Page:A critical and exegetical commentary on Genesis (1910).djvu/208

 a stage of Heb. ritual when vegetable offerings were excluded; but such sacrifices must have been introduced after the adoption of agricultural life; and it is quite conceivable that in the early days of the settlement in Canaan the view was maintained among the Israelites that the animal offerings of their nomadic religion were superior to the vegetable offerings made to the Canaanite Baals. Behind this may lie (as Gu. thinks) the idea that pastoral life as a whole is more pleasing to Yahwe than husbandry.

5b. Cain's feeling is a mixture of anger (it became very hot to him) and dejection (his face fell: cf. Jb. 29$24$, Jer. 3$12$). This does not imply that his previous state of mind had been bad (Di. al.). In tracing Cain's sin to a disturbance of his religious relation to God, the narrator shows his profound knowledge of the human heart.

6-12. Warning, murder, and sentence.—7. The point of the remonstrance obviously is that the cause of Cain's dissatisfaction lies in himself, but whether in his general temper or in his defective sacrifice can no longer be made

7. The difficulties of the present text are "the curt and ambiguous expression ; further, the use of as masc., then the whole tenor of the sentence, If thou doest not well; finally, the exact and yet incongruous parallelism of the second half-verse with 3$16$" (Ols. MBBA, 1870, 380).—As regards $7a$, the main lines of interpretation are these: (1) The inf. may be complementary to as a relative vb. (G-K. § 120, 1), in which case  must have the sense of 'offer' sacrifice (cf. 43$34$, Ezk. 20$31$). So (a) G (reading for, and pointing the next two words ) = 'Is it not so—if thou offerest rightly, but dost not cut in pieces rightly, thou hast sinned? Be still!' Ball strangely follows this fantastic rendering, seemingly oblivious of the fact that (cf. Ex. 29$17$, Lv. 1$6. 12$, 1 Ki. 18$23. 33$ etc.)—for which he needlessly substitutes (15$10$)—has no sense as applied to a fruit-offering.—(b) Somewhat similar is a view approved by Bu. as "völlig befriedigend" (Urg. 204 f.): 'Whether thou make thine offering costly or not, at the door,' etc. ['Whether thou offerest correctly or not,' would be the safer rendering].—(2) The inf. may be taken as compressed apod., and, as an independent vb. = 'do well' (as often). ' might then express the idea of (a) elevation of countenance (= : cf. Jb. 11$15$ 22$26$): 'If thou doest well, shall there not be lifting up?' etc. (so Tu. Ew. De. Di. Dri. al.); or (b) acceptance ( as Gn. 19$21$, 2 Ki. 3$14$,

Mal. 1$8. 9$): so Aq., Θ. , S , V (recipies); or

(c) forgiveness (as Gn. 50$17$, Ex. 32$32$): so Σ. , T$O$ Jer. and recently Ho. Of these renderings 2(a) or 1(b) are perhaps the most