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{{About|the first and second sons of Adam and Eve}}
{{redirect-multi|3|Abel|Cain|My Brother's Keeper}}
[[File:Peter Paul Rubens - Cain slaying Abel, 1608-1609.jpg|thumb|''Cain slaying Abel'' by [[Peter Paul Rubens]]]]
In Abrahamic religions '''Cain and Abel''' ({{Lang-he-n|הֶבֶל ,קַיִן}} ''Qayin'', ''Heḇel''; {{Lang-ar|قابيل، هابيل}} ''Qābīl'', ''Hābīl'') were two of the sons of [[Adam and Eve]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Graves |first1=Robert |last2=Patai |first2=Raphael|date=2014 |title=Hebrew Myths: The Book of Genesis |publisher=RosettaBooks |isbn=978-0795337154 |page=PT92|url=https:books.google.com/books?id=4sqWAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT92#v=snippet&q=%22Cain%20and%20Abel%22&f=false}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Schwartz |first1=Howard |last2=Loebel-Fried |first2=Caren |last3=Ginsburg |first3=Elliot K. |date=2004 |title=Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0195358704 |page=447 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=60iVk1p8Y9IC&pg=PA447#v=snippet&q=Cain%20Abel&f=false}}</ref> They worked as food producers for their family; Cain was a crop farmer, and Abel was a shepherd. When they sacrificed to God, He favored Abel's sacrifice over Cain's. Later, Cain killed Abel, committing the first murder. God expelled Cain, but lightened his punishment after Cain complained that his original punishment was too difficult to bear. Cain was the first person born, and Abel was the first to die.
The motives for Cain's crime are typically assumed by interpreters to be [[Seven deadly sins#Envy|envy]] and [[Seven deadly sins#Wrath|wrath]].<ref name="Kim,20012">{{harvnb|Byron|2011|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=NnnVmbnE-TcC&pg=PA11#v=onepage&q=Cain%20envy%20Abel%20Kim%20first%20murderer&f=false 11]}}: Anglea Y. Kim, "Cain and Abel in the Light of Envy: A Study of the History of the Interpretation of Envy in Genesis 4:1-16," ''JSP'' (2001), p.65-84</ref>
== Genesis narrative ==
[[File:Cain leadeth abel to death tissot.jpg|thumb|''Cain leadeth Abel to death'', by [[James Tissot]]]]
[[Hebrew Bible]] version:
{{quote|<sup>1</sup>Adam knew his wife Eve intimately, and she conceived and bore Cain. She said, "I have had a male child with the Lord's help."{{Cref|a}}
<sup>2</sup>Then she also gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel became a shepherd of a flock, but Cain cultivated the land.
<sup>3</sup>In the course of time Cain presented some of the land's produce as an offering to the Lord.
<sup>4</sup>And Abel also presented [an offering]{{Cref|b}}
– some of the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions.{{Cref|c}}
The Lord had regard for Abel and his offering,
<sup>5</sup>but He did not have regard for Cain and his offering. Cain was furious, and he was downcast.<ref>Lit. and his face fell. ''Holman Christian Standard Bible''.{{citation needed|date=May 2016}}</ref>
<sup>6</sup>Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you furious? And why are you downcast?
<sup>7</sup>If you do right, won't you be accepted? But if you do not do right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must master it."
<sup>8</sup>Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field."<ref>[[Samaritan Pentateuch|Sam]], [[Septuagint|LXX]], [[Peshitta|Syr]], [[Vulgate Bible|Vg]]; [[Masoretic Text|MT]] omits Let's go out to the field. ''HCSB''.</ref>
And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.|Genesis 4:1–8 ([[Holman Christian Standard Bible]])}}
The [[Septuagint]], an early Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, offers an alternative version of the seventh verse:
{{quote|If you offer properly, but divide improperly, have you not sinned? Be still; to you shall he submit, and you shall rule over him.<ref>Genesis 4:7, ''LXX''</ref>}}
Later in the narrative, God asks Cain, "Where is Abel thy brother?" Cain replies, "I know not: am I my brother's keeper?"
{{Quote|And he said, "What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now [art] thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth." (Genesis 4:10–12)}}
=== Origins ===
[[File:Bouguereau-The First Mourning-1888.jpg|right|thumb|''[[The First Mourning]]'' (Adam and Eve mourn the death of Abel); oil on canvas 1888 painting by [[William-Adolphe Bouguereau]]]]
Cain and Abel are traditional [[transliteration|English renderings]] of the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] names ''Qayin'' ({{Hebrew|[[wikt:קין|קין]]}}) and ''Hevel'' ({{Hebrew|[[wikt:הבל|הבל]]}}). The original text did not provide vowels. It has been proposed that the etymology of their names may be a direct pun on the roles they take in the Genesis narrative. ''Abel'' is thought to derive from a reconstructed word meaning "herdsman", with the modern [[Arabic]] [[cognate]] ''ibil'' now specifically referring only to "camels". ''Cain'' is thought to be cognate to the mid-1st millennium BC [[Yemen|South Arabian]] word ''qyn'', meaning "[[metalsmith]]".<ref>Richard S. Hess, ''Studies in the Personal Names of Genesis 1–11'', pp. 24–25. ISBN 3-7887-1478-6.</ref> This theory would make the names descriptive of their roles, where Abel works with [[livestock]], and Cain with [[agriculture]]—and would parallel the names Adam ("man," אדם) and Eve ("life-giver," חוה ''Chavah'').
