Person Old and New Testament
Cain
Cain, the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, murdered his brother Abel and was cursed by God to be a wanderer. Mentioned in 16 verses across 4 books, first at Genesis 4:1.
Why it matters. Adam and Eve's firstborn son, killed his brother Abel
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Cain
Cain was the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, and he is known for killing his brother Abel (Gen. 4; Heb. 11:4; 1Jn.3.12; Jud.1.11). Cain was a farmer, while Abel was a shepherd. When both brothers brought offerings to God, the Lord accepted Abel's offering but rejected Cain's, which led to Cain's anger and jealousy. Despite God's warning to master his sinful desires, Cain lured Abel into the field and murdered him. As a result, God cursed Cain to be a restless wanderer on the earth and banished him from His presence. Cain's descendants, known as the Cainites, are mentioned in the genealogy of Genesis 4, which highlights the spread of sin and the development of civilization apart from God. The New Testament references to Cain portray him as an example of unbelief, wickedness, and rebellion against God (Heb. Jud.11.4; 1Jn.3.12; Jud.1.11). Cain's story serves as a warning about the consequences of sin, jealousy, and disobedience to God.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
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Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
- Children
- Enoch
Appears in Scripture
Named in 16 verses across 4 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.