Cain

• Jubilees 4:31

Killed when his house fell on him.

• Genesis 4:1-17

Basic story of Cain.

• Moses 5:16-42

The story of Cain. (Joseph Smith Translation of the Genesis account. More detail available.)

• Enoch 22:7

Abel, in the spirit world, cries out against Cain, who slew him.

• The Book of Jasher 1:12-35

The story of Cain and Abel. Contains some interesting features. Cain's sacrifices are rejected (fail to be consumed by fire from heaven) because he gives the poorer pieces to the Lord. Cain then seeks an excuse to kill Abel. The actual event occurs as a dispute over Abel grazing his flocks on Cain's fields. Abel was doing this intentionally it seems because Cain had been stealing his sheep.

• Philo, "On the Cherubim" (De Cherubim), Part 2

Philo tells of Cain and Abel's birth, focusing on Cain's birth, and gives some detailed exegesis of themes this suggests.

• Philo, "On the Birth of Abel and the Sacrifices Offered by Him and by His Brother Cain" (De Sacrificiis Abelis et Cain)

Philo tells of Cain and Abel's birth, focusing on Abel's birth, and gives some detailed exegesis of themes this suggests.

Describes that Cain's name means "possession"

• The Zohar, Volume 1

Cain's name is associated with the Hebrew word for "nest" (Q-N).

• The Works of Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews, Ch. 2

He gives Cain's name to mean "possession".

Notes

The most common family of meanings for the name, Cain, by far, are those associated with kana (קנה‎ q-n-h), having the meaning, "to get". Thus he is associated with getting, possession, ownership, and such. (eg. Josephus and Philo both take this perspective.)

The gnostics, reportedly associated Cain with the sun. The Zohar associates his name with "nest" (q-n).

In the Hebrew Bible, it appears that q-y-n are the Hebrew letters used for Cain's name. This set of letters gives Cain's name meanings such as "spear" or "a smith".

Cross-References

• Abel
• Adam
• Eve