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Genesis 4:8-9
καὶ εἶπεν Καιν πρὸς Αβελ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ Διέλθωμεν εἰς τὸ πεδίον. καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ
εἶναι αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ καὶ ἀνέστη Καιν ἐπὶ Αβελ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπέκτεινεν αὐτόν.
καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεὸς πρὸς Καιν Ποῦ ἐστιν Αβελ ὁ ἀδελφός σου; ὁ δὲ εἶπεν Οὐ γινώσκω, μὴ φύλαξ
τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ μού εἰμι ἐγώ;
And Cain spoke to Abel his brother, ‘Let us go over to the field.’ And it came to be they
were in the field, and Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. / And God said to
Cain, ‘Where is your brother Abel?’ And he said, ‘I do not know. Am I the guardian of my
brother?’
As noted above, 4:8 in the LXX diverges from the MT in providing the words that Cain
spoke to his brother (διέλθωμεν εἰς τὸ πεδίον). This may indicate that the Hebrew vorlage on
which the LXX is based recorded Cain’s words whereas the MT did not, although it is equally
possible that it represents the desire of the translator to supply the missing information. 183 4:9
closely resembles the MT, with only minor differences. Arguably the most significant of these is
the use of φύλαξ compared with ‫ו‬ ‫ת‬ ִ֥ ֵּ֣ ‫אא‬ in the MT. ‫ו‬ ‫ת‬ ִ֥ ֵּ֣ ‫אא‬ infers a sense of caring over or keeping
safe. 184 φύλαξ, on the other hand, infers a more protective guardian or sentry. 185
Genesis 4:10-12
καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεός Τί ἐποίησας; φωνὴ αἵματος τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου βοᾷ πρός με ἐκ τῆς γῆς.
καὶ νῦν ἐπικατάρατος σὺ ἐπί τῆς γῆς, ἣ ἔχανεν τὸ στόμα αὐτῆς δέξασθαι τὸ αἷμα τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ
183
Ibid, 113-114.
F. García López, “‫ו‬ ‫ת‬ ִ֥ ֵּ֣ ‫”אא‬, in Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, vol. 15, edited by G. J.
Botterweck, and H. Ringgren, translated by D. E. Green, (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2006), 286.
185
James Swanson, “φύλαξ,” in Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New
Testament), electronic edition, (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
184