There are several personalities in the biblical narrative whose names, having become common nouns, forever turned into synonyms for evil. Popular rumor traditionally calls a traitor Judas, a cruel and ruthless person - Herod, a rude and tactless person - Ham. And the first in this row is the name of the person who shed the blood of his brother. This name - Cain - gave rise to many neologisms: “Cain’s seed”, “Cain’s seal”. Who really was Cain and is his role in human history so clear?
There are several personalities in the biblical narrative whose names, having become common nouns, forever turned into synonyms for evil. Popular rumor traditionally calls a traitor Judas, a cruel and ruthless person - Herod, a rude and tactless person - Ham. And the first in this row is the name of the person who shed the blood of his brother. This name - Cain - gave rise to many neologisms: “Cain’s seed”, “Cain’s seal”. Who really was Cain and is his role in human history so clear?
History of the expression
Cain was the first man born, not created by God. He became the firstborn of Adam and Eve, born after their fall and expulsion from Paradise. Cain had a younger brother named Abel. He became a cattle breeder and shepherd, while Cain cultivated the fields and worked in the garden.
One day, as the legend says, Cain and Abel brought their sacrifices to God. Abel is the lamb, and Cain is the first ears of wheat and the fruits of the new harvest. But the Lord accepted Abel’s gifts favorably, while he ignored Cain’s sacrifice. Some commentaries on the Old Testament indicate that the older brother acted improperly by bringing unripe bread and spoiled fruit to the altar. However, the Bible itself is silent about this.
After God did not accept Cain’s sacrifice, he, being envious and gloomy from birth, harbored a grudge against his brother. Cain believed that since he was the first person born on earth, he had more rights, so his sacrifice would undoubtedly be favorably accepted by God, no matter what it was. But that did not happen. And the embittered Cain deceived Abel into the field and killed him. This was the first attempt by a person to correct in the world what he personally did not like. Thus, Cain began a series of murders happening on earth.
Then the Lord cursed Cain, placing on him the mark of an outcast and a murderer. However, the purpose of the seal was not only so that everyone would know who was in front of them, but also so that no one could harm the criminal, for the Lord said that whoever raised his hand against Cain would face a terrible fate.
Consequences of the first murder in history
But Cain did not want to hear God. Even after committing the crime, the killer did not come to his senses, his heart turned to stone, sin suppressed his conscience. God asked Cain where his brother was, and this was not so much a question (after all, for the Omniscient Creator there can be no secrets), but a call to repent. But Cain boldly answered the Almighty: “I don’t know, am I my brother’s keeper?” With his shamelessness, he only aggravated the sin and cut off the possibility of correction. For this he was condemned by God to exile and wandering.
Saint Cyril of Alexandria examines in detail the chain of sins of Cain:
“The first sin was that Cain wrongly divided and did not dedicate to God that which was most excellent. The second is that, having recognized sin, he did not turn to repentance and did not correct his sins by turning to the better, but was inflamed with anger and was irritated by the glorification of his neighbor, whereas it should have been better to compete with the latter, and not consider him an enemy and look at him unrighteous eyes. The third and, as it were, attack to commit a savage murder is uncontrollable envy. The fourth is the same: let's go to the field - proof of deceit and flattery. The fifth is the crime of unholy foul murder. As a sixth sin, he may be charged with lying before God” (Works of St. Cyril, Archbishop of Alexandria. Book 2)
Having learned his sentence, Cain trembled. But not from repentance, but from fear that people will take revenge on him for the crime he committed. Once again showing His mercy, God marked Cain with a special sign that prevented anyone from killing the exile. With this sign, the Almighty stopped the threat of increasing murders due to the crime committed by Cain.
Versions about the essence of the Seal of Cain
According to Pope John XXIII, which he expressed during one of his oral conversations, “the sight of the disfigured Cain, marked with the mark of rejection, inspired fear, horror and disgust.” But what do we mean today in the meaning of the phraseological unit “The Seal of Cain”? This expression can be understood as a certain “shadow of a crime” on the face of a person who has already committed an unjust act, and a real mark, similar to the one that was later burned on the forehead of criminals.
