Tag Archives: Cain and Abel

Session 016: Genesis 4: Cain and Abel: Where did Cain Find His Wife?

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We are still looking at the Cain and Abel story. This week we will focus on a few questions that are obvious to individuals who read this for the first time, but that the Western church just seems to gloss over as either not important, or not worth diving into since the answers are not obvious. For those who are either logical in their faith system or are literal in their interpretations of scripture, these are important questions that at least need to be addressed.

  1. If Cain was only the second generation, who was he afraid was going to kill him?
  2. Where did Cain get his wife? If a sister, was that incest?
  3. His parents were kicked out of Eden, what was he kicked out of and where did he go?

  • Scripture Audio:

    Presented as dramatizations from The Bible Gateway.

    Genesis 4

  • Where Did Cain Get His Wife?

    This is a short 2 minute video from crossexamined.org.

    Youtube Video Link:

  • Genesis 4: The Fall Continues

    A walk through the Cain and Abel story with some interesting interpolations with other Biblical scriptures. (13 minutes)

    Youtube Video Link:

  • What/where was the land of Nod in the Bible?

    What/where was the land of Nod in the Bible?

    Article Link:

  • Where did Cain’s Wife Come From?

    Bible Contexts – A five minute video arguing that our ancestors interbread with Neandertals without breaking anything within our reading of scripture.

    Youtube Video Link:

  • A LITERAL ADAM & EVE. NEANDERTHAL DNA, AND THE NEPHILIM

    Answered by Prof. Joshua Swamidass, Computational Biologist, Washington University
    Joshua Swamidass is a professor at Wahinton University and believes that the current scientific understanding of the evolutionary path of modern humanids does not conflict with Biblical literature

    Youtube Video Link:

  • EXTRA CREDIT ARTICLES:

    A few extra credit resources. These resources wont be a direct part of the class discussion, but may prove helpful as you start looking into your own rabbit holes of study.

    Cain in the Land of Nod, Terri Daniel, DMin, CT, CCTP

    Acedemic paper at Academia.edu by an alumnus of San Fracisco Theological Seminary.
    This paper started out as a rather good intellectual argument but then I felt like it started to stray. It has a few good points to pull out, but also represents the very real view of our current state of liberal theological and inclusionary thought within Western Society. Excellent read for perspectives of positions, arguments and reasonings that you will encounter in the the field when discussing Genesis chapter 4. Please read this with discernment as it holds favorable views found wihtin the acedemic and scientific communities, but does not look positively on many traditional church views. (You will need to register for academia.edu to download the article)

    Article Web Page:

    Where did Cain Get His Wife

    Good quick article from a Biblical perpsective that attempts to provide answers to these quistions without violating the enerrancy of the Bible

    Article Web Page:

    Who Were Cain and Abel’s Wives?

    Short and to the point answer from a Catholic perspective.

    Article Web Page:

In addition to the questions of concern listed above, here are a few other concepts to ponder as you work through this scripture and these resources.

  • What are your thoughts on Cain’s ‘separation’ actually being a philisophical or logical view of him being separated from his relationship with God instead of being physically or literally removed?
  • The term Nod is most often tranlated as meaning some sort of wandering. As such is this ‘Place’ more of a state of being than a physical place?
  • Does your personal belief lead you to thinking that the ‘others’ that Cain was worried about were his extended family decended from Adam and Eve or do you believe that there were other huminoids living at the same time in other locations? You can’t dodge this question. What will you answer when this comes up in conversation. Be able to articule your answer.
  • – Do you believe that the ability to articulate your answer (not necessarily even defend it) is more important than what your answer is?
  • You you believe that Cain’s wife was a sister? If so how do you argue/justify/defend the concept of incest in this case?

Session 014: Genesis 4: Cain and Abel: The Sacrifices

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This week we will look at the Cain and Abel story again. We are going to focus on the sacrifices. There are many ways to look at the sacrifices. Thought: God knew Adam and Eve would sin, Cain continues the process, and this continues all throughout the Bible. It seems there is a problem with the offerings Cain and Abel brought. Is it an offering or a sacrifice? Think about this as you read the passages for this week’s lesson.

