Editing Cain (section)

== Etymology ==
[[File:Blake-Abel.jpg|thumb|''The Body of Abel Found by Adam and Eve'' by [[William Blake]], 1826]]

One popular theory regarding the name of Cain connects it to the verb "kana" ({{Script/Hebrew|קנה}} ''qnh''), meaning "to get" and used by Eve in {{Bibleverse|Genesis|4:1}} when she says after bearing Cain, "I have ''gotten'' a man from the Lord." In this viewpoint, articulated by [[Nachmanides]] in the thirteenth century, Cain's name presages his role of mastery, power, and sin.<ref>Doukhan 2016, p. 59.</ref> In one of the ''[[Legends of the Jews]]'', Cain is the fruit of a union between [[Eve]] and [[Satan]], who is also the angel [[Samael]] and the serpent in the Garden of Eden, and Eve exclaims at Cain's birth, "I have gotten a man through an angel of the Lord."<ref>Ginzberg, Louis (1909). ''[http://www.swartzentrover.com/cotor/e-books/misc/Legends/Legends%20of%20the%20Jews.pdf The Legends of the Jews Vol I: The Ten Generations – The Birth of Cain]'' (Translated by Henrietta Szold) Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society.</ref>
According to the ''[[Life of Adam and Eve]]'' ({{Circa|1st century CE}}), Cain fetched his mother a reed (''[[wikt:קנה#Etymology 2|qaneh]]'') which is how he received his name ''Qayin'' (Cain). The symbolism of him fetching a reed may be a nod to his occupation as a farmer, as well as a commentary to his destructive nature. He is also described as "lustrous", which may reflect the Gnostic association of Cain with the [[sun]].{{sfn|Byron|2011|pp=15, 16: L.A.E. (''Vita'') 21:3, Trans. by Johnson}}