The Christian church is well aware of its weaknesses, including dubious places in its founding document, in the Old Testament, inherited from the Jews. The Church somehow speaks its teeth to those who question it - why do chapters I and II of the Book of Genesis contradict each other? - they, in fact, set out two different versions of the creation of man.

Another weak point of the church, which, if opened, will turn into a festering wound, is "Cain's wife."

Let us turn to the situation at the time of the murder of Abel by Cain.

Adam and Eve - the first couple, having copulated, multiplied. They have two sons: the firstborn - Cain and the youngest - Abel. And that's it, the Book of Genesis does not mention other children up to this point. There are four on the planet: three males - Adam, Cain, Abel and one female - Eve.

Next, Cain kills his younger brother, allegedly out of jealousy for the favor of Yahweh. The murder is done. I am quoting from Chapter IV of the Book of Genesis. “/16/ And Cain left Yahweh, and settled in the land of Nod opposite Eden. / 17 / And Cain knew his wife, and she carried and gave birth to Hanoch, ”says the Book of Genesis. A question often asked to the Church by meticulous believers who have carefully read the Old Testament:

Who is Cain's wife? After all, there are three people on earth, two of them are men... Enlighten me, holy fathers!

The holy fathers usually answer the same thing: they say, the ancient Jews did not pay any attention to their daughters. And therefore, they say, they did not bother to mention the already born, perhaps, daughter or daughters. That is all the holy fathers can answer. However, the answer does not satisfy me personally at all, because it is precisely among the Jews that a woman is very important, and according to their religious law, a child born from a Jewess is considered a Jew ... Well, I will help the holy fathers, throw a lifeline! Moses [Moses] is considered the author of the Pentateuch of the Old Testament. Many sources state that Moses was an Egyptian. He even has an Egyptian name, Moses (continue - Ramses, Thutmose...). The Egyptians had different historical traditions and customs than later Jews. Among the Egyptians, the pharaohs necessarily married sisters, following the example of the Egyptian first gods: Osiris was married to his sister Isis, and his brother Seth to his sister Nephthys. Fine. Incest shouldn't have bothered Moses. He probably honestly wrote down the Egyptian traditional history of the first people. But someone corrected his story.

Judge for yourself. The fourth chapter of the Book of Genesis, which tells about the murder of Abel by Cain, mentions Cain's wife without naming her, and lists Cain's offspring, naming names, including female ones. And chapter five, “the book of the genealogies of Man,” does not mention either Cain or Abel in any way! Not a word about Cain: it seems that some editor worked on the end of the 4th and on the 5th chapter, but did not finish the work and left sloppy traces. Cain is censored. Cut out. They were trying to hide something. What?

Let's reread the beginning of the 5th chapter of the Book of Genesis: “/1/ This is the book of genealogies of Man. On the day when God created man, in the likeness of God he created him, / 2 / he created them male and female, and blessed them, and called them: Man, on the day he created them. /3/ And the Man lived a hundred and thirty years, and gave birth in his own image. In his own image, and called him Seth. /4/ And it was the days of Man after he gave birth to Seth, eight hundred years, and he gave birth to sons and daughters. / 5 / And there were only days of the Man that he lived, nine hundred and thirty years, and he died.

In the years after the birth of Sheth (note!) both sons and daughters were born to Adam (Man). But before the birth of Sheth, there is no mention of daughters. There is a story of homicide in chapter four, and then a listing of the descendants of Cain. And in the genealogy of Man, neither Cain nor his descendants were found.

The reconstruction of events may look like this: apparently, Cain and Abel, adult sons, at one time moved away from their parents, and one took up farming, and the other cattle breeding. After the murder, Cain returned to his parents, to the country of Nod, which is "opposite Eden", because Adam and Eve fled there, expelled from Paradise. It is not clear how the first parents reacted to the murder of Abel: Adam and Eve. The holy book is silent about their reaction. The attitude of Yahweh towards Cain is known (condescending and even intercessory). And now, be that as it may, the son-murderer of his parents. Here it should be reported that the ancient Jews had a common polygamous family. In addition, Cain was the firstborn son, which gave him a certain sacred halo. There is only one female available, his mother Eva. But no one has yet established what is possible, what is not, the taboo on incest does not yet exist. All for the first time.

