Illustration
The Family of Cain, ink painting by Peter Oliver, after the original image by Paolo Veronese, 1638–47.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Cain and Abel were sons of the first humans Adam and Eve in the biblical Book of Genesis. Cain was a farmer, and Abel was a shepherd. They both made sacrifices to God, but God preferred Abel's sacrifice to Cain's. Driven by jealousy, Cain murdered Abel. He was exiled for his crime, but he built a city and fathered the line of descendants beginning with Enoch.
Related Images
Cain Slaying Abel
Sacrifices of Cain and Abel
Islamic Depiction of Cain and Abel
Eve Bewailing the Death of Abel
Abel Tasman
Tyndale Bible
Cite This Work
APA Style
Oliver, P. (2021, September 13). The Family of Cain. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/image/14616/the-family-of-cain/
Chicago Style
Oliver, Peter. "The Family of Cain." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified September 13, 2021. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/14616/the-family-of-cain/.
MLA Style
Oliver, Peter. "The Family of Cain." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 13 Sep 2021, https://www.worldhistory.org/image/14616/the-family-of-cain/. Web. 12 May 2025.