  • Scripture Audio:

    Presented as dramatizations from The Bible Gateway.

    Genesis 4

  • How did Cain and Abel know to sacrifice?

    A quick article covering how Cain and Abel knew to sacrifice.

    Article Web Page:

  • Why Did God Reject Cain’s Sacrifice?

    This article focuses on the four main theories or thoughts about why God chose one sacrifice over the other.e.

    Article Web Page:

  • Why Abel’s Sacrifice Was Better

    This article focuses on the very traditional view that Cain’s sacrifice was casual.

    Article Web Page:
    Text to Speach Audio Download:

  • EXTRA CREDIT ARTICLES:

    These resourcs wont be a direct part of the class discussion, but may prove helpful as you start looking into your own rabbit holes of study.

    Cain and Abel

    Unlike the other resources for this week, this one looks at the Grace of God towards Cain.

    Article Web Page:

    Cain and Abel: A Story of Rebellion, Judgment, and Grace

    This article looks at some of the nuance within this passage. While it requires a little interpretation, it is based on human personalities and reactions. There is some good insite here to be digested.

    Article Web Page:

    Lessons From the Garden: Why Did Cain and Abel Offer a Sacrifice to God?

    In this article the concept of faith as it relates to the sacrifices is looked at. It is another interesting look at thsis scripture.

    Article Web Page:

As you study the scripture from the point of view of the sacrifices, consider these questions:

  • Was it God’s choice?
  • A problem with attitude or motive?
  • The quality of the sacrifice, was one a sacrifice and the other an offering?
  • Was it their occupation?
  • Was it their heart?

Session 013: Genesis 4: Cain and Abel: Eastern Perspectives

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Last session, we covered Genesis Chapter 4 at a high level. The story of Cain and Abel. This week we are looking at the same story but from more of an Eastern perspective. There are some good learnings to be found here, but there are also some traps, as we will try to point out. Discernment is an important factor here.

  • Scripture Audio:

    Presented as dramatizations from The Bible Gateway.

    Genesis 4

  • BEMA Discipleship Podcast: Master the Beast

    We have heard from the BEMA podcast before and there are several of us in the group who really appreciate the teachings that come from this perspective. In this interpretation, fear and shame are the main drivers of the story. There are some good concepts in this podcast.

    Podcast Web Page:
    Podcast Download:

  • Ancient Hebrew Research Center: The Untold story of Cain and Abel

    This article presents a few subtly different interpretations of situations within the Cain and Abel story based on the meanings of the original Hebrew words. It also shows how the Western version of the story (often told from the King James Version translation) has been shaped by a translation from 400+ years ago that may not have carried the nuance of the Hebrew language.

    Article Web Page:

  • Rabbi David Zaslow: WHAT’S IN A NAME: A SECRET ABOUT CAIN AND ABEL

    This article focuses on the meaning of the names given to Cain and Abel and dives into even more detail about possible meanings of these anmes than we see in our previous tow resources.

    Article Web Page:

  • EXTRA CREDIT (Will not be part of our discussion): My Jewish Learning: What Midrash Teaches About the Rabbis

    This article gives examples of ‘filling in the gaps’ that Rabbis have told to explain or fill in the blanks of the Cain and Abel story. For Christians, I think it presents an opportunity to show why we need to be careful about adding to scripture. Please only read this with discernment and prayer. However, it does open a window on how some non-scriptural beliefs come into our societies vernacular about the Bible.

    Article Web Page:

Here are some questions to prompt your study and/or discussion time:

  • What are your thoughts about fear and shame being driving factors within the Cain and Abel story?
  • Given how important names are within the Eastern culture, what are your thoughts on interpreting the defined personalities of Cain and Abel based on their names?
  • Inferences are made that the livelyhood of Cain and Abel, farming/working versus sheparding/nomading, are directly related to their reactions as well as God’s reactions to the situation; how far down this rabbit hole are you willing to go and does it influence your thoughts on the story?
  • Most of our Western ideas on this story are baised on the interpretation found in the King James Version (and it’s influence on following translations). Do you think that some of the Eastern ideas you heard are relevant or should be discarded?

