Jude 11). Jude explains how this theme reoccurs throughout the Bible, and so we also have to expect it in our own lives.  We must constantly be on guard against politicians, pundits, predators, and false prophets who want to manipulate us, and subjugate us under an insatiable lust for power.

There is one and only thing that differs between the fates of the serpent and Qayin, and that is the mercy which is inexplicable to most of us.  We all struggle with Qayin’s “punishment” – or lack thereof.

I want to encourage you that there is always an answer for what we don’t understand in the Word of God.  The reasons for Qayin’s banishment are both practical and prophetic, and we will get to those answers soon, Lord willing! Ω

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Genesis 4:9, If You Can’t Love Your Brother, How Can You Love Your Brethren?

The LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel, your brother?” He said, “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9)

Qayin (Cain) smites his brother Hevel (Abel), and then God interrogates Qayin with questions to which He certainly already knows the answer (I’ve already written about why God would do this here).

There is also much Internet clutter about how Qayin killed Hevel.  Apparently it’s something our inquiring minds want to know, but I think any investigation to uncover the murder weapon is following a red herring.  The truth is, it would’ve been included had it been something we NEED to know.  Though there is one process we can use to uncover lessons that YHVH, the King of the Universe, wants our little human minds to grasp.

If we read the text in Hebrew and identify what words are used in repitition  we can identify trends and reduce speculation.  It just so happens there is one word that sticks out like a sore thumb, not just in this highlighted verse but throughout the whole chapter.  That Hebrew word is “akhi”, the word for “brother”.  In the verses concerning Qayin and Hevel, akhi appears seven times (yes, there “seven” is again).  In fact, after YHVH asks, “Where is Hevel your brother (akhi)?” He ONLY refers to Hevel as “your brother”.

The simple answer is that God isn’t concerned with us identifying the murder weapon. What He appears to want us to understand is that Qayin targeted his akhi… his brother, his own flesh and blood.

In response to God’s question (which is literally “Where did Hevel your brother go?“), Qayin literally responds, “the keeper of my brother is… me?” (If he would have said ‘Am I my brother’s keeper’ as is traditionally translated we’d expect to see shamartiy or shamartiy-o, as in the literal ‘Do I keep my brother?’). In other words, from my chair it looks like he’s implying “you’re laying this on me?”  This is how I interpret it based on my understanding that Qayin was the epitome of a narcissist… who responds to adversity by eliminating “competition”.

Once his brother Hevel’s sacrifice was looked upon by God, Hevel – suddenly – became favored by his parents, too.  There is a big change in the backstory from the beginning of Hevel’s life to how he was perceived after his murder, as Adam and Havah (Eve) appear to view Hevel as the seed to carry out God’s favor after they were gone (cf. Gen. 4:25).  (Note: I will expand on why that was so important to them when the time comes.)

But when Hevel gained so much favor by his parents, Qayin – as a narcissist – probably assumed that he lost their favor.  Since the Bible hints at Adam and Havah beginning to think more highly of Hevel – as they should have all along – Qayin’s response might be understood with an underscore of jealousy and insidiousness. The bottom line is that Qayin’s response indicates that he thought everyone else was Hevel’s keeper… everyone except Qayin, that is: “the keeper of my brother… is me!?” (with the unspoken narrative of ‘You, O God, accept him, my parents favor him now… if they and You love him so much, why didn’t you all keep him, why are you looking at me?’)

What Qayin failed to understand is that there was no reason to be enraged, as God spoke to him (cf. 4:6).  The favor that comes from both God and parents isn’t a competition. Favor was meant to be a shared joy of the community, not an exclusive entitlement!  And that’s what I think is the parshat (simple) and foundational message of this early part of Scripture – a common truth that anyone who would read the Bible would see (and hopefully learn) right away.  If you don’t grow up with your brothers and sisters loving them – and preserving them – you won’t have a home to come home to.  You too will be like a wanderer in the earth. You will ruin your life, and set back the lives of your family as well.  As we continue to read this story, that’s exactly what we find.  Qayin ruined his life and set back what his parents were hoping to accomplish.

