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“The First Murder” and Reading Questions
The man lay with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought into being a male child.” Afterwards she had another child, Abel. He tended the flock, and Cain worked the land. In due season Cain brought some of the fruits of the earth as an offering to the Lord, while Abel brought the choicest of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord regarded Abel and his offering with favor, but not Cain and his offering. Cain was furious and he glowered. The Lord said to Cain,
“Why are you angry? Why are you scowling? If you do well, hold your head up; if not, sin is a demon crouching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out into the country.” Once there, Cain attacked and murdered his brother. The Lord asked Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I do not know,” Cain answered. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The Lord said, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground. Now you are accursed and will be banished from the very ground which has opened its mouth to receive the blood you have shed. When you till the ground, it will no longer yield you its produce. You shall be a wanderer, a fugitive on the earth.” Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is heavier than I can bear; now you are driving me off the land, and I must hide myself from your presence. I shall be a wanderer, a fugitive of the earth, and I can be killed at sight by anyone.” The Lord answered him, “No: if anyone kills Cain, sevenfold vengeance will be exacted from him.” The Lord put a mark on Cain, so that anyone happening to meet him should not kill him. Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and settled in the land of Nod to the east of Eden.
Mark: according to tradition, on the his forehead
Nod: the Hebrew word for “wandering”
“The First Murder” Reading Questions
1. What advice does God give to Cain after he sees that he is angry and jealous?
2. The Bible story offers no reasons for God’s rejection of Cain’s offering. Why do you think this is? What possible reasons can you suggest?
3. What are Cain’s punishments?
4. What protection does God offer Cain after his crime? Why do you think He gives him a guarantee of protection? If you committed a crime, would you prefer to have a mark that would protect you from others, or to have no mark at all? Explain.
5. Cain asks God, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” What do you think that means?
One more question on back à
6. When should one act as a “brother’s keeper”? Are there occasions or circumstances where one should not act as a “brother’s keeper”? Explain.