Genesis 4:3-6 καὶ ἐγένετο μεθʼ ἡμέρας ἤνεγκεν Καιν ἀπὸ τῶν καρπῶν τῆς γῆς θυσίαν τῷ κυρίῳ , καὶ Αβελ ἤνεγκεν καὶ αὐτὸς ἀπὸ τῶν πρωτοτόκων τῶν προβάτων αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν στεάτων αὐτῶν . καὶ ἐπεῖδεν ὁ θεὸς ἐπὶ Αβελ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῖς δώροις αὐτοῦ , ἐπὶ δὲ Καιν καὶ ἐπὶ ταῖς θυσίαις αὐτοῦ οὐ προσέσχεν . καὶ ἐλύπησεν τὸν Καιν λίαν , καὶ συνέπεσεν τῷ προσώπῳ . καὶ εἶπεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς τῷ Καιν Ἵνα τί περίλυπος ἐγένου , καὶ ἵνα τί συνέπεσεν τὸ πρόσωπόν σου ;
And then it happened after some days , Cain carried from the fruit of the land an offering for the Lord / And Abel carried from the firstborn of his sheep and from their stiff fat . And God looked upon Abel and upon his gift / But He did not consider Cain and his offerings . And Cain was greatly distressed , and his face fell . / And the Lord said to Cain , ‘ For what purpose have you become distressed and for what purpose has your face fallen ?
The LXX largely reflects the MT in its translation of Gen 4:3-5 . However , verses 4 and 5 have small but highly significant deviations from the MT . In the MT the offerings presented by both brothers are referred to as ֶַ ית הת ־ . However , the LXX uses two different words to describe the respective offerings of the brothers : δώροις for Abel ’ s offering , and θυσίαις for Cain ’ s . Cain ’ s offering is designated as a sacrifice , while Abel ’ s is designated as a gift . 160 Elsewhere in the LXX , θυσίαις is used to refer to cultic sacrifices , while δώροις is used to refer to gifts or bribes . 161 The use of δώρον and θυσία as translations for the same word would seem to indicate a desire on the part of the translator to make a clear distinction between the offerings of the brothers . 162 This distinction has long been recognized by commentators .
What difference is there between a gift and a sacrifice ? He who slaughters a sacrifice , after dividing it , pours the blood on the altar and takes the flesh home . But he who offers
160 Ibid , 486-487 . 161 M . W . Scarlata , Outside of Eden : Cain in the Ancient Versions of Genesis 4:1-16 , 56 . Cf . Susan Ann
Brayford , Genesis , Septuagint Commentary Series , ( Leiden : Brill , 2007 ), 249-250 . 162 M . W . Scarlata , Outside of Eden : Cain in the Ancient Versions of Genesis 4:1-16 , 55 .