Глава 4

Gen.4:1. Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived This is the first biblical news about the birth of children, on the basis of which many are inclined to think that there was no communication in paradise and that it arose only from the time of the Fall as one of its consequences. But such an opinion is erroneous, since it contradicts the divine blessing of reproduction, given by God himself to the primordial couple even at its very creation (Gen. 1:28). The most that can presumably be deduced from this is that the paradisiacal state probably lasted very briefly, so that the first people, always absorbed in higher spiritual needs, did not yet have time to pay tribute to the physical, lower side of their nature. and she gave birth to Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.” It is evident that Eve looked upon her firstborn son as a gift from God, or as an inheritance received from Him; by this, on the one hand, she confessed her faith in God, violated by the disobedience of the Fall, and on the other hand, she expressed the hope of receiving from God a blessed Descendant who would crush the power of the devil. Gen.4:2. And she also gave birth to his brother, Abel. - the name of the second son of Adam, known from the Bible, is interpreted and translated differently: “breath, insignificance, vanity” or, as Josephus thinks, “crying.” Like the previous name, it, in all likelihood, also had a connection with the idea of ​​first promises. As much as Eve rejoiced at her first son, from whom she expected to see great consolation for herself, she was just as distressed at the birth of her second, as can be seen from the naming of his name Abel, which means “vanity, insignificance.” Eve probably wanted to express with this name that just as she did not find what she expected in her first son, so she no longer expects joy from her second (Vissarion). And Abel was a shepherd of sheep, and Cain was a farmer. Consequently, in the depths of the primitive family, representatives of the two original occupations of mankind, the prototypes of the Bedouin (a nomad - Abel) and the fellah (farmer - Cain), arose very early. “We completely deny the theory that humanity has passed through all the paths of the state of primitive occupations, i.e., that at first it was engaged in hunting, then moved on to a pastoral life, and finally became sedentary and took up agriculture. This theory is not confirmed by any example, at least during those two thousand years about which we have reliable news” (Vlastov). Sacrifice of the first sons of Adam Gen.4:3–4. After some time; This is how our Russian text translates the chronological indication of the Hebrew text, which literally means: “at the end of days.” Penetrating the thought of the biblical author, exegetes differently define the period of time at the end of which the described event took place: some think that this refers to the “year” (more precisely, the “time of the new year”), others see an indication of the end of the month, or the end of the week, specifically “Saturday”, in particular, the establishment of “liturgical times”, sanctified by the offering of a sacrifice. Cain brought a gift to the Lord from the fruits of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat. Although the meaning of these sacrifices was determined, according to the interpretation of the Apostle Paul, not by the dignity of what was offered, but by the internal disposition of the one who offered (Heb. 11:4), however, since everything internal finds a corresponding expression on the outside, the gifts themselves, of course, were not without significance. St. John Chrysostom notes on this matter: “More insightful minds already from the very reading understand what has been said... Look how Scripture shows us the God-loving intention of Abel and what he brought not just from the sheep, but from the “firstborn,” that is, the dear, chosen ones: further - what is most precious from these chosen ones: and “from the fat” it is said, i.e. from the most pleasant, the best. Scripture does not notice anything like this about Cain, but only says that he brought a sacrifice from the fruits of the ground, which, so to speak, came across, without any effort or analysis.” Gen.4:4–5. And the Lord looked upon Abel and his gift, but he did not look upon Cain and his gift. Different in their dignity, character and especially in the internal disposition (mood) of the one who offered, the sacrifices of the two brothers were accompanied by completely different success: the Lord “looked upon” Abel’s sacrifice, i.e., as John Chrysostom interprets it, “accepted, praised the intention, crowned the disposition, was, so to speak, pleased with what was accomplished...” And in another place the same famous interpreter says: “since Abel brought it with the proper disposition and from a sincere heart, God “looked upon,” it is said, that is, accepted, approved, praised... But he rejected Cain’s folly” (John Chrysostom). The same coverage of this fact is given by the Apostle Paul (Heb. 11:4), who says that