And now for the prophetic implications of this verse.

The crux of the whole of Scripture, and the crux of what Messiah taught is: you will not receive God’s favor if you are at odds with your greater “brethren”.  ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’ is well known throughout Scripture, but the spiritual implications is this: if you can’t love and shomer (keep/watch over/preserve/protect) your mother’s son who is your akhi, how could you love your neighbor who is also your “akhi”?  In other words, with the Qayin and Hevel story, God is preparing everyone to love his family that he may grow up to love his neighbors… even the brethren… who are our fellow believers in the Kingdom of God.

And we also come to yet another prophecy of Messiah Yeshua (Jesus).  In the Scriptures, the Messiah is also associated to the word akhi (brother) as David suggested that Messiah will come as One of Yisrael “in the great congregation” (meaning on one of the three major feasts when all Israel was to assemble at Jerusalem, cf. ). In Psalm 22, when Messiah is depicted as declaring the greatness of YHVH at the major feasts, being surrounded by the wicked, with pierced feet and hands, and with great thirst – you know, everything that occurred at Yeshua’s final Passover – we also see this word “akhi” to describe how Messiah would view the rest of Israel.

He was their akhi as the Scriptures say (cf. Psalm 22:22).

And like Qayin, remarkably, Israel was allowed to survive… into a period of wandering, without actually answering the question “Where did your akhi go?”

Which I suppose makes a great topic for another time. Ω

Genesis 4:8, Outside the Camp

After God shows Qayin (Cain) how to regain His favor, and warns him about the marriage-like entrapment with sin, we read about Qayin’s response:

And Cain saith unto Abel his brother, ‘Let us go into the field;’ and it cometh to pass in their being in the field, that Cain riseth up against Abel his brother, and slayeth him. (Genesis 4:8, YLT)

About half of our Bibles follow the Masoretic text (Mst) omission of Qayin’s last words to Hevel, but the other half DO include the words which both the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) and Septuagint (LXX) reveal: “let us go into the field”.  This may seem like a trivial point, but it’s anything but. Qayin’s words help shape a deep, mysterious secret (sod) that points to Messiah Yeshua (Jesus).

First of all, without this phrase the Masoretic text doesn’t make sense. It basically says “And Qayin said to Hevel his brother […] and it was, in their being in the field…” The Masoretic text leaves the reader to wonder ‘what did Cain say?’ and doesn’t make any grammatical sense without the omission.  However, the other two sources (DSS and LXX) make complete sense.  “A matter must be established by the mouth of two or three witnesses.” (Deut. 19:15)

Qayin’s words are important to know, because his own words accuse him of premeditated murder. Without his words, the text looks like Qayin acted in a spontaneous fit of rage while in the field working alongside Hevel.  With them, the text proves that Qayin planned the murder for some time.  It’s the evidence we need for a first-degree murder verdict of “guilty”.

Qayin’s words are also important for uncovering prophetic patterns.  If you’ve studied “Cain and Abel” for any length of time you may have uncovered some allegories to the Messiah.  For example, “the last shall be first, and the first last” (cf. Matt. 20:16) is comparable to Qayin’s expectation of being the favored one.  ‘Hating his brother without cause’ (John 15:25) would be another.  There are several of these parallels embedded in this story, and Qayin’s words “let us go into the field” is yet another.

Messiah’s death outside Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) fulfills major prophecies.  The Torah is filled with symbolism of the scapegoat (the goat on whom all the sins of Yisrael were laid) being banished and eradicated from the Tabernacle every Yom Kipporim (The Day of Atonement).  Thus Messiah Yeshua fulfills the prophecy of becoming the scapegoat for all our guilt, shame, and transgressions.

