Καίν G2535
Cain, the firstborn son of Adam who murdered his brother Abel
Cain, the first murderer in biblical history, appears three times in the New Testament as a negative example. Hebrews 11:4 mentions him implicitly—Abel's sacrifice was better than Cain's. First John 3:12 uses him as the archetypal evildoer: 'not as Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother.' Jude 11 pronounces woe on those who have gone 'in the way of Cain'—a path of jealousy, murder, and rejection of God. The Hebrew name קַיִן possibly means 'acquisition' or 'spear.' New Testament uses consistently present Cain as a warning example—the first to choose evil, kill from jealousy, and walk away from God.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The single sense identifies the Genesis figure, invoked as the paradigmatic evildoer. Hebrews contrasts his rejected offering with Abel's accepted one—the beginning of the faith hall of fame starts by contrasting with faithlessness. First John explicitly names him as 'of the evil one,' linking fratricide to satanic origin and explaining his motive: 'because his works were evil and his brother's righteous.' Jude uses 'the way of Cain' as shorthand for the jealous, murderous path. The multilingual renderings uniformly transliterate the name. In New Testament theology, Cain functions as the first in the line of those who hate righteousness, oppose God's people, and walk in darkness rather than light. 3×
amh["ቃየን"]·AR["قايين", "قايينَ", "قَايِين"]·ben["কয়িন", "কয়িনের", "কায়িন"]·ces["Kaina"]·dan["Kain"]·DE["Kain"]·ell["Κάιν"]·EN["Kain"]·FR["Caïn", "Kain"]·guj["કાઈનના"]·hat["Kayen"]·hau["Kayinu"]·heb["קַיִן", "של-קין"]·HI["काइन", "कैन", "कैन-के"]·hun["Káinnak"]·ID["Kain"]·IT["Caino", "kain"]·jav["Kain"]·JA["カイン"]·KO["가인", "가인-이", "가인의"]·mar["काइनाच्या"]·mya["ကာဣန"]·nld["Kain"]·nor["Kains"]·pnb["قائن-دی"]·pol["Kaina"]·PT["Caim"]·ron["Cain"]·RU["Каин", "Каина"]·ES["Káïn"]·SW["Kaini"]·swe["Kain"]·tam["காயீனின்"]·tel["కయీను"]·tgl["Kain"]·TH["คาอิน"]·TR["Kayin", "Kayin'in"]·ukr["Каїна"]·urd["قائن"]·VI["Ca-in"]·yor["Káínì"]·yue["該隱-嘅"]·ZH["该隐"]
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)H0834a 1. relative pronoun (who/which/that) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)G1063 1. (1047×)G3778 1. this thing, these things (1003×)H???? 2. (1002×)G2424 1. (924×)G3754 1. that (content clause) (881×)H2009 1. presentative particle: behold, look (881×)H0589 1. I (first person singular pronoun) (874×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
Καίν (Τ, Κάϊν), ὁ, indecl. (in FlJ, Κάϊς, -ιος), (Heb. קַיִן; Gen.4:1), Cain: Heb.11:4, 1Jn.3:12, Ju 11.† (From Abbott-Smith. LSJ has no entry)