A guess comes by itself: Eve, his mother, became Cain’s “wife”, he “knew her”, and she “carried and gave birth ...”, because there were no more women on earth.

What did Cain do wrong? Yes, in fact, did not violate anything. There were no customs yet. He rather founded the custom of a polygamous family.

If you expand the gap that has opened, press the door of conjecture, then it is possible to assume that Cain killed Abel out of jealousy for the favor of Eve. The fact that this is their mother did not matter to them, because there was no morality yet. If we accept this version: Cain killed his brother out of jealousy for the favor of the only female on earth - Eve, then the murder becomes more plausible. The Christian (and Jewish) version that Cain killed Abel out of jealousy for the favor of Yahweh, the persecutor of his family, who expelled his parents from paradise, seems implausible in comparison.

It was the first incest and the first rape. Although there was no morality, Eve was the female of Adam. She got used to Adam, got used to making love with him, getting pregnant and giving birth to children from him. And then there's the killer son.

The son who attacked her both surprised and frightened her at first. But the pleasure still inevitably came.

The shameful (hidden) pleasure of every woman from a certain dose of violence, coercion, goes back (I think I'm not mistaken) to this act of the first incest-rape. Since then, the man has been breaking into the woman with more or less violent violence. And this matrix of behavior (he enjoys violence against her, she - from his violent actions) could not be inherited from love with Adam. Eve, in fact, was part of Adam, was cloned from his rib, and therefore the element of violence was absent in their love.

The Jews later cleaned up the text of the Egyptian Moses. Perhaps the same people completed (putting it first) a new chapter of the Book of Genesis in the early Middle Ages, and this is reliably known, the practice of not entering into the annals and municipal acts of cases of terrible crimes (for example, cannibalism) was widespread. The same seems to have happened with the Book of Genesis. After all, from the point of view of the later Jewish religious and moral code, Cain did something extraordinary and terrible: he committed primicide and the first rape, which is also incest. And Eve alternately gave birth to Adam and Cain. This scandal was hidden. The Jews have covered their tracks.

It is possible that as teenagers both sons, having seized the moment (Adam was not present, but could have been present), whims persistently forced the mother to intercourse. And having matured, they completely quarreled because of her favor, each time snatched from her. And Cain killed Abel and set up a rape mechanism in the matrix.

Do you check your mail often? Let there be something interesting from us.

The most famous brothers in the Christian religion, Cain and Abel, are familiar to every person. Their story while reading the bible made me think a lot. About what lesson they taught humanity, how fratricide influenced the fate of descendants. In this article, I will talk about the story of the two brothers and its various interpretations.

There is probably no person who has not read this biblical story or heard about it. Just in case, let me remind you what happened between the two legendary brothers and tell you about the details.

Cain and Abel are two brothers, children of the ancestors of the entire population of the Earth, sons of Eve and Adam. They were born after having tasted the forbidden fruit, and God expelled the couple from the Gardens of Eden.

The Creator directed His sinning children to engage in hard physical labor, to earn their own food, to take care of food. Cain was engaged in agriculture, and Abel herded cattle in the meadows.

The plot about Cain and Abel describes the legendary fratricide committed on Earth. The planet was then still young, although it had undergone many changes and felt all the negative power of the first sin of Adam and Eve. The elder brother was the first to be born on this planet, and the younger brother was the first to die on it.

This story is told in the fourth chapter of the book of Genesis.

Why did the murder happen?

