Genesis 4:1-2

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 4:2

And she again bare (literally, added to bear , a Hebraism adopted in the New Testament; vide Luke 20:11 ) his brother Abel. Habel (vanity), supposed to hint either that a mother's eager hopes had already begun to be disappointed in her eider son, or that, having in her first child's name given expression to her faith, in this she desired to preserve a monument of the miseries of human life, of which, perhaps, she had been forcibly reminded by her own maternal sorrows. Perhaps... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Genesis 4:1-16

- Section IV - The Family of Adam- Cain and Abel1. קין qayı̂n, Qain (Cain), “spear-shaft,” and קנה qānah, “set up, establish, gain, buy,” contain the biliteral root קן qan, “set up, erect, gain.” The relations of root words are not confined to the narrow rules of our common etymology, but really extend to such instinctive usages as the unlettered speaker will invent or employ. A full examination of the Hebrew tongue leads to the conclusion that a biliteral root lies at the base of many of... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Genesis 4:1-2

Genesis 4:1-2 . Adam and Eve had many sons and daughters, Genesis 5:4: but Cain and Abel seem to have been the two eldest. Cain signifies possession; for Eve, when she bare him, said, with joy, and thankfulness, and expectation, “I have gotten a man from the Lord.” Abel signifies vanity. The name given to this son is put upon the whole race, Psalms 39:5, “Every man is, at his best estate, Abel, vanity.” Abel was a keeper of sheep He chose that employment which did most befriend... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Genesis 4:1-16

Cain and Abel (4:1-16)Adam and Eve’s first two sons, Cain and Abel, maintained a belief in God and presented offerings to him. Abel offered the best of his flock in humble faith and God accepted him. Cain’s attitude was arrogant and his life ungodly, and therefore God rejected him (4:1-5; cf. Hebrews 11:4; 1 John 3:12; 1 John 3:12). Since the attitude and conduct of the offerer were more important than his gifts, God told Cain that if he wanted God to accept him, he would have to overcome the... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Genesis 4:1

Cain = acquisi t i o n. a man. Hebrew. 'ish . (See App-14 .) Literally "a man, even Jehovah". Revised Version "with the help of", in italics. Hebrew. 'ish 'eth Jehovah. Compare Luke 2:11 . read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Genesis 4:2

Abel = = transitoriness. read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 4:1

And the man knew Eve his wife; and she conceived and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man with the help of Jehovah."And the man knew Eve ..." is an expression used in the Bible for sexual intercourse, but it does not mean that this was the first such action on their part, for it is used repeatedly in the same sense, as in Genesis 4:25."I have gotten a man with (the help of) Jehovah ..." The italic words are not in the text, making possible an alternate rendition: "I have gotten a man, even... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 4:2

And again she bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.The speculation has long prevailed that Cain and Abel were twins, based on the omission of a second statement that Adam knew his wife. This may "very well be the meaning,"[7] but it should not be pressed. Also, it appears that the names of these two brothers were "bestowed by the mother,"[8] which is another hint of the matriarchate, when a man left his father and mother and went to live... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 4:1

Genesis 4:1. And Adam knew his wife, &c.— All the speculations respecting this passage might have been spared, if the words had been rendered, Adam HAD known his wife Eve, a translation which the original perfectly well bears. Moses, it is evident, gives only the most concise account of things, regardless of smaller matters. He was to give a general history of the creation of the world, and of man; of the fall, and expulsion from Paradise; of the effects of that fall, and of the promised... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 4:2

Genesis 4:2. Abel— This word signifies vanity. Calmet says, that Eve having observed in the conduct of Cain that he was not the deliverer which she imagined, gave to her second son a name which might denote the vanity of her former hopes: or she might be desirous to express, that the infant was born subject to the inconstancy and vanity of the things of this world, which she herself began to experience more and more every day. Grotius and others remark, that as the employments of these two... read more

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