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Cain ''Káïn''; ar, قابيل/قايين, Qābīl/Qāyīn is a Biblical figure in the
Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning" ...
within
Abrahamic religion The Abrahamic religions are a group of religions centered around worship of the God of Abraham. Abraham, a Hebrew patriarch, is extensively mentioned throughout Abrahamic religious scriptures such as the Bible and the Quran. Jewish traditi ...
s. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of
Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He was a
farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer m ...
who gave an offering of his crops to God. However, God was not pleased and favored Abel's offering over Cain's. Out of jealousy, Cain killed his brother, for which he was punished by God with the curse and mark of Cain. He had several children, starting with Enoch and including Lamech. The narrative is notably unclear on Cain's motive for murdering his brother, God's reason for rejecting Cain's sacrifice, and details on the identity of Cain's wife. Some traditional interpretations consider Cain to be the originator of evil, violence, or greed. According to Genesis, Cain was the first human born and the first murderer.


Genesis narrative


Interpretations


Jewish and Christian interpretations

A question arising early in the story is why God rejected Cain's sacrifice. The text states that "In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor.
Genesis 4:3-5a
Noteworthy is the difference in the type of sacrifice: fruits of the soil are renewable and bloodless. Fat-portions are set apart for the Lord [se

, and came from the firstborn - which point to an act of faith, since it is not guaranteed there will be more. The
Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.
he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
suggest that although Abel brought the best meat from his flock, Cain did not set aside for God the best of his harvest. Similar to the internalized spiritual death God warns Adam and Eve of from eating the forbidden fruit - they do not physically die immediately but over the course of time their bodies age and die - the Lord warns Cain that his inappropriate anger is waiting to consume him: "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
Genesis 4:7
]


Curse and Mark

According to , Cain treacherously murdered his brother, Abel, lied about the murder to God, and as a result, was cursed and marked for life. With the earth left cursed to drink Abel's blood, Cain was no longer able to farm the land. He becomes a "fugitive and wanderer", and receives a mark from God - commonly referred to as the '' mark of Cain -'' so that no one can enact vengeance on him.
Exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...
of the
Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond t ...
's narrative, "groaning and shaking upon the earth" has Cain suffering from body tremors. Interpretations extend Cain's curse to his descendants, where they all died in the
Great Deluge A flood myth or a deluge myth is a myth in which a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act of divine retribution. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these myths and the primaeval ...
as retribution for the loss of Abel's potential offspring.


Islamic interpretation


Etymology

One popular theory regarding the name of Cain connects it to the verb "kana" ( ''qnh''), meaning "to get" and used by Eve in when she says after bearing Cain, "I have ''gotten'' a man from the Lord." In this viewpoint, articulated by Nachmanides in the thirteenth century, Cain's name presages his role of mastery, power, and sin. In one of the ''
Legends of the Jews The ''Legends of the Jews'' is a chronological compilation of aggadah from hundreds of biblical legends in Mishnah, Talmud and Midrash. The compilation consists of seven volumes (four volumes of narrative texts and two volumes of footnotes with a ...
'', Cain is the fruit of a union between Eve and
Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehoo ...
, who is also the angel Samael and the serpent in the Garden of Eden, and Eve exclaims at Cain's birth, "I have gotten a man through an angel of the Lord." According to the '' Life of Adam and Eve'' (c. 1st century CE), Cain fetched his mother a reed ('' 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.