Commenting on the Torah (sp. Lev. 16:27), Rav Shaul (Paul) also saw how Messiah Yeshua fulfilled the prophecy of dying “outside the camp”, as he wrote:

We have an altar from which those who serve the holy tabernacle have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside of the camp. Therefore Yeshua also, that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered outside of the gate.  Let’s therefore go out to him outside of the camp, bearing his reproach.  (Hebrews 13:11-14, WMB)

Yeshua Himself also emphasized his own death would be associated with the prophetic pattern of dying “outside the camp”:

There was a man who was a master of a household, who planted a vineyard, set a hedge about it, dug a wine press in it, built a tower, leased it out to farmers, and went into another country.  When the season for the fruit came near, he sent his servants to the farmers, to receive his fruit.  The farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned another.  Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they treated them the same way.  But afterward he sent to them his son, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But the farmers, when they saw the son, said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and seize his inheritance.’ So they took him, and threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. When therefore the lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?” (Matt. 21:33-40, emphasis mine)

We must understand that Qayin’s premeditated murder of his brother Hevel was an ancient foreshadowing of the murder of Messiah Yeshua.  Spawned by jealousy and an effort to eradicate the competition, the motives behind murdering both of these innocents were exactly the same.  The sign was also exactly the same, as both men were led away from the place of sacrifice and worship, and died outside the camp!

For whatever reason, Qayin’s words were not included in the Masoretic text.  However, when we read them in the two older witnesses we can be confident we are looking at a prophetic pattern.  We can be quite sure Qayin’s words point to the premeditated murder of Messiah Yeshua forced from the place of worship, recorded by God for eternity, that we might recognize the Messiah by the prophecies that foretold of Him. Ω

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Genesis 4:7, Sin Wants to Marry You

“But if you do not do good, sin rests against the gate. And toward you will be its attention, and you will rule among it.” (Genesis 4:7, my translation)

This is a difficult passage, and while I apologize for any offense caused by using my own translation, I wanted to record how I interpret this.

Sometimes we don’t always pick up God’s eloquence in Hebraic symmetries, but that’s exactly what’s occurring through the words of Genesis 4:7.  He is making a point we need to understand.

Many rightly interpret these words as a warning to Qayin (Cain) about the dangers of chatta’ah (sin)… and that’s true for the first half of the verse. “Sin” (Heb. chatta’ah) is portrayed like an animal that “rests” (Heb. rabats) right up against an entryway (Heb. pethach). In other scriptures, this “rest” describes flocks lying down in a well or in good pasture – because they know they will be watered or fed there (cf. Gen. 29:2, Eze. 34:14).  In other words, sin “rests” next to an “entryway” because it knows it will soon be well-fed there!

The question then becomes, what is the “entryway”?

All of this symbolism was likely familiar to Qayin. He likely saw, for instance, how Hevel’s (Abel’s) flocks lay in wait for his brother’s feedings at some pethach of an animal pen.  This pethach – likely a “gate” – guarded the animals from devouring Qayin’s fields.

In God’s words to Qayin, we perceive this “pethach” is a type of spiritual gateway that one “opens” – to sin!  God is saying is that when anyone refuses to “do good” (yatav) – which is to say, to do evil – he opens a gateway to his own ruin! Sin will destroy everything he wishes to protect!

And this spiritual gateway we know: it’s the heart.  It’s why all throughout Scripture we read things such as “these commandments I give you today will be on your heart” (Deut. 6:6) or “the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7). The heart is the only thing YHVH sees in us: let’s make sure we’re pure in heart, and not open to the pollution of sin! For this reason this “gateway” appears at the very beginning – it establishes where sin actually occurs.

As for the second part of Genesis 4:7, most Bibles translate it something akin to “it desires to have you, but you must rule over it” (i.e. the NIV). These translations cause the reader to see these words as a mitigation, but not so – it’s a consequence of opening up the gates to sin.

