Cain. Son of Adam. Cain, who was a farmer, murdered his brother and was sent into exile. Gen. 4:1-16; 1 John 3:11-12; Julde 11.

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Cain (Heb., ‘metalworker,’ although Gen. 4:1 connects it with a verb meaning ‘to acquire’ or ‘create’).

1 Adam and Eve’s first son, a farmer whose offering God rejected in favor of the firstlings brought by his brother Abel. Angered, Cain killed Abel and subsequently denied knowledge of his whereabouts. As a punishment, God withheld the ground’s fertility from Cain, who was condemned to a life of wandering. God placed a mark on Cain to warn would-be attackers that he remained under God’s protection (Gen. 4). Cain later built the first city. He was the father of Enoch and ancestor of Tubal-cain, the first metalworker. Cain is regarded as the eponymous ancestor of the Kenites, who are often considered to have originated as a tribe of wandering metalworkers.

2 A city in Judah (Josh. 15:57).

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