Cain

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

CAIN . In   Genesis 4:1 the name ( Qayin ) is derived from qânâh , ‘procure.’ This, however, is linguistically impossible. It is probably to be connected with a root signifying to ‘forge’ in metal (cf.   Genesis 4:22-24 ).

1 . ( a )   Genesis 4:1-16 (J [Note: Jahwist.] ). Cain and Abel are represented as the sons of Adam and Eve. But it is clear that the narrative was at one time independent of Adam and Eve; it presupposes a much later stage in human progress. The distinction between pastoral and agricultural life (  Genesis 4:2 ), and between cereal and animal offerings (  Genesis 4:3-4 ), the custom of blood-revenge (  Genesis 4:14 ), and the large increase in the number of human beings implied in Cain’s fear of being slain (  Genesis 4:14-15 ), in his possession of a wife (  Genesis 4:17 ), and in his erection of a city ( ib .), all show that a long period must be understood to have elapsed since the primitive condition of the first pair. The meaning of certain passages in the story is uncertain;   Genesis 4:7;   Genesis 4:13;   Genesis 4:15 must be studied in the commentaries. When Cain was condemned to be a fugitive and a wanderer, he feared death in revenge for his murder of Abel; but Jahweh ‘appointed a sign’ for him. This is not explained, but the writer probably thought of it as something which rendered Cain sacrosanct, so that, according to a deeply rooted Semitic conception, it would be a defilement and a crime to touch him (see art. Holiness). And he went and dwelt (  Genesis 4:16 ) in the land of Nôd (‘Wanderland’). The fact that the story appears to describe conditions long subsequent to those of the first pair has led many writers to hold that Cain is the eponymous ancestor of a tribe, and that the tradition was intended to explain the wild and wandering life of Arabian nomads. This kind of life, so different from the prosperous peace of settled agricultural communities, must have been the result of a primitive curse, incurred by some crime. And the narrative relates that the settled, agricultural Cainite tribe ruthlessly destroyed members of an adjacent tribe of pastoral habits; that the fear of strict blood-revenge was so great that the Cainites were obliged to leave their country, and become wandering nomads; and that some tribal sign or badge such as a tattoo, or incisions in the flesh was adopted, which marked its possessors as being under the protection of their tribal god. It is further conjectured, owing to the formation of the two names from the same root, that ‘Cain’ stands for the Kenites (cf.   Numbers 24:22 ,   Judges 4:11 with RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] ). See Driver, Genesis , p. 72.

( b )   Genesis 4:17-24 seem to contain a different tradition, but incorporated also by J [Note: Jahwist.] . Cain’s erection of a city scarcely seems to harmonize with his being a fugitive and a wanderer in fear of his life. The purpose of the tradition was to explain the origin of early arts and social conditions e.g. the beginnings of city-life (  Genesis 4:17 ), polygamy (  Genesis 4:19 ), nomad life (  Genesis 4:20 ), music (  Genesis 4:21 ), metallurgy (  Genesis 4:22 ).

2 . The value of the story lies, as always, mainly in its religious teaching. We know not of how much crude superstition and polytheism the tradition may have been divested by the prophetical writer who edited it. But in its present form, the connexion of Cain with Adam and Eve suggests the thought of the terrible effects of the Fall: the next generation reaches a deeper degree of guilt; Cain is more hardened than Adam, in that he feels no shame but boldly tries to conceal his guilt; and the punishment is worse Adam was to till the ground with labour, but Cain would not henceforth receive from the earth her strength. The story teaches also the sacredness of human life, the moral holiness of God, and the truth that a result of sin is a liability to succumb to further sin (  Genesis 4:7 b).

3 . In the NT Cain is referred to in   Hebrews 11:4 ,   Judges 1:11 ,   1 John 3:12 . The latter passage must be explained by   1 John 3:9-10 . The children of God qua children of God cannot sin; and conversely the children of the devil cannot do righteousness or love one another. Cain, then, murdered his brother because he belonged to the latter category, and his brother to the former.

