1. YHWH’s Shalom in the
Midst of Man’s Violence
Reseting the Foundations of Violence in the
Creation and First Family Biblical Narratives
*Artwork by 19th century French artist Gustave Dore

2. Violence in the Bible
Ever present, from Genesis
to Revelation
What can we legitimately
infer from the text, if
violence abounds?
Important to understand
what the original authors
were saying to their original
audience.

3. Principles of Interpretation
Important concepts to remember about historical
documents: they...
interpret themselves (later works base
themselves on what already exists)
are culturally specific (you must enter their
world, they won’t enter yours)
contain author bias (does not negate
authenticity, but must inform interpreters)

4. Righting the Foundation
Numerous Scholars, using literary criticism, suggest that the
first time many oral Hebraic traditions were recorded was during
the 1st Diaspora, under Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon
This exilic period occurs after politically autonomous rulership
of Saul, David, and Solomon (about 120 years in total)
A key reason many Psalmists reference Babylon as a literary
device to represent their oppressors
What beliefs were they exposed to as they began to record
their own oral traditions into written form?

5. Babylonian Creation
Babylonian/Assyrian
“Enuma Elish:”
Marduk v. Tiamat; gods
quarrel with their own
offspring, creating the earth
and sky from Tiamat’s halved
body
Humans created as a slave
race by the blood of Tiamat’s
assassinated husband, Kingu

6. Mesopotamian Creation
What other creation myths
may the ancient Israelites
have come across?
Sumerian “Eridu
Genesis” (kings descend
to rule from heaven)
Egyptian“Ennead”
(divine loneliness and
masturbation)

7. Contrasting Creations
God and Earth
Creation of order and
symmetry from “void”* (no
pre-existing struggle
between order and chaos)
Includes no overt violence
(divine spirit hovers over the ty™Iv
waters and must only speak
to bring material into being)
aér
“Genesis, beginning”
*…(wh$Ob) Hebrew Strong’s # 922, occurs 4 times
in the Bible

8. Contrasting Creations
h¡DÚ God and Humankind
vIa
“woman, wife”
Man co-creates with the god
(names creatures, provides
material for subsequent
‘wo’man)
God interacts
nonthreateningly, even
sympathetically, with humans
Focus on rest and enjoyment,
not labor and subservience

9. Expulsion from Eden
Not a violent act, but a
consequence of the
arrogance of pursuing
godliness (specifically
omniscience)
Adam and Eve are provided
for and sent off into the
world, which has responded to
their disregard for the created
order by sprouting “thorns
and thistles” - Gen.3:18

10. Violence as Fratricide
The story of Cain and Abel contains the first
instance of violence in the Judeo-Christian
cannon. It is against this backdrop that that all
other Biblical violence may be considered
In ancient semitic cultures, the first of something is
representative of the whole; this fratricidal event is
the basis from which all others flow (all murder is a
failure to see our kinship with fellow human beings)

11. Cain’s Imperative
The catalyst for Cain’s action is God’s refusal of his offering
(which he gave prior to Abel, Gen.4:3-5). The import of the
narrative must not be overlooked:
If God’s refusal of Cain’s offering was
arbitrary ,the source of violence is found
in God. However, if fault may be found
with Cain, then the root of violence lies
with him (and humankind).

12. Blood Brothers
CAIN (Nˆyäåq)
At birth, his mother sings praises
Primogeniture: firstborn males would...
receive the largest inheritance (a double portion)
become figurehead in the patriarch’s absence
adopt the family business*
More importantly, the text says God “rejected Cain AND
his offering” - Gen.4:5 (it wasn’t just the fruit of the soil
YHWH disapproved of, but the grain of his character too)
* In this case, agriculture (Gen.4:2)

13. Blood Brothers
ABEL (lRb∞Rh)
Literal meaning of Abel’s name in Hebrew translates to
“worthlessness, meaninglessness, emptiness*” (can you imagine
your parents naming you “worthless?”)
Conception mentioned as a byline of his older brother’s nearly
epic birth narrative - “Later she gave birth to his brother Abel”
Of the 10 times he is referenced in Gen.4:1-12, over two thirds of
the time it is as his murderer’s brother (“his/your brother Abel”)
God is the only character to even acknowledge Abel’s presence!
* Hebrew Strong’s #1892

14. Precursor to Murder
Cain gives an offering of
“the fruit of the soil” that he
tills
Abel, an offering of “the
choicest of the firstlings of
his flock” that he tends
What gives? Cain
thought the idea up,
Abel was just following
suit!

15. Precursor to Murder
Ancient Semitic
agreements often
required human or
animal blood to be
shed to be
recognized as legit
Wealth was often
measured by flock
size, not crop size

16. Precursor to Murder
A nomadic Abel would be
much more dependent on
divine providence for his
sustenance - giving a
whole sheep meant he
went without food!
Cain’s agrarianism
afforded more geographic
stability and longevity -
and instilled a sense of
property ownership...

