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LXX Genesis

Septuagint

About this book
Chapter 4

1 And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and brought forth Cain and said, I have gained a man through God.⁠ 2 And she again bore his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And it was so after some time that Cain brought of the fruits of the earth a sacrifice to the Lord. 4 And Abel also brought of the first born of his sheep and of his fatlings, and God looked upon Abel and his gifts,⁠ 5 but Cain and his sacrifices he did not regard, and Cain was exceedingly sorrowful and his face fell. 6 And the Lord God said to Cain, Why have you become very sorrowful and why is your face fallen? 7 Have you not sinned if you have brought it rightly, but not rightly divided it? be still,⁠ to you shall be his submission, and you shall rule over him.⁠ 8 And Cain said to Abel his brother,⁠ Let us go out into the plain; and it happened that when they were in the plain Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and killed him.⁠ 9 And God said to Cain, Where is Abel your brother? and he said, I do not know, am I my brother's keeper? 10 And God said, What have you done? the voice of your brother's blood cries to me out of the ground. 11 And now you are cursed from the earth which has opened her mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 12 When you till the earth, then it shall not continue to give its strength to you: you shall be groaning and trembling on the earth. 13 And Cain said to the Lord, My crime is too great for me to be forgiven.⁠ 14 If you cast me out this day from the face of the earth, and I shall be hidden from your presence, and I shall be groaning and trembling upon the earth, then it will be that any one that finds me shall kill me. 15 And the Lord God said to him, Not so, any one that kills Cain shall suffer sevenfold vengeance; and the Lord God set a mark upon Cain that no one that found him might kill him. 16 So Cain went forth from the presence of God and lived in the land of Nod over against Eden. 17 And Cain knew his wife, and having conceived she bore Enoch; and he built a city; and he named the city after the name of his son, Enoch. 18 And to Enoch was born Irad; and Irad fathered Mehujael; and Mehujael fathered Methuselah; and Methuselah fathered Lamech. 19 And Lamech took to himself two wives; the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the second Zillah. 20 And Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those that dwell in tents, feeding cattle. 21 And the name of his brother was Jubal; he it was who invented the lute and harp. 22 And Zillah also bore Tubal; he was a smith, a manufacturer both of brass and iron; and the sister of Tubal was Naamah. 23 And Lamech said to his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice, you wives of Lamech, consider my words, because I have killed a man to my sorrow and a youth to my grief. 24 Because vengeance has been exacted seven times on Cain's behalf, on Lamech's it shall be seventy times seven.⁠ 25 And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore a son, and called his name Seth, saying, For God has raised up to me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain killed. 26 And Seth had a son, and he called his name Enosh: he hoped to call on the name of the Lord God.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare LXX Genesis 4:7 and Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 4:4

Septuagint · Early Christian

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Summary

In 1 Clement, the author quotes the story of Cain and Abel from the Greek Septuagint translation of Genesis 4 as the first example of what jealousy does, and shows no interest in the two sacrifices, only in the jealousy that led to murder.

Passages

LXX Genesis 4:7

Septuagint
4 And Abel also brought of the first born of his sheep and of his fatlings, and God looked upon Abel and his gifts, 5 but Cain and his sacrifices he did not regard, and Cain was exceedingly sorrowful and his face fell. 6 And the Lord God said to Cain, Why have you become very sorrowful and why is your face fallen? 7 Have you not sinned if you have brought it rightly, but not rightly divided it? be still, to you shall be his submission, and you shall rule over him. 8 And Cain said to Abel his brother, Let us go out into the plain; and it happened that when they were in the plain Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and killed him.
300–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Genesis

Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 4:4

Early Christian · First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians
1 For it is written, ‘And after some days Cain brought an offering to God from the fruits of the earth, and Abel also brought an offering from the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions.’ 2 And God looked favorably upon Abel and his gifts, but He paid no attention to Cain and his offerings. 3 And Cain grieved deeply, and his face fell. 4 And God said to Cain, ‘Why are you so sorrowful, and why has your face fallen? If you have offered correctly but not divided correctly, have you not sinned? Be still.’ 5 ‘He will turn to you, and you will rule over him.’ 6 And Cain said to Abel, his brother, ‘Let us go to the fields.’ And while they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
90–100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Clement of Rome, 1 Clement

References

“... The earliest Church Father to discuss the Cain and Abel story was Clement of Rome, who cited Gen 4:3–8 in the LXX version simply to illustrate the dangers of jealousy and envy (1 Clement [Epistle to the Corinthians] 4; see also Cyprian, De Zelo et Livore 10:4–5, and Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses III.23.4). He shows no concern with the sacrifice as such. Indeed, the sacrifices of the two brothers receive no mention in the writings of the other Apostolic Fathers, or those of Justin and the other Christian Apologists of the second century, although Theophilus preserves a tradition that God offered Cain a chance to repent of his wickedness, which he refused (Ad Autolycum II.29C). It would seem that Irenaeus (c. 135–200 CE), who was born in Asia Minor (Grant 1997, 1–2), was the first Church Father to offer detailed interpretation of the episode ...”
Robert Hayward, “What Did Cain Do Wrong? Jewish and Christian Exegesis of Genesis 4:3–6,” in The Exegetical Encounter between Jews and Christians in Late Antiquity, ed. Emmanouela Grypeou and Helen Spurling, JCPS 18 (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 114.

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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LXX Genesis 4:7 and Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 4:4

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