the sacrifice of Abel was more complete (πλέιονα), more perfect than the sacrifice of Cain, that is, it was more consistent with the main idea of ​​​​the sacrifice, since it was imbued with a living and active faith, by which, first of all, means faith in the promised Messiah. The victim of Cain, in contrast, carried within herself a spirit of pride, vanity, arrogance and external ritualism, which created understandable obstacles to her success. Since, judging by the context, the varying success of these sacrifices became known to those who offered them, there is no doubt that the above-mentioned divine attitude towards them was expressed by Cain in an obvious, outward sign. Based on the biblical analogies that are suitable here, they think that such a sign was either heavenly fire rushing towards the accepted sacrifice, or a high pillar ascending from it to the very heavens (Lev. 9:24; Judges 6:21; 1 Chronicles 21:26; 1 Kings 18:38, etc.). Most accurately, the thought of the Hebrew text is conveyed by the Latin translation, where instead of “was upset” there is iratus - “angry”; namely, “he was angry with his younger brother, who was preferred by God before him, and with God himself, as if He had offended him by showing a sign of His favor not to him, but to his brother” (Vissarion). that is, his facial features, under the influence of envy and malice, acquired a gloomy and gloomy expression. It was not sadness, not repentant feelings or heartfelt sorrow for sin that darkened Cain’s face, but a spirit of restless envy and dull, hidden enmity towards his preferred brother. Gen.4:6. And the Lord [God] said to Cain: Why are you upset? Great is the mercy of God, which does not want the death of a sinner, but seeks all ways and means for his admonition and instruction (Ezek. 18:23)! Gen.4:7. If you do good, don’t you lift your face? and if you do not do good, then sin lies at the door; This is one of the difficult passages of the Bible to interpret, mainly due to the fact that it is read completely differently in the Russian and Slavic Bibles. The latter, guided by the LXX translation, takes this place in a form that gives it a completely new meaning, which has no support for itself in the context. This misunderstanding is explained, in all likelihood, by the fact that the Greek translators did not clearly understand the meaning of the main term of the Hebrew verb naschat and only then, having made one inaccuracy, had to adapt several and the rest of the phrase to accommodate it. The Russian translation is closer to the original, the idea of ​​which can be more clearly expressed in the following phrase: since the face is the mirror of the soul, a gloomy appearance and downcast gaze serves as a reflection of dark thoughts and moods. When you act well and your conscience is clear, then you experience a pleasantly light state of mind, you lift your face joyfully and cheerfully. When you do something bad, a feeling of spiritual burden oppresses your heart and forces you to lower your gaze. Since the latter has happened, then know that sin lies at the door of your heart and you are close to falling; therefore, before it is too late, gather all your strength and try to repel the upcoming sinful temptation. he attracts you to himself, but you dominate him. Finishing the previous admonition to Cain, God seemed to say to him: “You are tempted by an evil inclination, but stay awake and suppress it, do not allow the malice nesting in you and personified here in the form of a beast lying at the door of your heart to ripen to the point of committing evil.” This entire biblical section thus provides a deep analysis of human psychology and an artistically faithful depiction of his innermost processes with a dramatic struggle of various motives, the results of which are inevitably reflected in a person’s appearance. Gen.4:8. And while they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Just as death itself, appearing in the world as a rent of sin, was an act of some violence and destruction of the divinely established order, so the first experience of this death was the most typical expression of all these properties. The ancient Christian tradition, based on the words of the Lord Jesus Christ himself (Matthew 23:31, 35; Luke 11:49–51; Heb. 12:24), preserved the memory of Abel as the first righteous man. This was the first manifestation of the enmity foretold by God between the Seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, passing through the entire history of mankind, as John the Theologian perfectly explains in one of his epistles (1 John 3:10-12). Gen.4:9. And the Lord [God] said to Cain: Where is Abel your brother? Following the example of the judgment over the fallen ancestors (Gen. 3:9) and the trial over their criminal son, the merciful God begins with an appeal (call) to repentance. With his question, the Lord wants to awaken the conscience of the fratricide, to call him to sincere repentance and to ask for mercy. He said: I don’t know; Am I my brother's keeper? But Cain was in a completely opposite mood: