1 The man had sexual relations with Havah his wife; she conceived, gave birth to Kayin and said, “I have acquired a man from Adonai.” 2 In addition she gave birth to his brother Hevel. Hevel kept sheep, while Kayin worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Kayin brought an offering to Adonai from the produce of the soil; 4 and Hevel too brought from the firstborn of his sheep, including their fat. Adonai accepted Hevel and his offering 5 but did not accept Kayin and his offering. Kayin was very angry, and his face fell. 6 Adonai said to Kayin, “Why are you angry? Why so downcast? 7 If you are doing what is good, shouldn’t you hold your head high? And if you don’t do what is good, sin is crouching at the door — it wants you, but you can rule over it.” 8 Kayin had words with Hevel his brother; then one time, when they were in the field, Kayin turned on Hevel his brother and killed him.
9 Adonai said to Kayin, “Where is Hevel your brother?” And he replied, “I don’t know; am I my brother’s guardian?” 10 He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground! 11 Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood at your hands. 12 When you farm the ground it will no longer yield its strength to you. You will be a fugitive, wandering the earth.” 13 Kayin said to Adonai, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 You are banning me today from the land and from your presence. I will be a fugitive wandering the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 Adonai answered him, “Therefore, whoever kills Kayin will receive vengeance sevenfold,” and Adonai put a sign on Kayin, so that no one who found him would kill him. 16 So Kayin left the presence of Adonai and lived in the land of Nod, east of ‘Eden.
17 Kayin had sexual relations with his wife; she conceived and gave birth to Hanokh. Kayin built a city and named the city after his son Hanokh. 18 To Hanokh was born ‘Irad. ‘Irad fathered Mechuya’el, Mechuya’el fathered Metusha’el, and Metusha’el fathered Lemekh.
(S: v) 19 Lemekh took himself two wives; the name of the one was ‘Adah, while the name of the other was Tzilah. 20 ‘Adah gave birth to Yaval; he was the ancestor of those who live in tents and have cattle. 21 His brother’s name was Yuval; and he was the ancestor of all who play lyre and flute. 22 Tzilah gave birth to Tuval-Kayin, who forged all kinds of tools from brass and iron; the sister of Tuval-Kayin was Na‘amah. 23 Lemekh said to his wives,
“‘Adah and Tzilah, listen to me;
wives of Lemekh, hear what I say:
I killed a man for wounding me,
a young man who injured me.
24 If Kayin will be avenged sevenfold,
then Lemekh seventy-sevenfold!”
25 Adam again had sexual relations with his wife, and she gave birth to a son whom she named Shet, “For God has granted me another seed in place of Hevel, since Kayin killed him.” 26 To Shet too was born a son, whom he called Enosh. That is when people began to call on the name of Adonai.
Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
Takeaways:
We see the first instance of murder in the bible by Cain (Kayin) against Abel (Hevel) and from this you know that before anyone commits murder it starts in the mind. Nowadays murder can be broken down into many forms, for instance 1st degree, but overall murder is murder. When you murder you kill without a just cause. This is different than murder we see in scripture when Israel is at war. Abel was a servant of God just as Cain was and he let his jealousy get the better of him. We sometimes do that as people which is why Jesus later on tells us that if you hate your brother then you are a murderer (1 John 3:15). If we seek to be with God, then we have to be constantly checking the inner so that we can be with Him in heaven. Most of us have had that feeling of hate for someone for one reason or another and it's a hard feeling to let go of because we can't grasp why someone would do whatever they have done. But Christ lays it out plainly that no murderer has eternal life, and it doesn't matter if it's physical or emotionally. Through Christ is the only way we can change our ways which means that if we follow Him then it doesn't matter what anyone does to me. What matters is you spreading love despite what anyone has done. Again, this is a hard pill to swallow for many, but the result is worth it. The result is inner peace for you and eternal life with Him.
We see that God condemns anyone who kills Cain while he is a fugitive because more murder doesn't make a situation better and He is merciful. Cain was still able to live out his life on earth, as we can see from the list of his descendants, but he did have to live with what he did to Abel. Many of us have to live with the sins we commit and that's a punishment in itself. Also, the thing about committing a sin is that other people can be drawn away in that same manner which we can see because one of Cain's descendants commits murder as well. And so, since the sin of Adam and Eve we can see the role that sin plays, and it doesn't mean anything good for us because what we do can affect others. When we let our emotions take over as opposed to reasoning, it can lead us to sin.
Although Adam and Eve lost a child, Gid doesn't forget them and blesses them with Seth as their third son. It's unique that God is still looking out for them despite what they did to get kicked out the garden. It shows God's loyalty, love and patience.
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