The oldest known copy of the biblical narrative is from the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]], and dates to the first century BC.<ref>(4QGen<sup>b</sup> = 4Q242) The Dead Sea Scrolls were inspected using [[infra-red]] photography and published by Jim R Davila as part of his doctoral dissertation in 1988. See: Jim R Davila, ''Unpublished Pentateuchal Manuscripts from Cave IV Qumran: 4QGenExa, 4QGenb-h, j-k'', unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Harvard University, 1988.</ref><ref>[http://paleojudaica.blogspot.com/2003_07_20_archive.html PaeleoJudaica], Davila's blog post [search for 4QGenb].</ref> Cain and Abel also appear in a number of other texts,<ref>[[Book of Jubilees|Jubilees]] 4:31; [[Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs|Patriarchs]], Benjamin 7; [[Book of Enoch|Enoch]] 22:7.</ref> and the story is the subject of various interpretations.<ref>[[Irenaeus]], ''[[On the Detection and Overthrow of the So-Called Gnosis|Adversus Haereses]]'' 1:7:5 (''c''. 180) describes (unfavourably) a [[Gnostic]] interpretation. [[Church Fathers]], [[Rabbinic literature|Rabbinic commentators]] and more recent scholars have also proposed interpretations.</ref> Abel, the first murder victim, is sometimes seen as the first [[martyr]];<ref>Notably by [[Jesus]] of Nazareth as quoted by {{Bibleref2|Matthew|23:35}} (mid 1st century), "The blood of righteous Abel," in a reference to many martyrs.</ref> while Cain, the first murderer, is sometimes seen as an ancestor of [[evil]].<ref>[[Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer]] 21 (''c''. 833) and others.</ref> Some scholars suggest the [[pericope]] may have been based on a [[Sumer]]ian story representing the conflict between nomadic shepherds and settled farmers.<ref>Transliteration of original language version: [http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=c.4.08.33&display=Crit&charenc=gcirc&lineid=c40833.40#c40833.40 Dumuzid and Enkimdu] at ''Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature'' (ETCSL) founded by [[Jeremy Black (Assyriologist)|Jeremy Allen Black]] from [[Oxford University]]. English translation at {{cite web|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/ane/sum/sum09.htm|title=Chapter IV. Miscellaneous myths: Inanna prefers the farmer|publisher=Sacred Texts|accessdate=2007-10-09}}</ref> Modern scholars typically view the stories of [[Adam and Eve]] and Cain and Abel to be about the development of civilization during the age of agriculture; not the beginnings of man, but when people first learned [[agriculture]], replacing the ways of the [[hunter-gatherer]].{{sfn|Kugel|1998|p=54-57}}
=== Cain ===
{{Infobox person
|name= Cain
|image= Cain Henri Vidal Tuileries.jpg
|alt=
|caption= Cain, by [[Henri Vidal (sculptor)|Henri Vidal]], [[Jardin des Tuileries]], [[Paris]]
|death_place=
|nationality=
|other_names=
|occupation=
|known_for= First person that was born; first murderer<ref name="Kim,20012"/>
|spouse= [[Awan (religious figure)|Awan]], who was his sister<ref>{{Citation | title = The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha | volume = 2 | page = 61 | first = James H | last = Charlesworth | year = 2010}}</ref>
|children= [[Enoch (son of Cain)|Enoch]]
|parents= [[Adam and Eve]]
}}
{{Main|Curse and mark of Cain}}
According to the [[Book of Genesis]], Cain ({{Lang-he-n |קַיִן}}, ''Qayin''; [[Koine Greek]] {{lang|grc|Κάιν}}, ''Ka-in'';<ref>[[Novum Testamentum Graece]] (NA27): {{Bibleref2 |Hebrews|11:4}}, {{Bibleref2|1John|3:12}}, {{Bibleref2 |Jude|1:11}}</ref> [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Ethiopian version:]] ''Qayen''; {{lang-ar|'''[[wikt:قابيل|قابيل]]'''}}, ''Qābīl'') is the first child of [[Eve]],{{sfn |Byron |2011|pp=11, 12: {{Bibleverse ||Genesis|4:1|HE}}}} the first murderer, and the first human being to fall under a curse.{{sfn|Byron|2011|p=93}}
According to {{Bibleref2|Genesis|4:1–16|HE}}, Cain treacherously murdered his brother Abel, lied about the murder to God, and as a result was cursed and marked for life.{{sfn|Byron|2011|p=93}} With the earth left cursed to drink Abel's blood, Cain was no longer able to farm the land.{{sfn|Byron|2011 |p=121}} [[Exegesis]] of the Hebrew narrative has Cain punished as a "fugitive and wanderer".{{sfn|Byron|2011|p=97}} Exegesis of the [[Septuagint]]'s narrative, "groaning and shaking upon the earth" has Cain suffering from body tremors.{{sfn|Byron|2011|p=98}} Interpretations extend Cain's curse to his descendants, where they all died in the [[Genesis flood narrative|Great Deluge]] as retribution for the loss of Abel's potential offspring.{{sfn|Byron|2011|p= 122}} Cain's curse involves receiving a mark from God, commonly referred to as the ''[[mark of Cain]]''. This mark serves as God's promise to Cain for divine protection from premature death, with the stated purpose to prevent anyone from killing him. It is not known what the mark is, but it is assumed that the mark is visible.{{sfn|Byron|2011|p=119}}
Cain is also described as a city-builder,<ref>{{Bibleref2|Genesis|4:17}}</ref> and the forefather of tent-dwelling pastoralists, all lyre and pipe players, and the bronze and iron smiths, respectively.<ref>{{Bibleref2 |Genesis|4:19–22}}</ref>
