and Hevel became a keeper of sheep, but Qayin became a tiller of the ground. Genesis 4:2
Keeper/Tiller – Do you think we will ever be finished with Genesis? Each time we look there is more to see. Take this apparently innocuous verse. It doesn’t seem to have much theological importance, does it? But maybe that’s because we haven’t looked deep enough.
Here are some suggestions.
Hevel (Abel) became a ro’eh tson (a shepherd of sheep). Seems pretty uneventful until we look at the pictographs. Ro’eh is the picture of “what comes from one who sees.” Does that remind you of a similar phrase used later in Genesis? Are you reminded of the name Abraham gave to the place where Isaac was to be sacrificed? “The God who sees” just might be tied to the idea of a shepherd. Ancient kings were called shepherds. Do you suppose this name has something to do with their ability (and gifts) of “seeing” what the people need? Doesn’t this sound like the kind of shepherding that characterizes God? Is it just an accident that Hevel becomes a ro’eh? Oh, and by the way, the Hebrew word for “sheep” (tson) means “desire for strength of life.” A shepherd is one who sees that his flock desires (needs) strength of life. It is his job to provide it.
What about Qayin (Cain)? His phonetic name is derived from the verb “to acquire;” quite fitting given the statement his mother makes in Genesis 4:1. Qayin is a man through acquisition. The pictograph shows us an added nuance. This pictograph is “what comes after making life,” an apt description of the result of the first pregnancy. Without venturing too far afield, consider how this name fits the circumstances. First, Qayin is named by Havvah, not Adam. Secondly, Havvah explicitly says that this son is her new ish (a man, not a child). She has acquired him in a deal with God. But recognize there are two meanings, the phonetic and the pictographic, flowing together to produce the image of Qayin. He shares the same characteristics as his mother after the Fall. As a direct result of her acquisition, he is also a man who acquires for himself.
Finally, we see that Qayin is a “tiller” of the ground. The words in Hebrew are oved adamah. The pictures help once again. Oved is “to experience the door of the house.” Since the Hebrew idea of knowing is not principally cognitive but rather experiential, this picture portrays what it means to see, know and experience the passage in and out of the family dwelling. This role should have fallen to Adam, but the text quietly suggests something else. Qayin has replaced Adam. That replacement is further underlined by the connection to adamah (ground). The pictograph is “what comes from first blood, i.e. door of water.” Applied to Adam, we see the obvious connection. But now Qayin is the one who knows the door of the house. He is the user of what comes from first blood. Once again, the text hints at Adam’s replacement. Adam disappears from the scene as it shifts to Qayin.
Of course, there is one more hint here that we cannot overlook. The user and usurper becomes the perpetrator. The one who sees (Havel, the shepherd) is sacrificed. His blood cries out from the usurped source of human being. This painting begins to look like something from the Passion, doesn’t it?
Do you still think it an accident that Qayin was a tiller and his brother a shepherd?
Topical Index: Qayin, Hevel, Havvah, Genesis 4:2, ro’eh, oved, tson, adamah
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