A. H. M‘Neile.

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

the eldest son of Adam and Eve. He was the first man who had been a child, and the first man born of woman. For his history, as connected with that of Abel, see Abel. The curse pronounced upon Cain, on account of his fratricide, is thus expressed: "And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is thy brother Abel? And he said, I know not: am I my brother's keeper? And God said, What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand. When thou tillest it, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee its strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth," meaning, probably, from his own native district, and from the presence of his kindred, "and from thy face shall I be hid;" by which he probably intended the divine glory, or Shekinah, whose appearance sanctified the place of primitive worship, and was the pledge of acceptance and protection. The mark set upon Cain "lest any one finding him should kill him," has been variously interpreted. Some have supposed at a change in the colour of his skin, others a certain horror of countenance. The LXX. understood the passage to mean, that the Lord gave him a sign, to assure him that his life should be preserved. Whatever it was, its object was not to aggravate, but to mitigate, his punishment, which may intimate that Cain had manifested repentance. Cain, being thus banished from the presence of the Lord, retired into the land of Nod, lying east from the province of Eden. While he dwelt in this country, which is generally understood to be Susiana, or Chusistan, he had a son, whom he named Enoch, in memory of whom he built a city of the same name. This is all we learn from Scripture concerning Cain.

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary

Eldest of Adam and Eve’s family, Cain was a crop farmer. Since people were to acknowledge God as the giver of all things, Cain brought some of his farm produce and presented it as an offering to God. Cain’s brother Abel, being a shepherd, offered sheep. But whereas Abel presented his offering in sincerity and faith, Cain did not, with the result that God accepted Abel’s offering but rejected Cain’s ( Genesis 4:1-5;  Hebrews 11:4).

Cain was envious and angry. He was told that if he wanted God to accept his sacrifice, he had to change his ways and overcome the sinful attitudes that were threatening to destroy him ( Genesis 4:5-7). Cain, however, refused to humble himself, and gave clear evidence of the evil within his heart by murdering his brother ( Genesis 4:8;  1 John 3:12). In punishment God drove him into a barren region. Cain still showed no sign of repentance, only fear of punishment. Yet God in his mercy promised to protect Cain from any possible revenge killing ( Genesis 4:8-16).

Free from the influence of those who still worshipped God, Cain set about establishing his own independent settlement. His descendants raised cattle and developed skills in arts and crafts, but morally they drifted further from God ( Genesis 4:17-24; cf.  Romans 1:20-28).

Morrish Bible Dictionary

The first son of Adam and Eve. Ignoring the fall, he approached God in his own person, and with the fruit of his own toil from the ground that had been cursed. God could accept neither him nor his offerings: life had been forfeited, and man must approach God through the death and excellency of a victim which God could accept. Cain's anger was kindled because of the acceptance of Abel and his offering, and he slew his brother, notwithstanding that God had reasoned with him respecting his anger. God cursed him from the earth, and set a mark upon him that no avenger of blood should slay him. Cain went out from the presence of God — significant sentence — and in the land of Nod built a city and named it after his son Enoch.  Genesis 4 . He is held up in the N.T. as an example of wickedness and self-will.  1 John 3:12;  Jude 11 . Cain's act of worship is a notable type of mere human religion — presuming to approach God as if there had been no fall and no sin. See ABEL.

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types

 Genesis 4:5 (c) He is a type of a self-righteous person who disdains the sacrifice of the Lamb and offers to GOD the labor of his own hands for his sins. He is one who believes in salvation by works and character building.

 Hebrews 11:4 (c) He represents any person who offers to GOD the products of his own life, imagination, and thought as a sacrifice for his sins instead of the Blood of the Lamb.

 1 John 3:12 (a) He indicates any person, who, in order to sustain and maintain his own evil ways, desires by hook or crook to get rid of his righteous and Godly associates.

 Judges 1:11 (a) This is a picture of those who reject the sacrifice of Christ pursue a path of religious activity, and offer it to GOD instead of the merits of the Saviour.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

A town of the Kenites, a branch of the Midianites (  Joshua 15:57 ), on the east edge of the mountain above Engedi; probably the "nest in a rock" mentioned by Balaam ( Numbers 24:21 ). It is identified with the modern Yekin, 3 miles south-east of Hebron.

Copyright Statement These dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton M.A., DD Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain.

Bibliography Information Easton, Matthew George. Entry for 'Cain'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/c/cain.html. 1897.

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Cain ( Kâin ), Possession.  Genesis 4:1. The eldest son of Adam and Eve; he tilled the ground as a farmer. In a fit of jealousy, roused by the rejection of his own sacrifice and the acceptance of Abel's, he slew his brother, and became an exile from God's presence, but received a promise of protection from the avenger of blood. He settled in the land of Nod, and built a city, which he named after his son Enoch. His descendants are enumerated, together with the inventions for which they were remarkable. 2. A city, called "Kain" in R. V., in the mountains of Judah.  Joshua 15:57.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

The first-born of the human race,  Genesis 4:1 , and the first murderer. See  Genesis 4:6-9 . The punishment inflicted upon him included an increase of physical wants and hardships, distress of conscience, banishment from society, and loss of God's manifested presence and favor,  Genesis 4:16 . But God mingled mercy with judgment; and appointed for Cain some sign that he should not suffer the death penalty he had incurred at the hand of man, thus signifying that God only was his judge. He withdrew into the land of Nod, east of Eden, and built a city that he named Enoch, after one of his sons.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Cain. (Possession).