with the tenacity of a hardened sinner, he not only locked himself in the crime, but also gave a bold answer to God, as if even blaming Him for such an inappropriate question. Gen.4:10. And [the Lord] said: What have you done? Since Cain did not show a readiness to repent and accept pardon, God finally begins to condemn him, in which he manifests His omniscience, omnipotence, justice and mercy. the voice of your brother's blood cries to Me from the earth; This is a fairly common designation in the Bible for serious crimes that, due to ignorance or negligence, remain unpunished among people, but find due retribution from God (Gen. 18:20–21, 19:13; Exod. 3:9; Job 24:12; James 5:4; Heb. 5:7). “The blood of Abel cries out, that is, it demands vengeance (Rev. 6:9–10), it cries out from the earth by the very action of destruction, which, according to the order of nature, arouses other destructive forces against itself, and its cry even reaches God, for Abel even after death speaks by faith (Heb. 11:4), placing him in the gracious presence of God” (Filaret). In the fact that this cry reaches the sky, one notices a figurative expression of the thought of divine omniscience, which seems to hear exclamations even where a person tries to cover everything with deaf silence. Gen.4:11. and now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened its mouth to receive the blood of thy brother at thy hand; Here we have the first example of a divine curse directed directly at a person. When condemning, for example, Adam, only the devil and the earth were cursed, the latter for the sake of man (Gen. 3:17); now the earth itself, stained with the blood of an innocent sufferer, turns into an instrument of punishment for the murderer, depriving him of its natural gifts (Lev. 18:28; Job 31:38–40; Deut. 28:39–42). Gen.4:12. you will be an exile and a wanderer on earth. Instead of these words of the Russian translation, the Slavic text has: “you will be groaning and shaking on the earth” (στένων καὶ τρέμων – LXX). “This latest translation,” according to the fair remark of Metropolitan. Philaret, - was made, it seems, for a mysterious explanation of the sign placed on Cain (Gen. 4:15), and the first is confirmed by the clear words of Cain himself, who, in the punishment of God, finds expulsion from the face of the earth” (Gen. 4:14). Since the earth serves for a person at the same time as a source of food and a place of dwelling, then the curse from it, in accordance with this, has two types: it consists in the infertility of the soil and in homeless wandering across the face of the earth. And indeed, in the example of Cain we have a clear confirmation of the well-known thought of the Wise One: “The wicked flees when no one pursues him” (Proverbs 28:1). Gen.4:13. And Cain said to the Lord [God]: My punishment is more than can be endured; The Slavic text, following the Greek translation of the LXX, has its own variation here: “my greatest guilt, which will remain with me.” Its origin is explained by the fact that the Hebrew term - avon, which has two meanings: sin and punishment for it, was accepted by some in the first sense (LXX), by others - in the second. But in terms of the context of the speech, the first reading, available in the Russian Bible, is much preferable: it presents to us this exclamation of Cain as a cry of despair and cowardice of a sinner who does not want to at least partially atone for his guilt by uncomplainingly enduring well-deserved suffering. Gen.4:14. Behold, now You are driving me from the face of the earth, The face of the earth in the Hebrew text (hadama - inhabited by people and cultivated) obviously refers to the country of Eden, which was the original abode of humanity: Adam was expelled from the paradise or garden of the land of Eden, while Cain was expelled from all this land. This, of course, does not exclude the possibility of seeing here a comparison with dust swept up by the wind from the face of the earth (Ps. 1:4; Hos. 8:3). and I will hide from Your presence, and I will be an exile and a wanderer on the earth; This is a parallel to the same idea of ​​\u200b\u200bexile from Eden, as a country sanctified by the special gracious presence of God and marked by the promises He bestowed. and whoever meets me will kill me. “So anyone who brings sin into the world instinctively feels that he is subject to the same evil, according to the law of retribution, that he brought into society” (Vlastov). Who was Cain afraid of? The most reasonable and plausible answer to this would be the assumption that he was afraid of revenge from the entire family of his father, both present and future. It is possible to assume that even at the time of Cain’s fratricide, their family was not limited to only these two sons named in the Bible, but also consisted of other sons and daughters (Gen. 5:4). Gen.4:15. And the Lord [God] said to him: therefore, whoever kills Cain will be avenged sevenfold. In response to the cowardly murmur of the sinner, God gives a solemn certification of his inviolability, promising to reward