However, it is impossible to say with a sufficient degree of certainty what exactly the “Seal of Cain” means and how exactly God marked Cain. The text of the Bible is laconic and therefore difficult to interpret. Some scientists, in particular the English orientalist and biblical scholar William Robertson-Smith, argued at the end of the 19th century that insignia similar to the Seal of Cain were common among tribes of various nations. It could be a hairstyle or a design on the body (tattoo). But this is hardly possible if we are not talking about a narrow tradition, but about an event valid for all mankind - thus, according to John Chrysostom, the fratricide with his appearance should have convinced everyone “not to attempt such deeds, so as not to suffer the same punishments "(complete collection of works of St. John Chrysostom). Moreover, according to the Old Testament, the curse fell not only on Cain himself, but also on the ground on which he walked and on which he shed his brother’s blood. She could no longer feed him. Therefore, Cain was forced to become a wanderer.
Description Edit
The mark is a kind of key to one of the most powerful demonic artifacts - the First Blade: an ancient bone weapon with which Cain once killed his brother Abel (thus launching the very idea of murder into our world).
The mark gives its bearer a number of advantages:
- Immortality - a person with the Mark of Cain lives forever, and upon violent death turns into a demon. After turning into a demon, the owner cannot be killed even by Death. The bearer's only chance of dying is to transfer the Mark to another, after which he may be killed.
- Invulnerability - after turning into a demon, the host becomes practically invulnerable, but as long as he retains his human appearance, even ordinary weapons can harm him. In addition, the physical shell of a demon can always be damaged or even destroyed.
- Super Strength - A person with the Mark of Cain has greater physical strength than a normal person. Dean Winchester has dealt with many dangerous enemies single-handedly. A Marked Demon (such as Cain) is also superior in strength to all of its kind.
- Using the First Blade - The Mark allows you to use the First Blade. In the hands of an ordinary person, it is just an ancient fragment of bone.
- Supernatural Killing - The first blade in the hands of the bearer of the Mark is able to kill any monster, demon, pagan god and angel.
However, the bearer, having received it once, can neither get rid of it nor die, being doomed to forever experience an uncontrollable craving for murder. So, in essence, the Mark of Cain is the very first in history and the most dangerous curse known to mankind. There is still a reliable way to get rid of the Mark, but if you do this without first passing it on to another, Darkness will be released - the greatest original evil.
The Mark can only be removed by the God who created it, Death - provided that the Mark remains with someone else. The Mark can also be removed using a ritual described in the Book of the Damned. To carry it out, it is necessary to collect three components: something created by God, but forbidden to man (forbidden fruit); something created by man, but forbidden by God (golden calf); and the “heart” of the one who performs the ritual (you need to kill the one you love most).
Is the seal of Cain a metaphor?
Therefore, answering the question: “What does the seal of Cain mean?” — we probably need to talk about some kind of metaphorical mark of a monster and a murderer, the “stigma of a crime,” a sign of a person’s depravity. One of the commentators of Scripture and Talmud, Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi), explains that perhaps this was one of the letters of the name of the Almighty, which he inscribed on Cain’s forehead. This sign was supposed to instill fear in those around him - both people and wild animals. However, the name of God is a taboo name, the so-called “tetragrammaton” (a four-letter unpronounceable word). This concept is first found in the Torah. The name of the Lord could not be named, since it is an expression of essence, and God, according to the Book of Books, is omnipresent and indefinable. Thus, the meaning of the expression “Cain’s seal” leads us to a deeper understanding of the meaning of this phraseological unit.
The same sign revealed in one way or another also became a benefit, the protection of God, since it was supposed to restore self-confidence to the criminal. First of all, so that anger and despair would dissipate, and he would find the strength to repent. Therefore, another Talmud expert, Abraham Ibn Ezra, had every reason to say that Cain’s seal is a “sign of God,” a “miracle” that he performed for Cain. This sign appears on the face of someone who has fulfilled the commandment and recognized that he is entirely in the power of the Almighty and under his protection.