The brothers were obligated to offer the fruits of their labor to God. The younger brother gave these gifts sincerely, with a pure heart. He did not experience greed and was grateful to the Creator, despite his hard lot. Therefore, God accepted him with gratitude and gave him his favor.

The elder brother gave the fruits of his labors according to his duty. He did not love the Creator, and his gifts were rejected. Full of indignation and envy, in a fit of anger, Cain killed his younger brother. This act was the first terrible crime that defiled the earth.

After the committed fratricide, Cain tried to cover up the traces of the crime, he did not confess to God what he had done. When asked where Abel had disappeared, he replied that he did not follow and did not guard his brother, therefore he did not have the slightest idea where he had disappeared.

God hoped to get a confession and make Cain repent, but he preferred to hide his sin and wanted to avoid punishment. For this monstrous offense, the creator cursed the murderer, saying that the earth would no longer give him fruits and strength. Cain was banished and doomed to wander forever in the land of Nod.

From that moment began a period of wandering and suffering of the older brother, which he was unable to endure. He called out to God with a request that any person he met on the way would kill him.

In response, God commanded that no one could kill Cain, so as not to receive revenge seven times more than he deserves. Therefore, the life of the elder brother continued further in torment and suffering.

How did Cain's wanderings end? Here are the highlights of the story from the Bible:

• Cain gave birth to a son named Enoch and became the founder of his family, as well as the city of the same name.
• There is no definite information about Cain's wife. In various sources, one can see opinions that his wife was his sister, named Avan, or a girl named Sava.
• The family of Cain has seven tribes. It ceased to exist after the Flood, in which the descendants of the fratricide failed to escape.

It is also indicated that the innocent soul of Abel led a horde of other martyrs who persecuted members of the elder brother's family all their lives. His soul could not rest until the race was completely wiped off the face of the earth.

The meaning of the brothers' names

The name of Cain symbolizes envy in all its manifestations. At present, it has become a household name, personifying a person full of evil, meanness, capable of committing a crime against members of his family.

Abel is translated from Hebrew as breath, a powerful positive life energy. Other sources give a translation from the Akkadian language - "son".

Other interpretations

The story of the two brothers has become known to modern society through the study of ancient manuscripts. The most famous of them came out presumably in 250 BC and is called the Dead Sea Scrolls.

In this and other historical manuscripts, Abel is presented as the first person who became a victim of a brutal murder, a martyr who atoned for the sin of his parents before God. The image of Cain is presented as a monstrous killer, the personification of evil, its first manifestation in the human world.

There is another opinion of researchers: some of them believe that the legend of two brothers came from the Sumerians, who wrote about the conflict between farmers and shepherds. Kabbalah indicates that the older brother was not the son of Adam, but the fruit of the love of Eve and the angel Samael. In other sources - the devilish offspring, which was born after the adultery of Eve with Satan himself.

Watch a video about the biblical story of two brothers:

Notable Facts

This biblical story did not leave researchers and scientists alone. Therefore, over time, many interpretations and interpretations of the first fratricide appeared.

Here are the most interesting ones:

1. In biblical stories, the story of Cain and Abel is not the only one in which God gave preference to the youngest of the brothers. This event was repeated at least three times - with David, Joseph and Esau.
2. This story has become an archetypal example of fratricide, envy and betrayal. Various interpretations can be found in works of art in almost any art form.
3. In the Middle Ages, there was a legend that the Creator sent his elder brother into exile on the moon, so that from there he would look after earthly life, yearn for it, but would not be able to return. Therefore, people, during the full moon, can look closely and see the image of an older brother threatening a younger one.

There is another interesting opinion that the sin committed by Cain became the prerequisite for various wars, the cause of which is blood feud. The author of the opinion believes that the reason for the strife is the inequality of people before God and the battle for justice.

Turning the pages of the Holy Bible, we learn many interesting and mysterious stories. It is in this sacred book that the crime is first described - fratricide, which was committed by one of the sons of Adam and Eve. So why did Cain kill Abel, and how was he punished later? Despite the fact that this conflict is described in great detail on the pages of writing, there are several reasons for what happened.

