Collected Works of Martin Luther

by Martin Luther

Here Moses seems to have fixed a cross for the grammarians and the Rabbins. For they crucify this passage in various ways. Lyra recites the opinions of some who explain this passage affirmatively, considering it to mean that Cain said in his despair that his sin was greater than could be pardoned; and it is thus that we have rendered this expression of Cain. Augustine also retained this view of the passage, for he says, “Thou liest, Cain; for the mercy of God is greater than the misery of all the sinners of the whole world put together.”

  The Rabbins however expound the passage as being a negative interrogation, making Cain to say, “Is my iniquity greater than can be remitted?” But if this rendering be the true one, Cain not only does not acknowledge his sin, but excuses it and moreover insults God for laying upon him a punishment greater than he deserved. But it is just in this way that the Rabbins almost everywhere corrupt the sense of the Scriptures. Consequently I begin to hate them and I admonish all who read them, to read them with great caution and judgment. For although they did possess the knowledge of some things, by tradition as it were from the fathers, yet they corrupted them in various ways; and therefore they often deceived by those corruptions, even Jerome himself. Nor did the poets of old ever so fill the world with their fables as the wicked Jews did the Scriptures with their absurd opinions. A great labor therefore is thereby thrown in our way to get hold of the pure text and to clear it from their false opinions and comments.

  The cause of all this error is that some are grammarians only, but know nothing of the divine things concerned; that is, they are not divines also; therefore they are compelled to dream and to guess, and thereby to crucify both themselves and the Scriptures. For how is it possible that such persons should be right judges of things which they do not understand? Now, the divine subject matter in the present passage is that Cain is accused in his own conscience. And no one, not only no wicked man, but not even the devil himself can endure this judgment of his own conscience; as James also witnesses, “The devils also believe and tremble before God,” James 2:19. And Peter also says, “Whereas angels which are greater in power and might cannot endure that judgment which the Lord will exercise upon blasphemers,” 2 Pet. 2:11. So also Manasses in his prayer, Vs. 4, 5, confesses that all men tremble before the face of the Lord’s anger.

  All these things therefore fully prove that there was not in Cain under his judgment enough spirit left to enable him to set himself against God and to expostulate with him. For God is an almighty adversary to contend with, and he always makes his first attack upon the heart and fastens his grip on the conscience. Now of this matter the Rabbins know nothing, nor have any understanding of it whatever; and therefore they speak on this judgment of God as if it were a matter transacted before men, in judgment where a fact is either falsely denied or vainly excused before the judge. The judgment of God however is quite a different matter. For there, as Christ says, “By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned,” Math. 12:37. Cain therefore does acknowledge his sin in the present passage, but he does not grieve so much concerning his sin as concerning his punishment for it. Cain’s words therefore are here to be understood affirmatively, and they show the horribleness of his despair.

  A further proof of Cain’s entire despair is, that he does not utter one word of reverence. He never mentions the name of God or of his father. His conscience is so confused and so overwhelmed with terror and despondency that he is not able to think of any hope of pardon. So the Epistle to the Hebrews gives the same description of Esau, saying, “Who for one mess of meat sold his own birthright. For ye know that even when he afterward desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected; for he found no place for change of mind, though he sought it diligently with tears,” Heb. 12:16, 17. Thus in the present instance Cain feels his punishment, but he grieves more for his punishment than for his sin. And all persons in like despair do just the same.

  The two original words of this passage, MINNESO and AVON, again form two crosses for grammarians. Jerome translates the clause, “My iniquity is greater than can be pardoned.” Sanctes, the grammarian of Pagnum, a man of no mean erudition and evidently a diligent scholar, renders the passage, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.” But by such a rendering, we shall make of Cain a martyr and of Abel a sinner. And concerning the original word NOSA, I have before observed, that when it is applied to sin, it signifies “to lift sin up, or off, on high;” that is, “to take it out of the way.” Just as we by the use of a common figure say, “to remit sin,” or “the remission of sins,” as we have in, Ps. 32, ASCHRE NESU PESCHA, which, when rendered literally, means, “being made happy by having been relieved from crime or sin.” We render it, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven;” that is, whose sin is taken away. As we have it also again, “The people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity,” NESU AVON, that is, “shall be relieved from their crime or sin,” Is. 33:24.

  The other original term AVONI, grammarians derive from the verb ANAH, which signifies “to be afflicted,” as in Zacharia, “Behold thy king cometh unto thee poor or afflicted,” Zach. 9:9. Our translation renders it “meek,” etc., as we find it also Ps. 132:10, “Lord remember David and all his meekness, or lowliness;” that is, “all his afflictions.” From this same original root is derived the expression, “low estate,” or “lowliness,” of his handmaiden, used by the Virgin Mary in her song, Luke 1:48. It is the meaning of the original word AVONI which induced Sanctes to render it, in the present passage, punishment.

