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Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Vol. 16, No. 52, 25-41 (1991)
DOI: 10.1177/030908929101605202
© 1991 SAGE Publications

The Story of Cain and Abel: a Narrative Study

Ellen van Wolde

Faculty of Theology, Catholic University Nijmegen 6525 HT Nijmegen, The Netherlands

The story of Cain and Abel is a concise short story marked by an elliptic use of language. A narrative study of the actions of the three protagonists YHWH, Cain and Abel demonstrates that the actions of (not) looking are the main ones. These actions are all concerned with the theme of brotherhood. YHWH is the only one in this story who is paying attention to Abel, the so-called worthless one. Even the narrator is not paying much attention to him. Both YHWH's actions and the narrative ellipses intend to persuade the readers to follow YHWH's preference for the weak brother.


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