Cain and Abel - the biblical story of the brothers. Who are Cain and Abel

Who are Cain and Abel? What is the point in the parable of two brothers, one of whom is a fratricide? What does she teach us? You will learn about this from our article!

A painful night on earth outside Eden.
The abyss of death flows through the veins.
Whispers and cries, falling to her knees
Old Adam to the dying Eve:
"Who
will step over the abyss?
Who
will the Abel family be restored?
Who,
laying a road through the sky
will say the words
to a person
and to God?
Who will break the flour of parting -
A tree - for a tree,
By the hand - by the hand? .. "

An ancient Sumerian myth told of how the heavenly goddess Inanna chose a shepherd out of the two young men who sought her hand, rejecting the farmer. It was the shepherd who entered into a happy and divine marriage, joined, in the concept of the inhabitants of Ancient Mesopotamia, divine life, divine immortality.

But this kind of "divine marriage" was a violation of faithfulness to the God of Israel.

“Sue your mother, sue; for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband; let her remove fornication from her face and fornication from her breasts ... And I will punish her for the days of serving the Baals, when she used to burn incense to them and, adorned herself with earrings and necklaces, followed her lovers, but she forgot Me, says the Lord ”(Hosea 2: 2 ;13).

The story found in one of the opening chapters of Genesis also tells of a shepherd and a farmer. But they are not competing for the goddess Inanna (as Abraham's relatives did for centuries, who did not leave Ur) - they make a sacrifice to the Living God, who will then be revealed to Abraham. The story of the farmer Cain, the elder brother, and the shepherd Abel, the younger brother is a prelude to both the history of the calling of Abraham, and the history of the Exodus, and - represented by them - the Great Exodus of Christ, His Passover ...

… They sacrifice - and in the sacrifice they are divided before the face of God. Actually, the whole history of the human race, according to Genesis, is a history of separation, so that the separated holy people could begin their difficult path to hearing the Living God, until the time when He Himself becomes in the midst of His people in a "place equal" (Luke 6 : 17) and will separate by His appearance those who recognized in Him the Messiah and those who did not.

“… Cain brought a gift from the fruits of the earth to the Lord, and Abel also brought from the firstborn his flock and from their fatness. And the Lord looked upon Abel and his gift, but he did not look upon Cain and his gift. Cain was greatly distressed, and his face drooped ”(Gen. 4: 3-5).

Little is said about Abel and his mysterious righteousness. He was accepted by God in spite of everything - despite the fact that he is not the firstborn, despite the fact that in his very name his mother, so inspired by the birth of the firstborn, Cain, expressed all the disappointment that befell her. As Cain is not the promised seed of a wife, so is his younger brother all the more, vanity and steam, and one cannot hope for him. If Cain, “a man from the Lord” (Genesis 4: 1), failed, and did not return the entire human race by the power of his reason and cunning to Eden, did not contrive to please God, then how could Abel with his sheep!

But God judged differently, and there was no limit to the shock of Cain. The Genesis account is mysterious and difficult to interpret, but it is clear that it seems to focus on the personality of Cain, the elder brother. As if in a beginning madness, Cain hears the words of God - from afar, from the distant coolness of paradise, the words with which God is trying to protect him.

“And the Lord [God] said to Cain: Why are you grieved? and why is your face drooped? if you do good, do you not raise your face? but if you do not do good, then sin lies at the door; he draws you to him, but you rule over him "(Gen. 4: 6-7)

One of the translations of this passage sounds like this: "He [sin] longs for you, you will be the ruler of him."(Genesis 4: 7)

… It is very difficult to protect a person. For this, God must die. But the time has not come yet ...

Cain hears the words of God, but his mind, already accustomed to seeing not a loving God, but an idol that bestows power, created according to his ideas, understands them terribly and destructively for both brothers.

"You rule over him" - Cain hears, and speaks strange words to Abel.

Perhaps Cain felt a certain delight and perceived it as a divine revelation. Everything is given to Cain for dominion - even the righteousness of Abel! Indeed, what else is needed for a younger, unprepossessing brother, if not for the great cause of an older brother, who, perhaps, in this way will fulfill the mother's hope, become a liberator and a long-awaited "seed of a wife" returning to lost heaven?! His sacrifice is small - it means that God wants to strengthen it by giving Abel himself, pleasing to God with his sacrifices! What a brilliant and terrible paradox! Only a great, extraordinary man, the savior of all mankind, can step over human, brotherly blood! This is what Cain wanted to be. And he stabbed Abel.