Before showing the extent of that consequence, we must first realize that the latter half of this verse is phrased exactly similar to an earlier verse. Transliterated from Hebrew, Genesis 4:7 reads:

w’eleykha t’shuqat-o w’atah tim’shal-b’o (“and toward you will be its attention, and you will rule among it”).

and this is the transliteration from Genesis 3:16:

w’el-iyshekh t’shuqat-ekh w’hu yim’shal-b’akh (“and toward your husband will be your attention, and he will rule among you”).

These are phrased the same for a reason, but God is not showing Qayin how to “mitigate” sin any more than he was showing women how they would be “mitigated” by husbands.

In Genesis 3:16, those words were indeed spoken to Havah (Eve), which showed her (and thereby all women) that after a long day with the children, she would turn her attention toward her husband. Due to her obligations (in child-rearing, breastfeeding, etc.) he would “rule among her” meaning that he would be responsible for providing for her, elevating her, and expanding their dominion “as one flesh” (cf. Gen. 2:24).  Meanwhile, she provides support, counsel and – at times – opposition, for her own benefit as “one flesh” with her husband.

In Genesis 4:7, God is showing Qayin that sin wants to attach itself as “one flesh” with human beings.  Thus man “rules” among sin – feeding, nurturing, listening to the counsel of… sin! Thus sin wants to expanding its dominion by influencing man, as “one flesh” walking away from the goodness of God.

What God told Havah was a consequence of life after the Fall – at a point when she could no longer do anything about it. What God told Qayin is a consequence of choosing sin. The difference is, Qayin could do something about it!  In fact, according to His own words, God was trying to bring Qayin into “exaltation”  (cf. 4:7a). He offered Qayin “exaltation” first by the way, even before showing Qayin the downfall of his choices.

That is so God. God always pleads with people first, even before showing them the consequence of their actions. In the future He would do the same with prophets, but at His core He wants as many people to be “exalted” as possible. This “God of the Old Testament” is not the vengeful tyrant He’s made out to be – He was always not desiring anyone should perish, as Messiah Yeshua said (in John 3:16). In his words to Qayin, we can even see that YHVH doesn’t even want anyone to even open the door to sin – and begin a “spiritual marriage” for obligations and dominions that only lead us further away from the dominion of the One True God. Ω

Genesis 4:3-7, There Was Nothing Wrong with Cain’s Offering…

As time passed, Cain brought an offering to the LORD from the fruit of the ground. Abel also brought some of the firstborn of his flock and of its fat. The LORD respected Abel and his offering, but he didn’t respect Cain and his offering… (Genesis 4:3-5, WEB)

I know during my lifetime I’ve heard dozens of sermons or teachings that identify Hevel’s (Abel’s) sacrifice as better because it was a blood atonement, as opposed to Qayin’s (Cain’s) non-blood sacrifice, which was supposedly from “abundance”.

There are problems with this interpretation for a number of reasons, but most of all, it dilutes the main point!

First and foremost, the Word explicitly says that YHVH “did not look upon (lo sha’ah) Qayin.” There was something wrong with Qayin – not his offering!

For further evidence of this, we need look only at the next few words (in my own translation from the Mst and DSS):

“…and Qayin became exceedingly angry, so that his face fell. And YHVH said to Qayin, why have you become angry? Is there not – if you do good – exaltation?” (Genesis 4:5-7)

Put another way, the word for “good” is tov and Qayin wasn’t doing good (yatav). Remembering that the only standard human had in those days was to choose between the spectrum of tov and ra (evil), YHVH was reminding Qayin that he should pursue “good”. But that’s not all – as they often do, God’s words contained a promise: that YHVH will “exalt” (s’et) Qayin if he would just choose the “tov”!

Most of our Bibles say “will you not be accepted?” but s’et means “elevated” in the context of God’s elevated state in His “majesty” and “excellency”. YHVH was actually showing Qayin how he could be “elevated” just as He did for his brother Hevel.

