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Chapter 3
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Genesis, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
God, Humanity, and Creation
Mistrust, Disobedience, and Death
Covenants and Faith in God’s Promises
The Role of Women
Summary
Analysis
Adam and Eve conceive a son, and Eve gives birth to Cain, saying that she has “produced a man” with God’s help. Later, Eve has another son, Abel. Abel becomes a shepherd, and Cain tills the ground. One day, Cain brings the LORD an offering of fruit, while Abel brings an offering from his flock—the choicest sheep. The LORD is fond of Abel’s offering, but he disregard’s Cain’s.
Humanity begins to multiply through Adam and Eve. (Fittingly, the Hebrew verb for “produced” resembles the name Cain.) However, the effects of Adam and Eve’s sin are soon revealed in conflict between their offspring. It’s not explained why God prefers Abel’s offering, except that a sheep would obviously be costlier than fruit.
Themes
Cain invites Abel to go out into the field. There, Cain kills Abel. When the LORD asks Cain of Abel’s whereabouts, Cain says he doesn’t know: “am I my brother’s keeper?” The LORD says that Abel’s blood cries out from the ground; therefore Cain will be cursed from the ground from now on. He will till the earth with difficulty and wander as a fugitive. Cain is dismayed, afraid he will be killed also, so the LORD places a mark on Cain. Then Cain settles in the land of Nod.
Jealous that God preferred Abel’s gift, Cain deceives his brother, murders him, and then heartlessly lies to God about what he’s done, denying any responsibility for his brother (“am I [his] keeper?”). But being omniscient, God knows what happened, and Cain will forever bear the consequences. Still, God shows mercy to Cain so that he will not be killed, too.
Themes
Cain and his wife have a son, Enoch. Cain builds a city and names it after Enoch. Several generations later, Cain’s descendant Lamech takes two wives named Adah and Zillah. Adah’s son Jabal is the ancestor of nomadic herders; her son Jubal is the ancestor of musicians. Zillah’s son Tubal-cain becomes a bronze- and ironworker.
Cain’s descendants are described as the founders of civilization—building cities, doing work like herding and toolmaking, and creating cultural artifacts like music. (It’s also assumed that other human beings exist with whom Adam’s sons can intermarry, though this isn’t explained.)
Themes
Meanwhile, Adam and Eve have another son, named Seth, because God has “appointed” for Eve another child. Seth has a son named Enosh. Around this time, people begin to “call upon the LORD.”
It’s not explained what “call[ing] upon the LORD” means, exactly, but it’s implied that some of Adam’s descendants begin to acknowledge and worship God publicly, calling him by his personal name, “Yahweh.”
Themes
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