Word | American Tract Society - Definition |
CAIN | The first-born of the human race, Ge 4:1, and the first murderer. See ABEL. His crime was committed against the warnings of God, and he despised the call of God to confession and penitence, Ge 4:6-9. The punishment inflicted upon him included an increase of physical wants and hardships, distress of conscience, banishment from society, and loss of God's manifested presence and favor, Ge 4:16. But God mingled mercy with judgment; and appointed for Cain some sign that he should not suffer the death penalty he had incurred at the hand of man, thus signifying that God only was his judge. He withdrew into the land of Nod, east of Eden, and built a city that he named Enoch, after one of his sons. |