Taking into account all of the above, it becomes clear that the meaning of the phraseological unit “Cain’s Seal” can be interpreted much more widely than is usually accepted.
Appearances Edit
9.11 "Firstborn" Edit
After killing the demons, Dean stabs Ruby Cain, but it does him no harm. Cain tells the truth about Abel's death. His brother fell under the influence of Lucifer, and then Cain made a deal: he voluntarily goes to Hell, and Abel goes to Heaven. For Abel to go to Paradise, Cain had to kill him himself. In Hell, Cain became the first Knight of Hell. It was he who trained the other Knights. And it was he, and not the archangels, who killed all the knights with the help of the First Blade.
Cain shows the mark left by Lucifer. It is the key to the First Blade, and without it it is just an ancient bone. He invites Dean to take it, and then retrieve the Blade from the bottom of the ocean and kill Abaddon. Dean agrees.
9.12 "Sharp Teeth" Edit
Sam notices the Mark of Cain on Dean's hand and asks what it is, to which Dean replies that the mark is not from the famous wrestler Kane, but from the same one, and that he received it as a result of collaboration with Crowley. This makes Sam very angry.
9.17 "Mother's Little Helper" Edit
9.19 "Alex Annie Alexis Ann" Edit
9.23 “Do you believe in miracles?” Edit
10.03 "Surviving Soul" Edit
10.06 "Ask Jeeves" Edit
10.09 “What we have already passed” Edit
10.11 "There's No Place Like Home" Edit
10.13 Halt and Catch Fire Edit
10.18 "Book of the Damned" Edit
Sam, seeing his brother's suffering, tries with all his might to find a remedy. The only hope is provided by the Book of the Damned, which contains information about all the most terrible curses known to mankind. Together with Rowena, he takes on deciphering it.
10.21 "Dark Dynasty" Edit
10.23 “Thy Brother's Keeper”Edit
Dean comes up with an unexpected idea on how to end his burden: he must ask Death itself to kill him. This is the only way the Earth will remain safe. However, Death, responding to the call, did not kill Dean. He told him that the Mark is a kind of “castle” created by God to hold back the Darkness. There must always be at least one living bearer of the Mark on Earth, otherwise the Darkness will break free and the Universe will be destroyed. Therefore, even Death cannot kill Dean: Dean’s only chance to die is to transfer the Mark to another, then he will become mortal. But this does not guarantee that the new host will be able to resist it. Death offered Dean this solution to the problem: send him to another planet away from Earth, where he would definitely not harm anyone, but with one condition: Dean must kill Sam so that he would not save him. For this purpose, Death gave Dean his Sickle. Dean agreed, called Sam to a meeting and was already preparing to kill him, but at the last moment he changed his mind and instead killed Death with his own weapon.
Dean frees himself from the Mark
At the same time, Rowena, Castiel and Crowley found the last component and performed a ritual to remove the Mark. The lightning that struck Dean from the sky forever erased the seal of Cain from his hand. But the brothers did not rejoice for long: the Mark ceased to exist, and right before their eyes, Darkness began to burst out of the ground...
11.02 “Form and Emptiness” Edit
11.06 “Our Little World” Edit
11.11 "The Devil is in the Details" Edit
11.22 "A Handful of Lucky People" Edit
“The Seal of Cain” in modern usage
So, in short: the meaning of the phraseological unit “Cain’s seal” informs about the criminal intentions of a person, or that the shadow of a committed offense already lies on him. And the name Cain is a common noun to indicate an evil, envious person, capable of baseness, betrayal, and often having already committed a crime.
It is no coincidence that the Old Russian linguistic parallel leads us to the word okayati (“curse”), an ancient analogue of the words accursed and restless. And in the Church Slavonic language there is a word to repent, that is, to confess one’s sins, to admit them.
Interesting facts Edit
- In the episode "About a Boy", when Hansel turned Dean into a 14-year-old boy, the Mark on his hand disappeared. The darkness did not break free. Perhaps this is explained by the fact that Cain was still alive then.