Characteristics

Cain is described as a city-builder, and the forefather of tent-dwelling pastoralists, all lyre and pipe players, and bronze and iron smiths. In an alternate translation of Genesis 4:17, endorsed by a minority of modern commentators, Cain's son Enoch builds a city and names it after ''his'' son,
Irad Irad (, ''Irad'') is a name in Hebrew Language, Hebrew. In the Book of Genesis, the grandson of Cain is Irad, Son of Enoch, Irad. Genesis 4:18, in a genealogical passage about the descendants of Cain, contains the only reference to Irad in the B ...
. Such a city could correspond with Eridu, one of the most ancient cities known.
Philo Philo of Alexandria (; grc, Φίλων, Phílōn; he, יְדִידְיָה, Yəḏīḏyāh (Jedediah); ), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. Philo's de ...
observes that it makes no sense for Cain, the third human on Earth, to have founded an actual city. Instead, he argues, the city symbolizes an unrighteous philosophy. In the
New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...
, Cain is cited as an example of unrighteousness in and . The Targumim, rabbinic sources, and later speculations supplemented background details for the daughters of Adam and Eve. Such
exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...
of Genesis 4 introduced Cain's wife as being his sister, a concept that has been accepted for at least 1,800 years. This can be seen with Jubilees 4 which narrates that Cain settled down and married his sister
Awan Awan may refer to: Places * Awan (ancient city), a city-state in Elam in the 3rd millennium BCE * Awan (region), a town in Guna district, Madhya Pradesh, India * Awan, Bhulath, a village in Kapurthala district, Punjab, India, Punjab, Pakistan ...
, who bore their first son, the first Enoch, approximately 196 years after the creation of
Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
. Cain then establishes the first city, naming it after his son, builds a house, and lives there until it collapses on him, killing him on the same year of Adam's death.


Relationship with the ground

In this alternative reading of the text, the ground could be personified as a character. This reading is evidenced by given human qualities, like a mouth, in the scripture. The ground is also the only subject of an active verb in the verse that states, "It opens its mouth to take the blood." This suggests that the ground reacted to the situation. By that logic, the ground could then potentially be an accomplice to the murder of Abel (Jordstad 708). The reaction from the ground raises the question, "Does the intimate connection between humans and the ground mean that the ground mirrors or aids human action, regardless of the nature of that action?"


Other stories

In Jewish tradition,
Philo Philo of Alexandria (; grc, Φίλων, Phílōn; he, יְדִידְיָה, Yəḏīḏyāh (Jedediah); ), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. Philo's de ...
, 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 Sammael, the
serpent Serpent or The Serpent may refer to: * Snake, a carnivorous reptile of the suborder Serpentes Mythology and religion * Sea serpent, a monstrous ocean creature * Serpent (symbolism), the snake in religious rites and mythological contexts * Serp ...
(''nahash'', ) in the
Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden ( he, גַּן־עֵדֶן, ) or Garden of God (, and גַן־אֱלֹהִים ''gan- Elohim''), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the biblical paradise described in Genesis 2-3 and Ezekiel 28 ...
,Louis Ginzberg
''The Legends of the Jews'', Vol. 1
Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998, , pp. 105–09
or the
devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...
himself. Christian exegesis of the "evil one" in have also led some commentators, like
Tertullian Tertullian (; la, Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus; 155 AD – 220 AD) was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of L ...
, to agree that Cain was the son of the
devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...
or some fallen angel. Thus, according to some interpreters, Cain was half-human and half-angelic, one of the Nephilim (Genesis 6).
Gnostic Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized p ...
exegesis in the ''
Apocryphon of John The ''Apocryphon of John'', also called the ''Secret Book of John'' or the ''Secret Revelation of John'', is a 2nd-century Sethian Gnostic Christian pseudographical text attributed to John the Apostle. It is one of the texts addressed by ...
'' has Eve seduced by Yaldabaoth. However, in the '' Hypostasis of the Archons'', Eve is raped by a pair of
Archons ''Archon'' ( gr, ἄρχων, árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, mean ...
. 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 (the latter five aren't mentioned in the Bible). Cain died at the age of 730, leaving his corrupt descendants spreading evil on earth. 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. A heavenly law was cited after the narrative of Cain's death saying:
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.
A Talmudic tradition says that after Cain had murdered his brother, God made a horn grow on his head. Later, Cain was killed at the hands of his great grandson Lamech, who mistook him for a wild beast. A Christian version of this tradition from the time of the
Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...
holds that the slaying of Cain by Lamech took place on a mound called "Cain Mons" (i.e. Mount Cain), which is a corruption of "Caymont", a Crusader fort in
Tel Yokneam Tel Yokneam, also spelled Yoqne'am or Jokneam ( he, תֵּל יָקְנְעָם), is an archaeological site located in the northern part of the modern city of Yokneam Illit. It was known in Arabic by a variant name, Tell Qamun ( ar, تل قامون ...
in modern-day
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. The story of Cain and Abel is also made reference to in chapter 19 of 1 Meqabyan, a book considered canonical in the
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chris ...
. In this text, Cain killed Abel because he desired Abel's wife. According to the Mandaean scriptures including the Qolastā, the Book of John and Genzā Rabbā, Abel is cognate with the angelic soteriological figure Hibil Ziwa who taught John the Baptist. In Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches, Cain is a lunar figure.


