"Mark" of Cain in Hebrew

[Willie T]

I ran across this in reading:

"Furthermore, Leupold translated verse 15b, “And Yahweh gave Cain a sign that whoever found him would not murder him.”

Leupold noted that the text does not say that God set a mark in or on Cain (Hebrew, be) but for Cain (Hebrew le), marking a dative of interest or advantage. Consequently, we are rather to think of some sign that God allowed to appear for Cain’s reassurance, “a sign of guaranty” or a “pledge or token.” As parallels might be cited the signs vouchsafed to certain men to whom God promised unusual things: Gideon (Judges 6:36-40); Elisha (II Kings 2:9-12). God let this sign appear, therefore, for Cain, and he felt reassured. There is, therefore, no ground for supposing that Cain went about as a marked man all the rest of his life. Anyhow, ‘oth’ does not mean “mark.” 610

(Note: 610 Leupold, Genesis, p. 211.)"

Do any of you Hebrew scholars know if these are accurate renderings of the original Hebrew writings?

 

[101G]

Addressing the OP. I'm not a hebrew scholars, but I read English pretty well. I can only give an opinion.
The word Mark, according to Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary of American English it means, the primary sense of which is to go. When used here as a noun. Which fits the context of scriptures of him being move from one place to another in order to save his life. Let me explain. After Cain killed his brother, the Lord move Cain from his, (the Lord) and the others present. Genesis 4:15 "And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him”.
so Cain's present is the key. in order to slay Cain one would have to find him first. Hence the reason why he went east of the garden in nod. Genesis 4:16 "And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden”. there he started a NEW LIFE. To me, it’s like today’s witness protection program, where one can start “ANEW”. a new beginning?. Was this a foreshadow of GRACE to come for sinners to began anew.

Now the word SET, also according to Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary of American English is to 1. To put or place; to fix or cause to rest in a standing posture. reset in a standing posture, to me this means something have “fallen” and needs to be fixed, with the correction or restoring to it’s previous position, hence reset in a standing positing. If fallen, restore. As in a fallen image, regain it.

If we put both definitions into motion it appears that God was moving Cain in order to protect his life, Take for example, in old times when a child behaved badly, sometimes the parents sent their child to live with a distant relative in another part of the country in order to save the child from further destruction. We also use these terms in our language today and don’t pay any attention to it. in a race contest, we say, on our “MARK”, get ready “SET” and go. The mark and the set is for you to go somewhere...... the finish line?, other words as the dictionary definitions states, “the primary sense of which is to go”. or be moved.

something to consider: Cain and his mark is a foreshadow. I see in this Set Mark of Cain as in the Cities of refuge. When someone commits murder, (which Cain did), they could go to these cities for refuge. Numbers 35:6 "And among the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites there shall be six cities for refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee thither: and to them ye shall add forty and two cities”. kinda like our modern day cities of refuge for illegal aliens here in the United States. Cain was a builder of a "City" where he took refuge.

maybe or hoped this might help, or give thought to something else.

PICJAG.

 

[Episkopos]

I ran across this in reading:

"Furthermore, Leupold translated verse 15b, “And Yahweh gave Cain a sign that whoever found him would not murder him.”

Leupold noted that the text does not say that God set a mark in or on Cain (Hebrew, be) but for Cain (Hebrew le), marking a dative of interest or advantage. Consequently, we are rather to think of some sign that God allowed to appear for Cain’s reassurance, “a sign of guaranty” or a “pledge or token.” As parallels might be cited the signs vouchsafed to certain men to whom God promised unusual things: Gideon (Judges 6:36-40); Elisha (II Kings 2:9-12). God let this sign appear, therefore, for Cain, and he felt reassured. There is, therefore, no ground for supposing that Cain went about as a marked man all the rest of his life. Anyhow, ‘oth’ does not mean “mark.” 610

(Note: 610 Leupold, Genesis, p. 211.)"

Do any of you Hebrew scholars know if these are accurate renderings of the original Hebrew writings?

וַיָּשֶׂם יְהוָה לְקַיִן אוֹת

This reads ve-yasim adonai leKayin oth.

Which could be read as....And God did a sign to Cain.

The lamed means ..TO. As in.."To Cain"...The word "oth" means sign.... as in signs and wonders.

So this could mean that God gave him a sign...not a mark on his body. Like a vision or miracle of some kind.

Not a mark. It was a vision or miracle of some kind to show him that he would not be murdered where he was to go.

 

[Willie T]

וַיָּשֶׂם יְהוָה לְקַיִן אוֹת

This reads ve-yasim adonai leKayin oth.

Which could be read as....And God did a sign to Cain.

The lamed means ..TO. As in.."To Cain"...The word "oth" means sign.... as in signs and wonders.

So this could mean that God gave him a sign...not a mark on his body. Like a vision or miracle of some kind.

Not a mark. It was a vision or miracle of some kind to show him that he would not be murdered where he was to go.

Thank you for that verification. It has never made sense to me that Cain would have been "labeled" with a disfiguration of some kind of "mark", and then go on to be the founder of an entire city. People certainly wouldn't flock to live in a city that a fugitive built to hide himself in.

 

[Episkopos]

Thank you for that verification. It has never made sense to me that Cain would have been "labeled" with a disfiguration of some kind of "mark", and then go on to be the founder of an entire city.