1. Genesis 5. He was the eldest son of Adam and Eve; he followed the business of agriculture. In a fit of jealousy, roused by the rejection of his own sacrifice, and the acceptance of Abel's, he committed the crime of murder, for which he was expelled from Eden, and led the life of an exile. He settled in the land of Nod, and built a city, which he named after his son, Enoch. His descendants are enumerated together with the inventions, for which they were remarkable. (B.C. 4000).

2. One of the cities, in the low country of Judah, named with Zanoah and Gibeah.  Joshua 15:57.

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

The first born of Adam and Eve. His name is derived form Hanah, to possess. Hence Cain means, possession. And this agrees to Eve's name of her son, for she said, I have gotten a man from the Lord; or as it might be read, the man (that is the very one promised), from the Lord. ( Genesis 4:1) Alas! how little did our poor mistaken mother know, what miseries among thousands and millions of her children would be induced, before He should arise to do away the evil of her transgression, by the sacrifice of himself!

See Abel.

Holman Bible Dictionary

acquisition  Genesis 4:1

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

See Abel.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Hebrews Ka'yin, קִיִן , a Lance [but see below]), the name of a man and of a city. (See Kenite); (See Tubal-Cain).

1.' (Sept. and N.T. Κά '''''Þ''''' '''''Ν''''' . The root seems to be קוּן , to Beat, perhaps with allusion to the murder; the context, however,  Genesis 9:1, makes this = קָנָה , to Create, Obtain; others, as Eusebius and Chrysostom, derive it from some root signifying Envy; Von Bohlen, Introd. To Genesis 2: 85, seeks it in the Arabic Kayn, a Smith, from the arts introduced by the Cainites; Josephus Grsecizes it, Κά '''''Þ''''' '''''Σ''''' , - Þ Ος , Ant. 1:2, 2.) The first-born (B.C. apparently cir. 4170) of the human race, and likewise the first murderer and fratricide,B.C. cir. 4043. His history is detailed in Genesis chap. iv; the facts there given are in brief these: He was the eldest son of Adam and Eve; he followed the business of agriculture; in a fit of jealousy, roused by the rejection of his own sacrifice and the acceptance of Abel's, he committed the crime of murder, for which he was expelled from the vicinity of Edemi, and led the life of an exile; he settled in the land of Nod, and built a city, which he named after his son Enoch; his descendants are enumerated, together with the inventions for which they were remarkable. Occasional references to Cain are made in the N.T. ( Hebrews 11:4;  1 John 3:12;  Judges 1:11).

Among all the instances of crime, none impress the mind with a stronger feeling of horror than that of Cain. It is not, however, clear that he had fully premeditated taking the life of his brother, if, indeed, he was aware by what a slight accident death would ensue; for this was the first instance of human mortality. But it is certain that he had resolved upon somedesperate outrage upon his brother's person, and he deliberately took occasion to perpetrate it. Abel, as most think, brought two offerings, the one an oblation, the other a sacrifice. Cain brought but the former mere acknowledgment, it is supposed, of the sovereignty of God-neglecting to offer the sacrifice, which would have been a confession of fallen nature, and, typically, an atonement for sin. It was not, therefore, the mere difference of feeling with which the two offerings were brought which constituted the virtue of the one or the guilt of the other brother. "The malignity of his temper showed itself in his unwillingness to ask his brother for a victim from among his herd. He offered before God an unlawful sacrifice," because a bloodless one,  Hebrews 9:22 (Jarvis, Church Of the Redeemed, p. 14).

