Genesis4_1-2

Genesis 4:1-2

“And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bore Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.

And she again bore his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.”

The word “ידע” (know) in the original Hebrew Bible is very interesting. According to its literal meaning, Adam understood the mystery of pregnancy, and they bore a child. So Eve named her child Cain, which meant “gotten” or “acquired.” Although Eve said the name, Adam also agreed with her in some way. They thought they had received the promise from God Elohim, but they were wrong — Cain was not the man that God Elohim promised. The seed of the woman was meant to crush the head of the serpent. Perhaps it was a consequence of sin that Adam was not as sharp as before.

Later, Eve bore Cain’s brother Abel. Abel in Hebrew “הבל” means “breath,” which expressed that Eve felt emptiness, as if breathing air. Because the redemption was not what she had thought. Perhaps she knew that her life was in vain without God Elohim.

Their works were different and carried special meanings. Since they did not eat meat as food at that time, it was certain that Abel kept sheep according to the gospel from Jehovah God. No blood, no pardon. The skin of the sheep was used to make clothes to cover themselves.

On the other hand, Cain was a tiller of the ground. Because God Elohim gave judgment to Adam that he had to toil for a living from the ground, Cain worked for himself.

From here, two different and opposite lines of humanity emerged in the progress of history.