Adam and Eve, returning from paradise to ordinary earth, were forced to start working so that they had something to eat and what to wear. They had sons - Cain and Abel. Each of them chose their own path. Cain began to cultivate the land and grow plants, and Abel liked the occupation of cattle breeding, he became a simple shepherd.

Both of these men were devout and wanted to please God. To appease the Almighty and find his favor, they made sacrifices to him. During one of these sacrifices, Cain lit a small fire and put a bundle of ears of corn into it. Abel lit another fire, slaughtered the fattest lamb and put it on the fire in the same way.

But God accepted only the sacrifice of the younger brother Abel, since he was a pious and kind person. He sincerely believed in the Lord and prayed with a pure soul. The older brother Cain was not noticed by God, because the Almighty saw the falsity of his prayer and presentation. Cain sacrificed only because it was necessary, and not from the heart.

Seeing that Abel was more fortunate, the proud Cain was indignant at this state of affairs. He was filled with anger and envy. He began to hate his own brother. The Lord tried to inspire him with other thoughts and soften his heart, but he remained adamant. The Lord literally told him that a person who started evil commits a sin.

But Cain was already on his way to fratricide. He called Abel into the field and took his life in cold blood. No tears and pleas of the victim, no thought that he would bring grief to his own parents, did not stop the killer.

Cain believed that not a single living soul noticed his heinous deed, but this was not so. The Almighty sees everything. Turning to him, the Lord asked: “Where is your brother?” To which the offender replied: “How do I know, I am not my brother’s keeper!”

Then God decided to punish Cain in the following way:

• put a curse on him;
• send to live in a different direction;
• in no place will the killer find peace and tranquility;
• every hour his conscience will torment him for the innocently shed blood;
• put a special mark on him so that the oncoming people knew who was in front of them, and did not accidentally kill him.

This story has a deep philosophical meaning. We see the reasons that prompted Cain to commit a great sin, we realize the responsibility for the committed actions and we understand that for every crime an identical punishment will surely follow.

Other murder theories

1. According to one version, the woman became the bone of contention. Despite the fact that the Bible speaks of only 4 people who lived at that time, it is believed that the brothers also had sisters. One of them is Avan - both brothers liked, and they could not share it in any way. This theory appeared due to the fact that it was Cain who subsequently married this woman, founded a new city and gave birth to a son.
   
2. Another theory considers this murder unintentional. In Islam, they say that one day, in a rage, Cain grabbed Abel by the breasts and asked the Lord: “What should I do with him?” At this time, the devil was nearby, who whispered to him: “Kill!” Unwittingly, the brother killed Abel.
3. Philosopher Yosef Albo puts forward his version of what happened. He says that Cain could not forgive Abel for killing innocent animals. Because of this, a scandal erupted between them, the result of which was death.
4. Talmudic books say that a battle took place between the brothers, where Abel turned out to be the winner. Wanting to avenge his defeat, Cain went on the murder.

But still, the first version is considered the main version in spiritual literature. Cain was endowed with such vices as malice, indifference, hatred, anger and cruelty, which is why he committed the murder of his blood brother.

Cain was punished according to his deserts. All his life he lived far from his relatives, but even there he did not find peace. As soon as he closed his eyes, the image of his brother Abel appeared in front of him in a pool of blood. His conscience tormented him constantly, he was afraid of any rustle. As soon as a leaf flew off the tree, Cain rushed to run in a panic.

Nevertheless, he continued his favorite business - to cultivate the land. This became the starting point of a new generation of farmers.

Eve spent the rest of her life grieving and crying for her murdered son. At first, no one dared to tell her the whole truth about her sons, but the devil brought her this terrible news and told her everything in detail. It is from here that the heaviest grief in the world comes - the death of a loved one. But nevertheless, he took pity on the unfortunate mother and sent her a new son, who was named Seth, which means “foundation”. This symbolizes the beginning of a new world, in which there should be no anger, indifference and murder.