In the [[New Testament]], Cain is cited as an example of unrighteousness in {{Bibleref2|1 John|3:12}} and {{Bibleref2 |Jude|1:11}}. The [[Targumim]], rabbinic sources, and later speculations supplemented background details for the daughters of [[Adam and Eve]].{{sfn|Luttikhuizen|2003|p=vii}} Such [[exegesis]] of Genesis 4 introduced Cain's wife as being his sister, a concept that has been accepted for at least 1800 years.{{sfn|Byron|2011|p=2}} This can be seen with [[Book of Jubilees|Jubilees]] 4 which narrates that Cain settled down and married his sister [[Awan (religious figure)|Awan]], who bore his first son, the first [[Enoch (son of Cain)|Enoch]],{{Efn|Not to be confused with [[Enoch (ancestor of Noah)]].}} approximately 196 years after the creation of [[Adam]]. Cain then establishes the first city, naming it after his son, builds a house, and lives there until it collapses on him, killing him.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/3904-cain |title=Cain |work=Jewish Encyclopedia |accessdate=2014-07-14}}</ref>
In [[Jewish tradition]], [[Philo]], [[Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer]] and the ''[[Targum Pseudo-Jonathan]]'' asserted that Adam was not the father of Cain. Rather, Eve was subject to adultery having been seduced by either [[Samael|Sammael]],{{sfn|Byron|2011|p=17: "And Adam knew about his wife Eve that she had conceived from Sammael" – ''[[Targum Pseudo-Jonathan|Tg.Ps.-J.]]'': Gen.4:1, Trans. by Byron}}{{sfn|Byron|2011|p=17: "(Sammael) riding on the serpent came to her and she conceived [Cain]" - ''[[Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer|Pirqe R. L. 21]]'', Trans. by Friedlander}} the [[Serpents in the Bible|serpent]]{{sfn|Byron|2011|p=17: "First adultery came into being, afterward murder. And he [Cain] was begotten into adultery, for he was the child of the serpent." – ''[[Philo|Gos.Phil.]]'' 61:5–10, Trans. by Isenberg}} (''nahash'', {{Lang-he-n|נחש}}) in the [[Garden of Eden]],<ref>Louis Ginzberg, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Jv-pv47G5ZsC&pg=PA75#v=onepage&q=&f=false ''The Legends of the Jews'', Vol.1], [[Johns Hopkins University Press]], 1998, ISBN 0-8018-5890-9, p.105–09</ref> or the [[Devil#Judaism|devil]] himself.{{sfn|Luttikhuizen|2003|p=vii}} Christian exegesis of the "evil one" in {{Bibleref2|1 John|3:10–12}} have also led some commentators, like [[Tertullian]], to agree that Cain was the son of the [[Devil in Christianity|devil]]{{sfn|Byron|2011|p=17: "Having been made pregnant by the devil ... she brought forth a son." – [[Tertullian]], ''Patience'' 5:15}} or some [[fallen angel]]. Thus, according to some interpreters, Cain was half-human and half-angelic, one of the [[Nephilim]]. [[Gnostic]] exegesis in the ''[[Apocryphon of John]]'' has Eve seduced by [[Yaldabaoth|Yaldaboth]]. However, in the ''[[Hypostasis of the Archons]]'', Eve is raped by a pair of [[archon (Gnosticism)|Archons]].{{sfn|Byron|2011|p=15-19}}
According to the ''[[Life of Adam and Eve]]'', Cain fetched his mother a reed ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] ''qaneh'') which is how he received his name ''Qayin'' (Cain). The symbolism of him fetching a reed may be a nod to his occupation as a farmer, as well as a commentary to his destructive nature. He is also described as "lustrous", which may reflect the Gnostic association of Cain with the [[sun]].{{sfn|Byron|2011|p=15, 16: L.A.E. (''Vita'') 21:3, Trans. by Johnson}}
[[Pseudo-Philo]], a Jewish work of the first century CE, narrates that Cain murdered his brother at the age of 15. After escaping to the [[Land of Nod]], Cain fathered four sons: Enoch, Olad, Lizpha and Fosal; and two daughters: Citha and Maac. Cain died at the age of 730, leaving his corrupt descendants spreading evil on earth.<ref>''Pseudo-Philo (Biblical Antiquities of Philo)'', chapter 1</ref> According to the [[Book of Jubilees]], Cain murdered his brother with a stone. Afterwards, Cain was killed by the same instrument he used against his brother; his house fell on him and he was killed by its stones.<ref>Jubilees 4:31</ref> A heavenly law was cited after the narrative of Cain's death saying:
<blockquote>With the instrument with which a man kills his neighbour with the same shall he be killed ; after the manner that he wounded him, in like manner shall they deal with him.<ref>Jubilees 4:32</ref></blockquote>
A Talmudic tradition says that after Cain had murdered his brother, God made a horn grow on his head (see the [[mark of Cain]]). Later, Cain was killed at the hands of his great grandson Lamech, who mistook him for a wild beast.<ref>''Legends of the Jews'', [[Louis Ginzberg]] – Volume I</ref>
=== Abel ===
{{Infobox saint
|name= Saint Abel
|image= Spas na Ilyine - Patriarch Abel.jpg
|imagesize= 175px
|alt=
|caption= [[Icon]] of Abel by [[Theophanes the Greek]]
|title= First man murdered, First martyr, First saint
|death_place=
|monuments= [[Nabi Habeel Mosque]], [[Damascus]]
|occupation= Shepherd
|known_for= First man murdered; first martyr
|spouse=
|children=
|parents= [[Adam and Eve]]
}}
According to the narrative in [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]], Abel ({{Lang-he-n|הֶבֶל}}, ''Hevel''; {{lang-ar|'''[[wikt:هابيل|هابيل]]'''}}, ''Hābīl'') is Eve's second son. His name in Hebrew is composed of the same three consonants as a [[Semitic root|root]] meaning "breath".<ref>[http://studybible.info/strongs/H1893 Strong's H1893]{{snd}} with Brown-Driver-Briggs' Hebrew Definitions{{snd}} Abel = "breath"{{snd}} The same as [http://studybible.info/strongs/H1892 H1892]</ref> [[Julius Wellhausen]], and many scholars following him, have proposed that the name is independent of the root.<ref>[[Julius Wellhausen]], ''Skizzen und Vorarbeiten'', volume 3, (1887), p. 70.</ref> [[Eberhard Schrader]] had previously put forward the [[Akkadian (language)|Akkadian]] (Old Assyrian dialect) ''ablu'' ("son") as a more likely etymology.<ref>[[Eberhard Schrader]], ''Die Keilinschrift und das Alte Testament'', 1872.</ref>
