In Genesis 4 we find the well-known story of Cain and Abel, in which Cain kills his brother Abel. In the verses that follow, we encounter the first mention of the word cathar (H5641), which is translated hidden. This word and its conjugations are found 120 times in the Old Testament. In this blog I would like to point out the hidden meaning in the history of Cain and Abel at the first occurrence of this word.
Abel and Cain
Abel is translated as empty, vain, but also as vapor, in the sense of fleeting. Abel is a type of Jesus Christ, who emptied himself (Phil.2:7) and became like men. He came to die and was killed by his brothers, the Jewish people. Cain is a picture of this people. His name means spear and it is therefore no coincidence that Jesus was killed with a spear (John 19:34).
After killing Abel, God speaks to Cain:
Genesis 4
11 Now therefore you are cursed from the ground that opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood out of your hand.
12 If you till the ground, it will no longer yield you its full yield; you will go wandering and wandering on the earth.
absent-minded
Here it is depicted how the brother nation that had killed its brother, the Messiah, would be cursed (cf. Deut.28-29) and scattered over the earth (e.g. Lev.26:33, Deut.29:28 ). The Jewish people would no longer have a place to live and would roam the face of the entire earth.
Genesis 4
13 And Cain said unto the LORD, My iniquity is too great to bear.
14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth: and from Thy face i am hid; and ik have been a wanderer, even a trembling one, in the earth; and it shall be that whosoever cometh against me shall slay me.
hidden
The curse, expulsion and scattering of Cain as a type of the Jewish people is presented here as being hidden from God’s face. It is exactly the terminology, as we later find it in the books of Moses:
Deuteronomy 31
17 Then My wrath will be kindled against them on that day. I will forsake them, and hide My face from them, and they shall be eaten; and many terrible things and evils shall come upon the people, and they shall say in that day, Have not these terrible things come upon me, because my God is not among us?
18 I will surely hide My face in that day, because of all the evil that it has done, because it has turned to other gods.
Deuteronomy 32
20 He said, I will hide My face from them; I will see what their end is, for they are a totally corrupt generation, children in whom none is faithful.
promise
The words that God addresses to Cain are intense, but Cain also receives a promise:
Genesis 4
15 And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever killeth Cain shall be avenged sevenfold. And YAHWEH marked Cain with a mark, so that no one who met him would kill him.
16 And Cain went away from the presence of the LORD; and he dwelt in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
Cain ends up in the land of Nod, which means flight. The Jewish people would be scattered across the earth, fleeing from enemies. Yet God has promised in advance that the people, like Cain, would not be exterminated. God has a plan for His people and He reserves it for that (Ps.121).