Brother's Blood
So in the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the LORD, Genesis 4:3 · Berean Standard Bible
As time passes, Cain brings an offering to God from the crops he's grown—the fruit of his farming work.
Both brothers are grown now and both bring offerings to the Lord. This suggests they both understand that worship and giving back to God is part of life. Cain is a farmer, so he offers what he produces from the soil. The act itself seems genuine—he's doing what worshipers do.
The narrator
Worship has begun among humans. We see that people naturally feel drawn to honor God, but this story will show us that how we worship matters just as much as the fact that we worship.
As time passes, Cain brings an agricultural offering to the Lord from the harvest of his farming.
The Hebrew phrase 'in the course of time' (miqets yamin) suggests a regular practice or festival, implying both brothers understood an obligation to bring offerings before God. Cain's minchah—a grain offering—was a legitimate form of sacrifice in the Mosaic system, yet something in his presentation or intention proves deficient. The narrative deliberately withholds God's immediate evaluation, building tension through the juxtaposition of the two offerings.
The Yahwistic narrator, presenting the brothers' religious devotion.
This marks the first human attempt at sacrifice after the Fall, establishing a pattern of approach to the divine that runs throughout the Old Testament. Yet it also introduces the troubling theme of divine preference and selective acceptance that will perplex biblical interpreters from Augustine onward.
1And Adam had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain.
2Later she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel.
3So in the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the LORD,
4while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock.
5but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell.
Read all of Genesis 4 — The first family becomes the first crime scene. Sin crouches at the door — and Cain opens it.
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