Genesis 4:1-2

The Story of Cain and Abel

4:1 Now ¹  the man had marital relations with ²  his wife Eve, and she became pregnant ³  and gave birth to Cain. Then she said, “I have created ⁴  a man just as the Lord did!” ⁵  4:2 Then she gave birth ⁶  to his brother Abel. ⁷  Abel took care of the flocks, while Cain cultivated the ground. ⁸ 

Genesis 4:9

4:9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” ⁹  And he replied, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s guardian?” ¹⁰ 

Genesis 4:17

The Beginning of Civilization

4:17 Cain had marital relations ¹¹  with his wife, and she became pregnant ¹²  and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was building a city, and he named the city after ¹³  his son Enoch.

Genesis 4:25

4:25 And Adam had marital relations ¹⁴  with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son. She named him Seth, saying, “God has given ¹⁵  me another child ¹⁶  in place of Abel because Cain killed him.”

[4:1]  ¹ tn The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) introduces a new episode in the ongoing narrative.

[4:1]  ² tn Heb “the man knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.

[4:1]  ³ tn Or “she conceived.”

[4:1]  ⁴ tn Here is another sound play (paronomasia) on a name. The sound of the verb קָנִיתִי (qaniti, “I have created”) reflects the sound of the name Cain in Hebrew (קַיִן, qayin) and gives meaning to it. The saying uses the Qal perfect of קָנָה (qanah). There are two homonymic verbs with this spelling, one meaning “obtain, acquire” and the other meaning “create” (see Gen 14:19, 22; Deut 32:6; Ps 139:13; Prov 8:22). The latter fits this context very well. Eve has created a man.

[4:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “with the Lord.” The particle אֶת־ (’et) is not the accusative/object sign, but the preposition “with” as the ancient versions attest. Some take the preposition in the sense of “with the help of” (see BDB 85 s.v. אֵת; cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV), while others prefer “along with” in the sense of “like, equally with, in common with” (see Lev 26:39; Isa 45:9; Jer 23:28). Either works well in this context; the latter is reflected in the present translation. Some understand אֶת־ as the accusative/object sign and translate, “I have acquired a man – the Lord.” They suggest that the woman thought (mistakenly) that she had given birth to the incarnate Lord, the Messiah who would bruise the Serpent’s head. This fanciful suggestion is based on a questionable allegorical interpretation of Gen 3:15 (see the note there on the word “heel”).

[4:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “And she again gave birth.”

[4:2]  ⁷ sn The name Abel is not defined here in the text, but the tone is ominous. Abel’s name, the Hebrew word הֶבֶל (hevel), means “breath, vapor, vanity,” foreshadowing Abel’s untimely and premature death.

[4:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “and Abel was a shepherd of the flock, and Cain was a worker of the ground.” The designations of the two occupations are expressed with active participles, רֹעֵה (ro’eh, “shepherd”) and עֹבֵד (’oved, “worker”). Abel is occupied with sheep, whereas Cain is living under the curse, cultivating the ground.

[4:9]  ¹¹ sn Where is Abel your brother? Again the Lord confronts a guilty sinner with a rhetorical question (see Gen 3:9-13), asking for an explanation of what has happened.

[4:9]  ¹² tn Heb “The one guarding my brother [am] I?”

[4:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.

[4:17]  ¹⁷ tn Or “she conceived.”

[4:17]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “according to the name of.”

[4:25]  ²¹ tn Heb “knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.

[4:25]  ²² sn The name Seth probably means something like “placed”; “appointed”; “set”; “granted,” assuming it is actually related to the verb that is used in the sentiment. At any rate, the name שֵׁת (shet) and the verb שָׁת (shat, “to place, to appoint, to set, to grant”) form a wordplay (paronomasia).

[4:25]  ²³ tn Heb “offspring.”