Cain

Cain is the eldest son of Adam and Eve and the brother of Abel. He kills his brother Abel. As a punishment, he has to wander over the earth.

The name Cain means “the given one”. His name is derived from the Hebrew word for “to receive, to get a present”.
Cain is the eldest son of Adam and Eve. His brother Abel was born after him.

Cain is a farmer. He brings God an offering from his harvest. Cain becomes angry when he notices that God does not see his offering, but does see Abel’s offering. Therefore, Cain kills his brother.
When God asks Cain where his brother is, Cain answers that he does not need to look after his brother. God punishes Cain. He is not allowed to keep on living in that place, but from now on must wander all over the earth. Because Cain is afraid that anyone can easily kill him, God puts a mark on his forehead that will protect him.

Cain goes to live in the land of Nod, to the east of Eden. There he marries and has a son, Enoch. Cain builds a city which he calls Enoch, like his son.
Enoch too has children, so the family line of Cain ends up with Lamech (Genesis 4:23).
Cain is no longer included in the genealogy of Adam. In Genesis 5:3 only Seth is mentioned as a son of Adam.

Cain is mentioned twice in the New Testament. In Hebrews 11:4 we read that Abel’s faith made his offering more valuable to God than Cain’s. In 1 John 3:12 we read that Abel was righteous and Cain was not.