  But here the original AVONI signifies “iniquity,” or “sin,” as it does also in many other passages of the Holy Scriptures, which appears more plainly from the verb to “lift up” or “to lift off,” which stands connected with it. Hence it is that grammarians, who are nothing more than grammarians, and who know nothing of divine things, find their crosses in all such passages; and crucify, not only the Scriptures, but themselves and their hearers. But in the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures the subject or divine matter and sense are first to be determined; and when that appears in all respects consistent with itself, then the grammatical propriety is to be explained. The Rabbins however take a directly contrary course. And hence it grieves me much that divines and the holy fathers so frequently follow them.

  V. 14. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the ground; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth; and it will come to pass, that whosoever findeth me will slay me.

  From these words it still more plainly appears that the sentence and curse on Cain were pronounced by Jehovah through the mouth of Adam. Cain here acknowledges first that he is driven out from the domestic and political communion; and secondly that he was excommunicated from the Church.

  Of the difference of the meaning of the original words ADAMAH and EREZ we spoke above. We have shown that EREZ signifies the whole earth generally; but that ADAMAH means the cultivated part of the earth in particular. The meaning therefore of these words of Cain is, “I am now compelled to flee from thy presence and from that place of the earth which I have cultivated. The whole world indeed lies before me, but I must be a fugitive and a vagabond upon the earth; that is, I shall have no certain dwelling place.” In the same way murderers among us are punished with exile and become vagabonds in the earth. These words therefore afford a further evidence of the manner in which the words, which Adam said above are to be understood, “Cursed art thou upon earth.” They refer to Cain’s being driven away into banishment. This part of Cain’s punishment therefore is a civil or political punishment, by which he is shut out from the whole civil community.

  But that which Cain next adds, “And from thy face shall I be hid,” is an ecclesiastical or Church punishment. It is an excommunication from the true Church of God. For as the priesthood and the kingdom rested with Adam, and Cain on account of his sin was excommunicated from Adam, he was thereby also deprived of the glory both of the priesthood and of the kingdom.
But why Adam adopted this punishment of expelling his son from him and excommunicating him from his presence, is explained by the words which we just before heard from the father’s mouth, “When thou tillest the ground it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength;” as if he had said, “Thou art cursed and thy labors are cursed also. Therefore if thou shalt remain with us upon earth it cannot be but that both thou and we also must perish with hunger. For thou hast stained the earth with thy brother’s blood, and wherever thou art thou must bear about the blood of thy brother with thee, and even the earth herself will exact of thee the punishment of that blood by not yielding to thee her strength.”

  There is a sentence almost the same as this pronounced on Cain by Adam in 1 Kings 2:29-33, where Solomon gives commandment to Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, saying, “Slay Joab, and thou shalt take away the innocent blood which was shed by Joab from me and my father’s house. And the Lord shall return his blood upon his own head. But unto David, and unto his seed, and unto his house, and unto his throne, shall there be peace for ever from Jehovah.” As if he had said, “If Joab suffer not this punishment of his unjust murder, the whole kingdom must suffer that punishment and be shaken from one end to the other by wars.” It is just thus Adam speaks in the present passage. As if he had said, “If thou shalt remain on the earth here with us God will bring punishments upon us for thy sake, so that the earth will not yield to us her fruit.”

  But now let us offer our reply to the question above raised concerning Cain and his posterity not being the only persons subject to the curse of wandering and affliction, seeing that the saints also, it is argued, are subject to the same; and that Cain though thus cursed was yet the first who built a city, etc. It was said to Cain as his curse, “A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be upon earth.” And yet Cain is the first man who builds a city, and his posterity from that time so increased that they seduced, oppressed, and so utterly overthrew the Church of God, as not to leave more than eight persons from the posterity of Seth remaining. The whole of the other multitude of mankind, who perished in the Flood, had followed Cain as the sacred text plainly declares, “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all that they chose,” Gen. 6:1, 2. And it is also said that these sons of God, when they came unto the daughters of men, begat giants and mighty men, which were of old, men of renown, verse 4. As therefore Cain had so great and mighty a posterity and as he built the first city, how can it be true, men ask, that he was a fugitive and vagabond upon earth, according to the curse pronounced upon him?

  We will reply therefore to the literal facts before us. For what we have said above in reference to the New Testament, concerning Paul and the apostles, and Christ himself, and the prophets, that is altogether a different subject. When Adam here says to Cain, “A fugitive and a wanderer shalt thou be upon earth,” he speaks these words to him to send him away; designedly joining no precept or direction therewith. He does not say to him, “Go to the east;” he does not say, “Go to the south;” he does not mention any one place to which he should go. He gives him no direction what to do. He simply sends him away, but as to whither he should go or what he should do, he expresses no concern. As to what the will and the way of his son may be hereafter, the father takes no care whatever. He adds no promise of protection. He does not say, “God will take care of thee;” nor, “God will defend thee.” But as the whole wide heaven lies open to the bird, leaving him the liberty to fly where he will, but giving him a sight of no place in that heaven, to which he might flee in safety for protection from the attack of the other birds, so does Adam dismiss Cain. This Cain fully feels; and therefore it is that he adds the utterance, “And it shall come to pass that every one that findeth me shall slay me.”