In [[Christianity]], comparisons are sometimes made between the death of Abel and that of [[Jesus]], the former thus seen as being the first martyr. In {{Bibleref2|Matthew|23:35}} Jesus speaks of Abel as "righteous", and the [[Epistle to the Hebrews]] states that "The blood of sprinkling ... [speaks] better things than that of Abel".({{Bibleref2|Hebrews|12:24}}) The blood of Jesus is interpreted as bringing mercy; but that of Abel as demanding vengeance (hence the curse and mark).<ref>For copies of a spectrum of notable translations and commentaries see [http://bible.cc/hebrews/12-24.htm Hebrews 12:24] at the Online Parallel Bible.</ref>
Abel is invoked in the [[litany]] for the dying in the [[Roman Catholic Church]], and his sacrifice is mentioned in the [[Canon of the Mass]] along with those of [[Abraham]] and [[Melchizedek]]. The [[Alexandrian Rite]] commemorates him with a [[feast day]] on December 28.<ref>[[Frederick George Holweck|Holweck, F. G.]], ''A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints''. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co., 1924.</ref>
According to the Coptic [[Book of Adam and Eve]] (at 2:1–15), and the [[Syriac language|Syriac]] [[Cave of Treasures]], Abel's body, after many days of mourning, was placed in the ''Cave of Treasures'', before which Adam and Eve, and descendants, offered their prayers. In addition, the [[Seth]]ite line of the [[Generations of Adam]] swear by Abel's blood to segregate themselves from the ''unrighteous''.
In the extra-biblical [[Book of Enoch]] (22:7), the soul of Abel is described as having been appointed as the chief of martyrs, crying for vengeance, for the destruction of the seed of Cain. This view is later repeated in the [[Testament of Abraham]] (A:13 / B:11), where Abel has been raised to the position as the judge of the souls.
==Family tree==
<center>
{{AdamtoNoah}}
</center>
=== Motives ===
The Book of Genesis does not give a specific reason for the murder of Abel. Modern commentators typically assume that the motives were jealousy and anger due to God rejecting Cain's offering, while accepting Abel's.<ref name="Kim,20012"/> Ancient [[exegesis|exegetes]], such as the [[Midrash]] and the ''[[Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan]]'', suggest something even more sinister behind the killing.<ref name="Kim,20012"/> They supplement that the motive involved a desire for the most beautiful woman. According to Midrashic tradition, Cain and Abel each had twin sisters whom they were to marry. The Midrash states that Abel's promised wife, Aclima, was more beautiful. Since Cain would not consent to this arrangement, Adam suggested seeking God's blessing by means of a sacrifice. Whoever God blessed would marry Aclima. When God openly rejected Cain's sacrifice, Cain slew his brother in a fit of jealousy and anger.<ref name="brewer">{{cite book|last=Brewer|first=E. Cobham| authorlink= |title=The Dictionary of Phrase and Fable|publisher=Avenel Books|year=1978 |edition=reprint of 1894 |location=Edwinstowe, England|page=3|isbn=0-517-25921-4}}</ref> Analysts have described Cain's relationship to his sister as being incestuous.{{sfn|Byron|2011|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=NnnVmbnE-TcC&pg=PA27#v=onepage&q=incestuous&f=false 27]}}
The [[First Epistle of John]], however, says the following:
{{quote|Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous."|{{bibleref2|1 John| 3:12|NIV}}}}
==In the Quran==
[[File:NabiHabeel02.JPG|thumb|right|Grave of Abel within the [[Nabi Habeel Mosque]]]]
{{Main|Cain and Abel in Islam|Al-Ma'ida}}
The story appears in the Qur'an, in Surah 5, verses 27 to 31:<ref>{{cite web|author=Abel |url=http://corpus.quran.com/concept.jsp?id=abel |title=Abel - Ontology of Quranic Concepts from the Quranic Arabic Corpus |publisher=Corpus.quran.com |date= |accessdate=2015-12-17}}</ref>
{{quote|[Prophet], tell them the truth about the story of Adam's two sons: each of them offered a sacrifice, and it was accepted from one and not the other. One said, 'I will kill you,' but the other said, 'God only accepts the sacrifice of those who are mindful of Him. If you raise your hand to kill me, I will not raise mine to kill you. I fear God, the Lord of all worlds, and I would rather you were burdened with my sins as well as yours and became an inhabitant of the Fire: such is the evildoers' reward.' But his soul prompted him to kill his brother: he killed him and became one of the losers. God sent a raven to scratch up the ground and show him how to cover his brother's corpse and he said, 'Woe is me! Could I not have been like this raven and covered up my brother's body?' He became remorseful.|The QUR'AN (English translation by M.A.S. Abdel Haleem)}}
The story of Cain and Abel has always been used as a deterrent from murder in Islamic tradition. [[Abdullah ibn Mas'ud]] reported that [[Muhammad]] said in a hadith:
<blockquote>"No soul is wrongfully killed except that some of the burden falls upon the son of Adam, for he was the first to establish the practice of murder."<ref>[[Sahih Bukhari]] and [[Sahih Muslim]]</ref></blockquote>
