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Cain and Abel

Cultural  
  1. The first children of Adam and Eve, born after the Fall of Man. Once, when they were grown men, both Cain and Abel offered sacrifices to God. When Cain saw that Abel's pleased God whereas his did not, Cain murdered his brother out of jealousy. For his crime, Cain was exiled by God to a life of wandering in a distant land.


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God “set a mark upon Cain” to protect him in his wanderings. The “mark of Cain” now refers to an individual's or humankind's sinful nature.

Example Sentences

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What might the references to Moses and Cain and Abel tell us about Quran’s early audience?

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

After Cain and Abel, was there a first woman?

From Salon • Jan. 29, 2023

Beauty’s bickering brothers are named Cain and Abel, for example, and Stone’s character is called “Colonizer.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 1, 2022

Dr. Bito, who was raised Catholic, was particularly interested in Old Testament stories — such as those of Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel — and how they might be reinterpreted.

From Washington Post • Dec. 6, 2021

"Child," argued the old woman, "they is some as says they is ghosts in this here house of Cain and Abel; but they is one that knows they is ghosts here."

From Madge Morton's Trust by Chalmers, Amy D. V.

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