Any time brother. I find the Hebrew is so often quite cryptic...like you already have to know what happened for it to make total sense. So then the plain meaning of the text adds mystery to it.

What I don't like about translations is that these try taking away the vagueness by interpreting the verse in question...trying to make sense of it. But this is just an interpretation...not necessarily the meaning of the text.

Add to that that there is more than one meaning so often....with all possible outcomes legitimate...and there is a world of study. Quite the challenge! But I love the study and the digging. Sort of feels like being a spiritual archaeologist.

For example...naskkou var. (Ps. 2:12)

This could mean "kiss the Son" ...but it could also mean "arm yourself with purity"

BOTH work! Of course Christian editions will go for the former rendering and Jewish ones the latter.

 

[APAK]

@Willie T ...I happen to have a slightly different take on you query...where Hebrew language is not necessary, only the CONTEXT and other scriptures that support and use similar expressions in the OT that is used in Gen 4:15.

The mark given by YHWH to Cain is in plain sight, written in the verse itself.

(Gen 4:15) Yahweh said to him, Therefore whoever slays Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold. Yahweh appointed a sign for Cain, lest any finding him should strike him.

The mark is the written expression of YHWH when he said whoever slays Cain, he shall avenge or bring vengeance 7-fold on Cain’s killers.

So, this mark is a solid impression given to Cain of assurance from YHWH that he shall NEVER be killed as he wandered on the earth. YHWH’s word guaranteed it.

The same expression under lined in the verse above, or of similar words, is used periodically by YHWH to given assurance to people not to be afraid or be in fear. He has their back...

It would be not of any assurance of comfort to Cain if YHWH avenged his death by killing the man responsible for it. He either would kill him or not at all OR meant something else. And then of what benefit and assurance would that give Cain if YHWH said well don’t worry about it, I shall kill anyone that kills you. No, it is an expression that says it shall NEVER happen at all to Cain.

The impression made by YHWH on Cain then is an expression of complete, hyperbole and figurative vengeance that indicates assurance and brings complete confident to Cain that he shall always be miraculously protected as he traveled upon the earth, from the fear of being killed by man. Whether he sought to place thoughts into Cain’s mind of building shelters and other physical protection designs is not the real issue here. The issue is that YHWH protected him by his own process and means that impart, surely affected the hearts of men toward Cain.

The mystery of course if how this miraculous process of protection operated on the hearts of other men that would otherwise might attempt to kill him.

Bless you,

APAK

 

[Willie T]

@Willie T ...I happen to have a slightly different take on you query...where Hebrew language is not necessary, only the CONTEXT and other scriptures that support and use similar expressions in the OT that is used in Gen 4:15.

The mark given by YHWH to Cain is in plain sight, written in the verse itself.

(Gen 4:15) Yahweh said to him, Therefore whoever slays Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold. Yahweh appointed a sign for Cain, lest any finding him should strike him.

The mark is the written expression of YHWH when he said whoever slays Cain, he shall avenge or bring vengeance 7-fold on Cain’s killers.

So, this mark is a solid impression given to Cain of assurance from YHWH that he shall NEVER be killed as he wandered on the earth. YHWH’s word guaranteed it.

The same expression under lined in the verse above, or of similar words, is used periodically by YHWH to given assurance to people not to be afraid or be in fear. He has their back...

It would be not of any assurance of comfort to Cain if YHWH avenged his death by killing the man responsible for it. He either would kill him or not at all OR meant something else. And then of what benefit and assurance would that give Cain if YHWH said well don’t worry about it, I shall kill anyone that kills you. No, it is an expression that says it shall NEVER happen at all to Cain.

The impression made by YHWH on Cain then is an expression of complete, hyperbole and figurative vengeance that indicates assurance and brings complete confident to Cain that he shall always be miraculously protected as he traveled upon the earth, from the fear of being killed by man. Whether he sought to place thoughts into Cain’s mind of building shelters and other physical protection designs is not the real issue here. The issue is that YHWH protected him by his own process and means that impart, surely affected the hearts of men toward Cain.

The mystery of course if how this miraculous process of protection operated on the hearts of other men that would otherwise might attempt to kill him.

Bless you,

APAK

That's basically what Episco said.

 

[Enoch111]

There is, therefore, no ground for supposing that Cain went about as a marked man all the rest of his life.

Scripture should interpret itself, and in this case Leupold is mistaken.

And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. (Gen 4:15)

In this verse there is a clear relationship between the mark and the impact of that mark on those who would seek to kill Cain. Somehow, Cain was a marked man in order to PROTECT HIM, and when other saw that mark (whatever it may have been) they were prevented from killing him (since he was a murderer and should have been killed). So this was an expression of God's grace to Cain in spite of his heinous crime.

We see from another Scripture (1 John 3:11,12) that Cain was strongly influenced by Satan (that Wicked One), which means that he was not a godly man, but an evil man: For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that Wicked One, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.

 

[APAK]

That's basically what Episco said.

Really, ok then....APAK

 

[Reggie Belafonte]

Cain had to repent or he was to be a Marked man as to being not of God. he had that opportunity.

One can be Marked as to being one of his, or that is one not of his.

I remember there is one dressed in a white linen who marked people who were condemned as to God.