The circumstances connected with this offense are related in a brief but graphic manner in the Hebrews text, the force of which is not well brought out in the Auth. Vers. ( Genesis 4:2-16). Abel, being a herdsman, naturally brought at the: end of the week (for the Sabbath was already a well-known institution) an offering of the first-born and fattest of his flocks, while Cain, as a husbandman (hence the greater severity of the curse which blasted his professional hopes), presented an oblation of vegetable productions. The undevout temper and wicked nature of Cain are sufficiently evinced by his resentment against the Aimighty, as if partial to his brother (see below). The Divine Being condescends to expostulate with him on his unreasonable behavior, and to warn him of the danger of cherishing the jealousy which he seems to have already entertained against Abel: "If thou reformest, there is forgiveness [with me for thy past. offenses]; but if not, [then beware, for] sin crouches at thy door [like a wild beast ready to seize thee on the first opportunity], and against thee is its design; but do thou subdue it [i.e. thy evil disposition]." Instead of heeding this advice, however, the ill-natured man, taking the first occasion to narrate the circumstance to his brother (probably in an upbraiding manner), fell into the very snare of Satan against which he had been warned; his feelings became' again excited, as they two were alone conversing in the open field, and, there being no one near to witness or avert the consequences, he suddenly turned against his brother, and by an angry blow (probably with some agricultural implement, in the formation of which he had doubtless already begun to exercise the mechanical ingenuity for which his descendants became famous) he laid him dead upon the ground. Instead of the penitence which the sight of his brother's blood ought to have inspired in his horror-stricken soul, the craven murderer insolently demands of the all-seeing God, when questioned as to his crime, "I know nothing about the matter; am I my brother's keeper?" But when conviction is fastened upon him, and the penalty-announced, with the despairin, but still impenitent remorse of Judas, the guilty wretch exclaims, "My iniquity is too great for forgiveness! ( גָּדוֹל עֲוֹני מִנְּשׂוֹא ; Sept. Μείζων Ἡ Αἰτία Μοῦ Τοῦ Ἀφεθῆναί Με· ) for thou hast utterly driven meout this day from the face of the ground [of this pleasant region]," and I shall be in danger of starvation, and even of perishing by the hand of every stranger whom I may meet. (See Kitto's Daily Bible I'lust. in loc.; Fechtii Hist. Abelis et Caini, Rost. 1704.)

The punishment which attended the crime admitted of no escape, scarcely of any conceivable alleviation. "He lost the privileges of primogeniture, was deprived of the priesthood, banished from ‘ the presence' of the divine glory between the cherubim, shut out from the hopes of mercy, and, with his descendants, delivered over unprotected to the assaults of the great adversary" (Jarvis, Church of the Redeemed, p. 14). Cursed from the earth himself, the earth was doomed to a double barrenness wherever the offender should set his foot. Physical want and hardship, therefore, were among the first of the miseries heaped upon his head. [Next came those of mind and conscience: "The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground." Nor did any retreat remain to him from the terrors of his own soul or those of Divine vengeance: "From thy face shall I be hid," washis agonizing and hopeless cry. The statement that "Cain went out from the presence of the Lord" represents him as abiding, till thus exiled, in some favored spot where the Almighty still, by visible signs, manifested himselfto his fallen creatures.

The expression of dread lest, as he wandered over the face of the earth, he might be recognized and slain, has an awful sound when falling from the mouth of a murderer. But he was to be protected against the wrath of his fellow-men; and of this God gave him assurance, not, says Shuckford, by setting a mark upon him, which is a false translation, but by appointing a sign or token which he himself might understand as a proof that he should not perish by the hand of another, as Abel had perished by his. This sign was probably no other than the Divine denunciation uttered at the time against any one who should venture to do him injury, and which, being well known, would prove a sufficient caveat. As such it is referred to by his descendant Lamech ( Genesis 4:24). ‘ The passage may therefore be rendered, "Thus Jehovah appointed a token for Cain, so that no one who met him should slay him." What was the Divine purpose in affording him this protection it is difficult to determine. That it was not with the intention of prolonging his misery may be conjectured from the fact that it was granted in answer to his own piteous cry for mercy. Some writers have spoken of the possibility of his becoming a true penitent, and of his having at length obtained the Divine forgiveness (Ortlob, Cainus Non Desperans, Lips. 1706).

It may be worthy of observation that especial mention is made of the fact that Cain, having traveled into the land of Nod, there built a city; and further, that his descendants were chiefly celebrated for their skill in the arts of social life. In both accounts may probably be discovered the powerful struggles with which Cain strove to overcome the difficulties that attended his position as one to whom the tillage' of the ground was virtually prohibited. The following points also are deserving of notice.

