21st Century Bible Hebrew -- Genesis 4:13-16, trop controls

Genesis 4:13-16

 

יג וַיֹּ֥אמֶר קַ֖יִן אֶל־יְהוָֹ֑ה גָּד֥וֹל עֲוֹנִ֖י מִנְּשֽׂוֹא:

יד הֵן֩ גֵּרַ֨שְׁתָּ אֹתִ֜י הַיּ֗וֹם מֵעַל֙ פְּנֵ֣י הָֽאֲדָמָ֔ה וּמִפָּנֶ֖יךָ אֶסָּתֵ֑ר וְהָיִ֜יתִי נָ֤ע וָנָד֙ בָּאָ֔רֶץ וְהָיָ֥ה כָל־מֹֽצְאִ֖י יַֽהַרְגֵֽנִי:

טו וַיֹּ֧אמֶר ל֣וֹ יְהֹוָ֗ה לָכֵן֙ כָּל־הֹרֵ֣ג קַ֔יִן שִׁבְעָתַ֖יִם יֻקָּ֑ם וַיָּ֨שֶׂם יְהוָֹ֤ה לְקַ֨יִן֙ א֔וֹת לְבִלְתִּ֥י הַכּוֹת־אֹת֖וֹ כָּל־מֹֽצְאֽוֹ:

טז וַיֵּ֥צֵא קַ֖יִן מִלִּפְנֵ֣י יְהוָֹ֑ה וַיֵּ֥שֶׁב בְּאֶֽרֶץ־נ֖וֹד קִדְמַת־עֵֽדֶן:

 

Translation: Qain said to the Lord: is my sin great beyond bearing?

Behold you have expelled me today from the surface of the earth, from Your Presence, I shall be in hiding; a wanderer and trembler on earth, from now on anybody who finds me will kill me.

The Lord said to him, therefore anybody killing Qain, he is avenged shivataim; the Lord set for Qain a sign for anybody finding him not killing him.

Qain went out from before the Lord; he lived in the land of Nod eastward of Eden.

 

Vocabulary

 

עֲוֹנִי	My sin
מִנְּשׂוֹא	… than bearing
אֶסָּתֵר	I shall be hidden
שִׁבְעָתַיִם	Seven pairs

 

So now that you have recovered from my translation of hashomer achi anokhi, verse 14 presents another issue. Esater is a nifal imperfect and remember, a nifal is a decree. Look under the previous word; there is a little curve pointing to ha-adamah. “Mi-pney ha-adamah u-mi-panekha” is a phrase. The verb is separated from it. Most translations give the idea that Qain thinks he can hide from Gd. The trop disagrees.

 

What you have is two parts of the verse falling each into two halves. The gerashti in the part before the etnach results in Qain being a na va-nad, a phrase after the etnach.  The esater before the etnach is because of his fear that “anybody who finds me will kill me.” What Qain does is decree upon himself to hide.

 

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

 

Yahargeni: this is the Jewish law of manslaughter; the killer has to get to a city of refuge and the relatives of the dead can avenge the killing whenever he is not within the city precincts. When this happens, it’s not a legal execution at the hands of the court but it also is not murder. However, there are no cities yet as we are about to see.

 

Mi-n’so echoes the “beyond” concept from the previous verse. The rabbis turn this around; is what Qain did really beyond Gd’s capability to bear with human imperfections?

 

“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, which is coming up.