Divine violence, human violence

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While most religions reflect on the origins of the world and mankind, as well as on the question of death, the question of violence, which has become a central issue, is hardly dealt with in terms of etiological myths recounting the origins of violence. In many systems of origins, violence seems to be taken for granted.

In the Bible, it is man's evil (according to non-P) and violence (according to P) that are at the origin of the flood. But where does this violence come from? In contrast to the Athra-Hasis diptych, between the creation of man and the flood, the biblical writers have inserted a myth explaining the origin of violence, and which to this day has no equivalent in the POA myths: the story of Cain and Abel. The first part of the story (verses 1 to 16) features fratricide and its consequences, and has a number of parallels with the account of the transgression in Gen 3.

The two brothers Cain and Abel spontaneously offer gifts without God having asked them to do so. Their motive is not specified. But Yhwh does not behave as expected. He accepts Abel's sacrifice, but not Cain's (literally: he looks on Abel's sacrifice, but not on Cain's). Behind the brothers' experience lies an everyday human experience: life is not always predictable, and is made up of inequalities that cannot always be explained. In Genesis 4, Yhwh confronts Cain with this experience that every human being has to go through in life, an experience that is not always easy to bear.

Despite divine exhortation, Cain is unable to overcome his frustration. Verse 8 opens with "Cain said to his brother Abel", but there is no speech. Older translations have added: "Let's go to the fields". But this absence of speech must be taken seriously. The narrator may have meant that Cain, following divine exhortation, wanted to speak to his brother, but in the end, he was unable to do so. The first murder and the outbreak of violence are linked to the inability to communicate. As in Gen 3, Yhwh punishes Cain who, like the actors in the transgression in Gen 3, first wants to avoid responsibility. For Cain, divine sanction changes his relationship with the land.

Cain has realized that he has triggered the spiral of violence: he, who has killed, now fears being killed in his turn. Yhwh then intervenes to protect the murderer, and, as in Gen 3, twice. First, he announces total vengeance (seven times) for the one who kills Cain - but this is still a vendetta: violence is met with greater violence. So Yhwh changes his mind and protects Cain with a sign that prevents him from being killed. The text does not specify the nature of the sign; what matters to the narrator is the insistence that human life, even that of a murderer, is sacred.

Cain's settlement east of Eden will lead to the birth of civilization, as shown in the second part of the story (v. 17-24). Culture and technical advancement come from Cain's descendants. Cain built the first city, and his descendants invented music and metallurgy. The fact that a farmer becomes the founder of a city is also found in Philo of Byblos' history of Phoenicia, transmitted in excerpts by Eusebius, Praeparatio evangelica 9,20-10,55 [1].

Despite violence, life remains possible. But it remains fragile and threatened, as shown by verses 23 and 24, which relate a boastful song by a descendant of Cain that cancels the sign that protected Cain. Lamech boasts of having killed for a simple wound, and of having set the spiral of violence in motion once again. Thus, the primitive story ended with a reminder of the omnipresence of violence and the desire for vengeance.

This is why the third part (v. 25-26) of the story returns to Adam (unlike Gen 4:1, here without an article) and Eve, who procreate offspring in place of Abel. As we have seen, this is the work of an editor who wants to make the link between Gen 4 and the genealogy of Gen 5. Seth's name is the only one, along with that of Cain at the beginning of the story, to receive an etiological explanation. In today's context, this name is an " Ersatzname ". The narrator tells us that it was under Enosh that the name of Yhwh began to be invoked. This idea contradicts Ex 3 and 6, where Yhwh's name is only revealed at the time of Moses. The writer may also be aware that the idea that Yhwh reveals his name only in Egypt is not shared by all the texts of the Torah (e.g. Gen 15:7), and thus wants to affirm that this revelation was already made (for the first time) at the origins.

In the priestly version of the flood, where God redefines his relationship with mankind (Gen 9), the new reality now includes the possibility of eating meat, with the exception of blood. So we can do violence to animals to use them as food. At the same time, we find the outline of the law, more precisely the law of retaliation. Violence committed will be punished by violence, i.e. by the death penalty for a murderer.

References

[1] For further details see J.H. Ebach, Weltentstehung und Kulturentwicklung bei Philo von Byblos: ein Beitrag zur Überlieferung der biblischen Urgeschichte im Rahmen des altorientalischen und antiken Schöpfungsglaubens (BWANT 108), Stuttgart et al.: Kohlhammer, 1979.