CAIN
(kayn) HEBREW: QAYIN
"smith"
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The firstborn son of Adam and Eve, Cain was a farmer and the older brother of the shepherd Abel. When Cain offered in sacrifice the produce of the field (stintingly given, according to tradition, though the Bible does not say that), God disdained the offering, preferring Abel's sacrifice of the firstborn sheep of his flock. This enraged Cain, who summoned his brother out to a field and killed him. Legend supplies another detail omitted from the bare biblical narrative: The murder weapon was a stone.
Calling Cain to account for the first murder in human history, the Lord asked him, "Where is Abel your brother? Refusing to accept responsibility for the deed, Cain claimed not to know. "Am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4:9) he replied, with words that are among the most familiar of biblical quotations. But, as it turned out, that was not a satifactory answer. "The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground" (Genesis 4:10), the Lord told him.
Because of his crime, Cain was sentenced to wander the earth and, if he did settle anywhere to farm, his labors would be futile; the ground into which Abel's blood had flowed would refuse to produce crops for him. Fearing that he himself would be killed by anyone who encountered him, Cain begged for mercy. "My punishment is greater than I can bear" (Genesis 4:13), he pleaded. God showed his forgiveness and mercy by promising to protect him with a mark (unexplained in Genesis but perhaps a skin blemish or a tattoo) that would ward off attackers. It was a sign that the Lord himself would demand vengeance if Cain were killed. Then Cain started him wanderings, "in the land of Nod, east of Eden" (Genesis 4:16) - the very word Nod meaning "wandering." According to tradition, he built a city named for his son Enoch; his descendants are said to have included the earliest tent-dwelling herdsmen, metalworkers, and musicians.
Cain is mentioned in the New Testament. Christians are warned "not to be like Cain" (1 John 3:12); ungodly people are said to "walk in the way of Cain" (Jude 11).
{E2 Dictionary of Biblical People}