The Cain Tradition

The Cain Tradition

The Cain Tradition refers to the tale of Cain and Abel as seen in the Septuagint [The Greek Translation of the Old Testament] and the Vulgate. [Saint Jerome's Latin Translation of the Bible]

Traditions around the two brothers had started to develop already during the Old Testament time, arguing that descendants of Cain had had sexual intercourse with fallen angels, producing an offspring of giants and monsters.

As there came to be certain differences between the two European Bible translations, the Cain tradition developed in different directions in medieval times. While the Greek Septuagint tells of the "angels of God" mating with the "daughters of men", thus creating gigantic and monstrous figures, the Latin Vulgate mentions the giants but not their origin. [Williams, David: "Cain and Beowulf: A Study in Secular Allegory, page 20. University of Toronto Press, 1982] Thus, in Roman Catholic tradition, the Cain offspring were seen only as evil people, gigantic only in deeds, not in physical size. [Mischievous Angels or Sethites? by Chuck Missler http://www.khouse.org/articles/1997/110/] In some instances, where the giants still were seen as real giants, they were explained by the invention that Cain was the son of Eve and the Serpent (Satan).

There were other, minor traditions concerning Cain and Abel, of both older and newer date. The apocryphal "Book of Adam and Eve" tells of Eve having a dream in which Cain drank his brother’s blood. In an attempt to prevent the prophecy from happening the two young men are separated and given different jobs. [Williams, David: "Cain and Beowulf: A Study in Secular Allegory, page 21. University of Toronto Press, 1982]

In the epic poem "Beowulf", the antagonists Grendel and Grendel's mother are described as descendants of Cain, which some scholars argue, links them to the "Cain Tradition". [Williams, David: "Cain and Beowulf: A Study in Secular Allegory. University of Toronto Press, 1982]

ee also

*Curse and mark of Cain

Footnotes

External links

*" [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3612/is_199401/ai_n8732231/print Cain tradition -- The Changes of Cain by Ricardo Quinones] "


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • CAIN — (Heb. קַיִן, Qayin, smith ), the firstborn son of adam and eve , brother of abel and seth (Gen. 4:1, 25). In the Bible Cain and Abel both brought offerings to God from the fruits of their labors, but God did not pay heed to Cain s gift. Ignoring… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • The Tower (Tarot card) — The Tower (XVI) (most common modern name) is the sixteenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination. History This card, which follows immediately after The Devil in all Tarots …   Wikipedia

  • Cain and Abel — This article is about the first and second sons of Adam and Eve. For other uses, see Cain and Abel (disambiguation). Abel , Cain , and My Brother s Keeper redirect here. For other uses, see Abel (disambiguation), Cain (disambiguation), and My… …   Wikipedia

  • Cain's Ballroom — Infobox nrhp | name =Cain s Dancing Academy nrhp type = caption =The historic sign of Cain s Ballroom. location= Tulsa, OK lat degrees = 36 | lat minutes = 9 | lat seconds = 38.46 | lat direction = N long degrees = 95 | long minutes = 59 | long… …   Wikipedia

  • Cain — • First born of Adam and Eve Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Cain     Cain     † Catholic En …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • The Logos —     The Logos     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► The Logos     The word Logos is the term by which Christian theology in the Greek language designates the Word of God, or Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. Before St. John had consecrated this term… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Caïn — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Cain. Caïn et Abel …   Wikipédia en Français

  • The Sun Chronicle — Infobox Newspaper name = The Sun Chronicle caption = type = Daily newspaper format = Broadsheet foundation = March 1, 1971 price = USD .50 daily, 1.75 Sunday owners = United Communications Corporation publisher = Oreste P. D Arconte editor = Mike …   Wikipedia

  • Scotland in the High Middle Ages — The history of Scotland in the High Middle Ages covers Scotland in the era between the death of Domnall II in 900 AD and the death of king Alexander III in 1286, which led indirectly to the Scottish Wars of Independence.In the tenth and eleventh… …   Wikipedia

  • 1734 Tradition — The 1734 Tradition is a tradition of American witchcraft founded in the 20th century by Joe Wilson (1942 2004), after corresponding with Roy Bowers (Robert Cochrane).The masculine mysteries of this tradition are associated with fire, and known as …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”