Cain & Abel

The Inner Condition of Man

“Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, ‘I have acquired a man through God.’ Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a shepherd of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. Now in the process of time Cain brought a sacrifice to the Lord from the fruits of the ground. Abel also brought a sacrifice from the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. The Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his sacrifices. So Cain was extremely sorrowful, and his countenance fell. So the Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you extremely sorrowful? And why has your countenance fallen? Did you not sin, even though you brought it rightly, but did not divide it rightly? Be still; his recourse shall be to you; and you shall rule over him.’ Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. Then God said to Cain, ‘Where is Abel your brother?” He replied, ‘I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?’ Thus God said, ‘What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. You will be groaning and trembling on the earth.’ Then Cain said to the Lord. ‘My guilt is too great to be forgiven! Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face; I shall be groaning and trembling on the earth. Then it will happen if anyone finds me, he will kill me.’ So the Lord God said to him, ‘Not so! Whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.’ Thus the Lord set a sign on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him. Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod opposite Eden.” Genesis 4:1-16

Modern Judaism takes two basic lessons from this story. First, perhaps not the major emphasis, is that Cain’s offering is less generous than Abel’s. This is understandable considering the future law given to Moses. They also view the murder of Abel as particularly reprehensible, and of all murders for that matter, because all potential future generations of Abel’s offspring are likewise eliminated. For a Jew, all murder is mass murder. Thus the mere murder of Abel, could have resulted in the murder of say, 6 million offsprings. Additionally, due to the brotherhood of man, just like this first murder in mankind’s history, all murders are from one brother to another. 

For the Orthodox Church, the core meaning of the story is related to the consequence of the fall. Cain’s sacrifice wasn’t accepted because of the physical or technical quality of the sacrifice that he offered, but rather because he did not “divide it rightly.” That means God didn’t accept the sacrifice because of the condition of Cain’s heart, his ill intention.