![]() ![]() ‘Cain’ is from a root word meaning ‘forge’ or ‘smith’, and is cognate with the Arabic kain, which means the same thing. The Dictionary of the Bible even points to sources which tell us that certain castes were forbidden to keep cattle we can see how this would lead to their resentment of other castes who could do so, and profited as a result.īut a clue to the origins of the Cain and Abel story may also lie in the symbolic meanings of the brothers’ two names. ![]() This has been analysed as a reference to God’s preference for animal sacrifice as an offering, but it may also allude to the wretched life to which a particular group was reduced when their crops failed, and they were forced to make a living by doing smith work (see below) for other tribes. Cain’s crops are deemed unsatisfactory by God, while Abel’s sheep are received enthusiastically. ![]() Let’s begin with the incident involving the offerings of the ‘fruits’ of the field (i.e., Cain’s crops) and Abel’s sheep. The clue to the deeper meaning of the story of Cain and Abel perhaps rests on two aspects of the narrative: the offering to God which Cain produces, and God is displeased with and the clues provided by the etymologies of the two brothers’ names. But what does the story mean? It’s often taken to be an injunction against murder, but that doesn’t get us very far, beyond a fairly self-evident moral point. So, these two accounts must belong to different traditions. ![]()
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