Family


Family tree

The following family tree of the line of Cain is compiled from a variety of biblical and extra-biblical texts.


Sisters/wives

Various early commentators have said that Cain and Abel have sisters, usually twin sisters. According to Rabbi Joshua ben Karha as quoted in
Genesis Rabbah Genesis Rabbah (Hebrew: , ''B'reshith Rabba'') is a religious text from Judaism's classical period, probably written between 300 and 500 CE with some later additions. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletical inter ...
, "Only two entered the bed, and seven left it: Cain and his twin sister, Abel and his two twin sisters."


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.: 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), pp. 65–84 The First Epistle of John says the following: Ancient exegetes, such as the
Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.
he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
and the '' Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan'', tell that the motive involved a desire for the most beautiful woman. According to Midrashic tradition, Cain and Abel each had twin sisters; each was to marry the other's. The Midrash states that Abel's promised wife,
Aclima Aclima (also Kalmana, Lusia, Cainan, Luluwa, or Awan) according to some religious traditions was the oldest daughter of Adam and Eve, the sister (in many sources, the twin sister) of Cain. This would make her the first female human who was born ...
, was more beautiful than
Awan Awan may refer to: Places * Awan (ancient city), a city-state in Elam in the 3rd millennium BCE * Awan (region), a town in Guna district, Madhya Pradesh, India * Awan, Bhulath, a village in Kapurthala district, Punjab, India, Punjab, Pakistan ...
, Cain's promised wife. And so, after 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. Rabbinical exegetes have discussed whether Cain's incestuous relationship with his sister was in violation of ''
halakha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...
''.


Legacy and symbolism

A millennia-old explanation for Cain being capable of murder is that he may have been the offspring of a fallen angel or
Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehoo ...
himself, rather than being the son of Adam. A medieval legend has Cain arriving at the
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
, where he eternally settled with a bundle of twigs. This was originated by the popular fantasy of interpreting the shadows on the Moon as a face. An example of this belief can be found in
Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His '' Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ...
's '' Inferno'' (XX, 126
Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ' ...
, The Divine Comedy, Inferno, canto 20
line 126
an
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 Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Penins ...
. Yesternight :The moon was round." Also in Paradiso, canto 2
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?"
) where the expression "Cain and the twigs" is used as a kenning for "moon". In Latter-day Saint theology, Cain is considered to be the quintessential Son of Perdition, the father of '' secret combinations'' (i.e. secret societies and
organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
), as well as the first to hold the title
Master Mahan Master Mahan, in the religious texts of the Latter Day Saint movement, is a title assumed first by Cain and later by his descendant Lamech. The title indicates that Cain and Lamech were each the "master" of a "great secret" in which they covenante ...
meaning ''master of hegreat secret, that emay murder and get gain''. In
Mormon folklore Mormon folklore is a body of expressive culture unique to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and other sects of Mormonism. Mormon folklore includes tales, oral history, popular beliefs, customs, music, jokes ...
—a second-hand account relates that an early Mormon leader, David W. Patten, encountered a very tall, hairy, dark-skinned man in
Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...
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. The recollection of Patten's story is quoted in
Spencer W. Kimball Spencer Woolley Kimball (March 28, 1895 – November 5, 1985) was an American business, civic, and religious leader who was the twelfth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The grandson of early Latter-day ...
's ''
The Miracle of Forgiveness ''The Miracle of Forgiveness'' is a book written by Spencer W. Kimball while he was a member of Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He later became the church's president. Content Origi ...
'', a popular book within
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
. 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)." Freud's theory of fratricide is explained by the
Oedipus Oedipus (, ; grc-gre, Οἰδίπους "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby ...
or Electra complex through
Carl Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, ph ...
's supplementation. There were other, minor traditions concerning Cain and Abel, of both older and newer date. The apocryphal '' Life 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. The author Daniel Quinn, first in his book ''
Ishmael Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...
'' and later in '' The Story of B'', proposes that the story of Cain and Abel is an account of early Semitic herdsmen observing the beginnings of what he calls totalitarian agriculture, with Cain representing the first 'modern' agriculturists and Abel the pastoralists.


