Sacrifice

1 Adam [a] lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. [b] She said, "With the help of the LORD I have brought forth [c] a man." 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. 4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.


In our study of theories of sacrifice, we have encountered several biblical stories, including the story of Cain and Abel. Our professor, Mona, immediately took issue with these initial verses, saying that there was no logical reason for Abel's offering to be favored over Cain's. Thus, she interpreted the story as portraying God arbitrarily selecting one over the other. I feel that the text does imply a crucial distinction between the brothers' offerings. Abel's is specifically identified as being of the firstborn of his flock, and the choicest portions. The Bible does not say that Cain's offering is inherently subpar, but the juxtaposition with Abel's implies that perhaps Cain did not approach God with the proper sacrificial attitude. Perhaps Cain did not select the best produce to use as his offering. We also read an interpretation by Ricardo Quinones, which expounded on the idea of a divinely imposed arbitrary distinction drawn between the two brothers. Namely, he infers that God simply designates Abel as good and Cain as evil. Thus, Abel's offering is automatically accepted, while Cain's is disregarded. However, this hypothesis is not consistent with what the Bible tells us about God's character. And, furthermore, it fails to account for Genesis's most crucial theological development, which appears in the previous chapter: original sin. There is no textual evidence in Genesis 4 to support the conception that Cain's offering is rejected due to an inherent division of moral status. Abel is not inherently "good," because Abel, like Cain, and the rest of humanity since, is a sinner. To assert otherwise is to negate the purpose of the sacrificial rite in the first place--Cain and Abel need to sacrifice to the Lord in order to atone for their sins.