Human life is given by God, and no one has the right to take it away from a person.

Regardless of why Cain killed Abel, Cain became a household name. It is it that denotes a person - a murderer, a scoundrel and a sinner. To recognize him, just look at the face, drooping and distorted with anger. Great was his crime and worthy was his punishment.

Cain and Abel

First Cain was born to Adam and Eve, then Abel. Abel looked after the sheep, and Cain plowed the ground. Cain gathered the harvest and brought the gift to the Lord, and Abel also decided to take the gift to God. He chose a lamb from the flock and presented it.

God turned to Abel with love, but did not look at Cain. Cain was very upset, his face became gloomy.

Why are you upset, why are you gloomy? God asked. - If your cause is good, why is your face gloomy? If you have conceived something bad, know that sin lies on your doorstep. Sin pulls you to itself, but you be stronger than it.

Let's go, - Cain called Abel. They went out into the field, Cain rushed to Abel and killed him.

Abel's murder

Where is your brother? God asked Cain.

I don't know, Cain replied. - Am I my brother's keeper?

Your punishment is more than you can bear, - Cain answered. - The first person I meet will kill me.

He will take seven revenges on the one who kills you, ”God said and made a sign so that Cain would not fall at the hands of the first comer.

MULTIPLICATION OF PEOPLE

Cain settled in the east of Eden. His wife gave birth to Enoch. Cain built the city of Enoch. Many people appeared to the world in his family - shepherds, musicians and blacksmiths.

Adam was one hundred and thirty years old when Eve again gave birth to a son. They named him Sif.

This one is instead of Abel, whom Cain killed, - said Eve.

Adam had many more children. He lived to be nine hundred and thirty years old.

In the one hundred and fifth year, Enos was born to Seth. Seth lived nine hundred and twelve years. From the generation of Enos came Methuselah, who lived the longest on earth - nine hundred and sixty-nine years. Methuselah was born Lamech.

Lamech also had a son named Noah. And Lamech said of him:

Noah will make it easy for us to work on the God-cursed earth.

From the book Night in the Garden of Gethsemane author Pavlovsky Alexey

CAIN AND ABEL The Bible does not say anything about how Adam and Eve lived after their expulsion from paradise. We only know about the extraordinary longevity of Adam, who lived 930 years. This is not the only case of such longevity, and we will meet more than once on the pages of the Bible with the elders, whose

From the book Go, learn what it means: I want mercy, not sacrifice author USSR Internal Predictor

From the book The Law of God author Sloboda Archpriest Seraphim

Cain and Abel After the expulsion from paradise, children began to be born to Adam and Eve: sons and daughters. (Gen. 5, 4). They named the first son Cain, and the second Abel. Cain was engaged in agriculture, and Abel grazed herds. Once they made a sacrifice to God: Cain - the fruits of the earth, and Abel - the best

From the book School Theology author Kuraev Andrey Vyacheslavovich

ABEL AND CAIN Throughout the Bible, there is a motif that was first outlined in the Six Days: the motif of separation. In the story of the creation of the world, it is clear that the world is created by isolating, dividing, structuring. "According to the determination of the Lord, His works from the beginning, and from their creation He

From the book Biblical Legends. Legends from the Old Testament. author author unknown

CAIN AND ABEL First Cain was born to Adam and Eve, then Abel. Abel looked after the sheep, and Cain plowed the ground. Cain gathered the harvest and brought the gift to the Lord, and Abel also decided to take the gift to God. He chose a lamb from the flock and presented it. God turned to Abel with love, but did not look at Cain.

