And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. And Cain talked with Abel his brother. The original word does not signify, in strict propriety, "talked," but 'said;' and, as the object is frequently omitted after verbs of speaking, Gesenius and others supply it-namely, Cain said (it) unto Abel his brother; i:e. he told him what God had addressed to him, as contained in Genesis 4:7. But, since it is extremely improbable that he would have related an admonition to which he was so indifferent, others have supposed a hiatus or gap in the text, which the Septuagint, the Samaritan, the Syriac, and other versions fill up with the words 'Let us go into the field.' These authorities show that the words were once in the original text, although, as has been remarked, they are not found in the most ancient Hebrew copies-as, for instance, in that one which Origen consulted. Knobel renders the clause 'Cain watched Abel.' But the meaning is obvious; and whether the proposal was made directly by Cain to his brother to accompany him in a walk into the fields, or they happened, in pursuit of their respective occupations, to be together in some sequestered spot, he, under the guise of brotherly familiarity, had concealed his premeditated purpose until a convenient time and place occurred for the murder (1 John 3:12; Jude 1:11).
Whether something had transpired to open up and irritate the wound that had long been rankling in his breast, and he rushed, under the impulse of impassioned feelings, to a deed of violence, he could scarcely have been ignorant of the effects that might follow. He must have seen the deaths of many animals; especially he must have witnessed the slaughter of the victims which his father had often brought to the altar. He must have judged that blows would be equally fatal to human life, whatever the kind of weapon used to inflict them; and therefore, in entertaining the deliberate purpose of sacrificing "righteous Abel" to appease his own jealousy, offended pride, and vindictive spirit, he gave proof of the development within him of corrupt principles, which showed that he was of that "seed of the serpent" which should, in later ages of the world, be at enmity with the "seed of the woman" (Matthew 23:35; 1 John 3:12; Jude 1:11).
The frequent repetition of the words "his brother Abel" throughout the narrative is deserving of notice; but it is especially emphatic in the last clause of this verse, as marking the unnatural atrocity of Cain's crime. Abel's death was the first that took place in the family of Adam; and whether, as some think, a debate had been going on between the brothers on the subject of their recent offerings, and Abel had strenuously maintained the duty of sacrificial worship, he died the first martyr in the cause of revealed religion. Cain yielded to the instigation of the Devil, who was a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). The brothers were types of the two opposite classes of character, which have ever since divided the world-the humble, believing, and pious servants of God, on the one hand; and the proud, self-willed, worldly-minded upholders of Rationalism and Infidelity on the other. Thus Abel, being dead, yet speaketh (Hebrews 11:4), and the posthumous testimony he bears is, that there is but one way in which peace and communion with God can be enjoyed on earth, as well as the mansions of heaven opened for the reception of men.