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Genesis

About this book

Cain and Abel

Chapter 4

1 Now the man was intimate with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. Then she said, “I have created a man just as the Lord did!”⁠ 2 Then she gave birth to his brother Abel. Abel took care of the flocks,⁠ while Cain cultivated the ground. 3 At the designated time Cain brought some of the fruit of the ground for an offering to the Lord. 4 But Abel brought some of the firstborn of his flock—even the fattest of them. And the Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering,⁠ 5 but with Cain and his offering he was not pleased. So Cain became very angry, and his expression was downcast. 6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why is your expression downcast? 7 Is it not true that if you do what is right, you will be fine? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door.⁠ It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it.”⁠ 8 Cain spoke to his brother Abel.21⁠ While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.⁠ 9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” And he replied, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s guardian?”⁠ 10 But the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground!⁠ 11 So now you are banished from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you try to cultivate the ground it will no longer yield its best for you. You will be a homeless wanderer on the earth.” 13 Then Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is too great to endure!⁠ 14 Look, you are driving me off the land today, and I must hide from your presence. I will be a homeless wanderer on the earth; whoever finds me will kill me!” 15 But the Lord said to him, “All right then, if anyone kills Cain, Cain will be avenged seven times as much.”⁠ Then the Lord put a special mark on Cain so that no one who found him would strike him down. 16 So Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Cain's Descendants

17 Cain was intimate with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was building a city, and he named the city after his son Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael. Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech. 19 Lamech took two wives for himself; the name of the first was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the first of those who live in tents and keep livestock. 21 The name of his brother was Jubal; he was the first of all who play the harp and the flute. 22 Now Zillah also gave birth to Tubal-Cain, who heated metal and shaped all kinds of tools made of bronze and iron.⁠ The sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah. 23 Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, listen to me! You wives of Lamech, hear my words! I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for hurting me. 24 If Cain is to be avenged seven times as much, then Lamech seventy-seven times!”

Seth and His Family

25 And Adam was intimate with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son. She named him Seth, saying, “God has given me another child in place of Abel because Cain killed him.” 26 And a son was also born to Seth, whom he named Enosh. At that time people began to worship the Lord.⁠

Texts in conversation

How Abel Echoes Dumuzi the Sumerian Shepherd King

Ancient Near East, Sumerian · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

The Sumerian King List describes Dumuzi as a shepherd who reigned for 36,000 years in the age before the flood. Genesis 4 similarly identifies Abel as a keeper of flocks in the earliest generations of humanity, before the flood wipes out the world.

Passages

Sumerian King List 1:6

Ancient Near East, Sumerian
When kingship had come down from heaven, kingship was at Eridu. At Eridu, Alulim was king; he reigned 28,800 years. Alalgar reigned 36,000 years. At Bad-tibira, Enmenluanna reigned 43,200 years. Enmengalanna reigned 28,800 years. The divine Dumuzi, the shepherd, reigned 36,000 years. At Larak, Ensipaziana reigned 28,800 years. At Sippar, Enmenduranna was king; he reigned 21,000 years. At Suruppak, Ubartutu was king; he reigned 18,600 years. Five cities; eight kings ruled 241,200 years. The flood swept over.
2100 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Sumerian King List

Genesis 4:2

Hebrew Bible
1 Now the man was intimate with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. Then she said, “I have created a man just as the Lord did!” 2 Then she gave birth to his brother Abel. Abel took care of the flocks, while Cain cultivated the ground. 3 At the designated time Cain brought some of the fruit of the ground for an offering to the Lord. 4 But Abel brought some of the firstborn of his flock—even the fattest of them. And the Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering,
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

References

“… A model of sorts for the story of Cain and Abel may be found in the Sumerian disputation between Enkimdu and Dumuzi. Cain and Abel are the Bible’s antediluvian prototypes of farmer and shepherd respectively—indeed its vehicle for recalling the domestication of plants and animals. Similarly, Enkimdu and Dumuzi are the prototypical and probably likewise antediluvian farmer and shepherd, respectively, of Sumer. In the perennial struggle to please his god and reap the rewards of piety and good behavior, Sumerian man, like his successors including modern man, was often frustrated by the fickleness or capriciousness of fate. His good behavior went unrewarded, while the misdeeds of his neighbor were not visibly punished. …”
William W. Hallo, The World’s Oldest Literature: Studies in Sumerian Belles-Lettres (Leiden: Brill, 2010), 700.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Sumerian King List 1:6 and Genesis 4:2

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