Cain

Cain (meaning possession or a spear) was the first-born son of Adam and Eve (Genesis 4:1) and the first murderer in Scripture. A tiller of the ground, Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the soil to the Lord, which was rejected in contrast to the accepted offering of his brother Abel, a shepherd. In anger and jealousy, Cain slew Abel in the field — the first recorded act of fratricide (Genesis 4:8). God cursed Cain to be a fugitive and wanderer on the earth, though he placed a mark on Cain to prevent his own killing. Cain settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden, and founded a city. He is cited in the New Testament as a warning example: his deeds were evil while his brother's were righteous (1 John 3:12), and he is called "of the evil one" (Hebrews 11:4; Jude 11). The "way of Cain" became a proverbial phrase for willful disobedience and envy of the godly.