12
Whenכִּיyou workתַעֲבֹדthe ground,אֶת הָאֲדָמָהit will noלֹאlongerתֹסֵףgiveתֵּתits strengthכֹּחָהּto you;לָךְa wandererנָעand a drifterוָנָדyou will beתִּהְיֶהon the earth.”בָאָרֶץ
Genesis 4:12
Study it in the app“When you work the ground, it will no longer give its strength to you; a wanderer and a drifter you will be on the earth.””
With the Hebrew beneath
Genesis 4:12, word by word
- you workתַעֲבֹדtaavod
work
To toil, till the land.
Where else “taavod” appears- the groundאֲדָמָהadama
soil
Farmland, or dust.
Where else “adama” appears- longerתֹסֵףtosef
do again
To do again what had already been done.
Where else “tosef” appears- giveתֵּתtet
give
To hand something over to someone: a gift, a payment, a charge or a land.
Where else “tet” appears- its strengthכֹּחָkoach
strength
Ability to do something: bodily strength or power to command.
Where else “koach” appears- a wandererנָעna
wander
To go from place to place with no fixed home, like an outcast.
Where else “na” appears- and a drifterנָדnad
wander
To roam, run off.
Where else “nad” appears- you will beתִּהְיֶהtihye
be
To be: "I will be their Elohim".
Where else “tihye” appears- on the earthאָרֶץarets
earth
The whole world, everything under the sky.
Where else “arets” appears
The context
11And now, cursed are you away from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
12 · This verse (above)
13And Cain said to YHWH, “My iniquity is too great to bear.
To study Genesis 4 in a group
1. What it says
How did Cain feel when YHWH did not look with favor on his offering, and what did YHWH say to him (vv. 5-7)?
2. What it means
What does Cain mean by his question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (v. 9)?
3. How I live it
How can you deal with anger or envy toward someone today before it grows?