John Gill Commentary Genesis 4

And Adam knew Eve his wife
An euphemism, or modest expression of the act of coition. Jarchi interprets it, "had known", even before he sinned, and was driven out of the garden; and so other Jewish writers, who think he otherwise would not have observed the command, "be fruitful and multiply": but if Adam had begotten children in a state of innocence, they would have been free from sin, and not tainted with the corruption of nature after contracted; but others more probably think it was some considerable time after; according to Mer Thudiusi, or Theodosius ^F20 , it was thirty years after he was driven out of paradise:

and she conceived and bare Cain ;
in the ordinary way and manner, as women ever since have usually done, going the same time with her burden. Whether this name was given to her first born by her, or by her husband, or both, is not said: it seems to have been given by her, from the reason of it after assigned. His name, in Philo Byblius ^F21 , is Genos, which no doubt was Cain, in Sanchoniatho, whom he translated; and his wife, or the twin born with him, is said to be Genea, that is, (hnyq) , "Cainah": the Arabs call her Climiah ^F22 and the Jewish writers Kalmenah ^F23 ; who are generally of opinion, that with Cain and Abel were born twin sisters, which became their wives.

And said ,
that is, Eve said upon the birth of her firstborn,

I have gotten a man from the Lord ;
as a gift and blessing from him, as children are; or by him, by his favour and good will; and through his blessing upon her, causing her to conceive and bear and bring forth a son: some render it, "I have gotten a man, the Lord" ^F24 ; that promised seed that should break the serpents head; by which it would appear, that she took that seed to be a divine person, the true God, even Jehovah, that should become man; though she must have been ignorant of the mystery of his incarnation, or of his taking flesh of a virgin, since she conceived and bare Cain through her husband's knowledge of her:

however, having imbibed this notion, it is no wonder she should call him Cain, a possession or inheritance; since had this been the case, she had got a goodly one indeed: but in this she was sadly mistaken, he proved not only to be a mere man, but to be a very bad man: the Targum of Jonathan favours this sense, rendering the words,

``I have gotten a man, the angel of the Lord.''

FOOTNOTES:

• F20: Apud Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. p. 6.
• F21: Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 1. c. 10. p. 34.
• F22: Abulpharag. ib.
• F23: Shalshaleth Hakabala, fol. 74. 2.
• F24: (hwhy ta vya) "virum Dominum", Fagius, Helvicus, Forster, Schindler, Luther, Pellican, Cocceius; "virum qui Jehovah est", Schmidt.

And she again bore his brother Abel
Or "added to bare" ^F25 , not directly or immediately, but perhaps the following year; though some have thought, because no mention is made of her conceiving again, that she brought forth Abel at the same time she did Cain, or that the birth of the one immediately followed upon that of the other: and it is the common opinion of the Jews ^F26 that with Abel, as with Cain, was born a twin sister, whom the Arabic writers ^F1 call Lebuda:

the name of Abel, or rather Hebel, signifies not "mourning", as Josephus ^F2 observes, but "vanity", Eve not making that account of him as she did of Cain; or perhaps because by this time she became sensible of her mistake in him, or had met with something which convinced her that all earthly enjoyments were vanity;

or by a spirit of prophecy foresaw what would befall this her second son, that he should be very early deprived of his life in a violent manner:

and Abel was a keeper of sheep :
a calling which he either chose himself, or his father put him to, and gave him; for though he and his brother were born to a large estate, being the heirs of Adam, the lord of the whole earth, yet they were not brought up in idleness, but in useful and laborious employments:

but Cain was a tiller of the ground :
of the same occupation his father was, and he being the first born, was brought up in the same business, and might be a reason why he was put into it.

FOOTNOTES:

• F25: (tdll Potw) "et addidit ut pareret", Pagninus, Montanus; "addidit autem parere", Cocceius, Schmidt.
• F26: Pirke Eliezer. c. 21.
• F1: Abulpharag. ut supra. (Hist. Dynast. p. 6.)
• F2: Antiqu. l. 1. c. 2. sect. 1.

