“But the Hebrew word, the word timshel—‘Thou mayest’— that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a man. For if ‘Thou mayest’—it is also true that ‘Thou mayest not.”
- John Steinbeck, East of Eden
The story of Cain and Abel is one that has fascinated me since reading John Steinbeck's East of Eden. It was later adapted into a film starring James Dean.
The story of Cain and Abel begins with Cain bringing an offering of fruit from the ground to God and Abel bringing a sheep. God gives regard to Abel but does not give regard to Cain, which makes Cain angry. In my mind it's a classic story of sibling rivalry resulting from a symbolic father figure whom both Cain and Abel are trying to please.
"Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let us go out to the field." And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" He said, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?" And the Lord said, "What have you done? Listen; your brother's 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's blood from your hand." (Gen:4.8-11)
If you look at the information given so far not one person has ever died before. This brings in to question whether or not Cain knew that he could even kill Abel.
""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." Cain said to the Lord, "My 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." Then the Lord said to him, "Not so! Whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold vengeance." 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." (Gen:12-16)
Even as God curses Cain he then places a mark on him so that no one who comes upon him will kill him.
"'Cain', derives from a Hebrew word for create, "qanah"... The name 'Abel' is the same word translated as 'vanity' (or 'emptiness') in the book of Ecclesiastes." (New Oxford Annotated Bible, 4th ed.)
Cain and Abel might be one of the most powerful stories in Genesis. If looked at with literary criticism, these first two stories might be instruction manuals to parents.
1) Adam and Eve - the story of children coming of age, learning about their "nakedness"
2) Cain and Abel - a story of sibling rivalry. Could very well be a warning not to favor one child over another.
Here is another excerpt from Children of Eden by Stephen Schwartz. This is an interesting take on the story of Cain and Abel.
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