In which an alternative view is offered regarding the exit of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, the action of women and the relationship of men and women are explored and the story of Cain and Abel is reinterpreted in light of the actions taken during the Garden of Eden Story.

In order to fully appreciate this discussion, it is recommended that the posts comprising the series “In God’s Image” and “Imagination and the Mind of Man” be read before reading the posts in this series.

Another Interpretation of the Garden of Eden Story

Review of previous post

The previous post, post number 17 of 19, presented some speculations about why God did not interrogate Adam and Eve.

Preview of this post

This post, post 18 of 19, discusses the relation between the Garden of Eden story and the Cain and Abel story.

1. Relation to the Cain and Abel Story

In Genesis 1, God charged man with the responsibility of mastering the earth and ruling the entities He created (Gen 1: 27-28). God also instructed man to eat plants in Gen 1:29. In the Garden of Eden Story, man was a gardener (“The Lord God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden, to till at and tend it.” Gen 2:15). Therefore, it would seem reasonable to conclude that Adam and Eve believed that their job was to till the soil and be gardeners and to protect the animals^[1].

It should also be understood that at this time, Adam and Eve had very little experience and had very limited knowledge. As such, when they were told to leave the Garden because they disobeyed the order to avoid eating the forbidden fruit, it is likely that they concluded that they were being punished for disobedience rather than being forced out of the nest because they were ready since they had demonstrated that they could use their imagination and thus could fulfill their destiny. Since Adam had been charged with tilling the land and protecting the animals, it is reasonable to conclude that Adam understood that God had ordered him to be a tiller of the land and a protector of the animals.

As such, it would seem to be reasonable to conclude that they passed these instructions and orders on to their sons, Cain and Abel. It also seems to be reasonable to conclude that Adam and Eve related the story of their disobeying the orders and the results of that disobedience to their sons. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that the sons understood that they had been ordered to till the soil and protect the animals and that dire consequences and punishment would result from disobeying these instructions.

As stated in Genesis 4:2, “Abel became a keeper of sheep, and Cain became a tiller of the soil.” Thus, Cain was following the orders and instructions whereas Abel was disobeying them. This is especially evident in the offerings of the two men: “Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the fruit of the soil; and Abel, for his part, brought the choicest of the firstlings of his flock.” (Gen 4:3-4). Abel thus harmed the animals and Cain followed instructions.  It is reasonable to conclude that, based on what his parents had taught him, Cain saw Abel as disobeying God’s wishes, and again based on what his parents had taught him, Cain saw dire consequences for the entire family because of Abel’s disobedience.

Cain’s view and fears were substantiated by God’s actions in response to these offerings: “The Lord paid heed to Abel and his offering, but to Cain and his offering, He paid no heed.” (Gen 4:4-5). “Paying heed” does not necessarily mean “accepting,” it can mean “noted” as in “shocked” or “surprised”. It might be reasonable to believe that God noted Abel’s offering because it was out of line, an indication of disobedience. Since Cain viewed Abel as disobeying, it would frighten him that God noted Abel’s offering, and he would expect God to not “note” his offering since his offering was in line with what God wanted; whereas, Abel’s offering was an indication of disobedience and was being noted. As stated in Gen 4:4 “Cain was much distressed…” God then discussed the matter with Cain and never said that He refused Cain’s offering. God’s instructions can be read as telling Cain that he was “doing right” in following in his father’s footsteps by being a gardener, and thus “if you do right, there is an uplift…” Gen 4:7. This seems to tell Cain that he is ok, and any wrong is Abel’s alone.

Of course, the story proceeds with Cain killing Abel in Gen 4:8. A case can be made that Cain believed that he was protecting the family from punishment for Abel’s disobedience by killing Abel. Based on what he was probably taught by his parents regarding their experience in the Garden of Eden, Cain could reasonably conclude that God would punish the entire family for Abel’s disobedience and thus his killing Abel was punishing the family in a manner which would avoid punishment by God^[2].

Perhaps this is why God softened His treatment of Cain: God understood Cain’s motive of trying to obey and self-punish a transgression and understood that Cain did not understand that killing was wrong (at this time, there was no law or rule against it, Noahide law came much later and the Torah came even later), and made allowance for Cain’s lack of knowledge^[3]. Also, Cain clearly demonstrated that he would try to follow God’s orders. In order for men to be fertile and multiply and to exercise dominion over all the earth, men had to move away and spread out over the earth. This required Cain to move away from his family. God’s order to Cain to be a wandered on earth (Gen 4:12) may have had some similarities to God’s act of forcing Adam and Eve out of the Garden. Cain had demonstrated his willingness to be obedient therefore he had demonstrated that he was ready to carry on God’s charge away from his home.

Also, like the serpent episode in the Garden of Eden story, perhaps the offerings were a test to determine if the men, in this case Cain and Abel, were ready to be trusted to be obedient, and once this test was passed, by Cain, men could be sent out to continue their mission of exercising dominion over what God had created in Genesis. This was a very severe test after all, it required Cain to kill his brother. This can also explain why Cain, like his parents before him, was not given a chance to repent – God did not consider what Cain did a sin or a transgression for which he should have known better. Cain’s act was a further step in the progression begun by his parents when they left the Garden – a step along the way to fulfilling man’s destiny of exercising dominion over the entities God created in Genesis.

Cain continued his father’s endeavors as a farmer, one who lives off the land, as Adam did in the Garden; however, Abel attempted something new, animal husbandry, something that was not done by Adam in the Garden. God wanted humans to expand their horizons and exercise their imaginations^[4]. Simply continuing on with the family business does not do this; whereas, striking out and trying something entirely new would. In this view, perhaps, God was not disappointed in or angry with Abel and Cain misunderstood events. Perhaps the Cain/Abel story represents a continuation of the Adam and Eve Garden of Eden story in that God was trying to encourage men to use their imaginations and try new things.

Preview of the next post

The next post, post number 19 of 19, discusses some lessons to be learned from the Garden of Eden story.

[1] Although Rashi criticizes Cain for tilling the soil which had been cursed by God because of Adam’s sin and thus Cain showed a lack of respect and would thus be capable of doing this deed. Midrash also suggests that God did not accept Cain’s offering because Cain did not offer the very best of his produce whereas Abel did.

[2] Perhaps this belief can be used to explain the difference between Cain’s reaction to God’s accusation and Adam and Eve’s reaction to God’s accusations: Cain stood his ground and challenged God (“am I my brother’s keeper” versus embarrassment at nakedness) – Cain believed that he was protecting his family.

^[3] Cain did not yet know his “right hand from his left” – see Jonah 4:11 where God said that he does not punish people who do not know their “right hand from their left.” That is why God warns before He punishes, after a warning, one knows his “right hand from his left.” Furthermore, there are other reasons which have been advanced for supporting God’s decision not to administer capital punishment for Cain’s crime: Cain was needed to help populate the earth since there were few humans at this time; God might have considered Cain’s actions as being manslaughter or a crime of passion rather than premeditated murder in which case capital punishment was not appropriate and the appropriate penalty for manslaughter was exile; or Cain simply did not understand what he did since death had not yet made an appearance to the human race at this time and would thus be pardoned due to ignorance as discussed above.

^[4] Some have speculated that Cain’s offering did not have the proper mindset that is he treated his offering with impiety; while others have speculated that Cain’s offering was from the ground which had been cursed when Adam and Eve left the Garden. Some also have speculated that this story represents God’s unpredictable grace. Perhaps, Cain merely misunderstood what God wanted. All are possible and the one presented here is merely one possible explanation.