From the book of the Bible. Modern translation (BTI, per. Kulakov) author bible

Cain and Abel Adam knew his wife, Eve, - she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and said: "I found a man, I found a gift from the Lord!" 2 Then she bore Abel, the brother of Cain. Abel looked after the sheep, and Cain tilled the ground.3 When the time came for the sacrifice, Cain brought fruit to the Lord

From the book of Holy Scripture. Modern Translation (CARS) author bible

Cain and Abel 1 Adam knew Eve, his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain ("acquisition") a. She said, "With the help of the Eternal, I have gained a man." 2 Then she gave birth to his brother Abel. Abel looked after the flocks, and Cain cultivated the land. 3 After a while, Cain brought a gift to the Eternal

From the book of the Bible. New Russian translation (NRT, RSJ, Biblica) author bible

Cain and Abel 1 Adam knew Eve, his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain a. She said, "With the help of the Lord, I have gained a man." 2 Then she gave birth to his brother Abel. Abel looked after the flocks, and Cain cultivated the land. 3 After a while, Cain brought the fruit of the ground as a gift to the Lord, 4 a

From the book My First Sacred History. Christ's Teachings for Children author Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich

Cain and Abel It was hard for Adam and Eve to leave paradise, and it was even harder for them to get used to work and illness. The animals no longer obeyed them and harmed them, the animals fled from them, and the earth did not always bring them fruits for food. They lived in a poor hut in the middle of a field. Soon

From the book Guide to the Bible author Asimov Isaac

Cain and Abel Children were born to Adam and Eve: Gen. 4: 1. ... and ... she [Eve] ... gave birth to Cain, and said: I have gained a man from the Lord. Gen. 4:2. And she also gave birth to his brother, Abel. And Abel was the shepherd of the sheep; and Cain was a farmer. The name Cain (Hebrew "Kayin") is generally considered to mean "blacksmith". On the

From the book Bible tales author author unknown

Cain and Abel Adam and Eve had two sons: Cain and Abel. The eldest, Cain, cultivated the land; the youngest, Abel, was tending the sheep. Abel was distinguished by kindness and meekness; Cain was evil and envious. One day, both brothers wanted to sacrifice to God, that is, as a gift, what was best for them: Cain

From the Bible in stories for children author Vozdvizhensky P. N.

CAIN AND ABEL It was hard for Adam and Eve to leave paradise, but it was even harder for them to get used to work and illness. The animals no longer obeyed and were afraid of them, and the earth did not always bring them fruits for food. Soon, children were born to Adam and Eve. They had two sons: Cain and Abel.

From the Bible for Children author Shalaeva Galina Petrovna

Cain and Abel Adam and Eve were very worried about their separation from God and tried to earn his forgiveness, to show him their love. But how to do this? After all, God did not allow them to even come close to the gates of Paradise and placed a winged cherub with a fiery sword on guard there. Then

From the book Illustrated Bible for Children author Vozdvizhensky P. N.

CAIN AND ABEL It was hard for Adam and Eve to leave paradise, and it was even harder for them to get used to work and illness. The animals no longer obeyed them and harmed them, the animals fled from them, and the earth did not always bring them fruits for food. They lived in a poor hut in the middle of the field. Soon

From the book The Illustrated Bible. Old Testament author bible

Cain and Abel Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bore Cain, and said, I have gained a man from the Lord.2 And she also bore his brother, Abel. And Abel was a shepherd of sheep, and Cain was a farmer.3 After some time, Cain brought a gift from the fruits of the ground to the Lord.4 And Abel also

From the book Biblical Traditions. Old Testament author Yasnov M. D.

Cain and Abel Since Adam lost his paradise abundance, he had to do everything himself - both to get food and build a dwelling. And Eve, as the Lord foretold her, in agony gave birth to her sons - Cain and Abel. Cain became a farmer, Abel a shepherd, and the work of both, like their work

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

Painful is the night on earth outside of Eden.
The abyss of death flows through the veins.
Whispering and crying, falling to his knees,
Old Adam to dying Eve:
"Who
cross the abyss?
Who
restore the Abel race?
Who,
paving the way through the sky,
say the words
to a person
and to God?
Who breaks parting flour -
Tree - for the tree,
By the hand - by the hand? .. "

An ancient Sumerian myth told how the heavenly goddess Inanna chose the shepherd out of 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 allegiance 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 adultery from her breasts... And I will punish her for the days of service to the Baals, when she censed with them, and having adorned herself with earrings and necklaces, went after her lovers, but she forgot Me, says the Lord” (Hosea 2:2) ;13).

