Who are Cain and Abel?
In the Abrahamic religions, Cain and Abel are the sons of Adam and Eve, born after the expulsion of their first parents from Eden. As God commanded, Cain and Abel worked on the earth and ate the fruits of their hard labor. Cain was a farmer, and Abel was a shepherd.
The story of Abel and Cain is the story of the first murder on Earth. The earth at that time was still very young, but had already suffered the influence of the original sin of Adam and Eve. Cain was the first man born on the young Earth, Abel the first man to die.
The story of Cain and Abel is told in the Book of Genesis, chapter four. You can read or listen to the chapter about Cain and Abel by following the link:
| Being. Chapter 4. |
What happened: the history of the conflict
After their fall, Eve and Adam were returned to earth, and in order to survive they needed to cultivate the land, engage in animal husbandry and other labor. The family tried to live according to the commandments of God, wanting to regain the kingdom of heaven.
Over time, they had two sons, Abel and Cain, who also tried throughout their lives to please the Almighty. Abel was engaged in cattle breeding, and the eldest son grew plants.
The sons of Eve made sacrifices to the Creator, wanting to appease Him and receive His mercy, the farmer threw a bunch of fresh ears of corn into the fire, and Abel threw a lamb. The Lord saw the sincere faith of Abel, who often prayed and always lived with faith in his soul. Therefore, the Creator accepted the sacrifice of the younger brother, but ignored the older one .
Abel and Cain make sacrifices to the Creator
Cain lived with pride in his soul and began to envy Abel and his luck. Every day the elder brother hated his blood younger brother more and more. The Creator tried to reason with the sinner, instill in him good thoughts and love in his heart. But the anger was stronger, and the eldest son killed the youngest, bringing grief to his parents by this act. The eldest son was blind from his hatred and was sure that no one knew about his act, and in this he was wrong.
The Almighty sees everything. God asked Cain, “Where is your brother?”, to which the sinner replied: “How should I know? I am not his shepherd.” With this question, the Creator gave the sinner a chance to repent. Any murder is a sin, but shedding the blood of a brother is doubly sinful.
Apparently, the feeling of anger clouded Cain’s mind so much that it did not even occur to him that there was no place in the world where he could hide from the eyes of the all-seeing God. There were no people nearby at that terrible moment, but the Spirit of God was invisibly present.
The Creator decided to punish Eve's eldest son for this behavior:
- sent him away from his family to live in a foreign country;
- branded him with the mark of a killer so that all the people around would know who they were dealing with;
- Not for a second did Cain suffer the pangs of conscience for what he had done; he could not find peace of mind.
The killer spent the rest of his life far from his family and constantly thought about how he shed the innocent blood of his loved one. Cain continued to grow crops.
The parents of their sons were very sad and at first did not know what had happened, but the insidious devil laid out everything in detail before Eve. The woman did not know how to console herself and how to live on. From this story, the greatest grief in the world descended on humanity - the loss of a loved one.
The grief of Adam and Eve
The Creator took pity on Eve and gave her another child, who after birth was named Seth.
Important! This story is instructive for many people; no one has the right to take away the life from a person that God himself gave him! Anyone who has committed such a sin will suffer in soul for the rest of his earthly life and after it.
Cain killed his half-brother out of envy of his luck, for which he paid. The Almighty turned away from the killer and forced him to wander the planet and suffer from remorse.
History of the Antediluvian Church
The world in which we live and to which we ourselves belong consists of creatures that appeared at a certain time and have a certain continuation: this means that all of it, in its entirety, once did not exist. Indeed, God called him into existence. (Gen. 1:1–2; Vas. Vel. on the six-day. Bes. I. Diop. Areon. Neb. Jer. ch. 6 and 7).
At the very beginning, God created from nothing (a) the spiritual, heavenly, invisible world and the material, earthly, visible world a). (Heb. 11:3, Rom. 4:17. 2Mac. 7:28).
In the spiritual world, a mental light has been created, characteristic of the bliss of those whom God loves; rational beings invisible to the eyes of the body were produced from non-existence into being, and all the decoration of mental creations was created. Incorporeal intelligent beings, depending on the degree of their approach to God, constituted the highest, middle and lower ranks. To the highest order belong the flaming, fire-breathing Seraphim, the knowledgeable Cherubim, and the Thrones; to the middle - Dominance, Strength and Authority, to the lower - Principalities, Archangels and Angels. Of the countless number of these disembodied spirits, seven directly stand before the throne of God or enter unrestrainedly before the Glory of the Holy One, these are: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and others.
The fate of the spiritual world is hidden from us. One event is open. A certain Light-Bearer, who shone in the face of the angels like a star among the stars, before pure love for God completely and inalienably penetrated his being, already felt that he had knowledge that was constantly growing and expanding, and seemed to allow him to notice his superiority: then he dreamed of being equal to the Most High God and did not want to be obedient to the will of his Creator. Following this, the goodness of the Creator left him, and he did not maintain his rank: from a pure, light spirit he became unclean, dark. As an opponent of God, he is called Satan; as a critic of all good, who loves lies and denigrates everything that is dear to God, he is called a slanderer, a devil. His example of disobedience to God spread to other spirits: he drew them from heaven with him. Immense pride, which did not allow even a shadow of humility and did not give room for repentance, closed for them forever the mountainous abode of light: cast down into the abyss, in eternal bonds of darkness, they are reserved for the judgment of the predetermined great day.
Everything visible, of which the material world consists, according to its initial creation, had nothing definite in itself: it was something limitless, like an abyss, without solid foundations, without staring images, like water; something that cannot be contemplated and about which nothing positive can be said. Meanwhile, the Spirit of God hovered over this composition of the material world and poured life-giving power into it.
Life 1:3–25, 27, 31; 2:1–8
God communicated the actual structure to the world through His Word.