(1.) The position of the "land of Nod." The name itself tells us little; it means Flight or Exile, in reference to  Genesis 4:12, where a cognate word is used: Von Bohlen's attempt to identify it with India, as though the Hebrew name Hind ( הנד ) had been erroneously read Hazl-Nod, is too far fetched; the only indication of its position is the indefinite notice that it was "east of Eden" ( Genesis 4:16), which, of course, throws us back to the previous settlement of the position of Eden itself. Knobel (Comm. in loc.), who adopts an ethnological interpretation of the history of Cain's descendants, would identify Nod with the whole of Eastern Asia, and even hints at a possible connection between the names Cain and China. It seems vain to attempt the identification of Nod with any special locality; the direction "east of Eden" may have reference to the previous notice in  Genesis 3:24, and may indicate that the land was opposite to (Sept. Κατέναντι ) the entrance, which was barred against his return. It is not improbable that the East was further used to mark the direction which the Cainites took, as distinct from the Sethites, who would, according to Hebrew notions, be settled toward the west. Similar observations must be made in regard to the city Enoch, which has been identified with the names of the Heniochi, a tribe in Caucasus (so Hasse), Anuchta, a town inSusiana (Huetius), Chanoge, an ancient town in India (Von Bohlen), and Iconium, as the place where the deified King Annacos was honored (EWald): all such attempts at identification must be subordinated to the previous settlement of the position of Eden and Nod. (See Nod).

(2.) The "mark set upon Cain" has given rise to various speculations, many of which would never have been broached if the Hebrew text had been consulted the words probably mean that Jehovah Gave A Siqn To Cain, very much as signs were afterward given to Noah ( Genesis 9:13), Moses ( Exodus 3:2;  Exodus 3:12), Elijah ( 1 Kings 19:11), and Hezekiah ( Isaiah 38:7-8). Whether the sign was perceptible to Cain alone, and given to him once for all, in token that no man should kill him, or whether it was one that was perceptible to others, and designed as a precaution to them, as is implied in the A. V. is uncertain; the nature of the sign itself is still more uncertain (but see above). (See Kraft, De Signo Caini, in his Obss. Sacr.1:3.) (See Mark).

(3.) The narrative implies the existence of a considerable population in Cain's time; for he fears lest he should be murdered in return for the murder he had committed ( Genesis 4:14). Josephus (Ant. 1:2,1) explains his fears as arising, not from men, but from wild beasts; but such an explanation is wholly unnecessary. The family of Adam may have largely increased before the birth of Seth, as is indeed implied in the notice of Cain's wife ( Genesis 4:17), and the mere circumstance on the ground that their lives furnished nothing worthy of notice. These neighbors must, of course, have been the relatives of Cain, who had now branched out into a considerable community, and as his banishment would necessarily estrange him from them, he entertained the natural apprehension lest in the course of his remaining life time they might even become his enemies, especially as they would regard him as a murderer. (See Blood-Revenge). His wife must evidently have been one of his sisters (comp. "sons and daughters,"  Genesis 5:4). Tradition calls her Save (Epiphan. Hoer. 29:6) or Azura (Malalas, p.2); the Arabs call Cain himself Kabel by alliteration with the name of his brother (D'Herbelot, Bibl. Or. s.v. Cabil). (See Adam).

(4.) The character of Cain deserves a fuller notice. He is described as a man of a morose, malicious, and revengeful temper; and that he presented his offering in this state of mind is implied in the rebuke contained in  Genesis 4:7, which may be rendered thus: "If thou doest well (or, as the Sept. has it, Ἐὰν Ὀρθῶς Προσενέγκῃς ) , is there not an elevation ( שְׂאֵת ) [of the countenance] (i.e. perhaps Cheerfulness and Happiness)? but if thou doest not well [There Is A Sinking Of The Countenance], sin lurketh (as awild beast) at the door, and to thee is its desire; but thou shalt rule over it." (So Gesenius and others; but see above.) The narrative implies therefore that his offering was rejected on account of the temper in which it was brought (Sticht, De colloquio Dei cum Caino, Alt. 1766). (See Abel).

(5.) The descendants of Cain are enumerated to the sixth generation. Some commentators (Knobel, Von Bohlen) have traced an artificial structure in this genealogy, by which it is rendered parallel to that of the Sethites; e.g. there is a decade of names in each, commencing with Adam and ending with Jabal and Noah, the deficiency of generations in the Cainites being supplied by the addition of the two younger sons of Lamech to the list; and there is a considerable similarity in the names, each list containing aLamech and an Enoch, while Cain in the one=Cain-an in the other, Methusael =Methuselah, and Mehujael =Mahalaleel; the inference from this comparison being that the one was framed out of the other. It must be observed, however, that the differences far exceed the points of similarity; that the order of the names, the number of generations, and even ‘ the meanings of those which are noticed as similar in sound, are sufficiently Hieroz. 1:537.) (See Patriarch).

