Kainfortællingen i antikke oversættelser og fortolkninger

Abstract

Today Cain and Abel are considered the personifi cation of evil
itself and the saintlike innocent victim, respectively. The third character
of the narrative, Yahweh, seems to be forgotten in the interpretation of
the story. He is the one who, by rejecting Cain’s offering, infl ames the
anger in him, leading to the fratricide. The story of Cain and Abel as
presented in the masoretic version of Genesis 4:1-16 is an ambiguous
and versatile story, where Yahweh is presented as a somewhat unjust and
passionate God. Cain is portrayed as a facetted human being containing
both good and evil. Abel’s character, on the other hand, is barely
described. In spite of the fact that the original masoretic version of the
narrative does not support the interpretation mentioned above, this interpretation is predominant in contemporary consciousness.