God said: “Let there be light!” And there was light. God separated the light from the darkness; He called the presence of light day and the darkness night. With this name of day and night, He laid the foundation for time, by which the existence of the earthly world and the continuation of all creatures in it are measured. When the light made its first urgent movement, it was determined: evening, morning and day.
On the second day, God said: “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate waters from waters!” Then, in the newly created abyss of existence, or the so-called original waters, a division occurred. Open spaces accessible to light were created. They separated dark masses of matter from which huge bodies were formed, scattered in countless numbers throughout the immeasurable region of the universe. All these world bodies, including our globe, are firmly held within their Permanent limits by the force contained in those spaces; that is why their totality is designated by the name of the firmament. And God called the firmament heaven.
On the third day, God said: “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear!” And so it happened: the continent moved forward; water flowed into the depressions; the ocean encircled the globe. And God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of waters sea. Then God said: “Let the earth produce greenery, grass with seeds and trees with fruits, which would contain the seed for the continuation of their kind on earth!” – The earth produced greenery, grass, and trees.
On the fourth day, God said: “Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven to separate day from night, to be signs, to determine times, days and years, and may they illuminate the earth from the firmament of heaven! “And God set the sun in the firmament of heaven to illuminate the day, the month to shine in the night, and the stars.
On the fifth day, God said: “Let the waters give birth to reptiles, living creatures, and let birds fly over the earth in the firmament of heaven!” Then the waters were filled with sea monsters, fish and amphibious animals; feathered birds appeared in the air. And God blessed all these animal creatures with the ability to reproduce.
On the sixth day, God said: “Let the earth produce animals with the ability to multiply its kind, livestock, creeping things and beasts of the earth!” When living creatures appeared on land, God created man, male and female.
Thus, in six days the heavens and the earth, and everything that fills and adorns them, were completed. And God looked at everything that he created: he found everything beautiful. The only witnesses to the structure of the visible world were angels. Struck by the greatness and beauty of creation, they sang songs of praise to the Creator and God in the mountain villages.
On the seventh day there were no new works of creation. God rested and blessed the seventh day, that is, He taught him something joyful. He destined intelligent creatures to sanctify this day with memories of God’s good deeds and praises to the Creator of the world and Provider.
Why were the two brothers so different?
It’s strange that being born into the same family and having the same upbringing, the two sons were so different.
The text of the Bible says that at birth, every soul receives free will, and a person becomes what he wants to be . In order to become a good person and lead a righteous life, you need to work on yourself every second. Anyone who is overcome by laziness slides into the abyss of sins, from which it is then difficult to climb out.
Murder of Abel
Cain was blind in soul and lazy, waiting for luck and divine recognition, without doing anything for this, without working on his thoughts and soul. Sin was waiting for him at the door, and the eldest son gladly accepted it and kindled in his soul hatred for his younger brother. Envy and anger, having committed the first atrocity in the history of mankind - fratricide.
Additional articles:
- Eight deadly sins
- Prayer of repentance
Biblical interpretation
Names are always important in the Bible. They talk about the character of the child, as well as the events surrounding his birth. The meaning of the names Cain and Abel is interpreted differently. The first comes from the Hebrew root “kana”, meaning “recipient”, “property”. The name Abel comes from the word “gaval” and means “breath.” We can say that the essence of these individuals is reflected in their names.
Cain is a person who strives to acquire something. He is firmly connected to the earth, lives mainly with carnal concerns. Abel is a man of spirit. He is not tied to the earth at all.
It is possible that the conflict between the brothers is outlined by these names. That is, the struggle of flesh and spirit. Another interpretation is the conflict between the “children of God” and the “children of the devil.”
Compatibility and expression in love
Love for a person named Cain is an everyday necessity. He shows tenderness and care towards his partner, sometimes even burdensome, bordering on obsessive servility.
Cain is easily vulnerable, suspicious and touchy. For no apparent reason, he often gets into a state of irritation. With a long absence of a partner, Cain develops a feeling of abandonment and uselessness. He begins to consider himself unhappy.
In order for the union to be harmonious and long-lasting, you need to find a person who will appreciate touching affection and selfless devotion.
The following names are suitable for Cain: Nika, Kira, Angelina, Anastasia, Zlata and Anna.
The name is Cain. Its description and meaning
We have dealt with the biblical interpretation. Now let's move on directly to considering the general meaning of the name Cain. Children with this name are sociable, cheerful, quickly make contact, and easily make new acquaintances. In adulthood, they do not change radically, only the ability to think becomes better. People named Cain give preference to long-term relationships rather than immediate gains. This rule applies to both personal and business life.
As a rule, those with the name Cain carefully look after themselves and their bodies. They look young for quite a long time, even when the age in the passport indicates otherwise.
What color and metal suits the name Cain, the meaning of which we are considering? White color. If we talk about metal, then it is silver.
The name Cain also has talisman stones. These include: garnet, tavorite, moldavite, shell rock, brown tourmaline, smoky quartz, tanzanite and others.
Characteristics of the name
Continuing to talk about the meaning of the name Cain, I would like to say that people with this name are characterized by extremes. They react negatively to criticism. It usually causes irritation and a rude reaction.
A person named Cain has a strong character, he is happy to help others, not considering such actions as a sign of weakness. Usually he is friendly towards everything that happens. The person is always happy to have guests, is a good friend and an excellent specialist in his work.
The meaning of the letters in the name
The name Cain consists of 4 letters, each of which has its own meaning. Let's get acquainted with them.
The letter “K” stands for insight, ambition, honesty and responsiveness, and “A” stands for initiative and creativity. The letter “I” is intelligence, passion, indecision, responsiveness and gloom. The letter “N” means conflict, sociability, talkativeness, diligence.
