Cain and Abel in Text and Tradition: Jewish and Christian Interpretations of the First Sibling Rivalry

275 Pages·2011·1.16 MB·English

by  John Byron

Cain and Abel in Text and Tradition
Themes in
Biblical Narrative
Jewish and Christian Traditions
Editorial Board
George H. van Kooten
Robert A. Kugler
Loren T. Stuckenbruck
Advisory Board
Reinhard Feldmeier
Judith Lieu
Florentino García Martínez
Hindy Najman
Martti Nissinen
Ed Noort
VOLUME 14

Cover illustration: Petrus Plancius, Tabula Geographica, in qua Iisraelitarum ab Ægypto
ad Kenahanæum [. . .], Amsterdam, around 1590
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Byron, John, 1967–
Cain and Abel in text and tradition : Jewish and Christian interpretations of the first
sibling rivalry / by John Byron.
p. cm. — (Themes in biblical narrative Jewish and Christian traditions, 1388–3909 ;
v. 14)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-90-04-19252-2 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Cain (Biblical figure) 2. Abel
(Biblical figure) 3. Bible. O.T. Genesis IV—Criticism, interpretation, etc—History.
4. Bible. O.T. Genesis IV—Criticism, interpretation, etc., Jewish—History. I. Title.
II. Series.
BS580.C3B97 2011
222’.110609—dc22
2010047643
ISSN 1388-3909
ISBN 978 90 04 19252 2
Copyright 2011 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing,
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CONTENTS
Introduction ........................................................................................ 1
1. Like Father, Like Son ................................................................... 11
Genesis 4:1–2
2. Rejected Offering—Dejected Person ......................................... 39
Genesis 4:3–7
3. Crime and Punishment ............................................................... 63
Genesis 4:8–10
4. Far as the Curse is Found ........................................................... 93
Genesis 4:11–16
5. Raising Cain .................................................................................. 123
Genesis 4:17–26
6. The Blood of Righteous Abel ..................................................... 167
7. The Way of Cain .......................................................................... 207
Bibliography ........................................................................................ 245
Index of Ancient Texts
I. Jewish Texts ................................................................................ 257
II. Christian Texts ........................................................................... 264
III. Greek and Latin Pagan Texts .................................................. 268