  Now the condition of Adam in paradise was different from that of Cain, and better. Adam had sinned, and by his sin he had sunk under death. But when he was driven out of paradise God appointed to him by his command a certain employment, that he should till the earth in a fixed and certain place. God also clothed him with a covering of skins. This, as we have said above, was a sign that God would take care of him and defend him. And that which exceeded all things else, a glorious promise was made to the woman concerning her Seed, which should “bruise the serpent’s head.” But no one thing like these mercies was left to Cain. He was sent away absolutely without the mention of any certain place or any certain employment. No command was given him nor any promise made him. He was like a bird set loose in the wide heavens, as we have said, to wander in its flight where it may. Such was the state and meaning of Cain’s being truly and properly “a vagabond,” “a wanderer” without any fixed dwelling-place.

  And thus unsettled and wandering are all who have not the Word and the command of God, by which a certain place of worship and a certain ministry are vouchsafed unto them. And just such were we under the papacy. There were plenty of ceremonies of worship, and of works and exercises. But all these were undertaken and done without any command of God. This was truly a Cain-like trial, to have no Word of God; not to know what to believe, nor what to hope, nor what to think; but to do all things and to undertake all things without any knowledge or hope concerning the event. For what monk ever existed who could affirm or know that he did any one thing rightly? For all things were mere human traditions and the inventions of mere human reason, without the Word. And in the midst of these things we all wandered about, fluctuating in our minds, like the wandering Cain; not knowing anything of what the judgment of God would be concerning us; whether he would look upon us with love or with hatred. And in this uncertainty were we all at that time taught and trained.

  And in this same way were the whole posterity of Cain wanderers and unsettled. For they had no promise nor command of God and were without any certain rule either to live by or to die by. And if any of these did come to the knowledge of Christ and joined the true Church, this did not come to them through any promise of God, but through his pure mercy.

  But Seth, who was born afterwards, had together with his posterity the certain promise, certain dwelling-places, a certain worship of God, and certain rites of worship. But Cain on the contrary was always essentially “a vagabond.” For although Cain did build a city, yet he was ever in uncertainty how long he should retain it as a dwelling place; for he had no promise of God on which to depend. And whatever things we possess without the promise of God, how long we shall possess them is always an uncertainty. For Satan can either disturb them or take them away in a moment. On the other hand, when we move, fortified on every side by the command and promise of God, Satan’s strivings against us are all in vain, for God fortifies and secures by his command all that we possess. Although therefore Cain was the great lord as it were of the whole world and possessed all the riches of the world; yet because he was without the promise of the help of God and was thereby deprived of the guardianship of angels, he had nothing else to depend on, but human counsel and human reason. He was therefore truly “a vagabond” and unsettled wanderer.

  VOLUME II.

  FOREWORD.

  THE FIRST VOLUMES of the “American Luther” we selected for publication were his best commentaries, then eight volumes of his Gospel and Epistle sermons and one volume of his best catechetical writings. These rich evangelical works introduced us to the real Luther, not the polemical, but the Gospel Luther. They contain the leaven of the faith, life and spirit of Protestantism. We now return to his spiritual commentaries on the Bible which are the foundation of all his writings. The more one reads Luther the greater he becomes as a student of the One Book.

  Contents of This Volume.

  This, the second volume of Luther’s great commentary on Genesis, appears now in English for the first time.

  It covers chapters four to nine inclusive of Genesis. The subjects discussed are: Cain’s murder, his punishment, Cain’s sons, Seth and h
is sons, the wickedness of the old world, the ark, Noah’s obedience, the universal destruction, the salvation of Noah’s family, his sacrifice, his blessing, the rainbow covenant, Noah’s fall, Ham cursed and Shem and Japheth blessed. These great themes are discussed by Moses and Luther. They have vital relations to problems pertaining to the end of the modern world. Our hope and prayer are that God may use this volume to make the book of Genesis and the whole Old Testament a greater spiritual blessing to the Church and that it may serve the servants of God in these latter days in calling people to repentance, faith and prayer like Noah and Luther did.

  In his “Dear Genesis” Luther proved that the free Evangelical religion he taught was not new, but as old as the first book of the Bible, and that it does not consist in outward forms, organizations and pomp, but in true faith in Christ in our hearts and lives. Genesis contains the only historic records accessible of the first 2364 years of the 4004 years before Christ. It is worthy of study in our day as it was in the days of the Reformation.

  Acknowledgments.

  Luther advised no one should translate alone and he practiced what he taught. We have followed his rule and example. Pastor C. B. Gohdes of Baltimore translated chapter six and President Schaller of Milwaukee Theological Seminary, chapters five, seven, eight and nine.

  Inaccuracies may be due to the revision and editing, and not to the translators, for every good translation must be fluent and idiomatic, to secure which is the most difficult task. Pastor Gohdes also rendered valuable help in the final revision of parts. The translation of the analyses is by the undersigned.

  The few last pages of the first edition of volume one we revised and reprint in this volume in order to make the pages of each volume of our edition to correspond with the German and Latin volumes of the Erlangen edition. The paragraphs are numbered and the analyses given according to the old Walch edition.