CAIN AND ABEL DE-ABRAHAMIZED
Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. And in their manhood gave Abel flocks, and Cain Soil, that his sons be fruitful and prosper.
Now Abel kept his flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as a gift to Adam. And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. Adam looked with favor on Abel and his gift, but on Cain and his gift he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
Then Adam said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, you will not be accepted; greed and envy desire to have you, but you must rule over it.”
Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
Then Adam said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
Adam said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now I curse you drive you from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. You will not work the ground, and it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”
Cain said to Adam, “My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
But Adam said to him, “Not so”; and Adam took Cain and cut his mark on Cain as he would a beast or slave. And adam said “Anyone who kills Cain will suffer my vengeance seven times over.” So Cain went out from Adam’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Where he married, built a city, and prospered.
Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “Adam has given me another child in place of Abel, because Cain has killed him.”
Adam gave Seth his land and his flocks, and Adam, Eve, Seth and his children prospered.
Source date (UTC): 2017-08-08 18:47:00 UTC