Introduction: One can only imagine the thought process that goes into killing your brother, but for Cain it seemed all so easy. Given the chance by God to make right of the situation, Cain defies God and kills Abel. Cain is the first noted murderer and myth or not, the passage of Genesis 4:1-16 sheds light to an important issue into today’s society: the death penalty. But what sparked the controversy between Cain and Abel? What led to Abel’s death? In this paper, I will argue that Genesis 4:1-16, even though does not explain God’s actions, shows the tension between God and his people and catalyze for a re-occurring theme we will see in the Bible. Structure and Literary Content: The Yahwist source (also know as a J source) shows us that from even the beginning of time, there was tension between God and his people. God gave nothing but goodness to his people and yet they seemingly outright disobey him. The Yahwist source seems to break down there stories into five main parts: God acts with love toward his people, the people disobey God and sin, God announces there will be a punishment, the punishment is given, and then it ends with God acting with compassion by showing mercy or a blessing. The story of Cain and Abel fits his structure of the J source. …show more content…
They sinned once and it spread to their offspring, which spread all around the world. God keeps punishing his people, but they keep on sinning. He shows them mercy and love, but still they keep on sinning. God even straight up tells Cain the choices he has and how he can better the situation, but sin still occurs. Everything was perfect until Adam and Eve ate the fruit. God forgave them and Cain and Abel were born. Cain and Abel could have been better then there parents, but Cain sinned just like them. We will never know why God chose Abel’s gift over Cain’s, but that seemed like the catalyze for a tension between God and his people that will never be