And the Lord said:

"What have you done?" (Gen. 4:10)

Cain realizes what he has done. But he does not lay hands on himself - his long future life in fear and mental confusion will end with the fact that, as some ancient interpreters said, he will be killed by his descendant Lamech - he will take the unfortunate man hiding in the thicket for a forest beast ...

It seems that the salvation of humanity is lost forever. If anyone could save him, it was the non-worldly Abel or someone from his seed. But Abel had no seed left. Seth, who was born instead of Abel to the primordial couple, stood too firmly on the earth in his piety without leaving a reasonable framework - he no longer tried to save the world, he was prudent. Adam and Eve longed to understand that there would be no more such as Abel on earth. And even the ascended Enoch was not a sufferer-victim who gave himself entirely - no, not the cruelty of his brother, but the mysterious call of God, who sought to descend to earth to share his death, and - so far he could not.

He came down - millennia later. He became a victim, and it is not without reason that He mentioned the name of Abel and the shedding of His blood together (Matt. 23:35; Luke 11, 50-51).

There is no time for God. He united His human blood, shed by the hands of cruel warriors and the cunning of the high priestly minds, who believed that “it is better for one person to die than all the people perish” - he combined it with the blood of Abel, becoming his voluntary descendant.

More than reason and hope - Christ is a descendant of Abel. He is the Son and Seed of the Woman, the Man from the Lord. He sacrificed himself, not seeking sacrifices from others. He did not need power over the brothers - He gave Himself for the brothers ...

And his perfect Sacrifice reconciles all the brothers scattered across the face of the earth, who have lost all hope of the return of God to earth, who will speak with them in the coolness of paradise.

Ax - to the root! Will give birth
desert manna and honey?
Son of Abraham Prayer
and offer sacrifices for sin.

But something under the sun has become
not like centuries ago:
put his hand on the ralo
unrecognized younger brother,

he will turn the earth with a plow,
will pour the blood of lambs,
by sea, north, south
looking for a brother, will pass.

Smyrna are full and backgammon
His garments and head.
Will fulfill all the truth
the wives of the word will be fulfilled.

The rocks will part. Kreens
in the sands will bloom forever.
The only Son of Mary,
From the Lord - Man.

Adin Steinsaltz answers the questions of Mikhail Gorelik Steinsaltz Adin

How did Cain kill Abel?

The Bible says a lot about the Most High, about love, about sin, about suffering; about weapons - little and no interest.

Adin Steinsaltz answers the questions of Mikhail Gorelik

- Is the stone with which Cain killed Abel the first weapon mentioned in the Bible?

Where did you get the idea that Cain killed Abel with a stone?

- Isn't it written like that?

Let's see. Here you are: "Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him." But only. Just a statement of the fact of the murder.

- Well, how did Cain kill Abel? If not a stone, then what?

Presumably, he had certain problems. He was the first killer, the case was new, and no technology existed yet. Before he succeeded, he must have experimented with different subjects and technologies and acted through trial and error.

- If so, then it is natural to assume that Cain also used non-material means. Maybe he killed his brother with a word?

Surely he tried with a word. This is a very effective weapon.

- Or a look?

Why not? Why is a look worse than a stone? But women usually kill with a look. They do it very well. In any case, specialized murder weapons did not yet exist. The first weapon is the handiwork of the descendant of Cain, the son of Lemekh - Tuvalkain.

- Wait, but in the mention of him there is not a word about weapons at all. It turns out something like a stone of Cain. The text simply says that Tuvalkain made tools from copper and iron. Maybe we are talking here only about agricultural implements?

We are talking here about fundamentally new, complex and expensive materials and technologies. Obviously, in ancient times, as in our days, they were used primarily for military purposes. Please note that Tuvalkain's name is not random: "Cain" is his component... By the way, in Hebrew there is a word that has the same root with the word "tuval", and it means "seasoning." That is, the first gunsmith was a kind of seasoning for Cain.

- So, the weapon is mentioned for the first time only in connection with this craftsman?

The conclusion, which seems obvious, but incorrect (this happens quite often). Weapons appear in the Bible much earlier than the inventive Tuvalcain. When Adam and Eve left Paradise, an angel with a fiery sword appears at its gate. This sword is the first weapon mentioned in the Bible. And what's important: he is not the murder weapon.

