Falling Far from the Tree? God's Rejection of Cain outside the Garden of Eden (Genesis 4:1-16)

Squire, Mark R. “Falling Far from the Tree?: God’s Rejection of Cain Outside the Garden of Eden.” S.T.M. Thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2018. 105 pp.This thesis offers a review of the history of interpretation of the account of Gen 4:1–16. Specifically, the focus of this thesis regards the question of why God favored Abel and his sacrifice and not Cain and his sacrifice. The paper provides an original translation of Gen 4:1–16, as well as translation notes. The historical interpretations of the answer to the question of why God favored Abel over Cain are grouped into three broad categories: Cain’s sacrifice, Cain himself, and Yahweh. The evidence offered in this thesis shows that, despite the fact that the text of Gen 4:1–16 itself does not give an answer to the question, nor does it seem interested in the question itself, scholars have debated the reason behind God’s favoring of Abel for over two millennia, arriving at any number of possible interpretations. Using the text of Gen 4:1–16, as well as the surrounding context of Gen 1–11, the whole of Genesis, the entire Old Testament, as well as the New Testament, this paper offers commentary on the strengths and weaknesses of each interpretive category.