Muslim scholars were divided on the motives behind Cain's murder of Abel, and further why the two brothers were obliged to offer sacrifices to God. Some scholars believed that Cain's motives were plain jealousy and lust. Both Cain and Abel desired to marry Adam's beautiful daughter, Aclima (''Aqlimia{{'}}'' in Arabic). Seeking to put an end to the dispute between them, Adam suggested that each one of them present an offering before God. The one whose offering God would accept would marry Aclima. Abel, a generous shepherd, offered the fattest of his sheep as an oblation to God. But Cain, a miserly farmer, offered only a bunch of grass and some worthless seeds to him. God accepted Abel's offering and rejected Cain's—an indication that Abel was more righteous than Cain, and thus worthier of Aclima. As a result, it was decided that Abel would marry Aclima. Cain, on the other hand, would marry her less beautiful sister. Blinded by anger and lust for Aclima, Cain sought to get revenge from Abel and escape with Aclima.<ref>''Tafsir al-Qur'an al-adhim'' (Interpretation of the Holy Qur'an), [[Ibn Kathir]] – Surat [[Al-Ma'ida]]</ref>
According to another tradition, the [[devil]] appeared to Cain and instructed him how to exact revenge on Abel. "Hit Abel's head with a stone and kill him", whispered the devil to Cain. After the murder, the devil hurried to [[Eve]] shouting: "Eve! Cain has murdered Abel!". Eve did not know what murder was or how death felt like. She asked, bewildered and horrified, :"Woe to you! What is murder?". "He [Abel] does not eat. He does not drink. He does not move [That's what murder and death are]", answered the Devil. Eve, terribly shocked, burst out into tears and started to wail madly. She ran to Adam and tried to tell him what happened. However, she could not speak because she could not stop wailing. Since then, women wail brokenheartedly when a loved one dies.<ref>Adapted from Ibn Abul-Hatim's narrative in ''Tafsir al-Qur'an al-adhim'' and ''[[Tafsir al-Tabari]]'', Surat [[Al-Ma'ida']]</ref> A different tradition narrates that while Cain was quarreling with Abel, the devil killed an animal with a stone in Cain's sight to show him how to murder Abel.<ref name="ReferenceA">''Tafsir al-Qur'an al-adhim'' and ''[[Tafsir al-Tabari]]'', Surat Al Ma'ida</ref>
After burying Abel and escaping from his family, Cain got married and had children. Cain's descendants were debauched and indulged in [[fire worship]]. They died in Noah's flood among other tyrants and unbelievers.<ref>''The Beginning and the End'', [[Ibn Kathir]] – Volume I</ref>
Some Muslim scholars puzzled over the mention of offerings in the narrative of Cain and Abel. Offerings and sacrifices were ordained only after the revelation of [[the Torah]] to [[Moses]]. This led some scholars, such as [[Said ibn al-Musayyib]], to think that the sons of Adam mentioned in the Quran are actually two Israelites, not Cain and Abel.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
=== Grave of Abel ===
[[file:NabiHabeel01.jpg|thumb|The [[Mausoleum]] of Abel in the [[Nabi Habeel Mosque]]]]
According to [[Shia Islam|Shi'a Muslim]] belief, Abel ([[Arabic]]: ''"Habeel"'') is buried in the [[Nabi Habeel Mosque]], located on the west mountains of [[Damascus]], near the [[Zabadani]] Valley, overlooking the villages of the [[Barada]] river (Wadi Barada), in [[Syria]]. Muslims are frequent visitors of this mosque for [[ziyarat]]. The mosque was built by [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] [[Wali]] Ahmad Pasha in 1599.{{Citation needed|date=November 2015}}
== In psychoanalytic theory ==
Freud’s theory of [[fratricide]] is explained by the [[Oedipus complex|Oedipus]] or [[Electra complex]] through Jung's supplementation.<ref>Jens de Vlemnick (2007). Psychoanalytische Perspectieven. Vol 25 (3/4). [http://www.psychoanalytischeperspectieven.be/vol-25-c-2007/cain-and-abel-the-prodigal-sons-of-psychoanalysis Cain and Abel: The Prodigal Sons of Psychoanalysis?] Universiteit Gent.</ref> Indeed, in the Judaic, [[Midrash Rabba]], and [[Islamic]] versions of the Old Testament, wherein Cain and Abel are not the only offspring of Adam and Eve, but born as twins with one sister each. In that regard, Abel and Cain were the first two sons, each of whom was born with a twin sister, and Adam decided that, to avoid incest, Abel would marry Cain's sister and Cain would marry Abel's sister. However, Cain refused because he wanted to keep his own sister, while Abel respected the paternal law. Adam suggested sacrificial offerings, and, in his absence, God accepted Abel's lamb rather than Cain's offering of grass. As a result of this preference, Cain killed Abel. However, this interpretation does not relate to the preference of the sacrifices by God, but rather to the acceptance or rejection of God's law. Abel obeyed this law while Cain did not, and, as a result, Cain killed Abel.<ref name=Benslama189>{{cite book |last=Benslama |first=Fethi |year=2009 |authorlink= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fkwkp86_ir0C&pg=PA189#v=onepage&q=offered%20grass&f=false |title=Psychoanalysis and the Challenge of Islam |accessdate= |location= |publisher=U of Minnesota Press |isbn=978-0816648887 |page=189}}</ref>
== Legacy and symbolism ==
[[File:Cain and Abel, 15th century.jpg|thumb|right|Cain and Abel, 15th-century German depiction from ''Speculum Humanae Salvationis'']]
