Genesis chapter 4 Star Chart: Clockwise from when "Adam (Orion) knew Eve (Virgo) his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain" (4:1), or "she (Virgo) again bare his brother Abel" (4:2), or "Cain (Orion) knew his (Virgo) wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch" (4:17), or "Adah (Virgo) bare Jabal" (4:20) or "Zillah (Coma), she also bare Tubalcain" (4:22), or "Adam (Orion) (red radius) knew his wife (Virgo) again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth" (4:25) till the pregnancy ended in (gibbous lunar) birth was 245° days anciently rather than our modern 266° day pregnancy. |
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Abel Offered His Best to God
4:1 And Adam (Orion) knew Eve (Virgo) his wife; and she (red radius member) conceived, and bare Cain (Orion), and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.
"A man the Lord" --that promised seed that should break the serpents head she thought.The Targum of Palestine, however, has “I have acquired a man, the Angel of the Lord.”
2 And she again bare his brother Abel (Auriga). And Abel (Auriga) was a keeper of sheep, but Cain (Orion) was a (red radius) tiller of the ground.
3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain (Orion) brought of the (lunar black banana) fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.
According to Aben Ezra, it was at the end of the year; So "after days" in Judges 11:4 is meant after a year; and which we there render, as here, "in process of time". This might be after harvest, after the fruits of the earth were gathered in, and so a proper season to bring an offering to the Lord, in gratitude for the plenty of good things they had been favoured with; as in later times, with the Israelites, there was a feast for the ingathering of the fruits of the earth, Exodus 23:16. The Targum of Jonathan fixes this time to the fourteenth of Nisan, as if it was the time of the passover.
4 And Abel (Auriga), he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the (lunar white) fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
either of the fat properly, which in later time was claimed by the Lord as his own, Leviticus 3:16 or of the fattest of his flock, the best lambs he had; the fattest and plumpest, and which were most free from defects and blemishes; not the torn, nor lame, nor sick, but that which was perfect and without spot; for God is to be served with the best we have. Josephus (f) says it was milk, and the firstlings of his flock; and a word of the same letters, differently pointed, signifies milk; and some learned men, as Grotius and others, have given into this sense, observing it to be a custom with the Egyptians to sacrifice milk to their gods: but the word, as here pointed, is never used for milk; nor were such sacrifices ever used by the people of God; and Abel's sacrifice is called by the apostle a "slain" sacrifice
Leviticus 9:24 and Theodotion here renders it, he "fired" it, or "set" it on "fire"; and Jarchi paraphrases it,"fire descended and licked up his offering;''and Aben Ezra,"and fire descended and reduced the offering of Abel to ashes;''
The suggestion that fire from heaven consumed the offering of Abel, but left that of Cain untouched, is a pure conjecture based upon the group of passages in the O.T., in which the fire from God attested the approval of the sacrifice, Leviticus 9:24; Jdg 6:21; Jdg 13:19-20; 1 Kings 18:38; 1 Chronicles 21:26; 2 Chronicles 7:1; 1Ma 2:10-11.
5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell (black lunar frown).
6 And the Lord (red radius) said unto Cain (Orion), Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin (red radius blood) lieth at the (lunar open) door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
Or "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? (like Abel) but if thou doest not well, a sin offering ("hatath": Lev. 4:21-29; 6:25; Nu. 6:14-15; Ezra 6:17; Ez. 44:29) lieth at the door (in readiness to be sacrificed, as an atonement for your offense.) And to remove Cain's jealousy, lest his brother might aspire to pre-eminence, the Lord stated Abel's humility, and submissive disposition: "And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him" (as the elder brother).
Yes, "God made him who knew no sin, to be a sin offering, for our sakes; that we might become God's righteousness in him" (2 Cor. 5:21).
8 And Cain (Orion) (red radius) talked with Abel (Auriga) his brother("Cain said unto Abel his brother, Let us go into the field" -- LXX and Samaritan text both have this clause): and it came to pass, when they were in the (black Zodiac) field, that Cain (Orion) rose up against Abel (Auriga) his brother, and (red radius blood) slew him.
9 And the Lord (red radius) said unto Cain (Orion), Where is Abel (Auriga) thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?
10 And he said, What hast thou done? the (lunar open mouth) voice of thy brother's (red radius) blood (lunar open mouth) crieth unto me from the (black Zodiac) ground.
11 And now art thou (red radius) cursed from the earth, which hath opened her (lunar open) mouth to receive thy brother's (red radius) blood from thy hand;
12 When thou (red radius) tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
13 And Cain (Orion) (red radius) said unto the Lord, My (lunar) punishment is greater than I can bear.
Or "My iniquity is greater than to be forgiven" -- LXX
14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be (lunar frying pan) hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall (red radius) slay me.
15 And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain (Orion), vengeance shall be taken on him (big red radius "7") sevenfold. And the Lord set a (red radius) mark upon Cain (Orion), lest any finding him should kill him.
