1. Hebrew Bible, Exodus, 13.11-13.13 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 13.11. וְהָיָה כִּי־יְבִאֲךָ יְהוָה אֶל־אֶרֶץ הַכְּנַעֲנִי כַּאֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע לְךָ וְלַאֲבֹתֶיךָ וּנְתָנָהּ לָךְ׃ 13.12. וְהַעֲבַרְתָּ כָל־פֶּטֶר־רֶחֶם לַיהֹוָה וְכָל־פֶּטֶר שֶׁגֶר בְּהֵמָה אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה לְךָ הַזְּכָרִים לַיהוָה׃ 13.13. וְכָל־פֶּטֶר חֲמֹר תִּפְדֶּה בְשֶׂה וְאִם־לֹא תִפְדֶּה וַעֲרַפְתּוֹ וְכֹל בְּכוֹר אָדָם בְּבָנֶיךָ תִּפְדֶּה׃ | 13.11. And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanite, as He swore unto thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee," 13.12. that thou shalt set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the womb; every firstling that is a male, which thou hast coming of a beast, shall be the LORD’s." 13.13. And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break its neck; and all the first-born of man among thy sons shalt thou redeem." |
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2. Hebrew Bible, Genesis, 4.1, 25.8 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 4.1. וַיֹּאמֶר מֶה עָשִׂיתָ קוֹל דְּמֵי אָחִיךָ צֹעֲקִים אֵלַי מִן־הָאֲדָמָה׃ 4.1. וְהָאָדָם יָדַע אֶת־חַוָּה אִשְׁתּוֹ וַתַּהַר וַתֵּלֶד אֶת־קַיִן וַתֹּאמֶר קָנִיתִי אִישׁ אֶת־יְהוָה׃ 25.8. וַיִּגְוַע וַיָּמָת אַבְרָהָם בְּשֵׂיבָה טוֹבָה זָקֵן וְשָׂבֵעַ וַיֵּאָסֶף אֶל־עַמָּיו׃ | 4.1. And the man knew Eve his wife; and she conceived and bore Cain, and said: ‘I have agotten a man with the help of the LORD.’" 25.8. And Abraham expired, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people." |
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3. Hebrew Bible, Numbers, 28.2 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 28.2. וּמִנְחָתָם סֹלֶת בְּלוּלָה בַשָּׁמֶן שְׁלֹשָׁה עֶשְׂרֹנִים לַפָּר וּשְׁנֵי עֶשְׂרֹנִים לָאַיִל תַּעֲשׂוּ׃ 28.2. צַו אֶת־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם אֶת־קָרְבָּנִי לַחְמִי לְאִשַּׁי רֵיחַ נִיחֹחִי תִּשְׁמְרוּ לְהַקְרִיב לִי בְּמוֹעֲדוֹ׃ | 28.2. Command the children of Israel, and say unto them: My food which is presented unto Me for offerings made by fire, of a sweet savour unto Me, shall ye observe to offer unto Me in its due season." |
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4. Philo of Alexandria, On The Cherubim, 65 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 65. This is that disposition in us which Moses characterised when he gave Cain his name, a name which being interpreted means possession, Cain himself being full of all folly or rather of all impiety; for instead of thinking that all possession belonged to God, he conceived that they all belonged to himself, though he was not only not able to possess even himself steadily, but he did not even know of what essence he consisted; but nevertheless he placed confidence in the outward senses, as being competent to attain the objects perceivable only by them. Let him tell us therefore how he will be able to avoid seeing wrongly, or being mistaken as to his hearing, or to escape even in any other of these outward senses. 65. Let us, therefore, fix deeply in ourselves this first commandment as the most sacred of all commandments, to think that there is but one God, the most highest, and to honour him alone; and let not the polytheistical doctrine ever even touch the ears of any man who is accustomed to seek for the truth, with purity and sincerity of heart; |
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5. Philo of Alexandria, On The Decalogue, 101 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
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6. Philo of Alexandria, On The Migration of Abraham, 74 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 74. Do you not see that Abel (and the name Abel is the name of one who mourns over mortal things, and attributes happiness to immortal things), has a mind wholly free from all liability to reproach? And yet, from not being practised in discussions, he is defeated by one who is clever as an antagonist in such things, Cain being able to get the better of him more through superiority of skill than of strength; |
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7. Philo of Alexandria, On The Sacrifices of Cain And Abel, 111, 14, 3-5, 51-52, 74, 78, 88, 1 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1. And he also added, that she should bring forth his Brother." The addition of one thing is a taking away of some other; as for instance, of particles in arithmetic, and of reasons in the soul. If then we must say that Abel is added, we must also think that Cain is taken away. But that the unusual character of expression may not cause perplexity to many we will endeavour to explain accurately the philosophy which is apparent beneath them, as clearly as may be in our power. |
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8. Philo of Alexandria, Questions On Genesis, 1.62 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
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9. Philo of Alexandria, That The Worse Attacks The Better, 32 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 32. Now I think that it has already been sufficiently shown, that the field to which Cain invites Abel to come, is a symbol of strife and contention. And we must now proceed to raise the question what the matters are concerning which, when they have arrived in the plain, they are about to institute an investigation. It is surely plain that they are opposite and rival opinions: for Abel, who refers everything to God, is the God-loving opinion; and Cain, who refers everything to himself (for his name, being interpreted, means acquisition), is the self-loving opinion. And men are selfloving when, having stripped and gone into the arena with those who honour virtue, they never cease struggling against them with every kind of weapon, till they compel them to succumb, or else utterly destroy them; |
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10. Josephus Flavius, Jewish Antiquities, 1.52 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.52. 1. Adam and Eve had two sons: the elder of them was named Cain; which name, when it is interpreted, signifies a possession: the younger was Abel, which signifies sorrow. They had also daughters. |
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