Bible Strands
Genesis 4:9
And the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I do not know!” he answered. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD addresses Cain immediately after Cain rises up and kills Abel in the field. The question occurs between the murder and the divine declaration that Abel’s blood cries out from the ground.
The words — אֵי ('ei) translates literally to "where?" and אָחִי/ךָ ('a.Chi./kha) means "brother" or "your brother." The Hebrew syntax directly links the location inquiry to the familial relationship being questioned.
The thread — The motif of blood crying out from the earth runs in Psalm 9:12, where the Avenger of bloodshed does not ignore the afflicted cry, and aligns with John 8:44’s description of the devil as a murderer from the beginning.
Why it lands — The text records God’s direct question and Cain’s evasive reply before any judgment is pronounced. It requires the reader to recognize that concealment does not erase responsibility and that accountability for another’s fate rests on the individual.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?
Cross-references
- Proverbs 28:13 He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.
- John 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
- Psalms 9:12 For the Avenger of bloodshed remembers; He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.
- Psalms 10:13 Why has the wicked man renounced God? He says to himself, “You will never call me to account.”
- Genesis 37:32 They sent the robe of many colors to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe or not.”
- Acts 5:4 Did it not belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? How could you conceive such a deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God!”
- Genesis 3:9 But the LORD God called out to the man, “Where are you?”
- Job 22:13 Yet you say: ‘What does God know? Does He judge through thick darkness?