Session 012: Genesis 4: Cain and Abel: A Traditional View

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This week we dive into Genesis chapter 4. The story of Cain and Abel. This is a short story, seemingly lacking in a lot of detail. And yet there is so much there. It also lends itself to many divergent interpretations depending on your worldview. For this session we are going to look at two rather traditional Western interpretations. yet, they are very different from each other. This will be good to look at these contrasting interpretations even if they are from a very Western perspective.

  • Scripture Audio:

    Presented as dramatizations from The Bible Gateway.

    Genesis 4

  • The Bible You Thought You Knew: The Story of Cain and Abel

    This is a well delivered explanation of Genesis 4 with particular attention to the ‘the ground’.

    Podcast Web Page:
    Podcast Download:

    • The Word on the Street: GENESIS: Cain and Abel

    This is a short podcast that takes a completely different perspective ad lesson from the story of Cain and Abel. This one focuses on relationships and sin. This is more typical of what you would hear in a Western Church rpesentation of the Cain and Abel story. The contrast in these two perspectives will be interesting in our group discussion.

    Podcast Web Page:

Here are some questions to prompt your study and/or discussion time:

  • When you read the story of Cain and Abel, what do you feel that the primary message is about? Obedience? Jeleaousy? Sin? Correction? What else?
  • What do you think about the podcast with a strong focus on ‘the ground’? Have you ever considered the implications of the ground?
  • The Word on the Street Podcast is based toward family devotionals, what did you get out of her interpretation of the story? What was your big take away?
  • What questions are outstanding for you when you read or heard the story? What details seem to be missing?
  • If you felt that there was a life application for you in this sotry, what was it? Hopefully your answer is something other than ‘don’t murder’.

Session 011: Genesis 3: The Fall: Who was the Serpent of Genesis – Part 2

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Based on the active discussion last week, our group has decided to continue the discussion of the serpant over another week. We are adding two short resources to add additional context to our discussion for the next week.

  • Scripture Audio:

    Presented as dramatizations from The Bible Gateway.

    Genesis 3

  • David Guzik: Study Guide for Genesis 3

    David Guzik is he senior pastor at Calvery Chapel in Santa Barbara, California. This study guide follows what we could consider a traditional look at the chapter, but allowing for mutliple interpretations.

    Blog Post:

  • Bnonn Tennant: Who is the serpent in Genesis, and is it an actual snake?

    Tennant does a good job of applying references to his thoughts. This is good because he looks at the spiritual beings in the Bible a little differently than we usually address them in Western though. One of the interesting comparisons that he makes is of the Garden and the Throne Room of the Lord. That leads to a broader discussion of the serpents role within the broader collection of non-human beings around God. Please read this one with discernment. It has some good points, but are outside normal thought. Throughout this post, there are links to related posts that may be of interest and add insite to what he states. This will provide solid discussion materal.

    Blog Post:

  • Wikipedia: Serpents in the Bible

    While we rarely introduce Wikipedia entries, this one does a good job of presenting an unboased view of ‘serpents’ within the Bible and other religious groups that the common public ties closely to Christianity. It includes a few perspectives that are not covered within our previous two resources.
    Wikipedia Entry

  • Don Stewart :: How Do We Understand the Serpent in the Garden of Eden?

    This is an entry written by Don Stewart for the Blue Letter Bible website. His interpretation takes a little different perspective than our groups disucssion took during our first meeting. This is provided to present another perspective for comparison.
    Blue Letter Bible Entry

Here are some questions to prompt your study and/or discussion time:

  • Do you believe that the term ‘serpent’ represents the entities physical characteristics, functional/operational characteristics, or both?
  • What are your thoughts on the Garden of Eden being representative of either the throne room or council room of the Most High?
  • Are you bothered by Bnonn Tennant’s use of the term god to represent the other spiritual beings in God’s court?
  • Why do you think that the serpent focused on Eve instead of Adam?
  • Snakes: Do you think that the serpent was literally a talking snake or that the curse resulted in snakes as we know them today?
  • What do you think happened with the curse?
  • If you were asked to explain the serpent to a non-believer, how would you explain who or what it is?
  • How would you explain the serpent to a believer?