1Adam potom poznal svoju ženu Evu a ona počala a porodila Kaina, a povedala: „Získala som človeka od Pána.“ 2A opäť porodila - jeho brata, Ábela. Ábel bol pastier oviec, Kain roľník. 3Po nejakom čase Kain priniesol obetu Pánovi z poľných plodín. 4Aj Ábel obetoval podobne z prvotín svojich oviec, z tých najtučnejších. A Pán zhliadol na Ábela a na jeho obetu. 5Na Kaina však a na jeho obetu nezhliadol. Kain sa veľmi rozhneval a zamračila sa mu tvár. 6Tu povedal Pán Kainovi: „Prečo sa hneváš a prečo sa ti zamračila tvár? 7Či nie je to takto: Ak robíš dobre, môžeš sa vystrieť, ale ak dobre nerobíš, číha hriech pri dverách a sleduje ťa jeho žiadostivosť, a predsa ty ju máš ovládať?“ 8Tu Kain povedal svojmu bratovi Ábelovi: „Vyjdime si von!“ A keď boli na poli, napadol Kain svojho brata Ábela a zabil ho. 9A Pán povedal Kainovi: „Kde je tvoj brat Ábel?“ On však odvetil: „Neviem. Či som ja strážca svojho brata?“ 10Pán povedal: „Čo si to urobil?! Hlas krvi tvojho brata hlasno volá zo zeme ku mne. 11Buď teraz prekliaty zo zeme, ktorá otvorila ústa, aby pila krv tvojho brata z tvojich rúk! 12Keď budeš obrábať pôdu, neprinesie ti nijakú úrodu. Budeš nestály a túlavý na zemi.“ 13Kain povedal Pánovi: „Môj zločin je väčší, než aby mi bol odpustený. 14Hľa, ty ma dnes odháňaš od zeme a budem sa skrývať pred tvojou tvárou; nestály a túlavý budem na zemi. A ktokoľvek ma nájde, zabije ma.“ 15Pán mu však povedal: „Nie tak! Lebo každý, kto zabije Kaina, sedemnásobnú pomstu si odnesie!“ Potom Pán urobil Kainovi znak, aby ho nik, kto ho nájde, nezabil. 16A Kain sa vzdialil od Pána a zdržoval sa v kraji Nod na východ od Edenu. 17A Kain poznal svoju ženu a ona počala, a porodila Henocha. Potom vystaval mesto a nazval ho menom svojho syna Henocha. 18Henochovi sa narodil zasa Irad, Iradovi Maviel, Mavielovi Matusael a Matusaelovi Lamech. 19Lamech si vzal dve ženy. Jedna mala meno Ada a druhá mala meno Sela. 20Ada porodila Jabela; on je praotcom tých, čo bývajú v stanoch a chovajú dobytok. 21Meno jeho brata bolo Jubal. On je praotcom všetkých, čo hrajú na citare a na flaute. 22Aj Sela porodila Tubalkaina, kováča, ktorý robil všelijaké veci z medi a zo železa. Tubalkainova sestra bola Noema. 23Raz povedal Lamech svojim ženám, Ade a Sele: „Počujte môj hlas, Lamechove ženy, nakloňte sluch k mojej reči! Zabijem muža, ktorý ma poraní, a mládenca, ktorý ma udrie. 24Sedem ráz pomstený bude Kain, Lamech však sedemdesiatsedem ráz.“ 25Adam opäť poznal svoju ženu a ona porodila syna, a dala mu meno Set, hovoriac: „Veď Boh mi nahradil iného potomka namiesto Ábela, ktorého zabil Kain.“ 26Aj Setovi sa narodil syn a dal mu meno Enos. Vtedy sa začalo vzývať meno Pánovo.
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.