Cain
About this date: Narrative order and literary setting do not establish a precise historical date for this figure.
Adam and Eve's son who kills Abel.
Historical context
Genesis and Job introduce creation, human fracture, covenant ancestors, Israel's family lines, and wisdom's protest against simple explanations of suffering. These are literary and theological settings, not an exact chronology.
Key points
- Adam and Eve's son who kills Abel.
- Primary reading: Genesis 4:1–16. Read the complete passage in its literary context.
- Read family relationships and covenant promises in their full narrative setting; do not turn narrative order into an exact chronology.
Scripture
- Genesis 4:1–16 — Principal biblical passage cluster for Cain; check the summary against the complete text.
Sources and further reading
- USCCB introduction to Genesis
Literary and historical introduction; not independent verification of every narrated event.