HEBREW WORD STUDY – SIN LIES AT THE DOOR – LAPETHACH CHATA’TH ROBETS ל פתח חתאת רבצ
Genesis 4:5-7: “But unto Cain and his offering he had no respect, and Cain was very wroth and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, “Why are thou wroth and why has thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well shall thou not be thou accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.”
Why did God have no respect for Cain’s offering? For one thing, the ground had been cursed, so Cain was offering something that was cursed. The second thing is that God was telling Cain that if he did well he would be accepted. Was God really playing hardball at this time? Without the law, or a Bible, how was one to know if he was doing well or not? The Hebrew word for doing well is tov. As explained in an earlier chapter, this word means to be in harmony with God. Cain offered something that was cursed by God and was not good (tov) or in harmony with Him. Note that God warns that if you don’t do what is good (tov) or in harmony with Him then sin lies at the door. The word sin here is chatak which means unintentional mistakes or sins. Apparently, the act of offering fruits and vegetables may not necessarily have been a sin, but at most, it was an unintentional mistake. Still, it was not good or (tov) in harmony with God. Maybe Cain killing his brother was more manslaughter than murder, more unintentional. It is possible he did not even understand physical death. What I am pondering is this idea that if you do not do what is in harmony with God, then chatak (unintentional sin) is lying at the door. I don’t believe that this is as metaphoric as we think.
The word in the Hebrew for door has the preposition Lamed before it which is often rendered as to, for or unto with the definite article the. This is a definite or specific door. Not only that but the word for door used here comes from the root word patach which refers not only just to a door but a portal. A portal is more than just a doorway to another room, it is an entrance to something entirely different. We never seem to stop to ask how Cain and Abel knew their sacrifices were accepted by God. The Bible is not clear, but I think the answer is buried in the Hebrew. They were opening a portal to the presence of God. Whenever they felt the departure of God’s presence they knew it was time to offer a sacrifice. If the sacrifice was accepted the patach – portal to God’s presence would open.
Note that when Cain’s offering was not accepted his countenance fell. That word countenance is pani in the Hebrew which means presence. His presence was fallen. In verse 7 God says if he does what is in harmony he will be accepted. The word accepted is se’eth also means to be lifted up, elation and cheerfulness. It would seem that the offerings were made so their presence would be lifted up to God’s presence and experience that euphoria you experience when you worship God. When Cain offered something that was cursed, out of harmony with God, he could not be God’s presence, his presence fell downward rather than upward to meet the presence of God. When Cain did not feel the presence of God in giving his offering, he was wroth. The word for wroth is charah which means to be hot. It does not have to be rendered as anger. You get hot when you are feeling sorrow as in the pain of rejection. It is possible Cain’s countenance fell because he did not feel the anticipated presence and fellowship with God that should have followed his offering. God explained to Cain that even though he did not intentionally make a mistake or sin or do something out of harmony with God, it stilled blocked the entrance through the portal to His presence and fellowship. Poor Cain was just too jealous, blamed his brother’s relationship with God and the rest is history.
I have heard many Christians say; “Well, I don’t go to that church anymore, I just don’t feel God’s presence in that church.” Do you ever consider that maybe you are like Cain, blaming someone else, like the church, when it is really sin lying at your door?
A Bible study I was in proported that Cain’s offering was not accepted because it was not the first fruits of his crops. Is there any indication in the text that this is a possibility?
Hi Chaim
I love all your articles. But as you know we have to also take a look at apocrypha and other non-canonised books to find the truth and according to the well-researched article below:
It was Cain that in fact offered an animal (which was not accepted) and Abel which offered grains and fruit.
“By John Vujicic
See Our Readers’ Comments at the end of the article.
The Church has traditionally taught that Adam’s younger son Abel who is depicted as righteous was a shepherd and that he on a certain occasion killed one of his lambs and presented its fat as a sweet smelling aroma to Yahweh. Cain on the other hand is depicted as a farmer who presented an oblation – that is, a bloodless sacrifice – which consisted of herbs, vegetables and grains. It is claimed that God rejected Cain’s sacrifice but accepted Abel’s with which He was very pleased. Of course, the Church to date has not satisfactorily explained just why was Abel’s sacrifice accepted while Cain’s rejected.Mostly it is argued that God rejected Cain’s sacrifice because it was bloodless and an oblation. But nothing can be further from the truth. Let us take a closer look at this subject but with an open and unbiased mind, if at all possible – since from childhood we were indoctrinated with the traditional teaching of the Church.
God Himself says that the original Law was corrupted and perverted by the lying pen of the scribes [Jeremiah 8:8]. Therefore it is reasonable to pose a question: is it possible that here we deal with the lying pen of the scribes and that the role of Abel and Cain is actually reversed? That is, is it at all possible that the original and uncorrupted text actually said that Abel presented an oblation and a bloodless sacrifice while Cain actually slaughtered an animal and presented its fat portions in sacrifice to God? I believe this to be the case and I also believe that I can give sufficient evidence to vindicate this belief……
open the article below and read further………….
https://www.all-creatures.org/discuss/didabel.html
Hi Chaim,
I’ve been reading your devotion and I love the in depth study you have made in the Hebrew words that give us a different insight into verses and passages.
I’m wondering if you can also expound in the previous verse why Abel’s offering is accepted. I’m interested to know. Is it because of sin or because his offering is different? If it is because of the way the offering is done, why did it pleases God the way Abel offered?
This is VERY interesting. I have been wrestling with this verse and Genesis 3:16 for a while. Same “your desire will be…it will rule in you” I find that interesting. But I see your thoughts on unintentional sins.