The bottom line is that if God does not “see” you, neither will he “see” your sacrifice. I love that this occurs with Qayin and Hevel in the Beginning, because this theme resurfaces throughout history, as the Prophets demonstrate:

–“As for the sacrifices that are made by fire unto Me, Let them sacrifice flesh and eat it, For the LORD accepteth them not.” (Hosea 8:13, YLT)

–“Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat flesh.”For I did not speak to your fathers… concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. “But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’… (Jeremiah 7:21-23, GNT)

–It’s useless to bring your offerings. I am disgusted with the smell of the incense you burn… No matter how much you pray, I will not listen, for your hands are covered with blood… Yes, stop doing evil and learn to do right. See that justice is done—help those who are oppressed, give orphans their rights, and defend widows.” (Isaiah 1:13-17, GNT)

Not surprisingly, THE Prophet (Messiah Yeshua) equated this same principle with the Kingdom of God, thus expanding earlier precedents:

–“…to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Now when Jesus saw that [the scribe] answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” (Mark 12:33-34)

So, the truths that the Prophets spoke were the same as Messiah spoke, which is the same as YHVH spoke to Qayin, because of you know, the whole “I am in the Father and the Father is in Me” thing. The message is, was, and always shall be the same: ‘Love me by being obedient, and I will accept your holy days, your sacrifices, your prayers, and your offerings.’

It’s clear that Qayin didn’t understand this, because he couldn’t be obedient, even when YHVH pleaded with him and showed him the path to “exaltation”. Hevel, on the other hand, DID get it.

Earlier I posted about the backstory of Qayin and Hevel, and by this point their life’s story reached its first culmination. Hevel had learned that the favor of parents didn’t equate to the favor of God, and that God wouldn’t limit him to his weaker (perhaps handicapped) physique. Hevel knew what he was in this life, but that didn’t stop him from offering in trust (cf. Hebrews 11:4). Hevel recognized a greater life and Universe – specifically, that YHVH was a faithful God, who would accept Hevel.

It’s not that Qayin lacked belief or even thankfulness, but what he did lack was humility. He was groomed to be “the Man” from childhood but wasn’t so in God’s eyes… at least not yet. The way I see it, he had options. He had been provoked to jealousy – a tactic God has always used to bring people into righteousness – but use that jealousy to learn from his brother Hevel in humility. After all, it’s not as if Qayin was rejected by YHVH forever; there is no reason to think Hevel and Qayin couldn’t be exalted together!

There are still believers that are comparable to Qayin. We all know them; they think they are the only learned ones, anointed ones, the best worshippers, etc. Yet this competitiveness is offensive to the Almighty, especially if it’s “the man”. If one has the whole “field” so to speak – i.e. the pastor – what occurs? Jealousy, followed by a move to thwart, silence, and/or hijack an authentic work of YHVH!

Whoever is elevated by YHVH should be elevated by all, that we may all be preserved and exalted with God.

To the believer, I’m sure he can draw even more similarities with Qayin and Hevel and the manifestation of Messiah Yeshua – the last being first, pride vs. humility, provoking to jealousy, rejecting the Way, etc. And yet, it will get even deeper as the story continues! Ω

Genesis 4:1-2, Cain and Abel’s Backstory

The man had relations with Eve his wife and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “I produced a man with Adonai.” Then she gave birth again, to his brother Abel. Abel became a shepherd of flocks while Cain became a worker of the ground. (Genesis 4:1-2, TLV)

If we’ve read the story of Cain and Abel, we know their occupations, and we know they both made sacrifices to God. We know about Cain’s jealousy and uncontrollable rage that led to the murder of his brother Abel. We then can’t understand why Cain was spared and wonder about the mark given him.

But there are additional clues in the Hebrew that shape a backstory we might not have considered.

So the story begins with Adam knowing Havah (Eve), who becomes pregnant. Havah names the baby “Qayin” but there is one word she says – 0th – that doesn’t translate well, but nevertheless should be understood correctly in order for us to understand the implications on Adam and Havah’s family.

