Genesis 4:8

And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Cain	קַ֖יִן Ka.yin	H7014	Kajin · proper noun, a man's name
talked	וַיֹּ֥אמֶר vai.Yo.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
with	אֶל 'el-	H413	near · preposition
Abel	הֶ֣בֶל He.vel	H1893	Hebel · proper noun, a man's name
brother	אָחִ֑יו 'a.Chiv	H251	a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relation… · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
field	הַשָּׂדֶה ha.sa.Deh	H7704	a field (as flat) · definite article + noun, common both genders singular absolute
Cain	קַ֛יִן Ka.yin	H7014	Kajin · proper noun, a man's name
up	וַיָּ֥קָם vai.Ya.kom	H6965	to rise (in various applications · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
against	אֶל 'el-	H413	near · preposition
Abel	הֶ֥בֶל He.vel	H1893	Hebel · proper noun, a man's name
brother	אָחִ֖יו 'a.Chiv	H251	a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relation… · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
him	וַיַּהַרְגֵֽהוּ vai.ya.har.Ge.hu	H2026	to smite with deadly intent · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Matthew 23:35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Bara…
1 John 3:12-15 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s…
Jude 1:11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying…
Proverbs 26:24-26 He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him;
Luke 11:51 From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be requ…
2 Samuel 14:6 And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and…
Psalms 24:3-6 Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?
Hebrews 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 4:8

We have here the progress of Cain's anger, and the issue of it in Abel's murder, which may be considered two ways: - I. As Cain's sin; and a scarlet, crimson, sin it was, a sin of the first magnitude, a sin against the light and law of nature, and which the consciences even of bad men have startled at. See in it, 1. The sad effects of sin's entrance into the world and into the hearts of men. See what a root of bitterness the corrupt nature is, which bears this gall and wormwood. Adam's eating forbidden fruit seemed but a little sin, but it opened the door to the greatest. 2. A fruit of the enmity which is in the seed of the serpent against the seed of the woman. As Abel leads the van in the…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 4:8

And Cain talked with Abel his brother--Under the guise of brotherly familiarity, he concealed his premeditated purpose till a convenient time and place occurred for the murder (Jo1 3:12; Jde 1:11).

Adam Clarke on Genesis 4:8

Cain talked with Abel his brother - ויאמר קין vaiyomer Kayin, and Cain said, etc.; not talked, for this construction the word cannot bear without great violence to analogy and grammatical accuracy. But why should it be thus translated? Because our translators could not find that any thing was spoken on the occasion; and therefore they ventured to intimate that there was a conversation, indefinitely. In the most correct editions of the Hebrew Bible there is a small space left here in the text, and a circular mark which refers to a note in the margin, intimating that there is a hiatus or deficiency in the verse. Now this deficiency is supplied in the principal ancient versions, and in the Sama…

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John Gill on Genesis 4:8

And Cain talked with Abel,.... Or "said", or "spoke unto" him (l); either what the Lord God said to him in the foregoing verses, as Aben Ezra; or he spoke to him in a kind and friendly manner, and thereby got him to take a walk in the field with him. The Vulgate Latin version adds, "let us go abroad"; and the Septuagint and Samaritan versions, "let us go into the field"; not to fight a duel, which Abel doubtless would have declined, had that been declared, but to have some friendly conversation; and there being a large pause here in the Hebrew text, the Jerusalem Targum gives us an account of what passed between them when in the field;"Cain said to Abel his brother, there is no judgment, nor…

The Church Fathers

Why did Cain become a fratricide? Was it not by his evil will? He preferred himself to his Creator and followed after evil thoughts and so became abandoned to envy and committed murder.
— Symeon the New Theologian, DISCOURSES 4.2

(Verse 8) And Cain said to his brother Abel. It is understood what the Lord said. Therefore, it is superfluous, what is found in the Samaritan and our volume, Let us go to the field.
— Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis

Now this is the first lust which conquered the world, and because of it the first transgression of the law took place; and next Cain also, in turning unto this, meditated the killing of his brother that he might inherit the earth by himself.
— Philoxenus of Mabbug, 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 11 -- On Abstinence

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Abel — (Heb. Hebhel), a breath, or vanity, the second son of Adam and Eve. He was put to death by his brother Cain (Gen. 4:1-16). Guided by the instruction of their father, the two brothers were trained in…
Cain — A possession; a spear. (1.) The first-born son of Adam and Eve (Gen. 4). He became a tiller of the ground, as his brother Abel followed the pursuits of pastoral life. He was “a sullen, self-willed,…
Deep — Used to denote (1) the grave or the abyss (Rom. 10:7; Luke 8:31); (2) the deepest part of the sea (Ps. 69:15); (3) the chaos mentioned in Gen. 1:2; (4) the bottomless pit, hell (Rev. 9:1, 2; 11:7;…
Field — (Heb. sadeh), a cultivated field, but unenclosed. It is applied to any cultivated ground or pasture (Gen. 29:2; 31:4; 34:7), or tillage (Gen. 37:7; 47:24). It is also applied to woodland (Ps. 132:6)…
Naamah — The beautiful. (1.) The daughter of Lamech and Zillah (Gen. 4: 22). (2.) The daughter of the king of Ammon, one of the wives of Solomon, the only one who appears to have borne him a son, viz.,…
Abel · 1. — 1.
Anger · .Of — .Of
Cain · .Jealousy and crime of — .Jealousy and crime of
Envy · . — .
Fratricide · . — .
Hatred · Exemplified: Cain — Exemplified: Cain
Homicide · .By — .By
Intolerance, Religious · .

Genesis 4:8

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 4:8

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 4:8

Adam Clarke on Genesis 4:8

John Gill on Genesis 4:8

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 4:8

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 4:8

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 4:8

Adam Clarke on Genesis 4:8

John Gill on Genesis 4:8

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Genesis 4:8

Keil & Delitzsch on Genesis 4:1-8

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 4:8

Rashi on Genesis 4:8