- Apparently, the mark exudes some kind of dark energy. This conclusion can be drawn from Crowley’s words when he, driving up to Cain’s house, told Dean that he felt something dark.
- Even after transferring the mark, its former owner continues to be influenced by the Darkness, like Cain, who gave the Mark to Dean, since Cain again began to experience a craving for murder, and a craving much greater than ordinary demons like Crowley or even Azazel.
Supernatural Season 9 Episode 11
Firstborn
Crowley turns to Dean for help in finding the First Blade, the only known weapon that can kill Abaddon. Following clues, Dean and Crowley discover that Dean's father once worked with a hunter named Tara, who spent years searching for the blade. Finding the container, they cast a search spell that led them to the "retired" demon Cain, who trained—and then killed—all the other Hell Knights except Abaddon, who escaped his wrath. Kane refuses to help them, even allowing a group of other demons in to fight Dean and Crowley, who kill them. Cain reveals that he wants revenge on Abaddon since she killed his wife, but cannot achieve it himself because he is bound by his promise to his wife not to kill again. Kain also reveals that the spell led them to him because his mark is the source of the blade's power and he can give it to a worthy person. Despite Kane's warnings of an unknown but terrible price, Dean agrees to bear the mark so that he can kill Abaddon. Cain asks Dean to kill him after killing Abaddon, and then sends Dean and Crowley to safety as he single-handedly defeats the Demon Swarm that have arrived to kill them. Noticing that Crowley is giving himself away in small but telling ways, Dean confronts Crowley, having been deceiving and manipulating him all along. This includes Crowley allowing the demons to interrogate, torture and kill Tara so they would find him and Dean, who could prove himself worthy of Cain for the mark. However, Dean can't take revenge on Crowley yet because he still needs Crowley to retrieve the first blade from the bottom of the ocean. In parallel to this plot, Sam and Castiel try to collect some of Gadreel's grace that is still inside Sam so that they can use it to track the Angel. Removing the grace causes Sam to begin returning to the state he was in before Gadreel possessed him, but Sam refuses to let him stop until they get all the grace they need, even if it means his death. Thanks to his short-lived humanity, Castiel empathizes with Sam's desire to compensate the people who died from the choices he, Sam and Dean made. However, he refuses to risk killing Sam and instead completes Sam's healing and removes the final grace. The spell fails because they did not receive enough grace. Castiel goes in search of Metatron, who he believes holds the key to everything.
Watch online episode 11 of season 9 of the TV series Supernatural in Russian in HD quality. In our online cinema you can watch the series on any iOS, Android and Windows Phone mobile devices
Horn of Gabriel
In the TV series Supernatural, a symbol called the horn of Gabriel has quite a powerful power. It is used to attract angels. To activate this sign, a special ritual is necessary. However, this requires very rare ingredients: fairy bone, griffin feathers and blood. The symbol is depicted in the shape of a horn and lights up the moment it is used. Gabriel's horn makes a special sound that attracts all angels within its hearing range. In the TV series Supernatural, Gabriel's horn appears in season 9. It is used by the fallen angel Gadriel to lure angels with the help of a symbol to himself, and then force them to join Metatron, who is an angel and scribe of God.
Seal of Enoch in the TV series “Supernatural”: symbol and its meaning
The Seal of Enoch is a special symbol that can hide an ordinary person from angels and demons. This sign is important because it can act throughout a person’s life. Besides it, another way to hide from magical creatures is to use witch bags, but over time they lose their energy. This sign can be inscribed on walls or on paper, as well as on the body in the form of a tattoo or on the ribs. In the series, the Seal of Enoch appears in season 5. The angel Castiel places this symbol on the ribs of Dean and Sam so that none of the angels and demons, especially Michael and Lucifer, can find them. After this, the Seal of Enoch is used several more times in Season 5, depicted on buildings, and at the end of this episode, Castiel places the mark on Adam Milligan's ribs.
