cain and abel

cain and abel Latest

Mar 6 Blog

The Origin of Sin and Death in the Bible

By: Megan Sauter

What is the origin of sin and death in the Bible? Who was the first sinner?

Cropped illustration shows Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, where God gave them the command to “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28). Photo: From Charles Foster, The Story of the Bible (1897).

Feb 25 Blog

Who Was the Wife of Cain?

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Who did Cain marry? Where did she come from? Mary Joan Winn Leith suggests that while the Israelite storyteller knew that other men and women in Genesis existed outside of Eden, they did not matter to him or factor into his account. He was concerned with Adam and Eve and their progeny—not those outside of this group.

Joshua hangs back as Moses leads him by the hand in this 15th-century stained-glass panel from the Church of St. Lawrence in Nuremberg, Germany. Image: Sonia Halliday.

Feb 13 Blog

Joshua in the Bible

By: Elie Wiesel

Joshua inherits authority from Moses but not his charisma. God performed miracles for Joshua, even causing the sun to stand still, but Joshua’s speech lacks the prophet's magic. Joshua’s story is melancholy: violent victory tinged by deep sadness. As award-winning author and activist Elie Wiesel examines.

Dec 8 Blog

Seth in the Bible

By: Elie Wiesel

With Adam’s death, Seth became the patriarch of the first family. With the death of his brothers Cain and Abel and of Cain’s descendants, Seth became progenitor of the rest of the human race.

12th-century column capital from the Cathedral of Saint-Lazre in France depicts Lamech hunting with his son Tubal-Cain. Photo: Cathedral Museum of St. Lazare, Autun, Burgundy, France/The Bridgeman Art Library

Jul 9 Blog

What Happened to Cain in the Bible?

By: Megan Sauter

In the Book of Genesis, we are told about Cain’s birth, his violent act of fratricide and his subsequent exile. We learn that he married and had descendants, but the Bible is strangely mute about his death.

May 18 Blog

Jethro in the Bible

By: Elie Wiesel

Read the article by Nobel Prize recipient Elie Wiesel as it appeared in Bible Review.

An illumination from the late-13th-century manuscript La Somme le Ray. Photo: British Library MSADD 28162, Folio 2V.

Apr 23 Blog

Aaron in the Bible

By: Elie Wiesel

I have a problem with Aaron, number two in the great and glorious epic that recounts the liberation of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt. He is a man of peace. He succeeds at everything. Everyone admires, even loves him. Whether great or small, they need him, his understanding and his mediation. Whatever he does, he is well regarded.

Apr 18 Blog

Cain and Abel in the Bible

By: Elie Wiesel

World-renowned author and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel reflects on the Biblical figures Cain and Abel in a Supporting Roles column for Bible Review.

Dec 7 Blog

Joseph and Esarhaddon of Assyria

By: Megan Sauter

Because of his jealous brothers, Esarhaddon had to leave Nineveh and take refuge elsewhere. The pattern of jealous brothers, exile and eventual success is also seen in the Biblical story of Joseph.

Jul 5 Blog

BAR Interview with Elie Wiesel and Frank Moore Cross

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel died on July 2, 2016. Read an interview BAR Editor Hershel Shanks conducted with Wiesel and Biblical scholar Frank Moore Cross, republished from BAR, July/August 2004.

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