[[Allusion]]s to Cain and Abel as an [[archetype]] of fratricide appear in numerous references and retellings, through [[medieval art]] and [[Shakespeare]]an works up to present day fiction.{{sfn|Byron|2011|p=93}} A millennia-old explanation for Cain being capable of murder is that he may have been the offspring of a [[fallen angel]] or [[Satan]] himself, rather than being from Adam.{{sfn|Ginzberg|1998|p=105-9}}{{sfn|Luttikhuizen|2003|p=vii}}{{sfn|Byron|2011|p=15-19}}
A medieval legend has Cain arriving at the Moon, where he eternally settled with a bundle of twigs. This was originated by the popular fantasy of interpreting the [[man in the Moon|shadows on the Moon as a face]]. An example of this belief can be found in [[Dante Alighieri]]'s [[Divine Comedy#Inferno|Inferno]] (XX, 126<ref name="Inferno126">[[Dante]], [[The Divine Comedy]], [[Inferno (Dante)|Inferno]], canto 20, [http://dante.dartmouth.edu/search_view.php?query=&cmd=Search&commentary%5B%5D=0&language=any&cantica=1&canto=20&line=126 line 126] and [http://dante.dartmouth.edu/search_view.php?query=&cmd=Search&commentary%5B%5D=0&language=any&cantica=1&canto=20&line=127 127]. The Dante Dartmouth Project contains the original text and centuries of commentary.
:"For now doth Cain with fork of thorns confine
:On either hemisphere, touching the wave
:Beneath the towers of [[Seville]]. Yesternight
:The moon was round."
Also in Paradiso, canto 2, [http://dante.dartmouth.edu/search_view.php?query=&cmd=Search&commentary%5B%5D=0&language=any&cantica=3&canto=2&line=51 line 51].
:But tell, I pray thee, whence the gloomy spots
:Upon this body, which below on earth
:Give rise to talk of Cain in fabling quaint?"
</ref>) where the expression "Cain and the twigs" is used as a [[kenning]] for "moon".
In medieval Christian art,{{Dubious|date=July 2015}} particularly in 16th-century Germany, Cain is depicted as a stereotypical [[Ringlet (haircut)|ringleted]], bearded Jew, who killed Abel the blonde, European [[gentile]] symbolizing Christ.<ref name="deVries76"/> This traditional depiction has continued for centuries in some form, such as [[James Tissot]]'s 19th-century ''Cain leads Abel to Death''.
A treatise on Christian Hermeticism, ''[[Meditations on the Tarot|Meditations on the Tarot: A journey into Christian Hermeticism]]'', describes the biblical account of Cain and Abel as a myth, i.e. it expresses, in a form narrated for a particular case, an "eternal" idea. It shows us how brothers can become mortal enemies through the very fact that they worship the same God in the same way. According to the author, the source of religious wars is revealed. It is not the difference in dogma or ritual which is the cause, but the "pretention to equality" or "the negation of hierarchy".<ref name="Meditations on the Tarot">Anonymous, Meditations on the Tarot: A journey into Christian Hermeticism, translated by Robert Powell 1985, 2002 ed, pp14-15</ref>
In [[Latter-day Saint theology]], Cain is considered to be the quintessential [[Son of perdition (Mormonism)|Son of Perdition]], the father of ''secret combinations'' (i.e. secret societies and [[organized crime]]), as well as the first to hold the title [[Master Mahan]] meaning ''master of [the] great secret, that [he] may murder and get gain''.<ref>Moses 5:31</ref>
In [[Mormon folklore]] — a second-hand account relates that an early Mormon leader, [[David W. Patten]], encountered a very tall, hairy, dark-skinned man in [[Tennessee]] who said that he was Cain. The account states that Cain had earnestly sought death but was denied it, and that his mission was to destroy the souls of men.<ref>Letter by [[Abraham O. Smoot]], quoted in Lycurgus A. Wilson (1900). [https://archive.org/details/lifeofdavidwpatt00wilsrich ''Life of David W. Patten, the First Apostolic Martyr''] (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News) p. 50 (pp. 46–47 in 1993 reprint by Eborn Books).</ref><ref>Linda Shelley Whiting (2003). ''David W. Patten: Apostle and Martyr'' (Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort) p. 85.</ref> The recollection of Patten's story is quoted in [[Spencer W. Kimball]]'s ''[[The Miracle of Forgiveness]]'', a popular book within [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]].<ref>[[Spencer W. Kimball]] (1969). ''The Miracle of Forgiveness'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, ISBN 0-88494-444-1) pp. 127–128.</ref> This widespread Mormon belief is further emphasized by an account from Salt Lake City in 1963 which stated that "One superstition is based on the old Mormon belief that Cain is a black man who wanders the earth begging people to kill him and take his curse upon themselves (M, 24, SLC, 1963)."<ref>Cannon, Anthon S., Wayland D. Hand, and Jeannine Talley. "Religion, Magic, Ghostlore." Popular Beliefs and Superstitions from Utah. Salt Lake City: University of Utah, 1984. 314. Print.</ref>
There were other, minor traditions concerning Cain and Abel, of both older and newer date. The apocryphal ''[[Book of Adam and Eve]]'' tells of [[Eve]] having a dream in which Cain drank his brother’s blood. In an attempt to prevent the prophecy from happening the two young men are separated and given different jobs.<ref>[[David Williams (medievalist)|Williams, David]]: "Cain and Beowulf: A Study in Secular Allegory, page 21. University of Toronto Press, 1982</ref>
== Cultural portrayals and references ==
{{in popular culture|date=September 2016}}
* 1955: ''[[East of Eden (film)|East of Eden]]'' <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/16719/East-of-Eden/articles.html |title=Pop Culture 101: East of Eden |accessdate=2014-04-11|work=TCM.com}}</ref>
* 1966: ''[[The Bible: In the Beginning...]]''
