Why Art Thou Wroth?
While perusing, and reviewing Genesis tonight I came across a part of the tale of Cain, at least in the King James translation, that I couldn't recall reading before. It follows the account of Cain waxing wroth after God rejects his offering, a stria in the midst, before Cain slays Abel. In the edition I'm reading from -- a Riverside King James -- it goes as such:
(6) And the LORD said unto Cain, 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 lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
For a modern reader, including myself, I suspect that the seventh verse might be a tad befuddling due to the ambiguous gendered pronouns / possessives. I was confused, was this a prophecy? Was the 'his' referring to Abel? Or to sin? I sought a different translation, the New Revised Standard Version, to elucidate. It reads:
(6) The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen ?
(7) If you do well, will you not be accepted ? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it."
What is the meaning of this passage?
(6) And the LORD said unto Cain, 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 lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
For a modern reader, including myself, I suspect that the seventh verse might be a tad befuddling due to the ambiguous gendered pronouns / possessives. I was confused, was this a prophecy? Was the 'his' referring to Abel? Or to sin? I sought a different translation, the New Revised Standard Version, to elucidate. It reads:
(6) The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen ?
(7) If you do well, will you not be accepted ? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it."
What is the meaning of this passage?
posted by Davyth | 1:24 AM
3 Comments:
What I think this passage is saying is, Cain brought the Lord his offereing, but the Lord didn't except it. So it made Cain mad. The Lord told Cain that his offering would be excepted, if he offered it the right way. And that if he refused to offer it the right way, sin would attack him, and subdue it.
Atleast I that's what it's saying...
Great blog, btw!! :)
I believe that the "his" refers either to sin, or Satan and the the "master over him" suggests that the sin/Satan (master) will rule over Cain(him).
Here is the TANAKH translation for you as well:
(6) And the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you distressed, and why is your face fallen?
(7)Surely, if you do right, there is uplift. But if you do not do right sin couches at the door; its urge is toward you, yet you can be its master."
Furthermore the notes to verse seven are as follows:
"The end of the verse is strikingly reminiscent of the words of God to Eve in 3.16
[And to the woman He said, "I will make most severe your pangs in childbearing; in pain shall you bear children. Yet your urge shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you."], just as Cain's punishment in 4.11-12 [(11)"...Therefore, you shall be more cursed than the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. (12) If you till the soil, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. You shall become a ceaseless wanderer on earth."]recalls Adam's in 3.17-19 [(17)To Adam He said, "Because you did as your wife said and ate of the tree about which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' Cursed be the ground because of you; by toil shall you eat of it all the days of your life: (18) Thorns and thistles shall it sprout for you. But your food shall be the grasses of the field; (19) By the sweat of your brow shall you get bread to eat, Until you return to the ground--for from it you were taken. For dust your are, and to dust you shall return."]. It is possible that the story of Can and Abel itself once served as an account of the primal sin and the expulsion from paradise."
Much gratitude,
The TANAKH translation is an excellent resource.
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