sevenfold anyone who willfully attempts his life. The number seven, by the nature of the sacred language, can mean many times. By this, God, on the one hand, reveals the extreme criminality of murder and the full weight of responsibility for it, on the other hand, reveals the inexhaustible wealth of His mercy, which does not want the death of the sinner, but opens up for him the opportunity to atone for his sin throughout his subsequent life. And the Lord [God] made a sign for Cain, so that no one who met him would kill him. On the question of the “sign” placed by God on Cain so that he would not be killed out of ignorance, a complete variety of opinions reigns in the exegetical literature, and the vast majority are unsatisfactory: they all explain only that Cain could be recognized, but not that it was strictly forbidden to kill him. Based on biblical analogies, it is permissible to see in the sign God made to Cain an indication of some external, miraculous action, which served both for Cain himself and, mainly, for everyone else as a sign (certification) of his inviolability, in the same way as, for example, a rainbow later served as a sign of the uniqueness of the flood (Gen. 9:13, 15), a fireproof bush - evidence of the divine messenger of Moses (Exodus 3:2, 12), the return of the sun by ten degrees - a sign of the recovery of King Hezekiah (Isaiah 38:5–8). Blessed Theodoret, in his interpretation of this place, says: “the very definition of God was a sign that forbade him to be put to death,” thereby believing, together with some other modern exegetes, that this definition was known to everyone either due to a special divine inspiration, or - which is much simpler - because it was completely inscribed on his forehead. A somewhat similar case appears to be in the book of the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 9:4–6). Gen.4:16. And Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. By virtue of divine command, Cain was forced to leave that native land where God was pleased to reveal His presence in the most tangible way, and turn into a homeless (homeless) wanderer. The place of the new, nomadic habitat of Cain and his descendants is called the land of Nod and is defined by the words east of Eden. According to some interpreters, the land of Nod is not the proper name of any country, but a common noun for the entire Cainite nomads, as a land of exile and a land of disaster, located, indeed, to the east of Eden, “the land of bliss.” Construction of the first city Gen.4:17. And Cain knew his wife; The question involuntarily arises: who was Cain’s wife? Obviously, one of the sisters, St. John Chrysostom and Blessed Theodoret explain, “since this was in the beginning, and meanwhile, the human race had to multiply, it was allowed to marry sisters.” She was probably married to him even before the murder of Abel, since it is doubtful that any woman would risk throwing in her lot with a known fratricide. A later rabbinical tradition attributes to Cain as his wife a sister born at the same time as him, calling her either Azura or Sava. and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. From here begins a brief history of a new, isolated branch of primitive humanity, or more precisely, the genealogy of the Cainites. It consists almost of nothing more than a list of the main names, only occasionally accompanied by small explanatory notes. But, taking into account the special property of ancient biblical names to express the distinctive characteristics and position of each person in the patriarchal surname, we must find (read) the history of their lives in the analysis of their very names. So, for example, the name of Cain’s first son Enoch - meaning “sanctifier, initiator, renewer” - could have been given to him as the firstborn (cf. Ex. 6:14; Num. 26:5) and as the “initiator” of a new form of life - “urban”, instead of the previous restless wandering. Naming his son the name of “beginner, renovator,” Cain obviously expressed his cherished dream that with the birth of his son at the time of the construction of the city as a kind of culturally settled dwelling, if not for himself personally, then for his offspring, a new, brighter period of life begins, that Enoch, born no longer a homeless wanderer, but a settled city dweller, will usher in a new, happier era of history Cainites. And he built a city; and he named the city by the name of his son: Enoch. or, more precisely, from the Hebrew - “and he was the builder of the city,” that is, he laid the foundation, laid its foundation, left the very construction of the city to Enoch and further generations. This city should be imagined only as a simple fortified point, probably surrounded by a moat and fenced with a fence for protection from attacks by wild animals. From the point of view of material culture, the construction of the first city is an event of extreme importance, since it marks the transition from a nomadic life to a sedentary one and even speaks of the significant progress of the latter. Gen.4:18. Irad [Gaidad] was born to Enoch; mistakenly