Page:A critical and exegetical commentary on Genesis (1910).djvu/207

 commonly answered (in accordance with Lv. 9$24$, 1 Ki. 18$38$ etc.), that fire descended from heaven and consumed Abel's offering (Θ. Ra. IEz. De. al.). Others (Di. Gu.) think more vaguely of some technical sign, e.g. the manner in which the smoke ascended (Ew. Str.); while Calv. supposes that Cain inferred the truth from the subsequent course of God's providence. But these conjectures overlook the strong anthropomorphism of the description: one might as well ask how Adam knew that he was expelled from the garden (3$24$). Perhaps the likeliest analogy is the acceptance of Gideon's sacrifice by the Angel of Yahwe (Ju. 6$21$).—Why was the one sacrifice accepted and not the other? The distinction must lie either (a) in the disposition of the brothers (so nearly all comm.), or (b) in the material of the sacrifice (Tu.). In favour of (a) it is pointed out that in each case the personality of the worshipper is mentioned before the gift. But since the reason is not stated, it must be presumed to be one which the first hearers would understand for themselves; and they could hardly understand that Cain, apart from his occupation and sacrifice, was less acceptable to God than Abel. On the other hand, they would readily perceive that the material of Cain's offering was not in accordance with primitive Semitic ideas of sacrifice (see RS$2$, Lect. VIII.).

From the fact that the altar is not expressly mentioned, it has been inferred that sacrifice is here regarded as belonging to the established order of things (Sta. al.). But the whole manner of the narration suggests rather that the incident is conceived as the initiation of sacrifice,—the first spontaneous expression of religious feeling in cultus. If that impression be sound, it follows also that the narrative proceeds on a theory of sacrifice: the idea, viz., that animal sacrifice alone is acceptable to Yahwe. It is true that we cannot go back to

wrongly ; so S. On impers. const., see G-K. § 144 b; cf. 18$1$ 31$30. 32$ 34$36$, Nu. 16$7$ etc. The word is not used by P.—For, S has (lit. 'became black').