17. Precursor to Murder
Cain’s ego is hurt,
but God notices
and offers
redemption, says
Cain may “master
the sin crouching at
[his] door” - Gen.
4:7

18. The Dastardly Deed
`Eg√rAhÅ¥y Cain leads his younger
“to kill”
brother to “the field,”
his own home turf
Details do not emerge
from the text, we only
know that Cain kills his
younger brother

19. The Dastardly Deed
God immediately asks
`Eg√rAhÅ¥y
“to kill” the elder Cain where
his brother is (hey,
isn’t God omniscient?)
Do you have younger
siblings? Did your
parents ever pose the
same question to you?

20. Anti-Primogeniture
Cain seems to insist he is not, in fact, his brother’s
“Keeper,” or that he did not know of this duty
this word in Hebrew, shomer (r¶EmOv*) denotes
“guardian and protector,” something that would
have come as second nature to the eldest son
Primogeniture demanded that Cain be his brother’s
shomer, and his coy response only reveals his own
foreknowledge
*Hebrew Strong’s #8104

21. Anti-Primogeniture
God expels Cain from his land, almost a second “fall,”
another forbidden knowledge
In punishing this second generation, God again
provides protection, a mark, to make sure Cain does
not fall victim even the very crime he introduced!
kind of contradicts the old “eye for an eye”
demand...

22. Questioning Violence
What does all this say
about violence?
How does resetting the
foundational assumptions
about Biblical violence
alter readings like
Deuteronomy 20,
Canaanite expulsion,
Joshua, Judges, etc.?

23. Nonviolently Ever After?
If the first murderer is supposed to be the antagonist,
then where is the protagonist?
Does the text just leave us at that? Is it really that
ambiguous, or is there a model provided for us to
emulate over and against the model set by Cain?
Of course, you will only find the answer if you keep
reading (the Bible, that is, not necessarily my slides)

24. Nonviolently Ever After?
Hebraic cultures focused very heavily on genealogies
(why do you think there are so many in the Torah?)
From Cain and Abel, how does the narrative develop?
Let’s look finally at the contrasting genealogies of
Cain and perhaps the most under represented
Biblical figure, his new brother Seth!
Abel’s “replacement,” Gen. 4:25

25. Nonviolently Ever After?
2.Cain 2.Seth (“God has provided”)
3.Enoch (also the name of the first city, 3.Enosh (“human being.” “it was
built by his father) then that men began to call on The
4.Irad (“fugitive”) Name of the Lord” - Gen.4:26)
5.Mehujael (“struck by God”) 4.Kenan (“to be sanctified”)
6.Methusael(“where is God?”) 5.Mehalalel (“praise of God”)
7.Lamech (first to have multiple wives, 6.Jared
also tried to justify his own violence on 7.Enoch (“walked with God” and
the protection God offered Cain) did not die - Gen.5:22&24)
8.Methuselah
9.Lamech (not the same guy)
10.Noah
*Meanings of names are underlined

26. Nonviolently Ever After?
Notice in the text:
Seth, not Cain, is said to be “in the likeness of Adam (who similarly,
has the “likeness of God” - Gen.5:1&3)
Seth’s line includes 10 generations (a ‘complete’ number in Judaism),
while Cain’s only lasts 7 generations before The Flood wipes it away
generated because the earth was “filled with violence” - Gen.6:11
Israel emerges later as descendants of Seth’s lineage (thru Noah)
Lifespans of Seth’s lineage mimic the ancient Sumerian King List

27. Conclusion
Based on the original intent, do we find violence reflected upon
favorably, even ambiguously?
Given the circumstances in which Genesis was written it is clear
that the author/s of Genesis made apparent their disapproval
of Cain and his unique contribution to humanity
Furthermore, considering the setting for its transcription, it is
worth considering that an Hebraic view of violence
contradicted foundational assumptions present in neighboring
cultures, such as the Egyptians, Babylonians, and Assyrians

28. Conclusion
The most basic misunderstanding of violence in the
Bible is whether it is prescriptive or descriptive
Prescriptive - suggested as what should/can be
Descriptive - merely indicated as having existed

29. Conclusion
The issue, then, is when are things being prescribed
and when are they merely being described?
there are indeed prescriptive claims made, but they
are not in support of violence
must not read between the lines in the midst of
merely descriptive elements (especially in histories
such as 1&2 Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles)

30. References
Adele, Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler. The Jewish Study Bible.
New York: Oxford University, 2004.
Eliger, Karl. Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. Stuttgart:
Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1990.
McDonald, Patricia M. God & Violence: Biblical Resources for
Living in a Small World. Scotsdale: Herald, 2004.
Uittenbogaard, Arie. Meaning, Origin and Etymology of Bible
Names. 2007. Abarim Publications. 8 Oct. 2009. <http://
www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning>.