Genesis 4:7
when god says to Cain "sin is crouching at your door".
How did Cain know what a door is? I thought they lived in caves or lean-to's.
Have archeologists found BC hinges?
question for experts
by cameo-d 19 Replies latest watchtower bible
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AWAKE&WATCHING
good question - I don't have an answer.
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AlmostAtheist
Very interesting question! This is the first time the word "door" appears in the Bible, only mentioned again when the instructions for building the ark are given to Noah.
Of course, Cain kills Abel shortly afterwards then runs off to the "Land of Nod", where he fathers a child and builds a city. If all of that can happen, I suppose we are meant to assume they have started building walled structures by then. It's still a very good point, I think.
Thanks for sharing this!
Dave
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cameo-d
Almost athiest...
Your reply just brings up more questions.
If Cain was supposed to be "cursed to be a wanderer"doesn't it seem contrary that he would be the first person to develop a settlement?
It seems he was really nested in and stationary for someone doomed to be a vagabond.
How do any of you make sense of this "curse" that sounds more like a reward? The "protective mark" sounds like a reward, too. What happened to a god of justice? How does the punishment fit the crime?
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AlmostAtheist
The Cain and Abel story -- and the whole of Genesis, really -- is a huge swiss cheese mess. There are lame explanations for it all, of course, but they aren't satisfying as much as they are just an excuse to believe.
Seriously, the very first murderer ever is condemned to "go away", while the very first "fruit stealer" ever is condemned -- along with his wife and future children -- to live a hard life and then die. Yeah, "god of justice" indeed!
Dave
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What-A-Coincidence
I THOUGHT CROUCHING TIGER WAS AT THE DOOR.
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Not Feeling It
A lot of meanings for door. Not just the piece of wood on a building.
It is a translation from Hebrew. I don't know what the original word means but I'm sure theres interpretation there.
-- Not Defining It
door [ dawr, dohr ]
–noun
1. a movable, usually solid, barrier for opening and closing an entranceway, cupboard, cabinet, or the like, commonly turning on hinges or sliding in grooves. 2. a doorway: to go through the door. 3. the building, house, etc., to which a door belongs: My friend lives two doors down the street. 4. any means of approach, admittance, or access: the doors to learning. 5. any gateway marking an entrance or exit from one place or state to another: at heaven's door. —Idioms
6. lay at someone's door, to hold someone accountable for; blame; impute. 7. leave the door open, to allow the possibility of accommodation or change; be open to reconsideration: The boss rejected our idea but left the door open for discussing it again next year. 8. lie at someone's door, to be the responsibility of; be imputable to: One's mistakes often lie at one's own door. 9. show someone the door, to request or order someone to leave; dismiss: She resented his remark and showed him the door. -
gymbob
How about Adam and Eve not being able to enter back into the G of E because god puts a flaming sword there? So then who in the bible made the very first weapon??
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AlmostAtheist
Good point on the definitions. Genesis 18:1, for instance, refers to the "tent door".
Strong's Concordance entry for "door": http://cf.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?strongs=06607&t=KJV
(Note: The same Hebrew word is used for god's "door" comment to Cain, the ark, and this "tent door")
Dave
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Narkissos
1. As has been pointed out many times before, the Cain & Abel story does not originally belong to its extant setting in Genesis (i.e., the beginnings of mankind). It was primarily an etiological story about the Kenites (= "Cainites"), a semi-nomad group closely related to the history of Judah. In many ways it presupposes a developed and diversified state of civilisation. Many logical gaps in the story (another "land," where Cain's wife comes from, who might kill Cain etc.) can be ascribed to the change of context.
2. Even the "primeval" stories which were supposed to deal with the origins of mankind of course reflect the state of language, culture and technology of their writers (e.g. the "sword" in the Eden story). They don't even try to look "historically likely".
3. Technically the word translated as "door" in Genesis 4:7 is petach, meaning "opening," and doesn't imply any particular building technique.
4. It must be noted that the whole verse is highly problematic: the LXX text has no allusion to a door and presupposes a different Hebrew textual basis, and the latter part of the Hebrew MT duplicates 3:16 (compare "its desire is for you, but you must master it" with "your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall master you")....