Genesis 4:9 “And the Lord said unto Cain, where is Abel thy brother? And he said: I know not, am I my brother’s keeper?”

There are a number of aspects to this story that has always bothered me.  Well, not the story, but the way it is translated.  From our English translation it appears God is looking for Abel.  Don’t you think that maybe God knew where Abel was at?   I have heard the explanation that God was playing a little game with Cain, trying to get him to fess up.  But I cannot believe God would stoop to such game playing, nor do I believe in a sarcastic God.  Another thing about this rendering is that it appears Cain committed a bold face lie to God saying he did not know where Abel was at.  Cain was no dummy, he knew God knew full well where Cain was at and what happened.  Cain would have had to have the intelligence of a turnip to think he could fool God with his innocent behavior.  Then Cain says: “Am I my brother’s keeper.?”  This gives the appearance that Cain is literally saying: “How am I suppose to know where my brother is at, am I to keep constant watch on him so I know where he is every second of the day?”  This whole scene begs for some alternative rendering to this passage.

The first question to examine is why does God  say: “Where is Cain, they brother.”   I mean are there any other Cains out there?  Does God have to be so specific so there is no confusing his brother with some other Cain.  Besides, at this state of civilization anyone would be Abel’s brother unless maybe there was a Cain Junior out there.

The same word for brother is ‘ach. The same spelling is used for an expression of grief.  Hence God may not be asking “where is your brother” but “where is your grief.” He could also be making a play on the word for brother by using the apocopated (loss or omission of a letter or symbol) form of achad which means to be united as one,  and asking: “Where is the person that you were united as one?”

My next issue is Abel’s responds to God of  “I know not.” As if he really believes God is going to buy into that little dodge.  The word know is yada which is a relationship word.  It is the word used to show an intimacy.  Abel could be saying: “I have no grief over Abel’s death because I was not intimate with him.”

The he asks God that all important question: “Am I my brother’s keeper?”  The word keeper is shamar which means one who guards or watches.  In its Semitic origins it has the idea of not so much guarding but observing and taking heed.  Perhaps Abel was not so much saying: “Am I my brother’s guardian” as he was saying: “Am I to listen to him and observe him?” 

Remember the whole dispute was over Abel offering an acceptable sacrifice and Cain offering one that was rejected. Abel brought an animal sacrifice and blood offering to God while Cain brought a more bloodless sacrifice of the produce from the ground.  Both sacrifices represented a portion of each’s labor, but the problem with Abel’s sacrifice is that it came from the ground and the ground had been cursed.  So Cain was offering something that was cursed.

Abel probably pointed this out, and rightly so, “You can’t offer God something from the ground, He cursed the ground.”  Cain  probably got into a dispute with his brother over this: “Oh so who died and made you my spiritual guide?  I happen to be just as spiritual as you, what makes you think you hear from God and I don’t?  Who are you to tell me what is right or wrong?”  We are not yada intimate you know?”   Of course they were achad united as one.  He could have thought a little about his brother’s rebuke before lashing out at him.  Maybe it is possible Cain could not handle a little spiritual correction from his brother.

Of course such things never happen to day, right?  I John 3:15 tells us that whoever hates his brother is a murderer.  We as Christians today are united with each other (achad) as one, as ‘ach (brothers and sisters) through Jesus Christ.  We are to watch each other’s backs.  Living a Christian life is not easy and we need each to make us aware of sins that may have entered our lives without our knowing.  However, if some brother or sister points this out to us we immediate become defensive with a mind your own business attitude.  To be sure  a believer pointing out our shortcomings may have a personal agenda and they may be wrong, check out the Apostle Paul.  A rumor was spread that Paul could not be in God’s will receptive of the blessings of God if he was sitting in a prison.  But Paul’s response was not one of hatred or bitterness.  He was deeply hurt declaring they were ashamed of his bonds. 

True, people in a family sometimes do hurt each other, but they are still part of the family and there is the need for forgiveness which Cain did not exercise.  Instead he took another approach.

Here is a real question, what did God mean in verse 10: “The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth to me from the ground.”   We know from Scripture that life of every creature is in the blood Leviticus 17:14.  Indeed blood is made up of living cells.  The word voice in Hebrew is qol which means an actual sound either in the physical realm or in the spiritual realm.  A spirit has no ears to hear actual sound, a spirit, as with God, receives the vibrations or the release of energy from sounds.  Sounds are made when vibrations strike against the atmosphere.  However, there is the transference of the sound waves or energy waves are picked up in the spirit world. The ancients believed that innocent blood has no voice yet it does scream when it is shed by murder.  God hears those screams.  Science has yet to prove there is a difference between blood shed by accident and blood shed violence but maybe one day they will prove that if blood is violently released from the body resulting in death the energy waves or vibration are heard in the spirit world and heard by God.  Just a theory based upon the use of the word qol for voice which can be metaphoric, but usually is not.  It may refer to an actual voice heard in the spirit.  The word cries is tsoaqim from the root word tsaaq which is a cry of appeal or a cry to summon help or justice.

We do not know how the spirit world works, but I believe there is a Hebraic basis in Genesis 4:9-10 for the shedding of innocent blood that actually screams out in the spirit world. Someone once made a movie called the Silent Scream about abortion and they showed an x-ray picture of a fetus as it was aborted and it mouth was open like it was screaming.  Maybe, maybe not but I firmly believe when a fetus is aborted and its blood is violently released, there is a silent scream heard in the spirit world and heard by the Spirit of God.