- In the synodal translation, the sword of this guardian angel is called "converting." What does it mean?

Just spinning, spinning - to make it impossible to pass.

- How is it in oriental martial arts?

Something like that.

- Could you somehow comment on the exceptional restraint, even the dryness of the Bible in describing weapons. What a contrast to the Iliad: the description of Achilles's shield is a poem! Meanwhile, there is nothing of the kind in the Bible.

The explanation is quite simple. For example, people came out of a restaurant. One will say: "tasty" or "tasteless", or even shrug his shoulders. The other will sing a song about dinner, or give an indignant speech, or gladly tell how he was fed a week ago. Ask a man what such and such a woman looks like, and he will talk about her eyes, hair, smile, voice.

- You forgot about the figure.

I just didn't have time - you react very vividly. And if you ask how she is dressed? Most likely, the man's answer will be stingy - after all, he paid attention to something completely different. Meanwhile, the woman will tell you about it in full detail. My mother was a dressmaker, and since childhood I have heard conversations about clothes. These were detailed and in the highest degree interested conversations. In ancient times, the Jews fought a lot and did it very successfully; the reputation of the Jewish warriors was quite high. And yet, despite this, the Jews did not like to fight - they treated the war as a necessity.

The Bible speaks in detail about many things: about the Almighty, about love, about sin, about suffering, about the construction of the sanctuary, about the clothes of priests, about a just (and unjust) judgment - weapons clearly do not belong to the sphere of interest. The exception is relatively detailed description weapons of Goliath. It is said about the composition of the weapons, about its size, weight, material, about the armor it says: "scaly". It can be seen that both the giant himself and his weapons struck the imagination of the Jews. By the way, the growth of Goliath is far beyond the norm. This is usually due to hormonal imbalances, and despite the impressive impression that such people make (and Goliath made just an intimidating impression), they, as a rule, are not very strong and not very well coordinated. It is unlikely that the stone of David killed Goliath - most likely, he simply lost consciousness. The Philistines loved weapons - it was not for nothing that they belonged to a common cultural circle with the Greeks. And the Philistines were armed much better than the Jews.

- The Prophet Isaiah predicts the time when swords will be hammered into plowshares. It just occurred to me that Peter the Great, having ordered to cast the bells on the cannons, responded in a peculiar way to Isaiah's call.

Or the prophet Joel, who, clearly referring to the formula of his great predecessor, called for reforging plowshares into swords.

- V different languages eroticism and enmity, war, violence are verbally close. There are many examples. Let's say "fuck". Or in Hebrew: "neshek" (weapon) and "neshika" (kiss).

Well, the kiss is an ancient and tried-and-true weapon. No wonder: the relationship of the sexes is often a relationship of opposition, struggle. It is not about the erotic image of a weapon, but about the militaristic image of eroticism, about the universal correlation of Eros and Thanatos.

From the book Book 16. Kabbalistic Forum (old edition) the author Laitman Michael

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4. And Abel also brought from the firstborn his flock and from their fatness. And the Lord looked upon Abel and his gift, 5. But he did not look upon Cain and his gift. Cain was greatly upset, and his face drooped "And the Lord looked upon Abel ... but He did not look upon Cain and his Gift ..."

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The Holy Bible describes many interesting and mysterious stories, which science fiction writers grab onto the plots of films and other legends. One of these events is the first fratricide on earth. Cain and Abel were the first people born on earth, these are the sons of Adam and Eve.

What Happened: A History of the Conflict

After their fall, Eve and Adam were returned to earth, and in order to survive, they needed to cultivate the land, engage in animal husbandry and other labor. The family tried to live according to the commandments of God, wanting to regain the kingdom of heaven.

Over time, they had two sons, Abel and Cain, who also tried to please God throughout their lives. Abel was engaged in cattle breeding, and the eldest son grew plants.

The sons of Eve made sacrifices to the Creator, wishing to appease Him and receive His mercy, the farmer threw a bunch of fresh ears of corn into the fire, and Abel threw a lamb. The Lord saw the sincere faith of Abel, who often prayed and always lived with faith in his soul. That's why The creator accepted the sacrifice of the younger brother, and left the older one without attention.