The story, located in one of the initial chapters of the book of Genesis, also tells of a shepherd and a farmer. But they do not compete 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 history of the farmer Cain, the elder brother, and the shepherd Abel, the younger brother, is a foretaste of both the history of the calling of Abraham, and the history of the Exodus, and - foreshadowed by them - the Great Exodus of Christ, His Pascha ...

…They make a sacrifice – and in the sacrifice they are separated before the face of God. In fact, the entire history of the human race, according to Genesis, is a history of separation, so that the separated holy people can begin their difficult path to hearing the Living God, until such time when He Himself becomes in the midst of His people in an “equal place” (Lk.6 :17) and will divide by His appearance those who recognized in Him the Messiah, and those who did not.

“... Cain brought a gift to the Lord from the fruits of the earth, and Abel also brought from his first-born flock and from their fat. And the Lord looked upon Abel and his gift, but he did not look at 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 was 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 had befallen her. Just as Cain is not the promised seed of a woman, so his younger brother is all the more vanity and steam, and one cannot hope for him. If Cain, “a man from the Lord” (Gen. 4:1), failed, and did not return the entire human race by the power of his mind and cunning to Eden, did not manage to please God, then where can Abel and his sheep!

But God judged otherwise, and Cain's shock knew no bounds. The story of Genesis is mysterious and difficult to interpret, but it is clear that it seems to concentrate on the personality of Cain - the elder brother. As if in the beginning of insanity, 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 upset? and why did your face droop? if you do good, do you not raise your face? and 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 is as follows: "He [sin] lusts you, you will be his master"(Gen. 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 created according to his own ideas, bestowing power, understands them terribly and destructively for both brothers.

“You rule over him,” Cain hears, and speaks strange words to Abel.

Maybe Cain felt a certain delight and perceived it as a divine revelation. Everything is given to Cain to rule - even the righteousness of Abel! Indeed, what else is a younger, unprepossessing brother for, 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 the long-awaited “seed of a wife”, returning to a lost paradise?! His sacrifice is small - it means that God wants to strengthen it by giving Abel himself, who is pleasing to God with his sacrifices! What a brilliant and terrible paradox! Only a great, outstanding man, the savior of all mankind, can cross over human, brotherly blood! They wanted to be Cain. 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 mankind is lost forever. If anyone could save him, it was the unworldly 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 earth in his piety without going beyond a reasonable framework - he no longer sought to save the world, he was prudent. Adam and Eve realized with anguish that there would never be another like Abel on earth. And even the ascended Enoch was not a sufferer-victim who gave himself entirely - no, not to the cruelty of his brother, but to the mysterious call of God, who sought to descend to earth to share his death, and - so far could not.

He came down - millennia later. He became a victim, and it was not without reason that He mentioned the name of Abel and the shedding of His blood together (Matt. 23:35; Lk. 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 that one person die than the whole nation perish” – united with the blood of Abel, becoming voluntarily his 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 Himself 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 over the face of the earth, who have lost all hope of the return of God to earth, who will speak to them in the coolness of paradise.

Ax - to the root! Will give birth
desert manna and honey?
Son of Abraham prayers
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,

turn the earth with a plow,
sheds the blood of the lamb,
sea, north, south
looking for a brother, it will pass.

Smyrna full and backgammon
His garments and head.
Fulfill all truth
women's words will be fulfilled.

The rocks will crumble. Creene
in the sands will bloom forever.
Mary's only son
From the Lord - Man.