A red number "7" evidently. if Cain were killed, seven deaths would be exacted in retaliation; the murderer and six of his family would forfeit their lives, cf. 2 Samuel 21:8.“There seems little doubt, that the sign which Jahveh gave to Cain … was a tattoo mark, probably on his forehead (cf. Ezekiel 9:4; Ezekiel 9:6), to show all men that Cain was under His protection, and thus to save his life. In all probability the mark was the ‘sign of Jahveh,’ the tav (Ezekiel 9:4; Ezekiel 9:6)—which was once doubtless worn quite openly by His devotees, and only afterwards degenerated into a superstition.” (Gordon, Early Traditions of Genesis, p. 211.)
16 And Cain (Orion) (red radius) went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
17 And Cain (Orion) knew his wife (Virgo); and she conceived, and bare Enoch (Orion): and he builded a (lunar) city, and (red radius) called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.
(For Cain to marry his sister or any other close relation was not harmful as it is today. There would be few if any genetic disorders at this time. However, as time past, the human race accumulated more and more genetic defects, so by the time of Moses, the laws against incest, as given in Leviticus 18:1, were necessary. These laws helped prevent deformed children.)
18 And unto Enoch (Orion) was born Irad (Auriga): and Irad (Auriga) begat Mehujael (Orion): and Mehujael (Orion) begat Methusael (Auriga): and Methusael (Auriga) begat Lamech (Orion).
19 And Lamech (Orion) took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah (Virgo), and the name of the other Zillah (Coma).
20 And Adah bare Jabal (Auriga): he was the father of such as dwell in (red radius) tents, and of such as have (Auriga) cattle (in his arms).
21 And his brother's name was Jubal (Orion): he was the father of all such as handle the (lunar) harp and organ.
Jubal is thought by some to be the same with Apollo, to whom with the Greeks the invention of the harp is ascribed; and some have been of opinion, that the jubilee trumpet was so called from Jubal, Leviticus 25:9. Sanchoniatho (r) makes Chrysor or Vulcan, the same with Tubalcain, the brother of Jubal, to exercise himself in eloquence, songs and divination, confounding or mistaking the employment of the two brothers. The Arabs have such a notion of the Cainites being the inventors of music, that they commonly call a singing girl "Cainah" (s); and the Arabic writers (t) make Jubal to be the first inventor of music, and that the beasts and birds gathered together to hear him; the same that is said of Orpheus.
(r) Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 1. p. 35. (s) Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. p. 9. (t) Elmacinus, p. 8. apud Hottinger. Smegma, p. 232.
Music is thus regarded as the most ancient art. For the name, compare the word “Jubilee”; yôbêl is “the ram’s horn.”
22 And Zillah (Coma), she also bare Tubalcain (Orion), an instructer of every artificer in (solar) brass and (red rusted radius) iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah (Coma).
And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain,.... Thought by many to be the same with Vulcan, his name and business agreeing; for the names are near in sound, Tubalcain may easily pass into Vulcan; and who, with the Heathens, was the god of the smiths, and the maker of Jupiter's thunderbolts, as this was an artificer in iron and brass, as follows: his name is compounded of two words, the latter of which was no doubt put into his name in memory of Cain his great ancestor; the former Josephus (u) reads Thobel, and says of him, that he exceeded all in strength, and had great skill in military affairs:
an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron; he taught men the way of melting metals, and of making armour and weapons of war, and other instruments, for various uses, out of them; and he seems to be the same with the Chrysor of Sanchoniatho; for he says (w) of them (Agreus and Halieus) were begotten two brothers, the inventors of iron, and of working of it: one of these, called Chrysor, is said to be Hephaestus or Vulcan; and Chrysor, as Bochartus (x) seems rightly to conjecture, is "Choresh-Ur, a worker in fire"; that, by means of fire, melted metals, and cast them into different forms, and for different uses; and one of these words is used in the text of Tubalcain; and so, according to Diodorus Siculus (y), Vulcan signifies fire, and was not only the inventor of fire, but he says he was the inventor of all works in iron, brass, gold, and silver, and of all other things wrought by fire, and of all other uses of fire, both by artificers and all other men, and therefore he was called by all "fire". Clemens of Alexandria (z) ascribes the invention of brass and iron to the Idaeans or priests of Cybele in Cyprus; and so Sophocles in Strabo (a):
(u) Antiqu. l. 1. c. 2. sect. 2.((w) Ut supra. (Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 1. p. 35.) (x) Canaan, l. 2. c. 2. col. 706. (y) Bibliothec. l. 1. p. 11, 13. & l. 5. p. 341. (z) Stromat. l. 1. p. 307. Vid. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 34. c. 1, 2.((a) Geograph. l. 10. p. 326.