Abel and Cain offer sacrifices to the Creator

Cain lived with pride in his soul and began to envy Abel and his luck. Every day the elder brother hated his blood younger brother more and more. The Creator tried to reason with the sinner, instill in him good thoughts and love in his heart. But the anger was stronger, and the eldest son killed the younger, bringing grief to his parents by this act. The eldest son was blind from his hatred and was sure that no one knew about his act, and in this he was wrong.

The Almighty sees everything. God asked Cain - “Where is your brother?”, To which the sinner replied: “How do I know? I am not his shepherd. " With this question, the Creator gave the sinner a chance to repent. Any murder is a sin, but shedding blood sibling- doubly sinful.

Apparently, the feeling of anger so clouded the mind of Cain that it did not even occur to him that there was no such place in the world where one could hide from the eyes of the all-seeing God. There were no people at that terrible moment, but the Spirit of God was invisibly present.

The creator decided to punish the eldest son of Eve for this behavior:

sent him away from his family to live in a foreign country;
branded him with the mark of a murderer so that everyone around him would know who they were dealing with;
not for a second was Cain left with pangs of conscience for what he had done, he could not find peace of mind.

The rest of his life, the killer spent far from his family and constantly thought about how he shed innocent blood a loved one... Cain continued to cultivate crops.

The parents of the sons were very grieved and at first did not know what had happened, but the insidious devil laid out everything in detail in front of Eve. The woman did not know how to comfort herself and how to live on. From this story, the greatest sorrow in the world descended on humanity - the loss of a loved one.

The grief of Adam and Eve

The Creator took pity on Eve and gave her another child, who after birth was named Seth.

Important! This story is instructive for many people, no one has the right to take a person's life, which God himself gave him! The one who committed such a sin will be tormented by his soul until the end of his earthly life and after it.

Cain killed his half-brother out of envy for his luck, for which he paid. The Almighty turned away from the killer and made him wander around the planet and suffer from remorse.

Why God Didn't Accept Cain's Gift

This story confirms that the sacrifice and its size are not important to God, the person's faith, the state of his soul, and his attitude to his neighbors are important to him. The eldest son treated his relatives and the Lord inappropriately, his thoughts were only about his own benefit and success, so the Creator did not accept his sacrifice.

Why were two brothers such different

It is strange that having been born in the same family and having received the same upbringing, two sons were so different.

states that at birth, each soul receives free will, and a person becomes what he wants to be... To become a good man and to lead a righteous life, you need to work on yourself every second. The one who is possessed by laziness slides into the abyss of sins, from which it is already difficult to get out.

The murder of Abel

Cain was blind in soul and lazy, waiting for good luck and divine recognition, without doing anything for this, without working on his thoughts and soul. Sin was waiting for him outside the door, and the eldest son gladly accepted him and kindled hatred for his younger brother in his soul. Envy and anger, having committed the first atrocity in the history of mankind - fratricide.

The Old Testament Bible offers many diverse stories that describe creation and development the existing world, tell about the relationship between people and the Lord.

The first people born on earth were Cain and Abel, the story of these brothers is known to almost every Christian. Through this story, a believer can comprehend deep truths about the world around him and himself.

The Bible tells us that after the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise, they had two children, whom they named Cain and Abel: the first was a farmer, and the second was a sheepherder.

In the Bible, each name carries a significant semantic load, in this book there are no insignificant names. Cain is translated as "receiving, acquiring", "blacksmith", that is, his meaning of life is in the production, the acquisition of something.

This person is strongly connected with the earth, its values, lives mainly with carnal concerns. After the birth of the first child, Eve says: "I got a man from the Lord." Abel (Hevel) is a verbal form, the verb "gaval" means "to breathe" or "breath", it is less attached to the earth, therefore more spiritual.

Each of the young people went about their own business and brought the Lord fruits from their own labors. Abel laid on the altar part of his animals, and Cain - from his harvest.

Note! The legend of the two brothers makes it possible to trace some of the motives of the cultural and historical development of ancient peoples.

Firstly, before us are actually archetypal figures that represent societies of nomads and farmers, and secondly, ancient tradition worship through the offering of various gifts on the altar.

Nevertheless, we will not focus on this rather deep topic and consider in more detail who these brothers are in the context of the Orthodox faith. The Lord accepts a sacrifice from Abel, but does not accept from Cain, and the latter begins to envy his younger brother.

