Question about Cain

[Angelsflight]

There is something that has always stumped me. Perhaps some of you can shed the light on this. I may have read the story wrong, (I am definitely no bible scholar) but this is what I got out of it…

Cain killed Abel. God marked Cain with some mark so that “other people” would not kill him. He went to another land to live out his life.

Who were these “other people”? There was Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel…and anyone else I would assume are his brothers and sisters by Adam and Eve as well…so who was Cain afraid of? Was he afraid his brothers and sisters might kill him for killing Abel?

 

[COPLAND_3]

Here is the footnotes from the Aquinas Study Bible

**4:11-14 **A remarkable kind of punishment, and a heavy weight of indignation: You will endure the labor, he is saying, you will make every effort on your part and till the soil stained with such blood, but far from experiencing any reward of your many labors you will find all the exertion you expend will be to no avail. Nor will the effects of punishment stop there, a constant lament and trepidation. In other words, I sentence you to endless shuddering and trembling so that you may have in person not only a constant awareness and reminder of this unholy deed, but also that everyone may see you and learn from this sight. (St. John Chrysostom)

4:15 The sign itself, of course, that he would live, always trembling and groaning, and a vagabond and a fugitive, but reminded by this same affliction of his that he was not permitted to be killed at random by just anyone. For anyone who killed him would not only free Cain from great afflictions but by doing so would subject himself to a sevenfold penalty. (St. Bede)

4:16 east side of Eden: Cain did not live far from the garden, for the reason that by being opposite it he might have a constant reminder also of what had happened to his father because of the Fall and also the magnitude of the crimes committed by him. (St. John Chrysostom)

4:17 Cain knew his wife: Whom did Cain marry? His sister of course. At the time, this was not an offense, no law forbidding it, especially since there was no other way to provide the increase of the race. Therefore, God formed one man from the earth, created one woman for him, and filled the whole world with their offspring. To achieve this goal, He allowed intercourse of brother and sister in the beginning, but when the race had increased, He made this kind of marriage unlawful. Hence, in the ark along with Noah and his sons he saved also the wives of his sons, so that the boys could be married to their cousins. (Theodoret of Cyrus)

 

[kra130]

We don’t know how old Cain and Abel were when the murder happened. they could have easily been 700 years old when God put that curse on Cain and have had themselves great great great great great great great grandchildren roaming the earth. So you think 7 generation of people between all of their siblings and there could be several thousands of people living on the earth.

 

[Angelsflight]

We don’t know how old Cain and Abel were when the murder happened. they could have easily been 700 years old when God put that curse on Cain and have had themselves great great great great great great great grandchildren roaming the earth. So you think 7 generation of people between all of their siblings and there could be several thousands of people living on the earth.

Ah! I forgot about the age thing…good point!

 

[Angelsflight]

Here is the footnotes from the Aquinas Study Bible

**4:11-14 **A remarkable kind of punishment, and a heavy weight of indignation: You will endure the labor, he is saying, you will make every effort on your part and till the soil stained with such blood, but far from experiencing any reward of your many labors you will find all the exertion you expend will be to no avail. Nor will the effects of punishment stop there, a constant lament and trepidation. In other words, I sentence you to endless shuddering and trembling so that you may have in person not only a constant awareness and reminder of this unholy deed, but also that everyone may see you and learn from this sight. (St. John Chrysostom)

4:15 The sign itself, of course, that he would live, always trembling and groaning, and a vagabond and a fugitive, but reminded by this same affliction of his that he was not permitted to be killed at random by just anyone. For anyone who killed him would not only free Cain from great afflictions but by doing so would subject himself to a sevenfold penalty. (St. Bede)

4:16 east side of Eden: Cain did not live far from the garden, for the reason that by being opposite it he might have a constant reminder also of what had happened to his father because of the Fall and also the magnitude of the crimes committed by him. (St. John Chrysostom)

4:17 Cain knew his wife: Whom did Cain marry? His sister of course. At the time, this was not an offense, no law forbidding it, especially since there was no other way to provide the increase of the race. Therefore, God formed one man from the earth, created one woman for him, and filled the whole world with their offspring. To achieve this goal, He allowed intercourse of brother and sister in the beginning, but when the race had increased, He made this kind of marriage unlawful. Hence, in the ark along with Noah and his sons he saved also the wives of his sons, so that the boys could be married to their cousins. (Theodoret of Cyrus)

Thank you for your notes! Very interesting information.