The Jews say (e) Naamah was the wife of Noah; Bishop Cumberland (g) conjectures, that she was the wife of Ham, was with him in the ark, and after the flood was the means of leading him into idolatry: what led him to this conjecture was, that he observed in Plutarch, that the wife of Cronus, the same with Ham, is by some called Nemaus, which brought Naamah to his mind. (Notice that Virgo-Naamah holds a golden cup that makes Noah-Auriga drunk with red-radius wine -- Rev. 17:4). Josephus (h) makes the number of children Lamech had by his two wives to be seventy seven.
(e) Bereshit Rabba, sect. 23. fol. 20. 3. Jarchi in loc. Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 1. 2. (g) History of Sanchoniatho, p. 107. (h) Antiqu. l. 1. c. 2. sect. 2.
23 And Lamech (Orion) said unto his wives, Adah (Virgo) and Zillah (Coma), Hear (lunar ear) my (red radius) voice; ye wives of Lamech (Orion), (lunar ear) hearken unto my (red radius) speech: for I have (red radius) slain a man (Auriga) to my wounding, and a young man (Auriga) to my hurt.
for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt; which, as some say, were his great-grandfather Cain, and his son Tubalcain: according to a tradition of the Jews (i), it was after this manner; Cain being old, and blind, and weary, sat in a thicket among the trees to rest himself; when Lamech, who was blind also, and led by Tubalcain hunting, who seeing Cain, and taking him for a wild beast, bid Lamech draw his bow, which he did, and killed him; but coming nearer, and finding it was Cain, was wroth and angry, and slew the young man:
the Arabic writers (k) tell the story with a little variation, and"Lamech being in a wood with one of his sons, and hearing a noise in it, supposing it to be a wild beast, cast a stone, which fell upon Cain, and killed him ignorantly; and the lad that led him said, what hast thou done? thou hast killed Cain; at which being very sorrowful after the manner of penitents, he smote his hands together, and the lad standing before him, he struck his head with both his hands, and killed him unawares; and coming to his wives, Adah and Zillah, said to them, hear my word, he that slew Abel shall be avenged sevenfold, but Lamech seventy times seven, who killed a man with a cast of a stone, and a young man by clapping of his hands.''
And our version, and others, imply, that he killed both a man, and a young man, or some one person or more, and that he was sorry for it, made confession of it; it was to the wounding and grief of his soul, which does not so well agree with one of the wicked race of Cain: wherefore the words may be rendered, "though I have slain a man" (l), that is nothing to you, you are not accountable for it, nor have any thing to fear coming upon you by reason of that; it is to my own wounding, damage, and hurt, if to any, and not to you. Some versions render it, "I would slay a man", &c. (m) any man, young or old, that should attack me; I fear no man: if any man wounds me, or offers to do me any hurt, I would slay him at once; I doubt not but I should be more than a match for him, be he who he will that shall set upon me, and kill him; though I might receive some slight wound, or some little hurt in the engagement, and therefore you need not be afraid of any man's hurting me. The Arabic version reads interrogatively, "have I killed a man &c.?" and so some others (n), I have not; with which agree the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan,"I have not killed a man;''for which he or his posterity should be punished, as they interpreted it; and therefore his wives had no need to fear any ill should befall him or them, or that the murder of Abel should be avenged on them, this being the seventh generation in which it was to be avenged, Genesis 4:15 wherefore it follows,
(i) R. Gedaliah, Shalshaleth Hakabala, fol. 74. 2. Jarchi in loc. (k) Elmacinus, p. 7. apud Hottinger. Smegma Oriental. l. 1. c. 8. p. 224, 225. (l) So the particle is sometimes used; see Nold. Part. Ebr. Concord. p. 399. (m) "interficerem", Vatablus; "certe ausim interficere", Piscator; "sane occiderem, ant occiderim", Muis, Rivet. (n) "An virum inferfeci?" De Dieu.
24 If Cain (Orion) shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech (Orion) seventy and sevenfold.
If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold. Which if understood of him as confessing and lamenting his sin of murder, the sense is, if Cain was so severely punished for killing one man, of how much sorer punishment am I deserving, and shall have, who have killed two persons, and that after I had seen the punishment of Cain, and yet took no warning by it? or if he that killed Cain, who slew his brother, was to be avenged sevenfold, or to seven generations, then how much more, or longer, shall he be avenged, that shall slay me, who have slain none, or however not designedly; and therefore you may be easy and quiet, your fears, either from God or man, are groundless.
25 And Adam (Orion) (red radius) knew his wife (Virgo) again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, (red radius) said she, hath appointed me another (solar) seed instead of Abel (Auriga), whom Cain (Orion) slew.
The name “Seth” (shêth) = “setting” or “slip,” resembles in sound the Hebrew verb for “appointed” or “set” (shâth), and it is to this assonance that Eve’s words refer.
26 And to Seth (Auriga), to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos (Orion): then began men to (red radius) call upon the name of the Lord.