Kejadian 4:8-11
Konteks4:8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” 1 While they were in the field, Cain attacked 2 his brother 3 Abel and killed him.
4:9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” 4 And he replied, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s guardian?” 5 4:10 But the Lord said, “What have you done? 6 The voice 7 of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground! 4:11 So now, you are banished 8 from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
Ibrani 11:4
Konteks11:4 By faith Abel offered God a greater sacrifice than Cain, and through his faith 9 he was commended as righteous, because God commended him for his offerings. And through his faith 10 he still speaks, though he is dead.
Ibrani 12:24
Konteks12:24 and to Jesus, the mediator 11 of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks of something better than Abel’s does. 12
Ibrani 12:1
Konteks12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, 13 we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us,
Yohanes 3:12
Konteks3:12 If I have told you people 14 about earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 15
[4:8] 1 tc The MT has simply “and Cain said to Abel his brother,” omitting Cain’s words to Abel. It is possible that the elliptical text is original. Perhaps the author uses the technique of aposiopesis, “a sudden silence” to create tension. In the midst of the story the narrator suddenly rushes ahead to what happened in the field. It is more likely that the ancient versions (Samaritan Pentateuch, LXX, Vulgate, and Syriac), which include Cain’s words, “Let’s go out to the field,” preserve the original reading here. After writing אָחִיו (’akhiyv, “his brother”), a scribe’s eye may have jumped to the end of the form בַּשָּׂדֶה (basadeh, “to the field”) and accidentally omitted the quotation. This would be an error of virtual homoioteleuton. In older phases of the Hebrew script the sequence יו (yod-vav) on אָחִיו is graphically similar to the final ה (he) on בַּשָּׂדֶה.
[4:8] 2 tn Heb “arose against” (in a hostile sense).
[4:8] 3 sn The word “brother” appears six times in vv. 8-11, stressing the shocking nature of Cain’s fratricide (see 1 John 3:12).
[4:9] 4 sn Where is Abel your brother? Again the
[4:9] 5 tn Heb “The one guarding my brother [am] I?”
[4:9] sn Am I my brother’s guardian? Cain lies and then responds with a defiant rhetorical question of his own in which he repudiates any responsibility for his brother. But his question is ironic, for he is responsible for his brother’s fate, especially if he wanted to kill him. See P. A. Riemann, “Am I My Brother’s Keeper?” Int 24 (1970): 482-91.
[4:10] 6 sn What have you done? Again the
[4:10] 7 tn The word “voice” is a personification; the evidence of Abel’s shed blood condemns Cain, just as a human eyewitness would testify in court. For helpful insights, see G. von Rad, Biblical Interpretations in Preaching; and L. Morris, “The Biblical Use of the Term ‘Blood,’” JTS 6 (1955/56): 77-82.
[4:11] 8 tn Heb “cursed are you from the ground.” As in Gen 3:14, the word “cursed,” a passive participle from אָרָר (’arar), either means “punished” or “banished,” depending on how one interprets the following preposition. If the preposition is taken as indicating source, then the idea is “cursed (i.e., punished) are you from [i.e., “through the agency of”] the ground” (see v. 12a). If the preposition is taken as separative, then the idea is “cursed and banished from the ground.” In this case the ground rejects Cain’s efforts in such a way that he is banished from the ground and forced to become a fugitive out in the earth (see vv. 12b, 14).
[11:4] 9 tn Or “through his sacrifice”; Grk “through which.”
[11:4] 10 tn Or “through his sacrifice”; Grk “through it.”
[12:24] 11 tn The Greek word μεσίτης (mesith", “mediator”) in this context does not imply that Jesus was a mediator in the contemporary sense of the word, i.e., he worked for compromise between opposing parties. Here the term describes his function as the one who was used by God to enact a new covenant which established a new relationship between God and his people, but entirely on God’s terms.
[12:24] 12 sn Abel’s shed blood cried out to the Lord for justice and judgment, but Jesus’ blood speaks of redemption and forgiveness, something better than Abel’s does (Gen 4:10; Heb 9:11-14; 11:4).
[12:1] 13 tn Grk “having such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us.”
[3:12] 14 tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to indicate that the verb is second person plural (referring to more than Nicodemus alone).
[3:12] 15 sn Obviously earthly things and heavenly things are in contrast, but what is the contrast? What are earthly things which Jesus has just spoken to Nicodemus? And through him to others – this is not the first instance of the plural pronoun, see v. 7, you must all. Since Nicodemus began with a plural (we know, v. 2) Jesus continues it, and through Nicodemus addresses a broader audience. It makes most sense to take this as a reference to the things Jesus has just said (and the things he is about to say, vv. 13-15). If this is the case (and it seems the most natural explanation) then earthly things are not necessarily strictly physical things, but are so called because they take place on earth, in contrast to things like v. 16, which take place in heaven. Some have added the suggestion that the things are called earthly because physical analogies (birth, wind, water) are used to describe them. This is possible, but it seems more probable that Jesus calls these things earthly because they happen on earth (even though they are spiritual things). In the context, taking earthly things as referring to the words Jesus has just spoken fits with the fact that Nicodemus did not believe. And he would not after hearing heavenly things either, unless he first believed in the earthly things – which included the necessity of a regenerating work from above, by the Holy Spirit.