INTRODUCTION
A story of firsts
The story of Cain and Abel is a story of firsts. Readers of the Bible are
accustomed to hearing that the first ever recorded murder happened
in Genesis 4. But that notorious act was only one among a number of
“firsts” in biblical history that are located in Genesis 4. The declaration
in 4:1 that “Adam knew Eve” is the first act of sexual intercourse in
the Bible. Eve’s subsequent pregnancy and bearing of two sons repre-
sents the first time that human beings appear on the earth devoid of a
creative act by God. In Gen 3:17 Adam’s role as farmer is thrust upon
him by God as part of the cursing of the earth, whereas the mention
of Cain and Abel’s activities as farmer and shepherd is the first time
that human beings chose their occupation (4:2). The account of the
b rothers’ sacrifice is the earliest presentation of deity worship in the
Bible. It is also the first ever account of God rejecting a worshipper’s
offering. While Adam and Eve both clearly disobeyed God by par-
taking of the forbidden fruit, their act is never labeled as “sin.” The
first appearance of the word “sin” is in Gen 4:7 when God imparts a
warning to Cain. Genesis 4 is also the first time a human being dies.
In spite of the fact that God forbid Adam to eat from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil and warned him that “in that day you eat
of it you shall die,” he lives to the ripe age of 930 (Gen 2:17; 5:5). The
first person to die is Abel at the hands of his brother, which is also the
first time that blood is mentioned in the Bible (4:10–11). Strangely,
the first murder is accompanied by the first promise of divine protec-
tion that allows the murderer to go off, raise a family and build the
first recorded city (4:15–17). Among other notable firsts that appear in
this chapter are: a genealogy, bigamy, vendettas, exile, and the appear-
ance of music and metallurgy. The Cain and Abel story provides the
genesis for a number of biblical topics.
On the other hand, the story generates more questions than answers.
The initial, perhaps most puzzling question is: Why did God reject
Cain’s sacrifice? What was it about Abel’s offering that pleased God
more than that of Cain? Following upon that question would be the
mystery of why Cain killed Abel. While commentators ancient and
2 introduction
modern suggest that it was because Cain was jealous of Abel, the Bible
provides no more a specific reason for the murder than it does for what
makes Abel’s sacrifice better than Cain’s. The Bible simply is silent on
both of those topics. Even when details are provided, they often raise
questions rather than provide answers. For instance, why should the
first murderer receive divine protection and be allowed to marry, raise
a family and initiate a monumental building project? How, in light of
the crime, is this justice for murdered Abel? Even more significantly,
what does this say about God and the way that the affairs of the world
are handled by the divine?
The more one digs into these questions the more theological dilem-
mas appear to bedevil the interpreter. Moreover, these are questions
that are formulated by a mere cursory reading of the text. A critical
analysis of the story, with the aid of the original languages, reveals a
host of problems. Gaps in details, unusual terminology, and tortured
syntax add to the confusing mix one encounters when trying to read, let
alone interpret and understand, this story. One would think that such
an important story detailing the origins of so many things from sex to
city planning would have been put together rather more carefully.
How ancient exegetes interpreted the Bible
We would be presumptuous, of course, to assume that modern inter-
preters are the first to notice the difficulties latent in the story. In fact,
the questions raised above have been with translators and interpret-
ers from the beginning. If anything, they were more familiar with
the interpretive challenges presented by Genesis 4 than most modern
students of the Bible usually appreciate. Generally speaking, modern
readers of the Bible are not aware of the numerous attempts to answer
these and other questions. Sometimes the answers that are so read-
ily accepted in the modern age are not appreciated for their antiq-
uity. For instance, the oft-repeated explanation that Cain’s wife was
his sister has been part of the interpretive history of Genesis 4 for
at least 1800 years. The result of these types of encounters between
the story and interpreters is a set of well-documented traditions that
attempt to answer questions generated by the story and not answered
by the author. The very nature of the story, indeed of the whole Bible,
requires that every encounter be an act of reading that includes, at the
same time, the process of interpretation.
introduction 3
One curious aspect of ancient interpretation that might strike mod-
ern students as peculiar, if not suspect, is the practice of expanding
and/or reworking the story in order to smooth out wrinkles in the
text. On the micro-level this might include the addition of a word or
phrase to clarify an ambiguous detail in the story. On the macro-level
it can include the insertion of large amounts of previously unknown
material like a conversation or an additional scene that helps to bring
the story to a more satisfactory conclusion. This tendency in biblical
interpretation played an integral part in the exegesis of the Bible and
has sometime been referred to as “rewritten Bible.”1 Unlike modern
interpreters, Jewish and Christian exegetes were not inhibited about
altering, expanding or even contracting the biblical text. This process
occurs within the Bible itself. The author of 1 Chronicles 21, uncom-
fortable with the 2 Samuel 24 portrayal of God inciting David to num-
ber the people of Israel, and thus causing a devastating plague, adjusts
the story subtly, yet significantly, by saying that it was Satan, not God,
who caused David to commit this foolish act.2 Similarly, in 2 Tim 3:8
we are told the names of the magicians who challenged Moses in Pha-
raoh’s court, a detail that cannot be found anywhere in Exodus.
Those who were heirs of the biblical traditions felt the same if not
greater freedom. A modern student of the Bible would be quite sur-
prised by some of the expansion and editing of a well-known biblical
story. For instance, in Exodus we read that Moses was adopted by the
daughter of Pharaoh and that he lived with her in the palace. Josephus
expands this part of the story in several ways including a large section
detailing how Moses, at the head of the Egyptian army, defeated the
Ethiopians (Ant. 2.238–253). Similarly, the story of the Golden Calf in
Exodus has been reworked in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan so that when
Moses sees the crowd dancing before the cow he also sees Satan in
the middle.3 In Genesis we read that Jacob produced children through
1 The term seems to have been coined by Geza Vermes (Post-Biblical Jewish Studies
[SJLA 8; Leiden: Brill, 1975]). I am using the term as a matter of convenience rather
than as a technical designation for the process of interpretation in antiquity or for a
particular genre of literature. I am not attempting to add or subtract from the debate
around the appropriateness of the term and its ramifications for the study of “Bible”
and “canon.”
2 The Chronicler also edits out the story of David’s affair with Bathsheba and mur-
der of her husband Uriah. The result is that the reader of 1 and 2 Chronicles thinks
that Solomon’s parents came together under “normal” circumstances.
3 Pirqe Rabbi Eliezer 45 says that Sammael (or Satan) entered the cow and caused
it to dance.