Cain and Abel #8
The commonly told story tells us that Cain killed Abel because he was jealous that God accepted Abel’s offering but not his own. But does the Hebrew Bible support this story? Why did Cain kill Abel?
Continue readingMonth: November 2021
The Old Testament and The Satan
Recently, I have been asked a few times if Satan appears in the Old Testament, and what does it mean: is it the Devil or a fallen angel like in the New Testament, or does it mean something different altogether?
Reign over the sin: The First Commandment
Cain and Abel #7
This is the second post about Gen 4:7. In the previous one, we discussed whether doing good deeds guarantees a reward (at least in this world). Here, the verse continues to discuss the concept of sin, warn us from his lust, and gives us the commandment us to reign over it.
Continue readingAre We Rewarded for Good Deeds?
Cain and Abel #6
Gen 4:7 is one of the most powerful verses in the Bible.
After rejecting Cain’s offering, God speaks to him and gives him a paradox to contemplate, a paradox that should guide him, and every person, throughout our lives. This verse, as we will see in a follow up post, also defines sin, and instructs us how we must deal with it.
But before we can continue to verse 7, let’s start with verse 6.
Continue readingCain and his offering. Does God Discriminate?
Cain and Abel #5
By now (Genesis 4:4-5) we already know that the two brothers are making offering to God. Cain brings from his labour in the field, and Abel, the shepherd, from is herd. Does God discriminate Cain by rejecting his offering?
Command or Prediction? The disputed Female Role in the Bible
This post is outside the normal sequence, but as I was asked this in one of the comment, I decided it was important enough to turn it into a post.
The question was about Gen 3:16. Does it really mean that women should be controlled by their men, as many man have used this verse to justify their behaviour. How does the Hebrew Bible describe the female role? Below is my answer.
Cain and Abel – The Offerings
Cain and Abel #4
In this part we discuss Cain ’s and Abel’s offerings, as described in Gen 4 verses 3 and the first half of verse 4. You may ask what gives me the right to arbitrarily split the text as I wish. This is a good question. But as the division of the text into verses is not part of the original Bible, but was added much later, I feel that other than the verses should be taken as bookmarks rather than hints to understanding the text. We should not be constrained by them.
This part of the story is written in a straightforward, non-ambiguous, fashion. It leaves little to questioning. That is, nearly all of it.
| ג וַיְהִי, מִקֵּץ יָמִים; וַיָּבֵא קַיִן מִפְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה, מִנְחָה–לַיהוָה. ד וְהֶבֶל הֵבִיא גַם-הוּא מִבְּכֹרוֹת צֹאנוֹ, וּמֵחֶלְבֵהֶן; | |
|---|---|
| And it came to pass | וַיְהִי |
| At the end of days – in the Bible days can refer to unspecific period, and not necessarily 12 or 24 hours. | מִקֵּץ יָמִים |
| And Cain brought from the fruit of the land | וַיָּבֵא קַיִן מִפְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה |
| Offering to God | מִנְחָה—לַיהוָה |
| And Abel he also brought | וְהֶבֶל הֵבִיא גַם–הוּא |
| From first born of his herd and their milk | מִבְּכֹרוֹת צֹאנוֹ, וּמֵחֶלְבֵהֶן |
| 3 And it came to pass at the end of days, and Cain brought from the fruit of the land offering to God, 4 and Abel, too, brought from the first born of his herd and their milk |