* 2009: ''[[Year One (film)|Year One]]''
* 2011: [https://www.librarything.com/work/11040074/summary Wayward Son], written by Tom Pollack, posits a historical fiction narrative where Cain's curse includes immortality so that he may be redeemed thousands of years later.
* 2015: ''[[He Never Died]]''
*In the classic poem ''[[Beowulf]]'', the monstrous [[Grendel]] and [[Grendel's mother|his mother]] are said to be descended from Cain.<ref name="deVries76"/>
*[[Lord Byron]] rewrote and dramatized the story in the play ''[[Cain (play)|Cain]]'', viewing Cain as symbolic of a sanguinary temperament, provoked by Abel's hypocrisy and sanctimony<ref name="deVries76">{{cite book|last=de Vries|first=Ad|title= Dictionary of Symbols and Imagery|year=1976|page=75|publisher=North-Holland Publishing Company|location=Amsterdam|isbn= 0-7204-8021-3}}</ref>
* In [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]]'s ''[[Divine Comedy#Purgatorio|Purgatorio]]'' (early 14th century), Cain is remembered by the souls in [[Purgatory]] in Canto XIV (14)
* The expression "Cain-coloured beard" (Cain was traditionally considered to have red hair) is used in [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s ''[[The Merry Wives of Windsor]]'' (1602).<ref name="deVries76"/>
* [[Baudelaire]] is more sympathetic to Cain in his poem "Abel et Caïn" in the collection ''[[Les Fleurs du mal]]'' (1857), where he depicts Cain as representing all the downtrodden people of the world. The poem's last lines exhort "Race de Caïn, au ciel monte / Et sur la terre jette Dieu!" ("Race of Cain, storm up the sky / And cast God down to Earth!").<ref>[http://fleursdumal.org/poem/190 Baudelaire's poem in French with English translations underneath]</ref>
* [[Victor Hugo]]'s poem "La conscience" (1853, tr. "Cain") collected in ''[[La Légende des siècles]]'' (1859, 1st series) has Cain for protagonist. It depicts the murderer fleeing with his children the gazing Eye of God until he has to seal himself down a vault, but in the famous last line, "The Eye was in the tomb and fixed on Cain."<ref>[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/8775/8775-h/8775-h.htm#link2H_4_0134 "Cain"] (tr. ''[[Dublin University Magazine]]''), in ''Poems, by Victor Hugo, 1888'' at [[Project Gutenberg]]</ref> (tr. ''[[Dublin University Magazine]]'')
* [[Hermann Hesse]]'s novel ''[[Demian]]'' (1919) briefly discusses the story from an unorthodox point of view, where he also referred to the [[gnostic]] group called the [[Cainites]].
* [[Thornton Wilder]]'s play ''[[The Skin of Our Teeth]]'' (1942) states that Henry Antrobus' real name is Cain and he accidentally killed his brother Abel with a stone.
* [[John Steinbeck]]'s novel ''[[East of Eden (novel)|East of Eden]]'' (1952) describes the conflict between two brothers Cal and Aron which is based on the story of Cain and Abel.
* [[Jose Saramago]]'s last novel ''[[Cain (novel)|Cain]]'' (2009) is the story of Cain as a wanderer.
* In [[Jeffrey Archer]]'s novel ''[[Kane and Abel (novel)|Kane and Abel]]'' (1979) the title and story is a play on the biblical brothers.
* In [[Neil Gaiman]]'s graphic novel ''[[The Sandman (Vertigo)|The Sandman]]'' Cain appears as the careless older brother that kills his brother whenever he is unhappy and Abel appears paranoid and afraid at all times.