(6.) The social condition of the Cainites is prominently brought forward in the history. Cain himself was an agriculturist, Abel a shepherd: the successors of the latter are represented by the Sethites and the progenitors of the Hebrew race in later times, among whom a pastoral life was always held in high honor from the simplicity and devotional habits which it engendered: the successors of the former are depicted as the reverse in all these respects. Cain founded the first city; Lamech instituted polygamy; Jabal introduced the nomadic life; Jubal invented musical instruments; Tubal-cain was the first smith; Lamech's language takes the stately tone of poetry; and even the names of the women, Naamah (Pleasant), Zillah (Shadow), Adah (Ornamental), seem to bespeak an advanced state of civilization. But, along with this, there was violence and godlessness; Cain and Lamech furnish proof of the former, while the concluding words of  Genesis 4:26, imply the latter. (See Antediluvians).

(7.) The contrast established between the Cainites and the Sethites appears to have reference solely to the social and religious condition of the two races. On the one side there is pictured a high state of civilization, unsanctified by religion, and productive of luxury and violence; on theother side, a state of simplicity which afforded no material for history beyond the declaration, "Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord." The historian thus accounts for the progressive degeneration of the religious condition of man, the evil gaining a predominance over the good by its alliance with worldly power and knowledge, and producing the state of things which necessitated the flood. (See Deluge).

(8.) Another motive may be assigned for the introduction of this portion of sacred history. All ancient nations have loved to trace up the invention of the arts to some certain author, and, generally speaking, these authors have been regarded as objects of divine worship. Among the Greeks Apollo was held to be the inventor of music, Vulcan of the working of metals, Triptolemus (see Hygin. 277) of the plough. A similar feeling of curiosity prevailed among the Hebrews; and hence the historian has recorded the names of those to whom the invention of the arts was traditionallyassigned, obviating at the same time the dangerous error into which other nations had fallen, and reducing the estimate of their value by the position which their inventors held. (See Art); (See Artificer). Additional treatises: Stockmann, De Caino prcenmo wnto (Jen. 1792); Danz, id. (ib. 1681, 1732); Bosseck, D sacrisciis Caini et' Habel (Lips.1781); Niemeyer, Charakt. 2:57 sq.; Buttmann, lMythl. 1:164 sq.; Otho, Lex. Rab. p. 109 sq.; Eisenmenger, Entd. Judenth. 1:462, 471, 832, 836; Hottinger, Hist. Orientalis, p. 25; Hamb. verm. Biblioth. 2:945 sq.; Sack, in the Brem. u; Verd. Biblioth. I, 3:61; Rosenm Ü ller, Scholia, in. loc. Gen.; Philo, Opp. 1:185; Whately, Prototypes, p. 15; Dupin, Nouv. Bibl. p. 4; Kitto, Daily Bible Illust. in loc.; Evans, Script. Biog. 2:1 sq.; Hunter, Sac. Biog. p. 17 sq. (See Murder).

2. (Hebrews, with the article, Hkk-Ka'Yin, הִקִּיִן , = "the lance;" but may be derived from קֵן , Ken, "a nest," possibly in allusion to its position; Sept. Ζακανα • Μ v. r. Ζανωακείμ , by including the name preceding; Vulg. A Ccain.) One of the cites in the low country (Shefe-Lah) of Judah, named with Zanoah and Gibeah: ( Joshua 15:56); apparently the modern village Yukin a short distance south-east of Hebron (Van de Velde,'Memoir, p.300), now a Mohammedan station, said to be the place where Lot stopped after his flight from Sodom (Robinson, Researches, 2:190).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

kān ( קין , ḳayin , "spear" or "smith," resembling in sound the root ḳānāh , "get," "acquire,"  Genesis 4:1 the Revised Version, margin, but not necessarily derived from that root; Septuagint Κάΐν , Káin ):

