One day the flock of Abel ran over the ground Cain had been ploughing Cain rushed furiously upon him and bade him leave the spot. In the Book of Jasher the cause of quarrel is differently stated. Then Abel ran upon the hills, but Cain cried, “Away, the hills are mine!” Then he climbed the mountains, but still Cain followed him, calling, “Away, the stony mountains are mine!” One day he said to his brother, “Remove thy foot, thou standest on my property: the plain is mine.” So Cain took the earth, and all that is stationary, and Abel took all that is movable.īut the envy which lay in the heart of Cain gave him no rest. This is how the story is told in the Midrash: Cain and Abel could not agree, for, what one had, the other wanted then Abel devised a scheme that they should make a division of property, and thus remove the possibility of contention. No peace for him, no rest for him, treading the blood-drenched ground. We one have had in midst of us whom death has not yet found, The face of earth has desert grown, the sky has ceased to smile,Įvery flower has lost its hue, and every gem is dim.Īlas! my son, my son is dead the brown earth swallows him!

When Adam learned the death of his son, he set out in search of Cain, but could not find him then he recited the following lines:Įvery city is alike, each mortal man is vile, I too will lay my brother in the ground.” And he did so. Cain said, “I have not the sense of this bird. Then he threw the corpse on his back, and carried it about, not knowing what to do with it but he saw two crows fighting, and one killed the other then the crow that survived dug a hole in the earth with his beak, and buried the dead bird. Then fire descended from heaven and consumed the offering of Abel, so that not even the cinders remained but the sheaf of Cain was left untouched.Īdam gave the maiden to Abel, and Cain was sore vexed. Take each of you offerings in your hand and go, sacrifice to the Lord, and he shall decide.”Ībel was a shepherd, and he took the fattest of the sheep, and bore it to the place of sacrifice but Cain, who was a tiller of the soil, took a sheaf of corn, the poorest he could find, and placed it on the altar. Adam said to the brothers, Cain and Abel, “Go, my sons, and sacrifice to the Lord and he whose sacrifice is accepted, shall have the young girl. Now Adam sought to give to Abel the twin sister of Cain, when she was old enough to be married, but Cain (Kabil, in Arabic) was dissatisfied. After that the child given to Satan died, says Tabari, Adam had another son, and he called him Seth, and Seth was prophet in the room of his father, after the death of Adam.Īdam had many more children every time that Eve bore, she bare twins, whereof one was male, the other female, and the twins were given to one another as husband and wife.

Cain and abel twins