1I poznal člověk svou ženu Evu a ta otěhotněla a porodila Kaina. Řekla: Vytvořila jsem muže s Hospodinem. 2Dále porodila jeho bratra Ábela. Ábel se stal pastýřem ovcí, ale Kain se stal rolníkem. 3Po nějakém čase se stalo, že Kain přinesl z plodů země obětní dar Hospodinu. 4I Ábel obětoval, avšak on přinesl z prvorozených svého stáda a z nich ty tučné části. A Hospodin shlédl na Ábela a na jeho obětní dar, 5ale na Kaina a na jeho obětní dar neshlédl. Kain vzplanul velikým hněvem a jeho tvář opadla. 6Hospodin Kainovi řekl: Proč jsi vzplanul hněvem a proč tvoje tvář opadla? 7Cožpak nebudeš pozdvižen, budeš-li jednat správně? A jestli nebudeš jednat správně, ve dveřích číhá hřích. Dychtí po tobě, ale ty nad ním máš vládnout. 8Kain řekl svému bratru Ábelovi: Pojďme na pole. A stalo se, když byli na poli, že Kain povstal proti svému bratru Ábelovi a zabil ho. 9Hospodin řekl Kainovi: Kde je tvůj bratr Ábel? On odpověděl: Nevím. Cožpak jsem strážcem svého bratra? 10Hospodin řekl: Cos to udělal? Slyš, krev tvého bratra ke mně křičí ze země! 11A nyní budeš proklet a vyvržen ze země, která otevřela svá ústa, aby ze tvé ruky přijala krev tvého bratra. 12Když budeš obdělávat zemi, již ti nevydá svou sílu. Budeš na zemi bezdomovcem a tulákem. 13Kain Hospodinu odpověděl: Můj trest je větší, než se dá unést. 14Hle, dnes jsi mne vyhnal z povrchu země a před tvou tváří se budu muset ukrývat. Budu na zemi bezdomovcem a tulákem a každý, kdo mě najde, mne bude moci zabít. 15Hospodin mu řekl: Ne tak. Kdokoliv by Kaina zabil, přivodí si sedminásobnou pomstu. A Hospodin vložil na Kaina znamení, aby ho nikdo, kdo ho najde, nezabil. 16Kain odešel od Hospodina a pobýval v zemi Nódu na východ od Edenu. 17I poznal Kain svou ženu, ta otěhotněla a porodila Henocha. Pak stavěl město a nazval jméno toho města podle jména svého syna Henocha. 18Henochovi se narodil Írad, Írad zplodil Mechújáela, Mechújáel zplodil Metúšáela, Metúšáel zplodil Lámecha. 19Lámech si vzal dvě ženy. Jméno jedné bylo Áda a jméno druhé Sila. 20Áda porodila Jábala, který se stal otcem těch, kdo bydlí ve stanu a chovají dobytek. 21Jeho bratr se jmenoval Júbal. Ten se stal otcem všech hrajících na lyru a flétnu. 22A Sila, ta také porodila: Túbal-kaina, kováře všech bronzových a železných nástrojů. Túbal-kainova sestra byla Naama. 23I řekl Lámech svým ženám: Ádo a Silo, slyšte můj hlas! Ženy Lámechovy, naslouchejte mé řeči! Neboť jsem zabil muže za svou modřinu, chlapce za svůj šrám. 24Jestliže Kain bude pomstěn sedminásobně, Lámech sedmdesátisedminásobně. 25Adam znovu poznal svou ženu, ta porodila syna a dala mu jméno Šét, neboť řekla: Bůh mi vložil dalšího potomka místo Ábela, jehož zabil Kain. 26A Šétovi, také jemu se narodil syn. Dal mu jméno Enóš. Tehdy začalo vzývání Hospodinova jména.
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 (
Ψαλ. 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 (
Γέν. 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" [
Γέν. 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
Γέν. 15:17;
Κρ. 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
Ωσ. 4:8;
2Κορ. 5:21;
Εβρ. 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 (
Εβρ. 11:4).
unto thee shall be his desire--The high distinction conferred by priority of birth is described (
Γέν. 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 (
1Ιωάν. 3:12;
Ιούδ. 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 (
Ματθ. 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.