The Lord turns to Cain, and the meaning of the Creator's words is as follows:

you are doing a good deed (bringing an offering to the altar), so why don't you rejoice;
you can be sad only if you do evil, that is, you envy;
as soon as you start to let envy into your heart, then sin is at your "threshold", but you need not obey, but dominate it.

The word "sin" is mentioned for the first time in the book of Genesis. Here are the very basic instructions on how a person should deal with sin — to dominate it and keep it out of his soul.

The eldest son of Adam and Eve turns out to be a sinner who succumbed to temptation. The strongest envy prompts the young man to kill his brother.

The Lord tries to appeal to the conscience of a person, but he does not repent of his deed, after which the mark of Cain appears, forbidding anyone to kill him. Cain was doomed to wander, not knowing revenge for his deeds

As Wikipedia and other popular sources say, referring to various scriptures, the farmer continued his journey until he came to the land of Nod, where he settled and took one of his sisters (Avan or Sarah) as his wife, from whom he received offspring.

There is information about the sons of Cain in the Scriptures, but presumably none of his descendants survived the flood, designed to cleanse the earth from sin. There are different opinions regarding this fact, some researchers indicate not the Kenes people, who were blacksmiths and metallurgists, so they could turn out to be the descendants of a sinner.

Interpreting the story of two brothers

In sermons and books, you can find different interpretations of why Cain killed Abel. It would seem that the event is elementary and unambiguous, but it carries a deep meaning.

Priests and preachers use this legend as an example in various situations. Like many other events from Old Testament, this story is interpreted in their own way by representatives of numerous schools and directions.

Someone describes this story as a symbolic representation of the development of primitive societies, while others consider it an indication of the pleasingness of bringing animals on the altar.

There are even interpretations that depict Cain as an instrument of vengeance, which equated the death of an animal (that is, its existence), which Abel brought to the altar, to the death of a person. In addition, the plot also traces the preference of younger brothers in the family, who in many other stories of the Old Testament also receive privileges from the Lord.

Often, Abel is seen as a kind of a type of Christ, since he suffered undeservedly and is a martyr, while it is he who is more pleasing to the Lord.

Note! According to some teachings, the mark of Cain is a special mark from Lucifer, as a sign of agreement between them. But this worldview contradicts the canons of the church and is more related to the apocrypha.

Of course, it is interesting to delve into all these details from the point of view of the development of erudition and the study of the history of religions and beliefs, but for Orthodox Christian the story of Cain and Abel is perceived as teaching about:

first sin and temptation;
the perniciousness of passions, in this case - envy;
wrong choice and its consequences.

The first person should not grumble at his brother and deceive the Lord, but rather rejoice at the achievements of his brother on the path of serving God and humbly continue to bring the products of agriculture to the altar, showing persistence and humility.

Nevertheless, these qualities did not prevail in him, therefore sin began to take possession of a person, and unkind thoughts led to sinful deeds.

The severity of sin

The edification for Cain, who committed evil, was exile and an eternal stigma. As you know, man was created in the image of the Most High and, although the actual image of God in the form of a picture is not available to people, this concept is accepted.

Thus, anyone who contemplates murder encroaches on the Lord himself, which is a grave sin. God gave the temporality of this body and final death as a tool for people who came out of Eden, allowing them to return back to their Creator.

People who destroy each other use this tool not for its intended purpose, but in their own interests, that is, they actually rebel against the divine plan.

Than Cain killed his younger brother - with a stone. Wanting to repent, a person spoke to the Lord about his own vulnerability, but God made him unharmed, and atonement for sin is equally impossible.

It is useful for any Orthodox Christian to periodically read this story, considering the first tragedy in this world, proceeding from the concept of sin.

Most often, the hero of this story is condemned in every possible way, is considered a negative character, but we should not excessively exalt ourselves over him, it is better to reflect on our life path and do not give in to sinful thoughts from time to time.

Acceptance of the gift

It is still not known why God only accepted the gift from Abel. There are various interpretations, but nothing is said about this in the canonical source.

Apparently, this fact is simply hidden from people and unknown. You should not think about this, and if you do, then only within the framework of exercises for the mind.

For spiritual development it is useful to reflect not on this, but on the difference between people, which has been observed from the very beginning of the world.

It is probably inherent in this world, and the difference will always exist.