And in process of time it came to pass
Or "at the end of days" ^F3 ; which some understand of the end of seven days, at the end of the week, or on the seventh day, which they suppose to be the sabbath day, these sons of Adam brought their offerings to the Lord: but this proceeds upon an hypothesis not sufficiently established, that the seventh day sabbath was now appointed to be observed in a religious way; rather, 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 have 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, a feast instituted two thousand years after this time, or thereabout; and very stupidly one of the Jewish writers ^F4 observes, that ''the night of the feast of the passover came, and Adam said to his sons, on this night the Israelites will bring the offerings of the passovers, offer you also before your Creator.''

That Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the
Lord ;
corn, herbs, seeds the Targum of Jonathan says it was flax seed; so Jarchi makes mention of an "agadah" or exposition, which gives the same sense; and another of their writers ^F5 observes, that Cain brought what was left of his food, or light and trifling things, flax or hemp seed. This he brought either to his father, as some think, being priest in his family; or rather he brought and offered it himself at the place appointed for religious worship, and for sacrifices; so Aben Ezra, he brought it to the place fixed for his oratory. It is highly probable it was at the east of the entrance of the garden of Eden, where the Shechinah, or the divine Majesty, was, and appeared in some remarkable manner.

FOOTNOTES:

• F3: (Mymy Uqm) "in fine dierum", Pagninus, Montanus; "a fine dierum", Schmidt.
• F4: Pirke Eliezer, c. 21.
• F5: Ib. Vid. Tzeror Hammor, fol. 8. 2.

And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock ,
&c.] As he was a shepherd, his flock consisted of sheep; and of the firstlings of these, the lambs that were first brought forth, he presented as an offering to the Lord; and which were afterwards frequently used in sacrifice, and were a proper type of Christ, Jehovah's firstborn, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, a Lamb without spot and blemish; fitly signified by one for his innocence, harmlessness, and meekness: and of the fat thereof ;
which is to be understood 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 ^F6 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 (yusik) , a "slain" sacrifice, as Heidegger ^F7 observes:

and the Lord had respect to Abel, and to his offering ;
as being what he had designed and appointed to be used for sacrifice in future time, and as being a suitable type and emblem of the Messiah, and his sacrifice; and especially as being offered up by faith, in a view to the sacrifice of Christ, which is of a sweet smelling savour to God, and by which sin only is atoned and satisfied for, see (Hebrews 11:4) . God looked at his sacrifice with a smiling countenance, took, and expressed delight, well pleasedness, and satisfaction in it; and he first accepted of his person, as considered in Christ his well beloved Son, and then his offering in virtue of his sacrifice:

and this respect and acceptance might be signified by some visible sign or token, and particularly by the descent of fire from heaven upon it, as was the token of acceptance in later times, (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;'' so Abraham Seba ^F8 .

FOOTNOTES:

• F6: Antiqu. l. 1. c. 2. sect. 1.
• F7: Hist. Patriarch. Exercit. 5. sect. 20.
• F8: In Tzeror Hammor, fol. 8. 2.

But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect Not because of the matter of it, as some have thought; but because it was not offered in faith and sincerity, but in a formal and hypocritical manner, without any regard to the Messiah and his sacrifice, and without any view to the glory of God: no notice was taken, no approbation was given of it by the above token, or any other; so that it was manifest to Cain himself, that God did not approve of it, or was well pleased with it, as with his brother's:

and Cain was very wroth ; with God, to whom he offered it, because he did not accept of it, and with his brother, because he and his sacrifice were preferred to him and his:

and his countenance fell ; the briskness and cheerfulness of his countenance went off, and he looked dejected; and instead of lifting up his face towards heaven; he looked with a down look to the earth; he looked churlish, morose, and sullen, ill natured, full of malice and revenge, and as if he was studying which way to vent it; he knit his brows and gnashed his teeth, put on a surly countenance; and there might be seen in his face all the signs, not only of grief and disappointment, but of rage and fury; though ^F9 some interpret it of shame and confusion.

FOOTNOTES:

• F9: R. Jonah apud R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 9. p. 2.