* The opera ''[[La mort d'Abel]]'' (1810) by [[Rodolphe Kreutzer]]
* Singer-songwriter [[Léo Ferré]] set [[Charles Baudelaire]]'s poem "Abel et Caïn" to music on ''[[Léo Ferré chante Baudelaire]]'' (1967)
* The [[Grateful Dead]]'s "Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleloo" on ''[[Wake of the Flood]]'' (1973) suggests that "Cain caught Abel, rolling loaded dice"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://artsites.ucsc.edu/GDead/agdl/halfstep.html |title=The Annotated "Mississippi Halfstep Uptown Toodleloo" |publisher=Artsites.ucsc.edu |date= |accessdate=2015-12-17}}</ref>
* [[4 Runner]]'s "[[Cain's Blood]]" (1995) uses Cain and Abel as a metaphor for the struggle between good and evil in the song's narrator<ref>{{cite book|last=Van Scott|first=Miriam|title=The Encyclopedia of Hell|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jKcVBSUqdZoC&pg=PA74|year=1999|publisher=Macmillan|page=74|isbn=9780312244422}}</ref>
* [[Avenged Sevenfold]]'s song "Chapter Four" on ''Waking The Fallen'' (2003)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=4616 |title=Chapter Four by Avenged Sevenfold Songfacts |publisher=Songfacts.com |date= |accessdate=2014-07-14}}</ref>
* "Daughters of Cain," the opening track of [[Yeasayer]]'s 2016 album ''[[Amen & Goodbye]]'' references Cain's children as well as the [[Genesis flood narrative]]<ref>http://www.transversomedia.com/articles/yeasayer-amen-goodbye-new-album-review</ref>
* The [[pen and paper]] roleplaying game [[Vampire: The Masquerade]] is based on the Cain myth. Cain's curse has turned him into the first [[vampire]] and thus the progenitor of all vampires, including the players. The video game adaptation [[Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines|Bloodlines]] features a scenario where Cain can be encountered in modern day Los Angeles.
== See also ==
* [[Balbira & Kalmana]]
* [[Bereishit (parsha)#Cain and Abel]]
* [[Biblical figures in Islamic tradition#Cain and Abel]]
* [[Biblical narratives and the Quran#Cain and Abel (Qābīl and Hābīl)]]
* [[Cain and Abel in Islam]]
* ''[[The First Mourning]]''
== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}
{{Cnote|a|Literally, the Lord (''Holman Christian Standard Bible'')}}
{{Cnote|b|The bracketed text has been added for clarity (''HCSB'')}}
{{Cnote|c|or fat calves, or milk [[Josephus]] — all plausible renderings the Hebrew consonants}}
== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}
=== Bibliography ===
* {{cite book|last=BDB|first=[[Francis Brown (theologian)|Francis Brown]]|title=The Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon : with an appendix containing the biblical Aramaic; coded with the numbering system from "Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible"|publisher=Hendrickson|location=Peabody|isbn=978-1565632066|edition=7. print. 1997|author2=[[Samuel Rolles Driver]] |author3=[[Charles Augustus Briggs]] |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last=Byron|first=John|title=Cain and Abel in text and tradition : Jewish and Christian interpretations of the first sibling rivalry|year=2011|publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]]|location=Leiden|isbn=978-9004192522|author-link=John Byron|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NnnVmbnE-TcC#v=onepage&q&f=false|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last=Kugel|first=James L.|title=Traditions of the Bible : a guide to the Bible as it was at the start of the common era|year=1998|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|location=Cambridge, Mass. [u.a.]|isbn=978-0674791510|author-link=James Kugel|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last=Luttikhuizen|first=Gerard P. (Editor)|title=Eve's children : the biblical stories retold and interpreted in Jewish and Christian traditions|year=2003|publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]]|location=Leiden|isbn=978-9004126152 |url=https://books.google.com/?id=s1Wa2N2WrlAC#v=onepage&q=&f=false |edition=Vol. 5|ref=harv}}
=== Further reading ===
* {{cite book|last=Aptowitzer|first=Victor|title=Kain und Abel in der agada: den Apokryphen, der hellenistischen, christlichen und muhammedanischen literatur|year=1922|publisher=R. Löwit|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PGkQAQAAIAAJ#v=onepage&q=&f=false|author-link=Victor Aptowitzer|edition=Vol. 1}}
* {{cite book|last=Glenthøj|first=Johannes Bartholdy|title=Cain and Abel in Syriac and Greek writers : (4th - 6th centuries)|year=1997|publisher=Peeters|location=Lovanii|isbn=978-9068319095|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0ViKPYpebc4C#v=onepage&q=&f=false}}
== External links ==
* {{commons category inline}}
* {{Wikisource-inline|list=
** [[s:Bible (King James)/Genesis#Chapter 4|Bible (King James) / Genesis 4]]
** [[s:Pearl of Great Price/Moses#Chapter 5|''Book of Moses'', Chapter 5]] in ''Pearl of Great Price''
** [[s:Cain|Cain]]
** [[s:Abel|Abel]]
}}
* {{bibleref2|Genesis|4|9|Genesis 4 (KJV)}} at BibleGateway.com
* Story of Cain and Abel in [http://quran.tanyt.info/index.php?lang=en&sura=119#a26 ''Sura The Table (Al Ma'ida)'']
*[http://www.psyche.com/psyche/lex/qaheen.html Qaheen / Cain and Hevel / Abel]
* [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0104.htm Parallel voweled Hebrew and English] (JPS 1917)
* [http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/8168#showrashi=true Rashi on Genesis, Chapter 4], by [[Rashi]]
{{Adam and Eve}}
{{Cain and Abel}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cain And Abel}}
[[Category:Articles about multiple people in the Bible]]
[[Category:Cain and Abel| ]]
[[Category:Abrahamic mythology]]
[[Category:Adam and Eve]]
[[Category:Bereshit (parsha)]]
[[Category:Biblical murder victims]]
[[Category:Biblical murderers]]
[[Category:Book of Genesis]]
[[Category:Sibling duos]]
[[Category:Torah people]]
[[Category:Offspring of Adam and Eve]]
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