Horeb; Jacob kept his uncle Laban's sheep when he fled from Esau;
and Abraham, the father of the faithful, was rich in flocks and herds.

To recur to our story. Abel probably enjoyed the conspicuous mark
of divine favors conferred on him. Cain, however, experienced very
different feelings. He "was very wroth, and his countenance fell."
Whereupon the Lord somewhat facetiously asked him what was the matter.
"Why," said he, "art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If
thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well,
sin lieth at the door." This was all very well, but as a matter of fact
Cain's offering had already been _rejected_, and according to the Bible
he had done nothing to deserve such harsh treatment.

The Lord's final words on this occasion read thus in our English Bible:
"And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him." These
words are construed as applying to Cain's mastery over Abel, as the
elder brother; but they seem quite unmeaning in that connexion; for
Abel left no offspring, and the prophecy, if such it were, was never
fulfilled. Kalisch throws light on this obscure passage. The Lord,
he says, was referring not to Abel but to Cain's secret sin, and the
passage should read "And to thee is _its_ desire, but thou shalt rule
over it."

Cain then "talked with Abel his brother." Gesenius supposes that he
communicated to him the words of God, and treats this as the first step
towards a reconciliation. However that may be, we hear nothing more of
it, for the very next words relate the murder of the younger brother by
the elder. "And it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain
rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him."

This abrupt narrative certainly requires explanation. Kalisch seems to
think that Cain went about his work, after the interview with God, in a
better frame of mind; but while he toiled hard "in the field" he became
incensed at the sight of Abel loafing under a fine umbrageous tree
and calmly watching his flock. Forgetting the divine admonitions,
and listening only to the voice of passion, he madly killed his only
brother, and made himself the first murderer. The Talmud gives several
legends about the hatred between the two brothers. One imputes the
difference to Cain's avarice, another to his ambition, another to his
innate sinfulness, and another to his envy and jealousy on account
of Abel's wife. The last of all seems the tru