By Dr. Dinah Dye

Edited reprint from the May 2010 BibleInteract Newsletter

The first mention of the concept of salvation can be found in the story of Cain and Abel. Christians speak often of “being saved,” but what does that really mean from a Hebraic perspective? One clue in this particular passage relates to the time frame that emerges from the story. The phrase used is mikketz yamim which means “at the end of days.” So is this account prophetic in nature?   

Scripture says Abel brought himself, as well as the offering, as the firstborn of his flock. In Hebrew, the word sha’ah is used to describe God “turning to” or “accepting” Abel and his offering, and that God did not “turn to” Cain and his offering.  Raphael Hirsch (Etymological Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew) indicates sha’ah as a root word is also related to yashah. Yashah means to save, rescue or deliver.

The two-letter root shah means to “watch” or “shepherd.” The shepherd watches over his flock looking out for danger—and when one of the flock is in trouble the shepherd rescues it.  When an enemy attacks, the shepherd destroys the adversary.  In ancient Mesopotamia, every king was called a shepherd because it was his responsibility to protect and defend his subjects from foreign aggressors. The concept of salvation or deliverance for ancient Israel was generally connected to their king, who was called Messiah, and who would “save” his people from being destroyed by the surrounding gentile empires.  

A variation of yashah is the name for Messiah—Yeshua. Perhaps Abel is a picture of Yeshua the Messiah, and that his brother Cain represented those foreign nations that constantly oppressed Israel. In the Acharit haYamim, the last days, God will rescue Abel and his sheep—the people of God, and He will destroy the predator of the sheep, the nations who have oppressed Israel over many millennia.  And though the enemy of men’s souls came to steal, kill, and destroy the Messiah and his flock, God promised He would “save” them from an enemy at a future time.

Dr. Dinah Dye’s passion is to help believers learn to study and research the Hebrew roots of Christianity for themselves and to begin to incorporate the prayer services into their personal lives.

Prophecy in the Cain and Abel Story

By Dr. Anne Davis

Written in response to Dr. Dye’s Article

I must admit, I never noticed the word yasha in the Cain and Abel story, so I really appreciate Dinah’s article. However, I have seen other ideas in this prophetic account based on my understanding of the two aspects of salvation, the biblical concept of the “end of days”, and my work on the remnant that discloses “when” and “how” we will achieve eternal life with God.

Christians tend to think of salvation only as an act of God in the end of time. I certainly agree with what I call that “first aspect of salvation”, which is eternal life with God. However, there is a second aspect of deliverance in our daily lives as we submit to Yeshua and mature in a righteous walk. We are rescued from the pain and suffering caused by the god of this world. I think this second aspect of salvation is what we see in the Cain and Abel story as I will explain.

But first, what about the “end of days”? I suggest that Christians often have a very narrow, black-and-white focus on what God is doing in this world. They think… “there will be a rapture; Christians will be saved; and we will be in heaven with God.” As I have shared in my four books on the remnant, I suggest that only God’s chosen remnant will be raptured to fight with Yeshua against Satan during the Great Tribulation, which is the prophecy I see in the Cain and Abel story. Then only the remnant “and their families” will enter the Millennial Kingdom for the next stage in what God is doing. However, there is much more that will occur “after” the Millennial Kingdom as disclosed in the prophetic symbolism of Israel’s fall festivals.

I think my most relevant contribution to this discussion is how I see Abel as a prophetic type of God’s selection of a remnant, not of “all Christians who will be saved.”

Dinah directed us to the translation “firstlings of his flock”, which is what Abel offered to God. The Hebrew word is b’chorah, which means the “firstborn”, the only animal offering that God would accept. As I have explained in my first remnant book, this concept of the firstborn is significant. The firstborn son in ancient Israel was raised to assume a leadership role. However, he had to be worthy in God’s eyes to claim this position. Furthermore, God called “all” the children of Israel His firstborn son (Ex 4:22), but each one had to demonstrate righteous living to claim this inheritance.

How does this understanding of Israel’s firstborn sons apply to Christian believers today? We are Gentiles, and therefore we are not born to the birthright. However, to the extent that we are metaphorically “in Christ”, which means walking as Jesus Christ walked, we will be with Yeshua when he claims his inheritance of the birthright by defeating the enemy and possessing the land of his inheritance (see The Remnant Book 2 for this understanding).

Finally, I do not see Cain as a prototype of those who will “not” be saved, but of those who will not be regarded as worthy in God’s eyes to participate in the work of the remnant.

God said to Cain, as translated by the NASB:

Your countenance is in italics, which means it has been added by editors of the NASB. Furthermore, the word translated “lifted up” is the Hebrew se’et, which also means exalted. Then, “crouching at the door” evokes an image of a dangerous lion just waiting to pounce (there were lions in the dense undergrowth of the Jordan River valley in ancient times). Finally, it is “sin” that is crouching at the door like a lion.

So, what did I see in this passage? The story of Cain and Abel is a prophetic account with advice for us today. If we learn to overcome sin in our lives, God will exalt us by selecting those He considers worthy to participate in the future role of the remnant.

Dr. Anne Davis is a professor of Biblical Studies who enjoys working with graduate students to enhance their exegetical skills for exploring the depth of Scripture.