called "Gaidad" in the Slavic Bible, due to the confusion in the Greek translation of LXX of two similar initial letters of this name and their rearrangement. Philologically, the name Irad means "city" and thereby points to him as a resident of the city par excellence, as the first true citizen. From here it must be concluded that the construction of the city, begun by Cain, continued by Enoch, was relatively completed only at the birth of the latter son, whom he, to perpetuate this memorable event, calls “Irad.” Irad begat Mechiael [Maleleel]; The name of the son of Iradov, according to word production from Hebrew, means “smitten, destroyed by God” and, according to the surmise of interpreters, contains a hint of some especially divine admonition of the forgotten Cainites. But what exactly this admonition consisted of, nothing definite can be said: perhaps the memory of some terrible natural disaster was immortalized here, in which the Cainites experienced heavenly punishment. The name of this new Cainite ancestor, according to a more plausible interpretation, means: “man, man of God,” that is, asked from God, given by Him; in it, as well as in the previous name, it is not without reason that they see traces of some humility of the proud descendants of Cain and their temporary appeal to God, which was a consequence of the heavenly punishment that fell upon them. The writer dwells on the personality of Lamech himself and the history of his family in some detail, thereby making it clear that Lamech’s family is especially typical of the characteristics of the entire Cainite tribe. What attracts attention, first of all, is the very name “Lamech,” which means “destroyer, enemy.” Gen.4:19. And Lamech took for himself two wives: Lamech shamefully perpetuated his name by being the first to introduce polygamy, thereby perverting the divinely established character of marriage (Gen. 2:24) and revealing his moral unbridledness and carnalism. the name of one: Ada, and the name of the second: Zilla [Sella]. The names of his wives can also speak about this exact nature of Lamech’s marriage, of which the first means “decoration, attraction,” the second means “shadow, screen.” The beginning of pastoral and industrial life. Gen.4:20–22. Adah gave birth to Jabal: he was the father of those who lived in tents with their flocks. His brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all those who played the harp and pipe. Zillah also gave birth to Tubalcain [Thovel], who was a forger of all tools of copper and iron. The first three names of this section are interpreted in the text itself, which greatly facilitates the establishment of their philological meaning. Thus, the first son of Ada, Jabal, means “a nomad who leads the flock,” and in the Bible he is called “the father of those who live in tents with livestock,” that is, the ancestor or, more precisely, only the organizer of the shepherd-nomadic way of life. The name of Ada's second son, Jubal, derived from the word jobel (jubilee) - a drawn-out musical sound made by a trumpet - indicates him as the inventor of “stringed and wind” instruments, which is directly stated in the biblical text itself. Finally, the third son of Lamech, born from another wife, bore the name Tubalcain (in Greek LXX - Fovel). The Bible does not explain to us the meaning of the name of this patriarch, but it perfectly defines his role as the inventor of various kinds of copper and iron instruments needed for agriculture, cattle breeding, hunting, war and music. The writer’s brief note about all this serves as a passing indication of a very important cultural and historical moment, marking the transition from the Stone Age to the Metal Age, while special attention is drawn to the curious detail that the Bible, in full agreement with the positive history of culture, places the processing of “copper” before the production of “iron.” And Tubalcain's sister Noema. Now, for the first time, Scripture specifically mentions a woman, says Chrysostom: “the blessed prophet did not do this simply and without reason, but to prove to us something hidden.” And since the name “Noema” means “lovely, beautiful,” learned exegetes speculate that Noema, along with her brothers, was also a kind of inventor, and laid the foundation for a well-known social institution, especially characteristic of the corrupted Cainites. It is even believed that it was she who stood at the head of those “daughters of men” who involved the “sons of God” in the fall and thereby planted general wickedness on earth (Gen. 6:2, 5). Lamech and his wives - the song of Lamech. Gen.4:23–24. And Lamech said to his wives: Ada and Zillah! These two biblical verses, known as the “songs of Lamech,” represent the oldest monument of Semitic poetry, since in it we first encounter its characteristic feature - the parallelism of thoughts and stanzas. “In all world literature there is no monument older than this passage of Semitic poetry,” says one scientist of the semi-negative trend (Lenormand). listen to my voice; the wives of Lamech! listen to my words: - this is a typical example of Jewish poetry of parallelism of thoughts, that is, repetition of the same thought, only in different words. I killed a man for my wound, and a boy for my wound; If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech is avenged seventy times sevenfold. The same idea is also repeated here, although with some variations. Much more difficult is the question in what sense should we understand this whole speech of Lamech to his wives about some kind of murder he allegedly committed. Is all this said only in an interrogative form, that is, in the sense of “did I kill my husband... and a young man,” or in a positive form, as about the already accomplished fact of only a double murder, or, finally, only in a presumptive form, namely, that I will kill anyone who stands in my way, whether it be a mature husband or a young boy? Most modern exegetes are inclined to side with the latter solution to the question, finding that here the past tense of the verb “killed” is used instead of the future, to express the certainty of the execution of the action it expresses: “I will undoubtedly kill, no matter how I have already killed,” Lamech boldly and boastfully declares himself. Depending on this view of the nature of the text, the entire song of Lamech takes on the meaning of a victorious hymn to the sword. Admiring the bloody invention of his son Tubalcain, Lamech seems to approach his wives and, shaking a formidable weapon, arrogantly boasts to them of this new cultural victory, which creates for him the position of despot and ruler. “I will kill anyone, be it a respectable, mature husband or a frivolous youth, if he dares to inflict even the slightest insult on me. And if God promised to reward Cain sevenfold for the death, then I, armed with the formidable invention of my son, will be able to stand up for myself seventy times better!” Thus, “the most ancient monument of poetry that has reached us, the bloody Song of Cain, the grandson of Lamech, reproduced in the Bible, breathes not material need, but wild anger and ferocious arrogance,” notes, contrary to the positivists, our famous philosopher-theologian V. S. Solovyov. Gen.4:25. And Adam also knew [Eve] his wife, and she gave birth to a son, and called his name Seth, because, [she said,] God gave me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain killed. In place of the two eldest children of Adam and Eve, one of whom did not live up to the hopes placed on him (Cain), the other died untimely (Abel), God gives them a third son, the keeper of true faith and piety, named Sepha. The meaning of his name is explained in the text itself, in the sense of “affirmation, foundation” of true faith, or “substitution, compensation” for the loss that was caused by the death of Abel. “All this shows that in Seth Eve hopes for the restoration and preservation of the blessed Seed and gives it a name in the spirit of faith and insight into the future” (Filaret). And indeed, being the ancestor of the pious patriarchs of the antediluvian period (the Sethites), Seth was the pillar on which the primitive religion and church stood and was established. In this regard, Seth is, as it were, a prototype of our Lord Jesus Christ himself (1 Cor. 3:11). Gen.4:26. Seth also had a son, and he named him Enos; The name of this patriarch in a literal translation from Hebrew means: “weak, frail, infirm, mortal”, from where – as a derivative noun: “man”, characterized precisely from the above properties of his nature (Ps. 8:5). This name alone sufficiently testifies to the spirit of humble submission before God that distinguished the pious Sethites, in contrast to the proud conceit and arrogance of the Cainites. then they began to call on the name of the Lord [God]. The Slavic text has its own variation here, namely instead of the words “then they began” - “this hope”; this came from the confusion of two phonetically similar Hebrew words, one of which means “to begin”, and the other means “to rise, to hope”; preference here should be given to the Russian translation. As for the meaning of this biblical phrase, it primarily speaks of the solemn invocation in the days of Enosh of the name of God as Jehovah, i.e., the beginning of public worship. Secondly, as some of the Church Fathers (Chrysostom, Theodoret, Ephraim the Syrian) think, it indicates that the pious Sethites, for their zeal for Jehovah and His solemn glorification, began to be called “in the name of Jehovah” “Jehovahists” (Is. 45:3). All this especially distinguished the pious Sethites, zealots of God, and gave them the right to the name “sons of God”, which we meet later (Gen. 6:2). And so, while the generation of Cainites, through the founding of the city, the invention of secular crafts and arts, laid the first stone of worldly power, the tribe of Sethites, with a collective invocation of God, laid the foundation for the Kingdom of God on earth - the Church, as a society of people united among themselves by faith in the Redeemer (Jehovah) and the hope of deliverance through Him. You might be interested in: