1A Adam poznal Evu, svoju ženu, a počala a porodila Kaina, a riekla: Nadobudla som muža s JeHoVaHom. 2A zase porodila jeho brata Ábela. A Ábel pásol ovce, a Kain obrábal zem. 3A stalo sa po čase, že Kain doniesol JeHoVaHovi obetný dar z plodu zeme: 4A doniesol aj Ábel z prvorodených svojho stáda a z ich tuku. A JeHoVaH pohliadol milostive na Ábela a na jeho obetný dar. 5Ale na Kaina ani na jeho obetný dar nepohliadol, a preto sa Kain veľmi rozpálil hnevom, tak, že opadla jeho tvár. 6A JeHoVaH riekol Kainovi: Prečo si sa rozpálil hnevom, a prečo opadla tvoja tvár? 7Či, keď budeš dobre robiť, nebude povznesená a veselá? A keď nebudeš dobre robiť, hriech leží pri dveriach, a jeho túžba sa nesie po tebe. Ale ty budeš panovať nad ním! 8Na to zase hovoril Kain s Ábelom, svojím bratom. Ale stalo sa potom, keď boli na poli, že povstal Kain na Ábela, svojho brata, a zabil ho. 9A JeHoVaH riekol Kainovi: Kde je Ábel, tvoj brat? A Kain povedal: Neviem. Či som ja strážcom svojho brata? 10A JeHoVaH riekol: Čo si to urobil? Hlas krvi tvojho brata volá ku mne zo zeme! 11A ty teraz budeš zlorečený nad tú zem, ktorá otvorila svoje ústa, aby prijala krv tvojho brata z tvojej ruky. 12Keď budeš obrábať zem, nebude ti viacej vydávať svojej sily. Behúňom a tulákom budeš na zemi. 13Vtedy povedal Kain JeHoVaHovi: Moja neprávosť je väčšia, než aby mi mohla byť odpustená. 14Hľa, zaháňaš ma dnes s tvári zeme a zpred svojej tvári, budem sa skrývať a budem tulákom a behúňom na zemi, a stane sa, že ktokoľvek ma najde, zabije ma. 15A JeHoVaH mu riekol: Pre tú príčinu, ktokoľvek by zabil Kaina, na tom bude pomstené sedemnásobne. A JeHoVaH položil znamenie na Kaina, aby ho nikto nezabil, nech by ho našiel ktokoľvek. 16A tak vyšiel Kain zpred tvári JeHoVaHovej a býval v zemi Nóda východne od Édena. 17A Kain poznal svoju ženu, a počala a porodila Hanocha. A staväl mesto a nazval meno mesta podľa mena svojho syna Hanochom. 18A Hanochovi sa narodil Irád, a Irád splodil Mechujaela, a Mechijael splodil Metušaela, a Matušael splodil Lámecha. 19A Lámech si vzal dve ženy; jednej bolo meno Ada, a meno druhej bolo Cilla. 20A Ada porodila Jabala; ten bol otcom tých, ktorí bývajú v stánoch a pasú stádo. 21A meno jeho brata bolo Júbal; ten bol otcom všetkých, ktorí hrajú na harfu a pískajú na píšťalu. 22I Cilla porodila Tubalkaina, kováča, otca to všetkých, ktorí pracujú z medi a zo železa. A sestra Tubalkainova bola Naama. 23A Lámech povedal svojim ženám, Ade a Cille: Počujte môj hlas, ženy Lámechove! Ušima pozorujte moju reč! Lebo som zabil muža pre svoju ranu a mládenca pre svoju modrinu. 24Lebo vraj sedem ráz má byť pomstený Kain, ale pre Lámecha bude pomstené sedemdesiatsedem ráz! 25A Adam ešte poznal svoju ženu, a porodila syna a nazvala jeho meno Set, lebo vraj Bôh mi dal náhradou iné semä namiesto Ábela, keď ho zabil Kain. 26I Setovi sa narodil syn, a nazval jeho meno Enoš. Vtedy začali vzývať meno JeHoVaHovo.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 BIRTH OF CAIN AND ABEL. (Gen. 4:1-26)
Eve said, I have gotten a man from the Lord--that is, "by the help of the Lord"--an expression of pious gratitude--and she called him Cain, that is, "a possession," as if valued above everything else; while the arrival of another son reminding Eve of the misery she had entailed on her offspring, led to the name Abel, that is, either weakness, vanity (
Ps 39:5), or grief, lamentation. Cain and Abel were probably twins; and it is thought that, at this early period, children were born in pairs (
Gen 5:4) [CALVIN].