Cultural portrayals and references

* In the Old English classic poem ''
Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. ...
'' (c. 1000 CE), the monstrous
Grendel Grendel is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem '' Beowulf'' (700–1000). He is one of the poem's three antagonists (along with his mother and the dragon), all aligned in opposition against the protagonist Beowulf. Grendel is feared by ...
and his mother are said to be descended from Cain. *The expression "Cain-coloured beard" (Cain and Judas were traditionally considered to have red or yellow hair) is used in Shakespeare's '' The Merry Wives of Windsor'' (1602). *
Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...
rewrote and dramatized the story in the play '' Cain'' (1821), viewing Cain as symbolic of a sanguine temperament, provoked by Abel's hypocrisy and sanctimony. *
Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
's poem "La Conscience" (1853, part of the '' La Légende des siècles'' collection) tells of Cain and his family fleeing from God's wrath. * John Steinbeck's 1952 novel '' East of Eden'' (also a 1955 film) refers in its title to Cain's exile and contains discussions of the Cain and Abel story which then play out in the plot. *The
role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal ac ...
'' Vampire: the Masquerade'' (1991) refers to vampires as "Cainites" after Cain, who is referred to as the first vampire. *Country music group 4 Runner's song "
Cain's Blood "Cain's Blood" is a song written by Michael Johnson and Jack Sundrud, and recorded by American country music group 4 Runner. It was released in February 1995 as the first single from the album ''4 Runner''. The song reached number 26 on the US ...
" (1995) uses Cain and Abel as a metaphor for the struggle between good and evil in the song's narrator. * A "Mark of Cain" is featured in the TV series ''
Supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
'' (2005), and Cain appears as a character. * Cain appears as the ultimate antagonist of the comic book series ''
The Strange Talent of Luther Strode ''The Strange Talent of Luther Strode'' is an American comic book published by Image Comics written by Justin Jordan and with art by Tradd Moore and colors by Felipe Sobreiro. It debuted in October 2011. It features historical, horror, pop cultu ...
'' (2011). * In Darren Aronofsky's allegorical film '' Mother!'' (2017), the characters "oldest son" represent Cain and Abel.


See also

* Enoch * Noah * New Adam *
New Eve The New Eve (Latin: ''Nova Eva'') is a devotional title for Mary mother of Jesus. It is perhaps the most ancient doctrinal title given to Mary in the Early Church. Since the apostolic age, both Eastern and Western Church fathers have expressed thi ...


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links

* {{Authority control Bereshit (parashah) Biblical murderers Book of Genesis people Book of Jubilees Children of Adam and Eve Christian mythology Farmers Jewish folklore Jewish mythology Fratricides