1. The Scripture Narrative

(1) In Gen 4:1-24 Cain is the first son of Adam and Eve. His birth is hailed as a manifestation of Yahweh's help. He becomes "a tiller of the ground," and brings to Yahweh an offering of the produce of the soil, his brother Abel, the shepherd, bringing at the same time the fat of the first-born of his own flock. From Cain and from his offering Yahweh withholds the sign of acceptance which he grants to Abel. That the ground of this difference of treatment is to be found (so  Hebrews 11:4 ) in Cain's lack of right disposition toward Yahweh is shown by his behavior (see Abel ). Instead of humbling himself he gives signs of strong indignation at Yahweh's refusal to favor him. Under the just rebuke of Yahweh he hardens his heart and is further confirmed in impenitence. His jealousy of Abel, unrepented of, increases until it culminates in deliberate murder. Deliberate, for in  Genesis 4:8 we must restore a clause to the Hebrew text, all the ancient versions bearing witness, and read "And Cain said unto Abel his brother, Let us go into the field," etc. In the vain attempt to conceal his crime Cain adds falsehood to his other sins. He is cursed "from," i.e. away from, that soil upon which he poured out his brother's blood, and must become a fugitive and a wanderer, far from the immediate presence of Yahweh. Although his remonstrance against the severity of his sentence displays no genuine contrition, still Yahweh in pity appoints a "sign" for his protection. Cain takes up his abode in the land of Nod ("wandering"), and there builds a city and becomes the ancestor of a line which includes Jabal, forefather of tent-dwelling cattle-keepers; Jubal, forefather of musicians; Tubal-cain, forefather of smiths; and Lamech, like Cain, a man of violence. In Cain's character we see "a terrible outburst of selfwill, pride, and jealousy, leading to a total and relentless renunciation of all human ties and affection." "Among the lessons or truths which the narrative teaches may be instanced: the nature of temptation, and the manner in which it should be resisted; the consequences to which an unsubdued temper may lead a man; the gradual steps by which in the end a deadly crime may be committed; the need of sincerity of purpose lest our offering should be rejected; God's care for the guilty sinner after he has been punished; the interdependence upon one another of members of the human race; and the duties and obligations which we all owe to each other" (Driver). In   Hebrews 11:4 Cain's spiritual deficiency is pointed out;   1 John 3:12 observes his envy and jealousy, as "of the wicked one," and   Judges 1:11 makes him a very type of the ungodly.

2. Difficulties

With few and bold strokes the story of Cain as it stands paints for us the character of the first of murderers and the scene of his detection and condemnation. To the religious purpose of the narrative all other things are made tributary. But if we can not refrain from putting the familiar question, Who was Cain's wife? it is aIso impossible upon close study of Gen 4, as it stands, to avoid asking what was the nature of the sign of Yahweh's acceptance ( Genesis 4:4 ), or of the "sign" appointed for Cain ( Genesis 4:15 ); or what we are to think of the introduction in the midst of the narrative, without explanation, of such important institutions as sacrifice ( Genesis 4:3 ,  Genesis 4:4 ) and blood-revenge ( Genesis 4:14 ); who were the persons of whom Cain stood in fear ( Genesis 4:14 ); who inhabited the city he built ( Genesis 4:17 ); how the wanderer and fugitive could become the city-builder; and why the shepherd life should be represented as beginning with Abel ( Genesis 4:2 ) and again with Jabal ( Genesis 4:20 ); also whether the narrator means that not only the collection of men in cities ( Genesis 4:17 ), but also animal husbandry, music and metal-working ( Genesis 4:20-22 ) are to be looked upon with disfavor as having sprung from Cain or from his descendants? Most of these questions find their answers in one consideration: the narrative is not exhaustively complete and is not intended to be so. That a large body of racial traditions existed, from which, with the severest condensation, the author of Gen selected his material, is the conclusion forced by close examination of the Gen narrative and comparison of it with the most ancient extant traditions. "In Gen 4 these old stories are not told for their own sakes. The incompleteness and the difficulties left unsolved do not allow this assumption to be made. They form simply the material foundation, to which higher ideas and doctrines are attached" (Dillmann).

3. Critical Theories

Without going outside the Scripture text we may find strong evidence that the narrative under consideration is founded in part upon ancient sources. Let the line of Cain ( Genesis 4:17-24 ) be compared with that of Seth (Gen 5:1-29):

Border >

cainite	sethite
Adam ("man")	Adam ("man")
Seth
Enosh ("man")
Cain	Kenan
Enoch	Mahalel
Irad	Jared
Mehujael	Enoch
Methushael	Methuselah
Lamech	Lamech
Jabel, Jubal, Tubal-cain	Noah
Shem, Ham, Japhet

