Changes

In the [[Greek]] [[New Testament]], Cain is referred to as εκ του πονηρου. [3] In at least one [[translation]] this is rendered "from the evil one", while others have "of the evil one." Some [[interpreters]] take this to mean that Cain was [[literally]] the son of the serpent in the [[Garden of Eden]]. A [[parallel]] [[idea]] can be found in [[Jewish]] [[tradition]], that the serpent (Hebrew nahash נחש) from the [[Garden of Eden]] was father to firstborn Cain.

In the [[Greek]] [[New Testament]], Cain is referred to as εκ του πονηρου. [3] In at least one [[translation]] this is rendered "from the evil one", while others have "of the evil one." Some [[interpreters]] take this to mean that Cain was [[literally]] the son of the serpent in the [[Garden of Eden]]. A [[parallel]] [[idea]] can be found in [[Jewish]] [[tradition]], that the serpent (Hebrew nahash נחש) from the [[Garden of Eden]] was father to firstborn Cain.

In all versions, Cain is a crop farmer and his younger [[brother]] Abel is a shepherd. Cain is portrayed as sinful, committing the first [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder murder] by killing his brother, after [[God]] has rejected his offerings of produce but [[accepted]] the [[animal]] [[sacrifices]] brought by Abel.

In all versions, Cain is a crop farmer and his younger [[brother]] Abel is a shepherd. Cain is portrayed as sinful, committing the first [https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder murder] by killing his brother, after [[God]] has rejected his offerings of produce but [[accepted]] the [[animal]] [[sacrifices]] brought by Abel.

The oldest known copy of the Biblical narration is from the 1st century [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Sea_Scrolls Dead Sea Scrolls]. Cain and Abel also appear in a number of other [[texts]], and the story is the subject of various [[interpretations]]. Abel, the first murder victim, is sometimes seen as the first martyr; while Cain, the first murderer, is sometimes seen as an [[ancestor]] of [[evil]].

The oldest known copy of the Biblical narration is from the 1st century [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Sea_Scrolls Dead Sea Scrolls]. Cain and Abel also appear in a number of other [[texts]], and the story is the subject of various [[interpretations]]. Abel, the first murder victim, is sometimes seen as the first martyr; while Cain, the first murderer, is sometimes seen as an [[ancestor]] of [[evil]].

Allusions to Cain and Abel as an [[archetype]] of fratricide persist in numerous [[references]] and retellings, through medieval art and Shakespearean works up to present day [[fiction]].

Allusions to Cain and Abel as an [[archetype]] of fratricide persist in numerous [[references]] and retellings, through medieval art and Shakespearean works up to present day [[fiction]].

==Etymology==

==Etymology==

Cain and Abel are [[traditional]] [[English]] renderings of the [[Hebrew]] names Qayin (קין) and Havel (הבל). The [[original]] [[text]] did not provide vowels. Abel's name is composed in [[Hebrew]] of the same three consonants as a root speculated by people to have originally meant "[[breath]]", because Rabbis postulated one of its [[roots]] thus, also "waste", but is used in the [[Hebrew Bible]] primarily as a [[metaphor]] for what is "elusive", especially the "[[vanity]]" (another definition by the Rabbis of medieval France, Rashi in specific from his [[translation]] into Old French) of [[human]] [[beauty]] and [[work]] e.g. Hebel Jayophe vanity is as beauty from the [[Song of Songs]] of Solomon. Julius Wellhausen, and many scholars following him, have proposed that the name is [[independent]] of the [[root]]. Eberhard Schrader had previously put forward the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akkadian_(language) Akkadian] (Old Assyrian dialect) ablu ("son") as a more likely etymology. In the Islamic tradition, Abel is named as Hābīl (هابيل), while Cain is named as Qābīl (قابيل). Although their [[story]] is cited in the [[Quran]], neither of them is mentioned by name. Cain is called Qayen in the Ethiopian version of [[Genesis]]. The [[Greek]] of the [[New Testament]] refers to Cain three times, using two syllables ka-in (Κάïν) for the name.

Cain and Abel are [[traditional]] [[English]] renderings of the [[Hebrew]] names Qayin (קין) and Havel (הבל). The [[original]] [[text]] did not provide vowels. Abel's name is composed in [[Hebrew]] of the same three consonants as a root speculated by people to have originally meant "[[breath]]", because Rabbis postulated one of its [[roots]] thus, also "waste", but is used in the [[Hebrew Bible]] primarily as a [[metaphor]] for what is "elusive", especially the "[[vanity]]" (another definition by the Rabbis of medieval France, Rashi in specific from his [[translation]] into Old French) of [[human]] [[beauty]] and [[work]] e.g. Hebel Jayophe vanity is as beauty from the [[Song of Songs]] of Solomon. Julius Wellhausen, and many scholars following him, have proposed that the name is [[independent]] of the [[root]]. Eberhard Schrader had previously put forward the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akkadian_(language) Akkadian] (Old Assyrian dialect) ablu ("son") as a more likely etymology. In the Islamic tradition, Abel is named as Hābīl (هابيل), while Cain is named as Qābīl (قابيل). Although their [[story]] is cited in the [[Quran]], neither of them is mentioned by name. Cain is called Qayen in the Ethiopian version of [[Genesis]]. The [[Greek]] of the [[New Testament]] refers to Cain three times, using two syllables ka-in (Κάïν) for the name.

More recent scholarship has produced another [[theory]], a more direct pun. Abel is here thought to derive from a reconstructed [[word]] [[meaning]] "herdsman", with the modern Arabic cognate ibil, now specifically referring only to "camels". Cain, on the other hand, is thought to be cognate to the mid-1st millennium BC South Arabian word qyn, meaning "metal smith". This [[theory]] would make the names merely descriptions of the roles they take in the [[story]]—Abel working with livestock, and Cain with [[agriculture]]—and would [[parallel]] the names [[Adam]] ("[[man]]") and [[Eve]] ("life", Chavah in Hebrew).

More recent scholarship has produced another [[theory]], a more direct pun. Abel is here thought to derive from a reconstructed [[word]] [[meaning]] "herdsman", with the modern Arabic cognate ibil, now specifically referring only to "camels". Cain, on the other hand, is thought to be cognate to the mid-1st millennium BC South Arabian word qyn, meaning "metal smith". This [[theory]] would make the names merely descriptions of the roles they take in the [[story]]—Abel working with livestock, and Cain with [[agriculture]]—and would [[parallel]] the names [[Adam]] ("[[man]]") and [[Eve]] ("life", Chavah in Hebrew).

The name Abel has been used in many European [[languages]] as both surname and first name. In [[English]], however, even Cain features in 17th century, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puritan Puritan]-influenced [[families]], who had a taste for biblical names, sometimes despite the [[reputation]] of the original [[character]]. Contrary to popular [[belief]], the surname McCain does not mean "Son of Cain" in Gaelic, rather it is a contraction (also McCann) of Mac Cathan. Gaelic cathan means "[[warrior]]", from cath "battle".[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cain_and_Abel]

The name Abel has been used in many European [[languages]] as both surname and first name. In [[English]], however, even Cain features in 17th century, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puritan Puritan]-influenced [[families]], who had a taste for biblical names, sometimes despite the [[reputation]] of the original [[character]]. Contrary to popular [[belief]], the surname McCain does not mean "Son of Cain" in Gaelic, rather it is a contraction (also McCann) of Mac Cathan. Gaelic cathan means "[[warrior]]", from cath "battle".[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cain_and_Abel]

 

[[Category: History]]

[[Category: History]]

[[Category: Languages and Literature]]

[[Category: Languages and Literature]]