About half the Bible translations read something like “I have acquired a man from the LORD” (the oth is underlined) while the rest say “with the LORD” or even “with the help of the LORD”. The reason there are so many discrepancies is that the translators are all trying to capture the essence and relevance of oth.

The use of oth has an air of transformation about it, as it’s used in situations where one entity approaches another for a specific action, such as:

• parties approaching other parties and making war with them (1 Kings 16:22, 20:25)
• a people leaving an area to go and live among another group (Judges 1:16)
• a man approaching his wife to have children with her (1 Chr. 2:18)
• changing the state of gold into a specific shape (Exod. 39:3)
• the Almighty being with someone in power (Gen. 49:25, Josh. 14:12)

So in the case of Havah, she was also naming him with the expectation of Qayin’s transformation into manhood, as she never said ‘I acquired a ben’ (lit. “son” or “male-child”), but ish, the word for an adult “man”. She looked at her baby and believed he would transform one day into “a man before YHVH”. Havah didn’t just give Qayin a name, but a motto as well (i.e. Qayin: “a Man before YHVH”). In other words, from the time Qayin was born, he was groomed and expected to become a man that in the presence of YHVH would be favored in everything he did.

As we read further along, there appears additional clues hinting at this interpretation. The next clue happens when Havah bears another son. However, this time no inspiration for the baby’s name is offered. His parents call him “Hevel”, which actually means “vapor”, “breath”, “futility”, “uselessness”, “vanity”, “vanity of vanities” (as in the book of Ecclesiastes), or “worthlessness”. For whatever reason, their parents saw Qayin as a brute, but also saw Hevel as a figure of nothing, a vapor – maybe not even expecting him to survive. The differences between the two extremes makes me think that Qayin and Hevel were growth-discordant (unequal) twins. After all, the text shows us that Qayin was exceptionally strong – strong enough to till the ground that YHVH had cursed (Gen 4:12). The name given to Hevel seems to suggest that he was a “runt”.

We also know from the text that the family’s life revolved around Qayin, as “Hevel became a ruler of flocks, but Qayin became a tiller of the ground”. Of those two, whom do we suppose had the favor of their father Adam? The one who followed his father’s footsteps, that’s whom! Adam would have been the one to teach Qayin the fields, and therefore the first to verify Havah’s prophecy from birth at how gifted and favored they were to have such a strong son, as Qayin tore up the fields before his father Adam. Hevel, meanwhile, doesn’t seem to have the strength for farming, and also doesn’t appear to have the confidence of Adam. Instead Hevel filled a secondary and support role for the family, keeping “flocks” of animals (n.b. the Bible does not specifically say ‘sheep’), presumably for grazing Qayin’s fields free of thorns and weeds (cf. Gen. 3:18) and for skins for clothing (cf. Gen. 3:21; n.b.: according to the Bible it appears that men did not start eating animals until after the Flood – cf. Gen. 9:3).

I envision that Qayin was raised believing that he was special, and groomed to excel. He worked side by side his father. His mother thought he was exceptional from birth.

Then there’s Hevel, who was thought of as a fleeting “vapor”, maybe not even expected to live. When compared with his brother Hevel’s own name is an insult – you can “acquire” and do something with Qayin, but you can’t possess a “mere breath”.

As the story progresses, these nuggets of background information can help shape the narrative of “Cain and Abel”. Qayin was the mighty one, favored of his parents, while Hevel was weaker, perhaps a runt in a set of twins. And while the strong one was favored by Adam and Havah – there was a better favor to come that everyone missed. That is, everyone except Hevel, who exceeded in the favor of the Almighty more than his stronger, elder brother – you know, the one whom the world was supposed to revolve around.

Ain’t it funny how nothing ever changes?

And that backstory is what can really shed light to why everyone in this family reacted the way they did. And if you think you’ve seen this story before, all that means is that this backstory has weight and meaning even in the year of our Lord 2016. Ω