Bit at a Time Bible Hebrew -- Genesis 4:13-16

Genesis 4:13-16

 

יג וַיֹּאמֶר קַיִן אֶל־יְהוָֹה גָּדוֹל עֲוֹנִי מִנְּשׂוֹא:

יד הֵן גֵּרַשְׁתָּ אֹתִי הַיּוֹם מֵעַל פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה וּמִפָּנֶיךָ אֶסָּתֵר וְהָיִיתִי נָע וָנָד בָּאָרֶץ וְהָיָה כָל־מֹצְאִי יַהַרְגֵנִי:

טו וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ יְהֹוָה לָכֵן כָּל־הֹרֵג קַיִן שִׁבְעָתַיִם יֻקָּם וַיָּשֶׂם יְהוָֹה לְקַיִן אוֹת לְבִלְתִּי הַכּוֹת־אֹתוֹ כָּל־מֹצְאוֹ:

טז וַיֵּצֵא קַיִן מִלִּפְנֵי יְהוָֹה וַיֵּשֶׁב בְּאֶרֶץ־נוֹד קִדְמַת־עֵדֶן:

 

Translation:  Qain said to ****  my sin is too great to bear.

You have pushed me out today from the surface of the earth and from your presence, I shall hide and be a trembler and wanderer in the land and it shall turn out that anyone who finds me will kill me.

**** said to him therefore anybody who kills Qain shall be established for seven pairs and **** set for Qain a sign so that nobody who found him would strike him.

Qain went out from before **** and settled in the land of Nod eastward of Eden.

 

Vocabulary

 

עֲוֹנִי	My sin
מִנְּשׂוֹא	… than bearing
אֶסָּתֵר	I shall hide, go in secret
שִׁבְעָתַיִם	Seven pairs

“Seven pairs” is shivataim.  It looks like a class of nouns in Hebrew that end in –aim and come in pairs.  Eynaim eyes, raglaim feet, aznaim ears.  Also shnataim two years; sh’vuaim two weeks; yomaim two days. 

But what is shivataim doing here?  That can only be understood in the context of the rest of the episode, as I discuss on the Fact-Checking post.

 

Also notice that the “sign of Qain” is set to protect him.

 

“Anyone who finds me” comes from Jewish law.  A killer could live in a city of refuge, but if he went outside he could be killed by the dead man’s closest relative, the goel ha-dam.  If there was no relative who qualified for this role, then “anybody who found” the killer outside the city of refuge could kill him.

© Patricia Jo Heil, 2013-2018 All Rights  Reserved