Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 1: Luther on the Creation

by Martin Luther

But here the original AVONI signifies "iniquity," or "sin," as it does also in many other passages of the Holy Scriptures, which appears more plainly from the verb to "lift up" or "to lift off," which stands connected with it. Hence it is that grammarians, who are nothing more than grammarians, and who know nothing of divine things, find their crosses in all such passages; and crucify, not only the Scriptures, but themselves and their hearers. But in the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures the subject or divine matter and sense are first to be determined; and when that appears in all respects consistent with itself, then the grammatical propriety is to be explained. The Rabbins however take a directly contrary course. And hence it grieves me much that divines and the holy fathers so frequently follow them.

V. 14. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the ground; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth; and it will come to pass, that whosoever findeth me will slay me.

From these words it still more plainly appears that the sentence and curse on Cain were pronounced by Jehovah through the mouth of Adam. Cain here acknowledges first that he is driven out from the domestic and political communion; and secondly that he was excommunicated from the Church.

Of the difference of the meaning of the original words ADAMAH and EREZ we spoke above. We have shown that EREZ signifies the whole earth generally; but that ADAMAH means the cultivated part of the earth in particular. The meaning therefore of these words of Cain is, "I am now compelled to flee from thy presence and from that place of the earth which I have cultivated. The whole world indeed lies before me, but I must be a fugitive and a vagabond upon the earth; that is, I shall have no certain dwelling place." In the same way murderers among us are punished with exile and become vagabonds in the earth. These words therefore afford a further evidence of the manner in which the words, which Adam said above are to be understood, "Cursed art thou upon earth." They refer to Cain's being driven away into banishment. This part of Cain's punishment therefore is a civil or political punishment, by which he is shut out from the whole civil community.

But that which Cain next adds, "And from thy face shall I be hid," is an ecclesiastical or Church punishment. It is an excommunication from the true Church of God. For as the priesthood and the kingdom rested with Adam, and Cain on account of his sin was excommunicated from Adam, he was thereby also deprived of the glory both of the priesthood and of the kingdom. But why Adam adopted this punishment of expelling his son from him and excommunicating him from his presence, is explained by the words which we just before heard from the father's mouth, "When thou tillest the ground it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength;" as if he had said, "Thou art cursed and thy labors are cursed also. Therefore if thou shalt remain with us upon earth it cannot be but that both thou and we also must perish with hunger. For thou hast stained the earth with thy brother's blood, and wherever thou art thou must bear about the blood of thy brother with thee, and even the earth herself will exact of thee the punishment of that blood by not yielding to thee her strength."

There is a sentence almost the same as this pronounced on Cain by Adam in 1 Kings 2:29-33, where Solomon gives commandment to Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, saying, "Slay Joab, and thou shalt take away the innocent blood which was shed by Joab from me and my father's house. And the Lord shall return his blood upon his own head. But unto David, and unto his seed, and unto his house, and unto his throne, shall there be peace for ever from Jehovah." As if he had said, "If Joab suffer not this punishment of his unjust murder, the whole kingdom must suffer that punishment and be shaken from one end to the other by wars." It is just thus Adam speaks in the present passage. As if he had said, "If thou shalt remain on the earth here with us God will bring punishments upon us for thy sake, so that the earth will not yield to us her fruit."

But now let us offer our reply to the question above raised concerning Cain and his posterity not being the only persons subject to the curse of wandering and affliction, seeing that the saints also, it is argued, are subject to the same; and that Cain though thus cursed was yet the first who built a city, etc. It was said to Cain as his curse, "A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be upon earth." And yet Cain is the first man who builds a city, and his posterity from that time so increased that they seduced, oppressed, and so utterly overthrew the Church of God, as not to leave more than eight persons from the posterity of Seth remaining. The whole of the other multitude of mankind, who perished in the Flood, had followed Cain as the sacred text plainly declares, "And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all that they chose," Gen. 6:1, 2. And it is also said that these sons of God, when they came unto the daughters of men, begat giants and mighty men, which were of old, men of renown, verse 4. As therefore Cain had so great and mighty a posterity and as he built the first city, how can it be true, men ask, that he was a fugitive and vagabond upon earth, according to the curse pronounced upon him?

We will reply therefore to the literal facts before us. For what we have said above in reference to the New Testament, concerning Paul and the apostles, and Christ himself, and the prophets, that is altogether a different subject. When Adam here says to Cain, "A fugitive and a wanderer shalt thou be upon earth," he speaks these words to him to send him away; designedly joining no precept or direction therewith. He does not say to him, "Go to the east;" he does not say, "Go to the south;" he does not mention any one place to which he should go. He gives him no direction what to do. He simply sends him away, but as to whither he should go or what he should do, he expresses no concern. As to what the will and the way of his son may be hereafter, the father takes no care whatever. He adds no promise of protection. He does not say, "God will take care of thee;" nor, "God will defend thee." But as the whole wide heaven lies open to the bird, leaving him the liberty to fly where he will, but giving him a sight of no place in that heaven, to which he might flee in safety for protection from the attack of the other birds, so does Adam dismiss Cain. This Cain fully feels; and therefore it is that he adds the utterance, "And it shall come to pass that every one that findeth me shall slay me."

Now the condition of Adam in paradise was different from that of Cain, and better. Adam had sinned, and by his sin he had sunk under death. But when he was driven out of paradise God appointed to him by his command a certain employment, that he should till the earth in a fixed and certain place. God also clothed him with a covering of skins. This, as we have said above, was a sign that God would take care of him and defend him. And that which exceeded all things else, a glorious promise was made to the woman concerning her Seed, which should "bruise the serpent's head." But no one thing like these mercies was left to Cain. He was sent away absolutely without the mention of any certain place or any certain employment. No command was given him nor any promise made him. He was like a bird set loose in the wide heavens, as we have said, to wander in its flight where it may. Such was the state and meaning of Cain's being truly and properly "a vagabond," "a wanderer" without any fixed dwelling-place.

And thus unsettled and wandering are all who have not the Word and the command of God, by which a certain place of worship and a certain ministry are vouchsafed unto them. And just such were we under the papacy. There were plenty of ceremonies of worship, and of works and exercises. But all these were undertaken and done without any command of God. This was truly a Cain-like trial, to have no Word of God; not to know what to believe, nor what to hope, nor what to think; but to do all things and to undertake all things without any knowledge or hope concerning the event. For what monk ever existed who could affirm or know that he did any one thing rightly? For all things were mere human traditions and the inventions of mere human reason, without the Word. And in the midst of these things we all wandered about, fluctuating in our minds, like the wandering Cain; not knowing anything of what the judgment of God would be concerning us; whether he would look upon us with love or with hatred. And in this uncertainty were we all at that time taught and trained.