Genesis 4:2
in Genesis 4Later she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the soil.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And again she bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
KJV
And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
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This verse in Genesis 4
Commentary
10 notes on this verseAgain, she bore his brother Abel. Abel is interpreted as grief or miserable, by which name from the earliest age was foreshadowed the condition of his lamentable untimely death.
This site's exposition
With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man
on Genesis 4:1-2
Eve's words at Cain's birth are hard in the Hebrew and have often been read as a hope that this son is the seed promised in chapter 3. Abel's name means breath or vapour. Abel was a keeper of sheep and Cain a tiller of the soil, and the writer gives the younger brother's work first.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
After his disobedience, after their loss of the garden, then it was that the practice of intercourse had its beginning. You see, before their disobedience they followed a life like that of angels, and there was not mention of intercourse.
A commentator
John ChrysostomCommentary (church-history corpus) · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
"She proceeded to give birth to his brother Abel." Since she proved to be grateful for the birth of the first child and acknowledged the former kindness, she enjoyed the good fortune of the second. Our Lord is like this, you see: when we display gratitude for previous good deeds and acknowledge the benefactor, he lavishes his gifts upon us more generously. Accordingly, because she attributed the birth to God, for that reason she receives another child. You see, the generation of children was the greatest consolation from then on, once mortality had come on the scene. For this reason, of course, the loving God at once and from the beginning reduced the severity of their punishment and stripped away the fearsome visage of death by favoring them with the propagation of children, foreshadowing, as it were, in this event an image of resurrection and ensuring that others would rise up in place of the fallen. "Abel was a shepherd, whereas Cain was a tiller of the soil." Sacred Scripture taught us the occupations of each of the children and the fact that while one preferred tending flocks, the other tilled the soil.
Cain was followed by Abel, who was killed by his brother and served as the first prophetic symbol of the City of God. He was like an alien on earth, destined to suffer cruel persecutions at the hands of the wicked men who can properly be called natives of earth because they love this world as their home and find their happiness in the worldly felicity of the earthly city.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Since Adam had been blinded in the eyes of his soul and had fallen from the life imperishable, he began to look with his physical eyes.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And she again bare his brother Abel,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
And she again bare his brother Abel - Literally, She added to bear (ותסף ללדת vattoseph laledeth) his brother. From the very face of this account it appears evident that Cain and Abel were twins.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Abel was a keeper of sheep--literally, "a feeder of a flock," which, in Oriental countries, always includes goats as well as sheep. Abel, though the younger, is mentioned first, probably on account of the pre-eminence of his religious character.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Abel was a keeper of sheep--literally, "a feeder of a flock," which, in Oriental countries, always includes goats as well as sheep. Abel, though the younger, is mentioned first, probably on account of the pre-eminence of his religious character.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
The sense of it is that she gave birth to a son, and she called his name Cain [from the word kanah, acquisition], because she said, I have gotten a man with [the help of] the Eternal.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתֹּ֣סֶף | vatosef | and she repeated | H3254 → | 212 times |
| לָלֶ֔דֶת | laledet | to give birth to | H3205 → | 496 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אָחִ֖יו | ʾachiv | brother his | H251 → | 630 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָ֑בֶל | havel | Abel | H1893 → | 8 times |
| וַֽיְהִי־ | vayhi- | and he was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| הֶ֙בֶל֙ | hevel | Abel | H1893 → | 8 times |
| רֹ֣עֵה | roeh | a herder of | H7462 → | 177 times |
| צֹ֔אן | tzon | sheep | H6629 → | 274 times |
| וְקַ֕יִן | vekayin | and Cain | H7014 → | 19 times |
| הָיָ֖ה | hayah | he was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עֹבֵ֥ד | ʾoved | a tiller of | H5647 → | 288 times |
| אֲדָמָֽה׃ | ʾadamah | [the] ground | H127 → | 225 times |
וַתֹּ֣סֶףand she repeated
vatosefH3254 →212 times
לָלֶ֔דֶתto give birth to
laledetH3205 →496 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אָחִ֖יוbrother his
ʾachivH251 →630 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָ֑בֶלAbel
havelH1893 →8 times
וַֽיְהִי־and he was
vayhi-H1961 →3559 times
הֶ֙בֶל֙Abel
hevelH1893 →8 times
רֹ֣עֵהa herder of
roehH7462 →177 times
צֹ֔אןsheep
tzonH6629 →274 times
וְקַ֕יִןand Cain
vekayinH7014 →19 times
הָיָ֖הhe was
hayahH1961 →3559 times
עֹבֵ֥דa tiller of
ʾovedH5647 →288 times
אֲדָמָֽה׃[the] ground
ʾadamahH127 →225 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 John 3:12Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain slay him? Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous.
it leads to
- Hebrews 11:4
By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 4:4–15
while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock. And the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
- Proverbs 29:27
An unjust man is detestable to the righteous, and one whose way is upright is detestable to the wicked.
- Hebrews 11:4
Through
1 John 3:15Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that eternal life does not reside in a murderer.
it leads to
- Matthew 5:21–22
You have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not murder’ and ‘Anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’
- Matthew 5:21–22
Through
1 John 3:10By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
it leads to
- John 8:44
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him.…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 John 4:8
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
- 3 John 1:11
Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.
- John 8:44
Through
Luke 11:51from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, all of it will be charged to this generation.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 24:20–22
Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood up before the people and said to them, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you transgress the commandments…
- 2 Chronicles 24:20–22
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Augustine of Hippo, City of God 15.15; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 18.12; John Chrysostom, Commentary (church-history corpus); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Symeon the New Theologian, DISCOURSES 15.1.