Genesis 4:10-15
4:10 a What have you done? is more an expression of horror and rebuke than a fact-finding question (cp. 3:13 b).• Abel’s blood is personified as a legal witness that cries out against Cain.
• from the ground: See study note on 4:11-12.
Summary for Gen 4:11-12: 4:11-12 c As with his father (cp. 3:9-12 d, 17-19 e), Cain’s interrogation (4:9-10 f) was followed by God’s verdict. Adam’s sin had already caused the ground to be cursed. Now Cain was cursed and banished from the land he farmed because he had contaminated it with innocent blood.
• homeless wanderer: Cain was condemned to ceaseless roving in a land that would provide neither sustenance nor security. The effects of sin were escalating.
Summary for Gen 4:13-14: 4:13-14 g For Cain, eviction from the land—the domain of his vocation as a farmer (see 4:2 h; cp. 3:23 i)—amounted to exile from God’s presence. The Israelites were warned that unfaithfulness to the Sinai covenant would similarly result in eviction from the Promised Land and from God’s presence in the Temple (see, e.g., Lev 26:27-32 j).
4:15 k Sevenfold punishment was the full weight of justice. Cain complained that his punishment was too great, but the full sentence that would fall on anyone who committed Cain’s crime against him shows how gracious the Lord was to Cain. Cain deserved death (see 9:5-6 l).
• The mark graciously provided protection following Cain’s judgment (cp. 3:21 m).
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