21st Century Bible Hebrew -- Genesis 5-8, commandment grammar

Genesis 4:5-8

 

ה וְאֶל־קַ֥יִן וְאֶל־מִנְחָת֖וֹ לֹ֣א שָׁעָ֑ה וַיִּ֤חַר לְקַ֨יִן֙ מְאֹ֔ד וַֽיִּפְּל֖וּ פָּנָֽיו:

ו וַיֹּ֥אמֶר יְהוָֹ֖ה אֶל־קָ֑יִן לָ֚מָּה חָ֣רָה לָ֔ךְ וְלָ֖מָּה נָֽפְל֥וּ פָנֶֽיךָ:

ז הֲל֤וֹא אִם־תֵּיטִיב֙ שְׂאֵ֔ת וְאִם֙ לֹ֣א תֵיטִ֔יב לַפֶּ֖תַח חַטָּ֣את רֹבֵ֑ץ וְאֵלֶ֨יךָ֙ תְּשׁ֣וּקָת֔וֹ וְאַתָּ֖ה תִּמְשָׁל־בּֽוֹ:

ח וַיֹּ֥אמֶר קַ֖יִן אֶל־הֶ֣בֶל אָחִ֑יו וַֽיְהִי֙ בִּֽהְיוֹתָ֣ם בַּשָּׂדֶ֔ה וַיָּ֥קָם קַ֛יִן אֶל־הֶ֥בֶל אָחִ֖יו וַיַּֽהַרְגֵֽהוּ:

Translation: But He had not looked at Qain and his minchah; Qain must have kindled for he became downcast.

The Lord said to Qain: why have you kindled and become downcast?

Is it not [true] if you make good [that] it is by excelling, but if you don’t make good, at the entrance sin [habitually] lies; its impulse is toward you, but you can rule it.

Qain said to Hevel his brother; it must have been at the time of their being in the field that Qain rose up to Hevel and killed him.

 

In verse 5, the two words at the end are a conjugated form of nafal panayv (it’s in narrative past in this verse), an IDIOM for being downcast.

 

Why does Gd ask this question? The rabbis say over and over again, when you have to have a difficult conversation with somebody, you don’t plunge into the middle of it. You start with something minor – and obvious. Gd is telling Qain, look, it’s not like I don’t care. I can see how you’re feeling. Your feelings are your feelings. But look….

 

The next verse is one of the most important verses in all of Torah for more than one reason.

 

First, notice that Gd gives Qain the up-side first. Once Qain has accepted that there are consequences for doing good, he is more likely to agree that there are consequences for doing wrong.

 

The word rovets may seem strange but it is in contrast to set.

 

A set is a rising. In Numbers, the priestly blessing has Gd “lifting His face” to those He favors.

 

A rovets is a lying down. In Yaaqov’s blessing of his sons, he says Yehudah is a lion rovets. It may sound innocuous but it comes right after a verse about a lion cub attacking prey.

 

Gd tries here to give both the positive and negative spin. He wants Qain to focus on what He says first and take the right path.

 

What He does not do is issue another commandment. That didn’t work so well the last time. There are commentators who say differently, but the grammar and the situation argue against that. A commandment looks like a conjugated verb in second person, it is prefixed with vav, and it is either imperfect or perfect aspect. Commandments are all over Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, and the laws of circumcision in Genesis are commandments too. Commandments are forever.

 

We don’t have that here. What Gd says is an explanation to Qain of how life works, not a commandment.