Useful video

Let's sum up

People always have a choice: to follow the path of evil, like Cain, who in the end gained nothing for himself and brought only harm, or to follow the path of Abel, taking care of the purity of the soul and thoughts, to fulfill the commandments from the New Testament, to follow love and humility, who do not allow evil or sin into the world.

After Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden, they had sons - Cain and Abel.

The brothers worked honestly, Cain was engaged in agriculture, and Abel was engaged in cattle breeding.

Brothers story

The story of the brothers is probably known to everyone, it tells about the life of the first people, the children of Adam and Eve outside paradise, as well as about the first murder, betrayal and deception. According to the Bible, Cain became the first murderer on earth, and his brother Abel became the first victim to be killed.

Cain and Abel brought gifts to God, the fruits of their labors. Abel respected God and loved him, so he brought gifts from a pure heart. And Cain did not love God, so his gifts were not gracious, he gave them because it was necessary. Then the Lord rejected the sacrifice of Cain, realizing that it was not given from a pure heart.

Cain was angry with his brother, because the Lord loves him more, so he thought. Then he killed his brother with a stone. The killer tried to hide his sin, thereby only aggravating the situation. God hoped that Cain would repent, realize his sin, then he would be forgiven, but this did not happen.

Due to the murder, the elder brother was cursed and banished to the land of Nod. God deprived him of his power, and so that he honestly carried his punishment, made a sign, which said that anyone who took Cain's life and torment would be cruelly avenged.

This story has come down to us in 24 different interpretations, it is described in detail in the Book of Genesis, in chapter 4. The most old version the retelling of the story of the life and death of Cain and Abel dates back to the first century BC. It is recorded in the Kurmansk manuscripts.

Some scholars associate this story with ancient Sumerian legends, which tells about quarrels between the farmers, who year after year tended and ennobled the land, and the herders who roamed the fertile lands to feed your livestock.

Parents of Cain and Abel

According to the Bible, the brothers are the children of the first sinners expelled from paradise - Adam and Eve.

But this is not the only version, since in the Kabbalah Cain is considered the son of Eve and Samael, who was an angel. In Gnosticism, Eve is also called the mother of Cain, but Satan himself is recognized as his father.

Who did Cain and Abel marry

If besides Adam and Eve and their children there were no people, then whom did the brothers marry, how did nations and nations emerge from one family? According to one version, Cain's wife was his Native sister Avan, and according to another wife he was born with him Sava, also his sister.

It is known that Cain had a son - Enoch, in his honor his father named the previously founded city. Cain's family existed for 7 generations, the clan was interrupted later, which they did not survive.

Based on the Enoch manuscripts, it is believed that the spirit of Abel persecuted his brother's lineage. Abel, deprived of his life by his brother, became a martyr and complained about Cain and his entire family until he died out.

How Cain died

There are several versions of the circumstances due to which Cain lost his life. According to the first, he lost his life in own home, was buried under stones when his house collapsed. He was killed by what he killed his younger brother.

According to the law of justice, the evil that we do to our neighbor will return to us several times stronger. When he died, according to some legends, he was 860 years old.

According to another version, he did not manage to escape from the flood. The scriptures say that every year God sent him trials as punishment for his sin, and saved him many times from water and flood. But during the flood, God took mercy and allowed Cain to die so that he would finally find peace.

The third version is related to his descendants. There is a legend that Cain was killed by his relative Lamech, he was blind, but loved to hunt. On the hunt, he took his son with him, who guided his hands in the direction of the prey. Cain had horns on his head, so from a distance between two hills, the boy took him for an animal and pointed his father's weapon in his direction.

The arrow reached its target, when they approached, the boy said that he was mistaken and from the description Lamech recognized his ancestor. Then he killed the boy with his hands clasped into the castle.

The meaning of the name Cain

There are 2 meanings of this name. From the Hebrew root "kana" means to give birth. According to the Bible, this was precisely the meaning, because Eve said that she produced a man.

According to the second version, the root "kin" is taken, which translates as envy. Now you can hear that people who betrayed are called Cain, a name that has become a household name in such cases.

The land where Cain took refuge

After God cursed Cain, he went to the land of Nod, which was east of Eden. Some commentators who tried to connect Nod with the lands known to us suggest that it could be India.

There is one legend that tells that God sent Cain to the moon so that he could observe from there all the joys of earthly life, but he could not touch and feel them. On a full moon, if you look closely at the moon, you can discern the silhouette of Cain, who killed Abel.