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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"In Christianity and Judaism, the curse of Cain and the mark of Cain refer to the Biblical passages in the Book of Genesis chapter 4, where God declared that Cain, the firstborn of Adam and Eve, was cursed, and placed a mark upon him to warn others that killing Cain would provoke the vengeance of God. Cain's curse and mark have been interpreted in several ways. Following the literal Biblical text, most scholars today interpret the "curse" as Cain's inability to cultivate crops and the necessity that he lead a nomadic lifestyle. They interpret the "mark" as a warning to others, but are unable to determine the form of the mark from the Biblical text.
Historically, however, some Christians have interpreted the Biblical passages so that the "mark" is thought to be part of the "curse". In 18th century America and Europe, it was commonly assumed that Cain's "mark" was black skin, and that Cain's descendants were black and still under Cain's curse. Accepting the theory that God had cursed black people, racists have used the curse as a Biblical justification for racism. These racial and ethnic interpretations of the curse and the mark have been largely abandoned even by the most conservative theologians since the mid-20th century, although the theory still has some following among white supremacists and an older generation of whites, as well as a very small minority of Christian churches. This interpretation does not make any logical sense from a biblical perspective as the Noahic Flood would have killed any descendants of Cain carrying the "curse" of black skin."
Generally, there are many variations on the meaning of "mark of Cain." However, I have heard it refer to being black or the entire of the African continent. So, if you are checking for context, then this is a possibility according to wikipedia.
However, I was taught that the mark upon Cain was a warning that no one was to punish him for his murder by murdering him. It was an omen, a sign, a warning from God.
no,but he killed his brother! we don't really know what color cain and abel were...maybe very dark.
"Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is couching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it."
" Cain said to Abel his brother, "Let us go out to the field." And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?" And the LORD said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength; you shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth."
" Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me this day away from the ground; and from thy face I shall be hidden; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will slay me." Then the LORD said to him, "Not so! If any one slays Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold." And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who came upon him should kill him. Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, east of Eden."
You can see that many other literary allusions are drawn from Genesis, such as "east of eden", which would mean a place away from the Lord. God-forsaken, in other words.
The "mark of Cain" on a woman would not necessarily imply a physical mark, or that she's a murderer. It could refer to something like a "badge of shame", whch is of course not a real badge. Or an event which ruined her reputation and "marked" her forever (like an invisible Scarlet Letter). Or merely that she's unlucky, or cursed. It would all depend on the context of the story.
You could even use the phrase literally to describe an unatracttive scar or birthmark. I've heard Mark of Cain and Mark of the Beast used to describe the birthmark on top of Mikhail Gorbachev's head. :D
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