Cain
Cain in the Bible, the eldest son of Adam and Eve, and murderer of his brother Abel after Abel's offering to God of a lamb was accepted by God, while Cain's sheaves were rejected. Cain is the first murderer of humankind, and from this becomes a fugitive and outcast.
curse of Cain the fate of someone compelled to lead a wandering life, like Cain after the killing of Abel (Genesis 4:11–12).
land God gave to Cain a name for Labrador, referring to Cain's banishment by God to a desolate land ‘east of Eden’. The term derives from a remark attributed to the French navigator and explorer Jacques Cartier (1491–1557), on first discovering the northern shore of the Gulf of St Lawrence (now Labrador and Quebec).
mark of Cain a mark placed on Cain by God, initially as a sign that he should not be killed or harmed, later taken as identifying him as a murderer.
raise Cain cause disturbance or confusion (recorded from the mid 19th century).
curse of Cain the fate of someone compelled to lead a wandering life, like Cain after the killing of Abel (Genesis 4:11–12).
land God gave to Cain a name for Labrador, referring to Cain's banishment by God to a desolate land ‘east of Eden’. The term derives from a remark attributed to the French navigator and explorer Jacques Cartier (1491–1557), on first discovering the northern shore of the Gulf of St Lawrence (now Labrador and Quebec).
mark of Cain a mark placed on Cain by God, initially as a sign that he should not be killed or harmed, later taken as identifying him as a murderer.
raise Cain cause disturbance or confusion (recorded from the mid 19th century).
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Cain