The Hebrew forms of the names show even more clearly that Cain = Kenan, Irad = Jared, Methushael = Methuselah; a single transposition, that of the first and third names after Cain, brings the two Enochs together, and likewise the similar names Mehujael and Mahalalel. Thus we have six names nearly or quite identical; seven ancestors in one list and ten in the other, ending in both cases with a branching into three important characters. Resemblances equally certain, though not by any means so obvious, exist between the names in this double list and the names of the ten kings of Babylonia who reigned before the Flood, as the latter are given by Berosus, the Babylonian historian of the 3rd century bc (see Skinner, Driver, Sayce as below). Thus one source of which the author in Gen 4 made use appears to have been an ancient list in genealogical form, by which the first of mankind was linked with the beginnings of civilized institutions and articles Another part of his material was the story of a brother's murder of a brother (4:1-16). Many maintain at this point that the narrative must be based upon the doings of tribes, rather than of individuals. It is true that not seldom in the Old Testament tribal history is related under individual na;mes (compare Gen 49, Jgs 1, and the tables of tribes in  Genesis 25:1-4; 36); yet the tribe referred to can hardly be the Kenites of the Old Testament, who appear as the close allies of Israel, not especially bloodthirsty or revengeful, and haunted by no shadow of early crime against a brother tribe (see Kenites ). The indications in Gen 4:1-16 of a developed state of society and a considerable population may go to show that the narrative of the murder was not originally associated with the sons of the first man. Thus there is room to suppose that in the process of condensation and arrangement Cain, son of Adam; Cain, the murderer; and Cain, city-builder and head of a line of patriarchs, have been made one. The critical conclusions here epitomized are indeed reached by a delicate and difficult process; but it is asserted in their favor that they make possible the removal of difficulties which could be explained in no other manner. The question which will arise with many, What theory of inspiration can be held consistently with the application of such critical processes? is dealt with at length by most modern commentators (see Criticism; Inspiration ).

Literature

A. Dillmann, Genesis (English translation); S. R. Driver, Genesis ("Westminster Commentaries"); H. E. Ryle, Early Narratives of Genesis  ; J. Skinner, Genesis ( ICC ); A. H. Sayce, "Archaeology of the Book of Genesis," The Expositor T , August, 1910, June, 1911.

(2) In  Joshua 15:57 , the Revised Version (British and American) Kain . See also Kenites .

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

The derivation of this word is disputed; but it probably signifies an acquisition or possession. Some degree of mystery attends the immediate origin of the horrible crime of Cain. Abel, it appears, brought two offerings, the one an oblation, the other a sacrifice. Cain brought but the former—a mere acknowledgment, it is supposed, of the sovereignty of God; neglecting to offer the sacrifice which would have been a confession of fallen nature, and, typically, an atonement for sin. It was not, therefore, the mere difference of feeling with which the two offerings were brought which constituted the virtue of the one, or the guilt of the other brother. God's righteous indignation against sin had been plainly revealed; and there can be no doubt that the means of safety, of reconciliation and atonement, were as plainly made known to Adam and his offspring. The refusal, therefore, of the sacrifice was a virtual denial of God's right to condemn the sinner, and at the same time a proud rejection of the proffered means of grace.

The punishment which attended the crime was such as could only be inflicted by an Almighty avenger. It admitted of no escape, scarcely of any conceivable alleviation. Cursed from the earth himself, the earth was doomed to a double barrenness wherever the offender should set his foot. Physical want and hardship, therefore, were among the first of the miseries heaped upon his head. Next came those of mind and conscience: 'The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground,' was the announcement of his discovered guilt. He could now hear that same voice himself; nor did any retreat remain to him from the terrors of his own soul or those of Divine vengeance. By the statement that 'Cain went out from the presence of the Lord,' probability is given to the conjecture which represents him as abiding, till thus exiled, in some favored spot where the Almighty still, by visible signs, manifested Himself to His fallen creatures. The expression of dread lest, as he wandered over the face of the earth, he might be recognized and slain, has an awful sound when falling from the mouth of a murderer. But he was to be protected against the wrath of his fellow-men; and of this God gave him assurance, not by setting a mark upon him, which is a false translation, but by appointing a sign or token which he himself might understand as a proof that he should not perish by the hand of another, as Abel had perished by his.

It may be worthy of observation, that especial mention is made of the fact, that Cain having traveled into the land of Nod there built a city; and further, that his descendants were chiefly celebrated for their skill in the arts of social life. In both accounts may probably be discovered the powerful struggles with which Cain strove to overcome the difficulties which attended his position as one to whom the tillage of the ground was virtually prohibited.

The Nuttall Encyclopedia

According to Genesis, the first-born of Adam and Eve, and therefore of the race, and the murderer of his brother Abel.