Genesis 4:3
in Genesis 4So in the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the LORD,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto Jehovah.
KJV
And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.
⋯
This verse in Genesis 4
Commentary
11 notes on this verseIn process of time - מקץ ימים mikkets yamim, at the end of days. Some think the anniversary of the creation to be here intended; it is more probable that it means the Sabbath, on which Adam and his family undoubtedly offered oblations to God, as the Divine worship was certainly instituted, and no doubt the Sabbath properly observed in that family. This worship was, in its original institution, very simple. It appears to have consisted of two parts: 1. Thanksgiving to God as the author and dispenser of all the bounties of nature, and oblations indicative of that gratitude.
This site's exposition
some of the fruit of the soil
on Genesis 4:3-5
Both brothers brought what they had, and the LORD looked with favor on one offering. The verse names the man before the gift in both cases, and Hebrews 11:4 says Abel offered his by faith. Abel's came from the firstborn of his flock, the best portions of it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
A commentator
Philo of Alexandria-20–50
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON GENESIS, I · Written before 50.
proposed
(60) Why Cain after some days offers up the first-fruits of his fruits, but when it is said that "Abel offered up first-fruits of the first-born of his flock and of the fat," "after some days" is not added? (#Ge 4:3-4). Moses here intimates the …
Abel was very discerning in his choice of offerings, whereas Cain showed no such discernment. Abel selected and offered the choicest of his firstborn and of his fat ones, while Cain either offered young grains or certain fruits that are found at the same time …
[The pagans say:] "They find fault with the sacred ceremonies, the sacrificial victims, the burning of incense, and all the other parts of worship in our temples; and yet the same kind of worship had its origin in antiquity with themselves, or from the God whom they worship, for He is represented by them as having been in need of the first-fruits." This question is obviously founded upon the passage in our Scriptures in which it is written that Cain brought to God a gift from the fruits of the earth, but Abel brought a gift from the firstlings of the flock. Our reply, therefore, is, that from this passage the more suitable inference to be drawn is, how ancient is the ordinance of sacrifice which the infallible and sacred writings declare to be due to no other than to the one true God; not because God needs our offerings, seeing that, in the same Scriptures, it is most clearly written, "I said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord, for Thou hast no need of my good," but because, even in the acceptance or rejection or appropriation of these offerings, He considers the advantage of men, and of them alone. For in worshipping God we do good to ourselves, not to Him.
Consider how the Lord of nature added knowledge to conscience. After all, who brought this to our understanding? It was none other than knowledge associated with conscience. The text says, "He brought an offering of the fruits of the earth to the Lord." He knew and understood that he should offer from his own possessions some produce to God as to his master. not because God needs them, but for the purpose of demonstrating his gratitude as being himself a beneficiary of such kindness. God, you see, is proof against need, and depends on nothing we have to offer; but in his ineffable love he shows considerateness for us, and for the sake of our salvation he allows these things to happen so that knowledge of the Lord may be for the human race a school of virtue.
The Medieval Church1 voice
It came to pass after many days that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground: Abel also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof.
4 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
For Cain offered gifts to the Lord from the fruits of the earth. For that people believed they pleased the Lord through good works, which they pursued for the sake of earthly reward.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And in process of time it came to pass,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
CAIN was of the Wicked One and slew his brother. "The way of Cain" is not hard to describe. He is too proud to offer atonement for his sin. He prefers his own way of sacrifice. He presents a bloodless oblation. He hates the obedience of faith. He smites the faithful Abel. Beware of the way of Cain, O proud self-righteous ones, lest you run therein, for the steps are few from self-righteous pride to hatred of true Believers and murder is not far thereafter.
Modern Voices1 voice
He saw the falsehood of that almost universal notion of to-day, the notion that rites and forms are something artificial, additional, and corrupt. Ritual is really much older than thought; it is much simpler and much wilder than thought.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיְהִ֖י | vayhi | and it happened | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| מִקֵּ֣ץ | miketz | from [the] end of | H7093 → | 67 times |
| יָמִ֑ים | yamim | days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| וַיָּבֵ֨א | vaiyave' | and he brought | H935 → | 2568 times |
| קַ֜יִן | kayin | Cain | H7014 → | 19 times |
| מִפְּרִ֧י | miperi | some of [the] fruit of | H6529 → | 119 times |
| הָֽאֲדָמָ֛ה | haadamah | the ground | H127 → | 225 times |
| מִנְחָ֖ה | minchah | an offering | H4503 → | 211 times |
| לַֽיהוָֽה׃ | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וַֽיְהִ֖יand it happened
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
מִקֵּ֣ץfrom [the] end of
miketzH7093 →67 times
יָמִ֑יםdays
yamimH3117 →2304 times
וַיָּבֵ֨אand he brought
vaiyave'H935 →2568 times
קַ֜יִןCain
kayinH7014 →19 times
מִפְּרִ֧יsome of [the] fruit of
miperiH6529 →119 times
הָֽאֲדָמָ֛הthe ground
haadamahH127 →225 times
מִנְחָ֖הan offering
minchahH4503 →211 times
לַֽיהוָֽה׃to Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 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 Kings 17:7Some time later, however, the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
it leads to
- Isaiah 54:10
Though the mountains may be removed and the hills may be shaken, My loving devotion will not depart from you, and My covenant of peace will not be broken,” says the LORD, who has…
- Isaiah 40:30–31
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall.
- Isaiah 54:10
Through
Nehemiah 13:6While all this was happening, I was not in Jerusalem, because I had returned to Artaxerxes king of Babylon in the thirty-second year of his reign. Some time later I obtained leave from the…
it leads to
- Nehemiah 5:14
Furthermore, from the day King Artaxerxes appointed me to be their governor in the land of Judah, from his twentieth year until his thirty-second year (twelve years total), neither I nor my brothers ate…
- Nehemiah 2:5–6
and answered the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city where my fathers are…
- Matthew 13:25
But while everyone was asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and slipped away.
- Nehemiah 5:14
Through
Numbers 18:12I give you all the freshest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain that the Israelites give to the LORD as their firstfruits.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 18:4
You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine, and oil, and the first wool sheared from your flock.
- Exodus 23:19
Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
- Exodus 34:26
Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
- Deuteronomy 18:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies21
On this verse
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Augustine of Hippo, Letters 102.3; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 461: “Am I Clear Of His Blood?” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 3.2.1; GK Chesterton, Heretics, Ch. 6: Christmas and the Aesthetes (1905); John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis; John Chrysostom, Commentary (church-history corpus); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Philo of Alexandria, QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON GENESIS, I.