Cain+and+Abel

=Cain and Abel=

Summary:

 * =Title= || =Book= || =Summary= ||
 * //The First Muder// || Genesis || The first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, had two children. One was named Cain, and he tended to agriculture. The other son was named Abel, who tended to livestock. When the season ended, the brothers gave the Lord an offering. When they have the Lord their offering, the Lord accepted Abel's offering and declined Cain's. Cain became furious with the Lord and left with his brother. When they were alone, Cain attacked and murdered Abel. When Cain saw the Lord later, he was asked where his brother was. Cain said that he did not know but the Lord knew that Abel had been murdered by Cain. As Cain's punishment, the Lord banished him and left a mark on his forehead so that any man who comes across him may not murder him as well. Cain became a wanderer and had a permanent mark on his head. ||
 * //"Cain"// || Howard Nemerov || Cain and Abel were brothers who competed very much. Cain worked with agriculture and Abel worked with livestock. When Cain sees Abel, he is told that Abel's offering to the Lord had been accepted while his had not. Cain got upset and asked Abel why, and Abel responded by saying that the Lord is strong and strong men want meat and not plants. Cain speaks to Abel about how Abel has to kill the animals he works with, and Abel says that it is all right because it is a man's work. Cain feels as if the Lord favors Abel over him and Abel agrees. Adam and Eve come in to speak with their sons and Eve tries to understand why the Lord did not accept Cain's offering. Adam tells Eve not to meddle with the Lord and man's relationships because of what happens last time. Adam tries to tell Cain that maybe there was a different reason the Lord did not accept his offering other than dislike. Cain and Abel speak of death and then Abel, Adam, and Eve leave Cain alone after a small storm. Cain finds Abel's knife and is convinced that Abel was trying to kill him before the storm started. Abel came back for his knife, and Cain stabs him. The Lord sees and talks to Cain. Cain convinces himself that Abel is still alive and can feel hurt by what has happened. The Lord banishes Cain from the Garden of Eden and puts a mark on his forehead so that no one can kill him. Adam and Eve find Cain with the mark on his forehead and Abel dead on the ground and become angry with him and afraid of him. Adam and Eve fight about their sons and what they could have done and wonder if it could go back to the way it was before Eve was created. ||

Discussion Questions:
Do you think Cain tried to cover up what he had done? Why? Why do you think that The Lord rejected Cain’s offerings? What do you think they meant by the lord saying that “your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground? Does the mark that the Lord put on Cain’s forehead is meant to symbolize something? What does it symbolize?
 * The First Murder **

Do you think that Cain was mad that the lord didn’t accept his offer? Why do you think that Abel was being mean to Cain because he wanted to make it seem like he was the only one that was wanted by the lord? Do you think that Cain actually meant to kill Abel? Why or why not? Why does god call Cain one of his holy ones even though he killed his brother?
 * Cain **

Supplementary Material:
[|Click Here] to watch a short video on Cain and Abel. After watching the video, what is the different between this and how you read it in the bible?

[|Here is a poem by Alfred Ramos]

Look at these two art works. Do they fit better with the literature ? What is the difference between these two images? Is this how you think Cain killed Abel?

Outside Material:

 * This is a link to a website that has different versions of the story. Read one and compare it to the stories from The Bible As/In Literature
 * Look at this picture depicting the Cain and Abel story. What story do you think this picture fits with? What about the story and the picture makes you think that? What part of the story do you think it is? Who do you think is Cain and who do you think is Abel and what do you think they are doing?
 * [[image:The_Story_of_Cain_and_Abel_(Bible_Card).jpg]]


 * Now look at this picture. Which story do you think it fits better with and why? Who do you think is in the picture? What are they doing?
 * [[image:eng1roxane/Bouguereau-The_First_Mourning-1888.jpg]]


 * This is another painting about the Cain and Abel story. What story does it fit better with and why? What point in the story is it? Is an accurate representation of what you imagined the story to be?
 * [[image:cainandabelbiblestory.jpg]]