2 Abel was a keeper of sheep--literally, "a feeder of a flock," which, in Oriental countries, always includes goats as well as sheep. Abel, though the younger, is mentioned first, probably on account of the pre-eminence of his religious character.
3 in process of time--Hebrew, "at the end of days," probably on the Sabbath.
brought . . . an offering unto the Lord--Both manifested, by the very act of offering, their faith in the being of God and in His claims to their reverence and worship; and had the kind of offering been left to themselves, what more natural than that the one should bring "of the fruits of the ground," and that the other should bring "of the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof" [
Gen 4:4].
4 the Lord had respect unto Abel, not unto Cain, &c.--The words, "had respect to," signify in Hebrew,--"to look at any thing with a keen earnest glance," which has been translated, "kindle into a fire," so that the divine approval of Abel's offering was shown in its being consumed by fire (see
Gen 15:17;
Judg 13:20).
7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?--A better rendering is, "Shalt thou not have the excellency"? which is the true sense of the words referring to the high privileges and authority belonging to the first-born in patriarchal times.
sin lieth at the door--sin, that is, a sin offering--a common meaning of the word in Scripture (as in
Hos 4:8;
2Cor 5:21;
Heb 9:28). The purport of the divine rebuke to Cain was this, "Why art thou angry, as if unjustly treated? If thou doest well (that is, wert innocent and sinless) a thank offering would have been accepted as a token of thy dependence as a creature. But as thou doest not well (that is, art a sinner), a sin offering is necessary, by bringing which thou wouldest have met with acceptance and retained the honors of thy birthright." This language implies that previous instructions had been given as to the mode of worship; Abel offered through faith (
Heb 11:4).
unto thee shall be his desire--The high distinction conferred by priority of birth is described (
Gen 27:29); and it was Cain's conviction, that this honor had been withdrawn from him, by the rejection of his sacrifice, and conferred on his younger brother--hence the secret flame of jealousy, which kindled into a settled hatred and fell revenge.
8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother--Under the guise of brotherly familiarity, he concealed his premeditated purpose till a convenient time and place occurred for the murder (
1John 3:12;
Jude 1:11).
9 I know not--a falsehood. One sin leads to another.
10 the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me--Cain, to lull suspicion, had probably been engaging in the solemnities of religion when he was challenged directly from the Shekinah itself.
11 now art thou cursed from the earth--a curse superadded to the general one denounced on the ground for Adam's sin.
12 a fugitive--condemned to perpetual exile; a degraded outcast; the miserable victim of an accusing conscience.
13 And Cain said . . . My punishment is greater than I can bear--What an overwhelming sense of misery; but no sign of penitence, nor cry for pardon.
14 every one that findeth me shall slay me--This shows that the population of the world was now considerably increased.
15 whosoever slayeth Cain--By a special act of divine forbearance, the life of Cain was to be spared in the then small state of the human race.
set a mark--not any visible mark or brand on his forehead, but some sign or token of assurance that his life would be preserved. This sign is thought by the best writers to have been a wild ferocity of aspect that rendered him an object of universal horror and avoidance.
16 presence of the Lord--the appointed place of worship at Eden. Leaving it, he not only severed himself from his relatives but forsook the ordinances of religion, probably casting off all fear of God from his eyes so that the last end of this man is worse than the first (
Matt 12:45).
land of Nod--of flight or exile--thought by many to have been Arabia-Petrća--which was cursed to sterility on his account.
17 builded a city--It has been in cities that the human race has ever made the greatest social progress; and several of Cain's descendants distinguished themselves by their inventive genius in the arts.
19 Lamech took unto him two wives--This is the first transgression of the law of marriage on record, and the practice of polygamy, like all other breaches of God's institutions, has been a fruitful source of corruption and misery.
23 Lamech said unto his wives--This speech is in a poetical form, probably the fragment of an old poem, transmitted to the time of Moses. It seems to indicate that Lamech had slain a man in self-defense, and its drift is to assure his wives, by the preservation of Cain, that an unintentional homicide, as he was, could be in no danger.
26 men began to call upon the name of the Lord--rather, by the name of the Lord. God's people, a name probably applied to them in contempt by the world.