In Abrahamic religions Cain and Abel (Hebrew: הֶבֶל ,קַיִן Qayin, Heḇel; Arabic: قابيل، هابيل Qābīl, Hābīl) were two of the sons of Adam and Eve. 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 envy and wrath.
¹Adam knew his wife Eve intimately, and she conceived and bore Cain. She said, “I have had a male child with the Lord’s help.”
To continue reading this Bible article, click here.
Author: Wikipedia
Keywords: Cain and Abel, Cain, Abel
Bible reference(s): Gen 4, Matthew 23:35, Luke 11:51, Hebrews 11:4, Hebrews 12:24, 1 John 3:12, Jude 1:11
Source: This article uses material from the Wikipedia article “Cain and Abel,” which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.
Page indexed by: inWORD Bible Software.