Who Was The First Murderer?

by Wayne Blank

Abel, pronounced in the original Hebrew of the Scriptures as heh-bel, was the second-born son of Adam and Eve - but perhaps not by much. After the birth of Cain, Genesis 4:2 literally translates as "and she continued to give birth, his brother Abel." Although it makes no difference to the point of this study, it is possible that not only were Cain and Abel twins, but were also perhaps identical twins (just as Adam and Eve were almost certainly very similar in appearance because Eve was, in effect, a clone of Adam, albeit a female). The biggest difference between Cain and Abel, in the eyes of The Lord, as we shall see, was purely a matter of character.

The Farmer and The Keeper Of Sheep

When they grew up, Cain worked as a farmer, while Abel "kept sheep" - which was not quite a shepherd in the later, more-productive sense. Since humans were then still apparently all vegetarians i.e. from Genesis 1:19, "And God said, "Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat" ("meat," along with its present-day common meaning of "the flesh of animals for food," also literally means "the inner and usually edible part of a seed or grain or nut or fruit stone"). It was only after The Flood that humans also became meat (i.e. the flesh of animals) eaters: "every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things" (Genesis 9:3 KJV). It was therefore Cain the farmer, not Abel the shepherd, that produced food for the family, apart from what they found growing naturally.

Sheep The (culminating?) event that sent Cain into a murderous rage was when the two brothers brought offerings to The Lord; Cain brought an offering first, and then Abel came and somehow topped him.

"And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto The Lord [see also YHVH, Adonai, Jehovah, LORD]. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And The Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell." (Genesis 4:3-5 KJV)

Much debate has been made regarding those two offerings, whether it was the content of the offerings that were received differently, or whether it was the attitude of the giver. Either way, The Lord's recorded response seems only to be concerned with Cain's bad attitude:

"And The Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him." (Genesis 4:6-7 KJV)

The above Scriptures make plain that The Lord didn't somehow reject Cain up to that point, but loved him and encouraged him. But Cain ignored it, as it seems he ignored a great deal more of the Word of God.

"And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him." (Genesis 4:8 KJV)

Fact Finder: Who did Jesus Christ say was the first murderer? Cain? Or Satan? Who did Jesus Christ say "was a murderer from the beginning" (KJV)?
John 8:44

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